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 is global warming doing to the environment?
Global warming is affecting many parts
of the world. Global warming makes 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. When they die, the animals lose a source of
food, along with their habitat. Although
animals have a better ability to adapt to what happens than plants do, they may
die also. When the plants and animals
die, people lose two sources of food, plant food and animal food. They may also lose their homes. As a result, they would also have to leave
the area or die. This would be called a
break in the food chain, or a chain reaction, one thing happening that leads to
another and so on.
The oceans are affected by global
warming in other ways, as well. Many
things that are happening to the ocean are linked to global warming. One thing that is happening is warm water,
caused from global warming, is harming and killing algae in the ocean.
Algae is a producer that you can see
floating on the top of the water. (A
producer is something that makes food for other animals through photosynthesis,
like grass.) This floating green algae
is food to many consumers in the ocean.
(A consumer is something that eats the producers.) One kind of a consumer is small fish. There are many others like crabs, some
whales, and many other animals. Fewer
algae is a problem because there is less food for us and many animals in the
sea.
Global warming is doing many things to
people as well as animals and plants. It
is killing algae, but it is also destroying many huge forests. The pollution that causes global warming is
linked to acid rain. Acid rain gradually
destroys almost everything it touches.
Global warming is also causing many more fires that wipe out whole
forests. This happens because global
warming can make the earth very hot. In
forests, some plants and trees leaves can be so dry that they catch on fire.
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.
Some other examples of using energy and
polluting the air are:
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Turning
on a light
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Watching
T.V.
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Listening
to a stereo
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Washing
or drying clothes
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Using
a hair dryer
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Riding
in a car
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Heating a meal in the microwave
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Using
an air conditioner
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Playing
a video game
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Using
a dish washer
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When you do these things, you are
causing more greenhouse gasses to be sent into the air. Greenhouse gasses are sent into the air
because creating the electricity you use to do these things causes
pollution. If you think of how many
times a day you do these things, it’s a lot.
You even have to add in how many other people do these things! That turns out to be a lot of pollutants
going into the air a day because of people like us using electricity. The least
amount of electricity you use, the better.
When we throw our garbage away, the
garbage goes to landfills. Landfills are
those big hills that you go by on an expressway that stink. They are full of garbage. The garbage is then sometimes burned. This sends an enormous amount of greenhouse
gasses into the air and makes global warming worse.
Another thing that makes global warming
worse is when people cut down trees.
Trees and other plants collect carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a
greenhouse gas.
Carbon dioxide is the air that our body
lets out when we breathe. With fewer trees, it is harder for people to breathe
because there is more CO2 in the air, and we don’t breathe CO2, we breathe
oxygen. Plants collect the CO2 that we
breathe out, and they give back oxygen that we breathe in. With less trees and other plants, such as
algae, there is less air for us, and more greenhouse gases are sent into the
air. This means that it is very important to protect our trees to stop the
greenhouse effect, and also so we can breathe and live.
This gas, CO2, collects light and heat
(radiant energy), produced by the sun, and this makes the earth warmer. The heat and light from the sun is produced
in the center of the sun. (The sun has layers
just like the earth.)
This layer is called the core. Just like a core of an apple, it is in the
middle. Here there is a very high
temperature, about 27,000,000°F. This heat
escapes out of this layer to the next layer, the radiative zone. This layer is
cooler, about 4,500,000°F. Gradually,
the heat and light will pass through the convection zone at a temperature of
around 2,000,000°F. When it gets
to the surface, the temperature is about 10,000°F. Finally, the
heat and light is sent into space. This
is called radiant energy (heat and light).
The radiant energy reaches the earth’s atmosphere. As a result of this process we get light and
heat. When you pollute, you send
chemicals into the air that destroy our atmosphere, so more heat and light
cannot escape from the earth’s atmosphere.
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.
What is the government doing to
stop global warming?
