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Scientists have known for many years that CO2 plays an important role in determining the earth's temperature. CO2 in the atmosphere is transparent to incoming energy rays from the sun but absorbs heat energy from the earth and radiates heat back to the earth's surface. This phenomenon, often called the greenhouse effect, means that increasing levels of CO2, in the atmosphere will cause increases in the average temperatures of the earth. Continued use of fossil fuels will 'most likely' double atmospheric CO2 concentrations by late in the next century, possibly causing worldwide temperature increases and serious climate changes, the committee concluded. Along with average global temperature increases, the committee would expect to see greater temperature increases in the polar regions than in lower latitudes, earlier snowmelts and later first snowfalls, less summer soil moisture in some parts of the middle and high latitudes of the northern hemisphere, and thinner Arctic and Antarctic ice cover.