More Information Of Global Warming

What is global warming? 

Global warming is when the earth heats up (the temperature rises).  It happens when greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and methane) trap heat and light from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere, which increases the temperature.  This hurts many people, animals, and plants.  Many cannot take the change, so they die.

What is the greenhouse effect?

The greenhouse effect is when the temperature rises because the sun’s heat and light is trapped in the earth’s atmosphere.  This is like when heat is trapped in a car. On a very hot day, the car gets hotter when it is out in the parking lot.  This is because the heat and light from the sun can get into the car, by going through the windows, but it can’t get back out.  This is what the greenhouse effect does to the earth.  The heat and light can get through the atmosphere, but it can’t get out.  As a result, the temperature rises.

The sun’s heat can get into the car through the windows but is then trapped.  This makes what ever the place might be, a greenhouse, a car, a building, or the earth’s atmosphere, hotter.  This diagram shows the heat coming into a car as visible light (light you can see) and infrared light (heat).  Once the light is inside the car, it is trapped and the heat builds up, just like it does in the earth’s atmosphere.

Sometimes the temperature can change in a way that helps us.  The greenhouse effect makes the earth appropriate for people to live on.  Without it, the earth would be freezing, or on the other hand it would be burning hot.  It would be freezing at night because the sun would be down.  We would not get the sun’s heat and light to make the night somewhat warm.  During the day, especially during the summer, it would be burning because the sun would be up with no atmosphere to filter it, so people, plants, and animals would be exposed to all the light and heat.

Although the greenhouse effect makes the earth able to have people living on it, if there gets to be too many gases, the earth can get unusually warmer, and many plants, animals, and people will die.  They would die because there would be less food (plants like corn, wheat, and other vegetables and fruits).  This would happen because the plants would not be able to take the heat.  This would cause us to have less food to eat, but it would also limit the food that animals have.  With less food, like grass, for the animals that we need to survive (like cows) we would even have less food.  Gradually, people, plants, and animals would all die of hunger.  

What are greenhouse gasses?

Greenhouse gasses are gasses are in the earth’s atmosphere that collect heat and light from the sun.  With too many greenhouse gasses in the air, the earth’s atmosphere will trap too much heat and the earth will get too hot.  As a result people, animals, and plants would die because the heat would be too strong.

What causes global warming?

Many things cause global warming.  One thing that causes global warming is electrical pollution.  Electricity causes pollution in many ways, some worse than others.  In most cases, fossil fuels are burned to create electricity.  Fossil fuels are made of dead plants and animals.  Some examples of fossil fuels are oil and petroleum.  Many pollutants (chemicals that pollute the air, water, and land) are sent into the air when fossil fuels are burned.  Some of these chemicals are called greenhouse gasses.

We use these sources of energy much more than the sources that give off less pollution.  Petroleum, one of the sources of energy, is used a lot.  It is used for transportation, making electricity, and making many other things.  Although this source of energy gives off a lot of pollution, it is used for 38% of the United States’ energy.

 

What are people doing to stop global warming?  

People are doing many things to try to stop global warming.  One thing people are doing is carpooling.  Carpooling is driving with someone to a place that you are both going to.  This minimizes the amount of greenhouse gases put into the air by a car.

Another thing that people are doing is being more careful about leaving things turned on like the television, computer, and the lights.   A lot of people are taking time away from the television, and instead, they are spending more time outdoors.  This helps our planet out a lot.  Now, more people are even riding busses, walking to school, and riding their bikes to lower the amount of greenhouse gases in the air.  Planting trees and recycling also helps.  If you recycle, less trash goes to the dump, and less trash gets burned.  As a result, there are fewer greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. 

Watch what you buy.  Many things, such as hairspray and deodorant, now are made to have less of an impact on the atmosphere.  Less greenhouse gasses will rise into the air, and global warming will slow down.

Kid can help stop global warming, too!!

Although adults do many things to help stop global warming, kids can do just as much.  Kids can’t do hard things like making a law, but we can do easier things like not watching as much TV.  You can listen to your parents when they say, turn off your lights or go play outside.  Listening to them and actually trying to help can help you, your environment, and the world.