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 earths atmosphere, which increases the temperature. This hurts many people, animals, and plants. any cannot ta!e the change, so they die.

WHAT IS THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT?

The temperature of the atmosphere near the earth"s surface is warmed through a natural process called the greenhouse effect. #isible, shortwave light comes from the sun to the earth, passing unimpeded through a blan!et of thermal, or greenhouse, gases composed largely of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and o$one. Infrared radiation reflects off the planet"s surface toward space but does not easily pass through the thermal blan!et. %ome of it is trapped and reflected downward, !eeping the planet at an average temperature suitable to life, about &'() (*&(+). ,lthough the greenhouse effect ma!es 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 li!e corn, wheat, and other vegetables and fruits). This would happen because the plants would not be able to ta!e the heat. This would cause us to have less food to eat, but it would also limit the food that animals have. -ith less food, li!e grass, for the animals that we need to survive (li!e cows) we would even have less food. Gradually, people, plants, and animals would all die of hunger.

WHAT IS GLOBAL WARMING DOING TO THE ENVIRONMENT?

Global warming is affecting many parts of the world. Global warming ma!es the sea rise, and when the sea rises, the water covers many low land islands. This is a big problem for many of the plants, animals, and people on islands. The water covers the plants and causes some of them to die. -hen they die, the animals $lose a source of food, along with their habitat. The oceans are affected by global warming in other ways, as well. any things that are happening to the ocean are lin!ed to global warming. .ne thing that is happening is warm water, caused from global warming, is harming and !illing algae in the ocean. Global warming is doing many things to people as well as animals and plants. It is !illing algae, but it is also destroying many huge forests. The pollution that causes global warming is lin!ed to acid rain.

WHAT CAUSES GLOBAL WARMING?

,mong factors that may be contributing to global warming are the burning of coal and petroleum products (sources of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, o$one)/ deforestation, which increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere/ methane gas released in animal waste/ and increased cattle production, which contributes to deforestation, methane production, and use of fossil fuels.

KID CAN HELP STOP GLOBAL WARMING, TOO!!

,lthough adults do many things to help stop global warming, !ids can do 0ust as much. 1ids cant do hard things li!e ma!ing a law, but we can do easier things li!e not watching as much T#. 2ou can listen to your parents when they say, turn off your lights or go play outside. 3istening to them and actually trying to help can help you, your environment, and the world.