In 1824, Joseph Fourier discovered the greenhouse effect, and then in 1896, Svante Arrhenius investigated the phenomenon. They both define it as the process by which emissions of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases warms a planet. These atmospheric gases occur naturally and its nature's way of keeping Earth inhabitable.

Greenhouse effect in itself is not a bad thing for without the atmospheric gases, the Earth will not be warm enough for life to exist. One of the atmospheric gases that are a main component of this effect is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide has always been part of nature, and the greenhouse effect is proof of that.

But with the Industrial Revolution and the advent of vehicles, the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere increased significantly from the increase in the amount of burning fossil fuel. This, in turn, caused the increase in the heat trapped in the atmosphere which causes global warming. Sadly though, this issue has been around for years but the majority of the global population chose to ignore this.

In recent years though, the number of concerned individuals are increasing. One survey conducted recently by the International Communications Research shows that more and more Americans are concerned about global warming. The study commissioned by the Piaggio Group Americas found out that 70 percent of the polled respondents said that they are concerned about the global warming issue.

In addition to that 80 percent of the 1,000 polled Americans stated that they feel that government intervention is needed to address the growing problem. The majority of respondents said that they want the government to enact legislations that will cut down the use of fossil fuels of American motorists.

Aside from those figures, the study found out that 40 percent of the polled respondents have experienced growing concern for global warming within the past twelve months. This shows that the issue of global warming is new to a large number of Americans. Or if it is not new to them, they have chosen to ignore the issue until recently.

The respondents pointed out different reasons for the increased concern on global warming. Almost twenty percent of tem cited that they have developed concern about global warming after they have watched Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" documentary. More than sixty percent of the respondents refer to unusual weather patterns as the factor for their increased concern.

The global community has been experiencing relatively mild winter and increasingly violent storms and this fact has lead many people to take notice of the global warming issue.

The result of the study shows that majority of Americans believe that using high quality exhaust components like a Magnaflow catalytic converter is not enough to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Majority of Americans want the government to take action on the pressing matter. The government has already begun addressing the situation evident in the "Twenty in Ten" campaign outlined by President George W. Bush on his State of the Union Address in January of this year.