It may seem hard to believe that people can actually change the Earth’s climate. But scientists think that the things
people do that send greenhouse gases into the air are making our planet warmer.
Once, all climate
changes occurred
naturally. However, during the Industrial Revolution, we began altering our
climate and environment through agricultural and industrial practices.
The Industrial Revolution was a time when people began using machines to make life
easier. It started more than 200 years ago and changed the way humans live.
Before the Industrial Revolution, human
activity released very few gases into the atmosphere, but now through
population growth, fossil fuel burning, and
deforestation, we are affecting the mixture of gases in the atmosphere.
Since the Industrial Revolution, the need for energy to run machines has steadily increased. Some energy, like the energy you need to do your homework, comes from the food you eat. But other energy, like the energy that makes cars run and much of the energy used to light and heat our homes, comes from fuels like coal and oil – fossil fuels. Burning these fuels releases greenhouse gases.
When do you send Greenhouse Gases into
the air?
Whenever you ...
* Watch TV
* Use the air conditioner
* Turn on a light
* Use a hair dryer
* Ride in a car
* Play a video game
* Listen to a stereo
* Wash or dry clothes
* Use a dish washer
* Microwave a meal
... you are helping to send greenhouse gas into the air.
To perform many of these functions, you need to use electricity. Electricity comes from power plants. Most power plants use coal and oil to make electricity.
Burning coal and oil
produces greenhouse gases.
Other things we do send greenhouse gases into the air too; the trash that we send to landfills produces a greenhouse gas called methane.
Methane is also produced by the animals we raise for dairy and meat products and when we take coal out of the ground. Whenever we drive or ride in a car, we are adding greenhouse gases to the
atmosphere. And, when
factories make the things that we buy and use
everyday, they too are sending greenhouse gases into the air.
1. Plants remove carbon dioxide
from the air.
2. When plants died they were
buried in the earth.
3. After millions of years, their remains turned into coal and oil.
4. People mine the earth for coal and oil, which are called ‘fossil fuels’.
5. When people burn fossil fuels, they send carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases into the air.
Next: So what's the big deal? |
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