GLOBAL WARMING

    

      Did you notice that the Earth is having a lot of changes and it is becoming hotter? Well, that is because of the global warming, which makes the Earth’s temperature rise. 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. Although the greenhouse effect makes the planet able to live in, if it gets too many gases, the Earth can get unusually warmer causing a lot of disasters. That is why nowadays global warming is a serious problem and it is important to know what causes it and why it is caused.

      Global warming is affecting many parts of the world. It makes the sea rise; therefore, the water covers many low land islands. This is a big problem for plants, animals and also people. “The water covers the plants so they die; when they die, animal also die. As a result, people lose 2 important sources of food, and then they have to leave the area, or die” (Environment)1. Also, according a National Geographic study, global warming is killing a big amount of algae which is food to many animals in the ocean like crabs, whales, etc. They also say that  warming is destroying many huge forests as a result of fires that wipe out them, this happens because the Earth becomes very hot; for example, in forests, some plants and trees leaves can be so dry that they catch on fire.  

       Many things cause global warming, one of them is electrical pollution. That is that electricity causes pollution in many ways, some worse than others.

       In most cases, fossil fuels are burned to create electricity; they are made of dead plants and animals, for example, oil and petroleum. When they are burned, they expel many pollutants into the air. “Petroleum, one of the energy sources, is used a lot for transportation, making electricity and making many other things. Although this source gives off a lot of pollution, it is used for 38% of the USA energy” (Electricity)2.

       Other examples of contaminating the air by using energy are common activities like turning on a light, watching TV, using a hair dryer, etc. We can think that it is too exaggerated to think that these simple activities can generate pollution, but imagine how many time a day you do them, and now, imagine how many other people also do the same things!

       Another thing that makes global warming worse is the fact that people cut down trees and plants that collect the CO2 that we breathe out and give back oxygen that we breathe in.

       Finally, it is demonstrated that global warming has serious effects in plants, animals and people. Especially humans are the responsible of this because they contaminate the air; they use energy in a bad way and cut down trees. So it is time to react and do whatever we can to save the place we live in.

 1)"Environment Global Warming and Greenhouse Effect." World almanac books, 2000.

2)Electricity and the Environment, 2000