Many human activities are powered by burning fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels releases CO2, a greenhouse gas, into Earth's atmosphere. The graph below shows a relationship between human emissions of CO2 and atmospheric CO2 concentrations during part of the last century.
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The table below lists the concentrations of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere and average surface temperatures on Earth at two times in the past century.
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Which argument can BEST be made about the contribution of human activities to changes in global temperatures based on the data shown?
A.
Human activities are increasing the concentration of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere, which is decreasing global temperatures.
B.
Human activities are decreasing the concentration of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere, which is decreasing global temperatures.
C.
Human activities are increasing the concentration of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere, which is increasing global temperatures.
D.
Human activities are decreasing the concentration of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere, which is increasing global temperatures.
C. Human activities are increasing the concentration of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere, which is increasing global temperatures.
This argument is supported by the fact that the graph shows a clear correlation between human emissions of CO2 and atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and the table shows that as CO2 concentrations in Earth's atmosphere increase, average surface temperatures on Earth also increase. This indicates that human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, are contributing to the increase in global temperatures by releasing CO2 into the atmosphere.