The government is doing many things to
help stop global warming. The government made a law called The Clean Air Act so
there is less air pollution. Global
warming is making people get very bad illnesses that could make them disabled,
very sick, and sometimes even die. The
Clean Air Act is making many companies change their products to decrease these
problems. Part of the law says that you
may not put a certain amount of pollutants in the air. Hairspray and some other products, like foam
cups, had this problem. Making and using
these products let out too much volatile organic compounds (VOC’s),
ozone-destroying chemicals (chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s), and related chemicals
(such as CO2) into the air. Now, almost
all of these products have a label on them telling people what this product can
do to the environment and many people.
By 2015 all products listed on the Clean Air Act will have this label on
them:
Almost all of the other chemicals that
could be harmful will have this label on them hopefully by this time (2015) as
well.
The Clean Air Act has also made car
companies change some of the things inside of the cars. Cars pollute a lot. While cars make more than half of the world’s
smog (visible pollution in the air), many things that cars need to move and
heat up make even more pollution. Some
things that are inside of cars, buses, trucks, and motorcycles, like gasoline,
pollute the air when the fuel is burned.
It comes out as a chemical and when mixed in the air, forms smog. Smog is a kind of pollution that you see in
the form of a cloud. If you have ever
been to California
you can see a lot of smog in some places.
Sometimes the smog gets so bad that you cannot see at all! Smog forms when car exhaust, pollution from
homes, and pollution from factories mixes in the air and has a chemical
reaction. The sun’s heat and light add
to the reaction.
Cars, buses, and trucks are also
responsible for over 50% of dangerous chemicals let into the air. Some of these chemicals can cause cancer,
birth defects, trouble breathing, brain and nerve damage, lung injures, and
burning eyes. Some of the pollutants are
so harmful that they can even cause death.
What are some of the other
dangerous chemicals?
Some other chemicals that cause air
pollution and are bad for the environment and people are:
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Ozone- Ozone is produced when other
pollution chemicals combine. It is the
basic element of smog. It causes many
different kinds of health issues dealing with the lungs. It can damage plants and limit sight. It can also cause a lot of property damage.
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VOC’s (volatile organic compounds, smog formers)- VOC’s are let into the air when fuel is burned. This
chemical can cause cancer. It can also
harm plants.
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NOx (nitrogen dioxide)- This
chemical forms smog. It is also formed
by burning sources of energy, like gas, coal, and oil, and by cars. This chemical causes problems in the
respiratory system (including the lungs).
It causes acid rain, and it can damage trees. This chemical can eat away buildings and
statues.
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CO (carbon monoxide)- The source
of this chemical is burning sources of energy. It causes blood vessel problems and
respiratory failures.
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PM-10 (particulate matter)- The source of this chemical is plowing and burning down fields. It can cause death and lung damage. It can make it hard for people to
breathe. The smoke, soot, ash, and
dust formed by this chemical can make many cities dirty.
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Sulfur Dioxide- This chemical is
produced by making paper and metals.
This chemical can cause permanent lung damage. It can cause acid rain which kills trees
and damages building and statues.
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Lead- This chemical is in paint,
leaded gasoline, smelters, and in lead storage batteries. It can cause many brain and nerve damages
and digestive problems.
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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.
Global Warming and the USA
With the rejection of the Kyoto Treaty
the government of the USA
has once again shown the world that environmental issues are not important to
them. I will try to solve the mystery of why they do not care.
The psychology of abundance
The American reluctance to take drastic
steps to reduce pollution roots in something deeper than just economy. The
American culture bears a thought of the unlimited wealth of the world. This is
rooted all the way back when the first colonists arrived to North
America. What they saw was a country that was very rich in
resources and this was the direct opposite to what Europe
looked like at the time. This new land was therefore very attractive to
farmers, game hunters, lumberjacks, and gold and silver miners since here they
could become rich by exploiting the seemingly endless wealth. When there were
no more resources in a particular area the people could just move further west
to find more unexploited resources. The people exploiting the nature also
restrained any kind of government regulation and it was hard to convince people
that the resources of the nature should not be used[16].
The wealth was not endless and the
buffalo was hunted to near extinction, forests were cut and burned away, and
mining polluted rivers. Nevertheless, the soul of abundance still lies in the
American culture.