Global Warming By Maggie
Table of Contents Introduction..................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Climate Changing............................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Global Warming Victims............................................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Future Predictions............................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Cause and Effect.............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
What Can We Do?............................................................................................................................................................................ 7
Glossary ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Cited Sources.................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
About the Author............................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Further Reading................................................................................................................................................................................ 11
Introduction
Our planet is getting warmer and warmer by the time. Why is it happening? Many people think that it didn’t cause any damage yet. Well, take a look at the past one hundred years, the temperature has rose 1 degree Celsius. Maybe that doesn’t sound like such a change. Once you know what global warming really is, you’ll know what a big thing it is.
Climate Changing The Greenhouse Effect Global warming is mostly caused by the greenhouse effect. What is the greenhouse effect? A greenhouse is a glass house made for plants to grow in all four seasons. The glass lets lights into the greenhouse and keeps heat from escaping. The heat makes the plants warm even when the temperature outside is below zero degrees Celsius. So Earth’s atmosphere is like a greenhouse. The atmosphere traps heat from the sun. Carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases called greenhouse gases does this trapping in the air. Without these greenhouse gases, the heat would go back into space and living things on Earth will not be able to survive. Well, Earth now is getting too much heat from the greenhouse gases so this is what caused global warming.
This is how the greenhouse effect works.
Coral Reefs Coral reefs are formed in shallow tropical water by millions of microscopic animals called corals. The corals makes skeletons for themselves, as time pass, the skeletons will turn out to be coral reefs. Coral reefs provide habitats for fishes and other sea animals. Warmer water has already caused damages to corals in parts of the world. By the year 2050, alive corals will become rare in tropical and subtropical reefs. The loss coral reefs will reduce habitats to fishes and other sea animals and they’ll die too. This will also affect the food chain that is part of all the sea animals.
Did You Know? If this keeps on going, species will be extinct or endangered. For example, polar bears and penguins
Global Warming Victims
Plants and Animals Earth is getting warmer, plants and animals that lives in cold places might not be able to have fit habitat. If our Earth keeps getting warmer like this, around one-fourth of the plants and animals on earth might be extinct in the next 100 years. Because every plant and animal has a part in the ecosystem, so with one species can affect many other plants and animals.
Humans Heat waves are uncomfortable for everyone. They are especially dangerous for infants, children, the elderly, and people who are already sick. Heat waves can cause illness such as heat cramps, heat strokes, and even death. In 2003, a heat wave in Europe caused around 50,000 deaths. In 1995, a heat wave in Chicago caused around 600 deaths. The heat waves every year in the United States caused more than the deaths of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes combined. Why is this happening? Of course, global warming.
Future Predictions Reason for Concern Scientists cannot tell how warm Earth will get over time. Some people guess it will be an increase between 3.2° F and 7.2° F (1.8° C and 4° C) by next 100 years.
Did you know? If Earth continues warming like this, in the next few centuries Earth will seem like another planet.
The warmer weather could harm living things. It also could cause polar ice caps and glaciers to melt. This would cause sea levels to rise. There are already been islands disappearing. Plants, animals, and buildings along coastlines would be in big danger.
Polar bears are losing their homes.
Cause and Effect Dinosaur Effect Around 200 million years ago, Earth was 18 degrees warmer than it is now. It might be too hot for us, but is was just fine for the dinosaurs that ruled the Earth during the Mesozoic period. A new study found out that plant eating dinosaurs might has caused the warming of Earth by farting and burping which also means that they are releasing methane gas in the air. The new study is mostly focused on sauropods, longnecked plant eaters that eat the top of trees. The researchers guessed that a sauropod released about 2,675 liters of methane gas per day, which is a huge amount of greenhouse gas that gets into the atmosphere from the dinosaur stomaches.
Cause In Earth’s history, the greenhouse gases were not a big problem at all. Well, it got way worse because people are now burning fossil fuels to power factories, run cars, produce electricity, and heat houses. When fossil fuels burn, they release carbon dioxide into the air. People also cut down forests to get wood, this is called deforestation. Trees feed on carbon dioxide and turn them into fresh air. So if people are cutting down more trees, that means carbon dioxide will get more.
Effect Our planet is getting warmer from the North Pole to South Pole and everywhere in between them. In the world, the mercury is up more than 1 degree Fahrenheit (-17.2 Celsius). Even more in the sensitive polar regions, the effects of the temperature rising are not waiting for some long future. Well, they are happening right now. Signs of them are appearing all over the world, some can even be surprising. The warmth is not only melting polar ice caps and sea ice, it is also moving precipitation patterns and setting animals on the move.
Factories also gets the air filled with CO2.
What Can We Do? Stopping Global Warming Global warming is a worldwide concern. Governments are trying to find out many ways to limit the amount of greenhouse gases people put into the air. We can help by driving less. They also can save energy by turning off unneeded lights and other electrical devices.
Everyone should help stop global warming. We can start by using less light, turn off the TV, or even plant some trees in your backyard! If everybody helps a little, we world can become a better place!
Did you know? There are people all around the world trying to stop others from cutting down trees. There are also houses that have solar power panels.
Snow is melting faster and faster throughout the years.
Glossary A type of greenhouse gas. Chemical formula: CO2 Atmosphere Carbon dioxide Exceedingly small. Could only seen by microscopes. Infants Polar ice caps
Microscopic A moving land of ice that usually flows in oceans.
Mesozoic
The envelope of gases that surrounds Earth or other planets.
Glaciers A period that was 245 million to 65 million years ago.
Fossil fuels
Very young children. In other words, babies.
A natural fuel such as coal or gas that people burn to run cars.
Cited Sources WEB PAGES "News." The Gassy Dinosaur Effect. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2014. "News." The President's Climate Plan. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2014. "Britannica School." Britannica School. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2014. "Health." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2014. "Global Warming." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.
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About the Author Hi, my name is Maggie and I am the author of this book. I live in Shanghai, China with my mom, dad, and little brother. My hobbies are dancing, reading, art, and playing piano.
In my free times, I like to hang out with me friends, Rita, Kate and Jennifer. I like to tease and joke with them. Global warming is a really fun thing to learn about, especially when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s already affecting you. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all you really need to know about me, so thanks for reading!
So, from today on, close ! TV, close ! lights, and go "tside! Enjoy ! fresh air $at we have now! Try planting a tree somewhere near so ! people ar"nd y" c"ld brea$ more fresh air. Lets all do a li&le to help 'op global warming.
Global Warming