The Greenhouse Effect

The Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect occurs when gases such as methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and CFCs trap heat in the atmosphere by acting as a pane of glass in a car. The glass lets the sun light in to make heat but when the heat tries to get out the gases absorb the heat. Holding this heat in causes heat waves, droughts and climate changes which could alter our way of living.

The main gases that cause the greenhouse effect are water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane, which comes mainly from animal manure. Other gases like nitrogen oxide and man made gases called chlorofluorocarbons get caught in the atmosphere as well. The decay of animals and respiration are two main but natural sources of carbon dioxide.

There are many steps we can take to slow down the emissions of greenhouse gases. There are already so many gasses in the atmosphere, and we may not be able to correct the damage done, but we can't prevent further damage.

Over the last 100 years the global temperatures have been increasing slowly but steadily. Since 1980 the temperature has risen 0.2 degrees C (0.4 degrees F) each decade. Scientists predict that if we continue putting the same amount of gas into the atmosphere by the year 2030 the temperature will be rising as much as 0.5 degrees C (0.9 degrees F) or more per decade. Over all the global temperature could rise anywhere from 5 to 9 degrees over the next fifty years.

If the temperatures do rise as predicted several things could happen. The increases of temperature could alter the growth of crops in areas near the equator due to insufficient rain and heat. This could really hurt countries that rely on imported food. With the high temperatures the polar ice caps could melt and cause the sea water level to go up 1 to 3 feet. This increase could take out small islands, coastal cities and some shallow rivers. The Everglades in Florida would be almost if not totally wiped right off the map. The Everglades is the home for many animals and plant life. If it did get flooded, they would all have to move northward across very dry land which they will not be able to endure for very long. When the hot temperatures do spread southward and northward, tropical disease will spread with it. Disease that were down in Mexico will maybe occur in the

Carolinas or eventually Vermont. These new diseases will be hard to deal with causing many more deaths and illnesses than before. The financial problem with this is, that the flooding will cause dams to be built and cities to be reconstructed. The shortage of food will cause the price of the food to go up and with all the diseases we will need more medical supplies and workers. All of this combined could and will cost a lot of money if we don't do something about it now.

The computer models cannot predict exactly what the climate is going to be in the future, but they can come close to what it will be like down the road. Scientists proved this by predicting with computers what the climate was in the past. Then by looking back in records, they found that the predictions were close to being right.

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