Arrhenius, Svante warming

In the 1880s, Svante Arrhenius developed the idea of activation energy. He also described the dissociation of salts—including acids and bases—into ions. Before then, salts in solution were thought to exist as intact molecules and ions were mostly thought to exist as electrolysis products. Arrhenius also predicted that CO2 emissions would lead to global warming. ... 

Global warming was not a new idea. The mechanism of the greenhouse effect —carbon dioxide in the atmosphere traps the sun s heat and helps keep the earth warm—had long been known. Some of the greatest nineteenth-century scientists discussed whether humans would warm the earth by burning coal. In 1908, a widely read book by the renowned Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius predicted that the effect might show up within a few centuries. 

---