In this booklet I will be describing global warming, its effects, its causes, my views, other peoples views, and finally if we should be concerned about global warming.

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In this booklet I will be describing global warming, its effects, its causes, my views, other peoples views, and finally if we should be concerned about global warming.

What is Global Warming?

Global warming refers to an average increase in the Earth's temperature, which in turn causes changes in climate. A warmer Earth may lead to changes in rainfall patterns, a rise in sea level, and a wide range of impacts on plants, wildlife, and humans.

What is Global Warming caused by?

Global warming is caused by the “Greenhouse effect.” Just like any other planet, the Earth absorbs the sun's heat and radiates it back towards space. But greenhouse gases trap heat and reflect it back towards the Earth. The more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the more heat that is trapped. The less the amount of greenhouse gases, the less heat that is trapped.

Each greenhouse gas has its own important role in trapping the sun's heat, the most significant of which is water vapour. On a clear day, water vapour can comprise 60 to 70 percent of the greenhouse effect. Next in line, carbon dioxide contributes an additional 25 percent.


The changes in the balance and concentration of all these gases can affect the Earth's temperature, and these temperature changes are often referred to as "global warming" or "global cooling." Greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere have been naturally rising and falling for billions of years, creating cold and warm periods in the Earth's history. For example, as the Ice Age went on, scientists believe the amount of natural carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dropped over thousands of years, reducing the greenhouse effect, and making the Earth cooler. But many disagree on how that change in carbon dioxide occurred. Today, scientists are looking at effects of global warming as they debate the long-term impact of man-made carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere. Many climatologists argue that we are artificially increasing the greenhouse effect, warming the Earth faster than would occur naturally, which could cause problems for the Earth in the future.

Where do greenhouse gases come from?

Almost all of the man-made carbon dioxide emissions come from the burning up of fossil fuels – coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels are created from plants and animals that died millions of years ago, and lie deep underground or under the ocean floor. When we burn these fuels, we release not only energy, but also CO2.

Of all the greenhouse gases we release by burning things, CO2 is the greatest contributor to the man-made increase in the greenhouse effect. Not only do we emit huge amounts of CO2, but it also takes a very long time to disappear from the atmosphere after it has been emitted. Since the Industrial Revolution, people have emitted large amounts of CO2 through the consumption of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gasses.  Although it is not all man made pollution that is causing Global warming. The worst offenders are volcanoes, which erupt huge amounts of greenhouse gases.

Although most emissions of CO2 come from natural sources, such as rotting vegetation, it is the emissions from human activity that tip the scales and create the imbalance that leads to global warming.

Permanent deforestation creates an imbalance and can increase the greenhouse effect in a number of ways. Deforestation means cutting down forests – by cutting the trees down, using the wood for fuel, or converting the forested area to farmland or grazing areas – without replacing the lost trees with new ones. Regardless of whether the cut trees are burnt or allowed to decompose naturally, they will emit CO2.  If new trees are not planted then there is nothing to absorb the carbon released from the trees that were cut down and this increases the amount of the CO2 in the atmosphere.

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While CO2 is the most important greenhouse gas – mainly because there is so much of it – it is not the only greenhouse gas we need to worry about. Methane is also a very powerful greenhouse gas, although it has a much shorter lifetime in the atmosphere than CO2. Like CO2, methane comes from both natural and man-made sources. Natural sources include rotting wood and wetlands, while human activities that emit methane include farming and waste deposits.  Other greenhouse gases also contribute to man made climate change. They include nitrous oxide (N2O) and several synthetic compounds from industry containing fluorine.

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