Who is the criminal behind climate change? Who do we blame? You and all of the humans on Earth! We are the source of this international anomaly, since as early as the 1900s. As stated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, our global surface temperature has been increasing steadily and has not been average temperature since 1985, due to human effects.
When we burn fossil fuels and have changes in land use, massive amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. When this happens, the greenhouse gases act like a blanket and trap in heat. That heat then gets sent back to the atmosphere, resulting in much warmer temperatures than normal. However, the US has had extremely cold temperatures this past year too. Products such as aerosols can interact with clouds, and change their cloud properties like their reflectivity and precipitation rates. This contributes to global cooling by trapping outgoing heat.
What can we do to lower the levels of greenhouse gases? In September, the Obama administration, for the first time ever, proposed limits on power-plant emissions of carbon dioxide, which makes up nearly 40% of national greenhouse gases. Even though Congress has virtually no interest whatsoever in handling global warming, President Obama is marching ahead and promising climate changes by June. Although these limits will only affect existing power plants, long-term results will be powerful. According to the NY Times, emissions are predicted to reduce by 17% from the 2005 levels in 2020, and the United States is already halfway there).
However, in the rest of the world, climate change is causing rising sea levels, brutal weather events, ongoing droughts, and increasing carbon dioxide levels. Perhaps the United States is the first of many countries to propose limits - it would be greatly beneficial for nations to take charge together. As Eliot Spitzer says, “"Global warming threatens our health, our economy, our natural resources, and our children's future. It is clear we must act." If the world does not start taking charge of climate change, we could be facing serious consequences, from intense heat waves and fires; to having to give up typical activities because of the humidity and extreme temperatures; and decreases in crop production.
The Unites States’ strange weather this past season is just one of the countless effects of climate change. Without everyone joining in to help, the future is unclear and could be hazardous to life as we know it.

Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/opinion/an-important-step-on-global-warming.html
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/02/a-closer-look-at-climate-panels-findings-on-global-warming-impacts/
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/causes.html