envian

The Greenhouse Effect is when the Earth is heated from the sun’s energy, which gets trapped in the atmosphere. First, the Sun gives off energy. A small bit bounces off our atmosphere and back into space, but the rest enters our atmosphere. It is absorbed by the Earth, and is given back off again. Some of it leaves our atmosphere, but the rest is absorbed by the atmosphere and given back off again. It is then absorbed by the Earth again, and the cycle repeats. The Greenhouse Effect is necessary for our survival because it keeps the Earth warm. If there was no Greenhouse Effect, then the nights and winters would be freezing cold. In the night, the Sun’s energy doesn’t come to Earth, so all of the heat would just leave.



Global Warming is the Greenhouse Effect keeping in too much heat. When there are too many energy absorbent gases in the atmosphere, there is too much heat trapped and the Earth heats up too much. The most energy absorbent gases are Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide. Even though they make up only about 1% of the atmosphere, they absorb a lot of energy. Now, there is more and more of these greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere every day. They come from things like burning fossil fuels from cars and methane given off by cows. When the Earth’s temperature rises, even by a few degrees, many bad things can happen. Ice in the ocean will melt, causing rising sea levels that can submerge islands and costal areas. The summers will be hotter and the winters will be warmer and shorter. If it gets completely out of control, our whole planet could be scorching hot and the air could become poisoned. The warming not only affects people, but it also affects plants and animals, too. When the sea rises, it wipes out whole ecosystems.

Cars and other gas-powered vehicles are a huge contributor to Global Warming. They burn fossil fuels, which produce gases like Carbon Dioxide. This is a gas that traps more heat in the atmosphere, so the more of it there is, the hotter our planet is. Also, cows give off a lot of methane. Methane traps heat like Carbon Dioxide, but it traps a lot more. There are billions of cows in the world, so there is a lot of methane getting into the atmosphere every day.

Global Warming impacts us because it reduces coastlines. Any low-lying areas of land are at risk of being submerged if the sea level rises too much. Many islands and coastal areas will be submerged if the ocean rises just a few inches, and we live near the coast. Other things that could impact us are that hurricanes would increase. When the temperature rises, more hurricanes happen, and hurricanes happen near the coast. Since we are along the coast, we could have just as much hurricanes as Florida does now if we let Global Warming get out of control.

One way you can reduce your Greenhouse Gas emissions is to by a Hybrid or Prius. You probably drive a car that gets maybe 20 or 25 miles to the gallon. This is okay, but the Prius gets 48 miles to the gallon. Some normal cars like the new Explorer get only 14 miles to the gallon. The new Pilot gets only 16 miles to the gallon. If you people with cars that get low mileage get a Hybrid or Prius, you reduce your cost and impact on the environment by about two thirds. Not only are the Hybrid and Prius fuel-efficient, but they are cool looking and much quieter. It is important to use as little fuel as possible because it not only ruins the environment, but it is not a renewable resource, and we will run out within a few decades. There are over 600 million cars in the world, and they give off an average of about 16,800 pounds of Carbon Dioxide per year. So each year, about 10,080,000,000,000 pounds of Carbon Dioxide are given off into the atmosphere. Gas takes thousands of years to form, and at the rate we are drilling it out of the Earth, it will probably be gone within 60 years. This means that eventually, we will //need// electric cars, or at least cars that use extremely little gas. Plus, if all the gas is gone, then we won’t be able to heat our houses in the winter.

New Prius

Chevy Silverado Hybrid 1500… looks normal

Karma Luxury Hybrid

No clue… but it looks sick

Cadillac Escalade Hybrid



Hybrid Sports Car