Global warming is causing climate change that is impacting economies, health, and communities. Scientists warn that if steps are not taken to aggressively curb climate change, the results will be disastrous. Carbon dioxide and other pollutants are collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping heat from the sun and causing the planet to warm at the fastest rate in recorded history. Unless emissions driving climate change are curbed, average U.S. temperatures could increase by 3 to 9 degrees by the end of the century.