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= T h e H o r r ib l e e f f e c t s o f G l o b a l W a r m i n g = = = = THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT = The Greenhouse Effect i**s** the heating of the E**a**rth’s at**m**osphere due to the gases such **a**s water vapor, carbo**n** dioxide, and me**t**hane. It **h**appens when the Sun’s r**a**ys hit the Earth. Once they hit the Earth, they bounce back into its atmosphere. But the water vapor, methane, and carbon dioxide trap the heat, which makes the Earth stay warm throughout the day and night. Without the Greenhouse Effect, the Earth’s average temperature would be 57 °F and the temperatures could go as low as -0.4 °F.



GLOBAL WARMING: THE BIG PICTURE
Global Warming is the increase in the Earth’s average temperature. There are three main gases that contribute to global warming. They are methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. According to scientists, the Earth’s average temperature has increased about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit from the mid- 1800’s. The cause of global warming is too many greenhouse gases are trapping too much heat, which makes the Earth hotter. This is bad because it can change the habitat of animals and cause more heat related deaths. Also, there would be more storms, droughts, fires, and floods. Also, the sea level would rise, which can cause some cities to be washed away.
 * GLOBAL WARMING: CONTRIBUTING FACTORS **

Some factors that contribute to global warming are the burning of fossil fuels (such as factories and power plants), deforestation, driving cars, and cows releasing gas. Burning fossil fuels are bad because they release carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming. Deforestation is bad because trees take in carbon dioxide, and turn it into oxygen. Without trees, the carbon dioxide doesn’t convert to oxygen, leaving more of it in our atmosphere. Driving cars also contribute to global warming because they, too, release carbon dioxide. Cows releasing gases are bad for the environment because they release methane, which also contributes to global warming.

One local effect for New England is that the water level will rise. This is bad because it eventually will wash out Boston. This is bad because so many people live there and they will have to move. Also, if the temperature rises to a high one, then New England will have more heat related deaths. The warmer temperatures attract more disease carrying insects as well, which can lead to more people getting diseases such as malaria, West Nile virus, and Lyme disease. Also, the water will get warmer, which means we will have more hurricanes. Hurricanes form in warm water, which means they could hit the East Coast in places other than Florida. The warmer weather also affects skiers. The snow will melt quicker, which makes it hard for people to ski. The warm water will change eating for people, too. Seafood like lobsters live in the chilly water, and can’t live well in warm water, which means that lobsters will become very rare and will eventually die out. Plastic water bottles are very bad for the environment. They are bad because factories use a lot of fossil fuels to make the bottles, which pollute the environment. In order to make all these bottles, manufacturers use 17 million barrels of crude oil. That’s enough oil to keep a million cars going for twelve months. If you filled a bottle up about one fourth of the way with oil, you would have the amount needed to produce that bottle. If we used reusable bottles, we’d be helping the Earth because the more plastic bottles you make, the more fossil fuels you’re burning. If you do drink water bottles, remember to always recycle them. If people don’t recycle the water bottles they use, they end up in landfills, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Plastic water bottles take hundreds of years to disintegrate, so they could stay there polluting the planet for a long time. Recycling one plastic bottle can save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for six hours. Instead of using plastic ones, you can use reusable water bottles. It costs $4.99 to buy a 24 pack of water bottles. It costs $8.50 to buy a reusable stainless steel water bottle. Suppose you buy a 24 pack every month. You’d be spending $59.88 every year. If you bought a reusable water bottle and used it all year, you’d be saving $51.38 every year! You can now spend that saved money on things like groceries. Hopefully, this will make you think about the water bottles you drink and how they affect the environment!
 * GLOBAL WARMING: LOCAL EFFECTS **
 * WHAT YOUR AUDIENCE CAN DO DIFFERENTLY: **

All in all, the Global Warming needs to come to an end. It is bad because it ruins the environment. The ice caps are melting, which means that the ocean is getting more water. All the extra water is making the sea level rise, and it will eventually destroy cities like Boston. This affects us because more people would be moving into smaller areas and it would get really crowded. Global Warming is horrible and people should really take part to slow it down.
 * A SUMMARY OF YOUR RESEARCH **

"Greenhouse Effect."__Wikipedia.__ May 27, 2009. June 1, 2009 [] Schneider, Stephen H. "Greenhouse effect." __World Book Online Reference Center__. 2009. [Place of access.] 1 June 2009 []
 * BIBLIOGRAPHY **

Mastrandrea, Michael D. "Global warming." __World Book Online Reference Center__. 2009. [Place of access.] 1 June 2009 []

"Gobal Warming."__factmonster.__ 2007. June 2, 2009  "Climate Change Effects."__New England__ __Climate.org.__ 2004 June 3, 2009 [] Taeryn and Kkch."Why is deforestation bad? ."__WikiAnswers.__ 2009. June 2, 2009 [|http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_deforestation_bad] The Top 100 Effects of Global Warming"."__American Progress__ 2007. June 3, 2009 [] Catherine Clarke Fox. "Drinking Water: Bottle or From the Tap?.”__Kids__.__National Geographic.__ February 14, 2008. June 4, 2009 []