Climate change is a global problem that requires real solutions. It is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. The earth intercepts solar radiation that is short wave and visible parts of the spectrum. About one-third of that radiation is reflected, and the rest is absorbed by different components of the climate system, including the atmosphere, the oceans, the land surface, and biota. The energy absorbed from solar radiation is balanced, in the long term, by outgoing radiation from the earth's atmosphere system.