envibs

=THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT = =   If it wasn’t for the Greenhouse Effect, we all would burn during the day, and freeze during the night. There is no way that we could exist without the Greenhouse Effect. The Greenhouse Effect is the different types of gasses in the atmosphere. The different greenhouse gasses consist of water vapor, CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide. These greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere create a type of dome around the earth. This protects us from harmful rays from the sun and from a lot of the heat. If we were exposed to all of the sun’s energy during the day, we would be fried. During the night, the greenhouse effect also helps us. We are not getting any direct sunlight from the sun during the night. The greenhouse gasses keep the heat that we have acquired during the day inside the earth’s atmosphere. It works as a dome to keep the heat in. Clearly, the Greenhouse Effect is completely necessary for our survival. = =    = ** GLOBAL WARMING: THE BIG PICTURE **  Global warming is becoming a big problem for our world. Humans are producing a lot more of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide so the greenhouse gasses are becoming more and more ubiquitous. This is a problem because the gasses are trapping too much heat from the sun. It keeps getting harder for the heat that we absorb from the sun to leave. This is gradually increasing the earth’s temperature. The arctic ice and glaciers will melt and the sea level will rise a few feet. This will heavily flood coastal countries and even submerge islands. This graph shows that the temperatures are increasing gradually.

There are many factors that contribute to global warming. They contribute to global warming because they produce greenhouse gasses. Most of the factors that contribute to global warming emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Electricity generation is one of the major contributors to greenhouse gasses. Every time a light is turned on or electricity is used, it can be traced back to a power plant. This power plant burns a lot of fossil fuels to generate this electricity. When a fossil fuel is burned, it creates CO2. Also, cars are a major producer of carbon dioxide. Gas is a fossil fuel. Millions of cars are burning gasoline each day and this produces a lot of CO2. Airplanes are responsible for some of global warming as well. They burn a lot of gasoline. Their percentage of carbon dioxide is expected to rise very high by 2050. Methane is another greenhouse gas. People add methane because farms have large supplies of cows. Cows produce a lot of methane when they burp.
 * GLOBAL WARMING: CONTRIBUTING FACTORS **

 **GLOBAL WARMING: LOCAL EFFECTS ** Global Warming can be very harmful to us. The glaciers will melt and the sea level could rise a couple feet. Boston would be mostly underwater. A lot of jobs would be lost. The ports would be destroyed and trading would harshly decline. Coastal states like Florida are at huge risk of being submerged under water due to rising sea levels. The springs would start earlier as well. In the winter, activities such as skiing and snowboarding would not be possible because we would not get enough snow.

**WHAT YOUR AUDIENCE CAN DO DIFFERENTLY ** You all, the citizens of Massachusetts are capable of making a huge difference. Everybody needs to get hybrid cars. As you have learned earlier, cars are a huge contributor of greenhouse gasses. An average car uses 600 gallons of gasoline each year. If gas costs $3.20 throughout the year, you then you spend $1920 each year on gas for only one car. Also an average car emits 12,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. Some hybrid cars get above 50mpg. The average car gets 17 mpg. This does include trucks but that is still a vey low number. Everybody could get a hybrid car and would save a lot of money on gasoline each year. Hybrid cars also usually cost much less money than large, normal cars. If we don’t use as much gasoline, less CO2 will be released into the environment. Hybrid cars release 90% less smog into the air so it is very good for the environment.

The Greenhouse Effect is a bunch of gasses in the atmosphere that keep us cool during the day and warm during the night. We are contributing to the gasses and this is trapping in more heat than we need to cause Global Warming. In the future, the sea level could rise a few feet and flood coastal countries like Florida which would be almost completely submerged under water. It everybody in the U.S got some of the best hybrid cars, they would save thousands of dollars on gasoline. They would also be a huge help to Global Warming.
 * A SUMMARY OF YOUR RESEARCH **

Greenhouse effect. (2009). //Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia//. Retrieved May 29, 2009, from Grolier Online [] "Global Warming: The Causes." __EcoBridge.__ June 2, 2009 [|http://www.ecobridge.org/content/g_cse.htm] "Cars By the Numbers." __Environmental Defense Fund.__ February 5, 2007. June 3, 2009 < []>
 * BIBLIOGRAPHY **

"Greenhouse Effect." __UNEP.__ 2008. June 4, 2009 

"Join the Climate Change Task Force." __El Cerrito__ __Democratic Club.__ June 4, 2009 

"Pics aplenty." __Auto Fans.__ Monday, August 25th, 2008. June 8, 2009 < http://www.autofans.us/2008/08/25/pics-aplenty-2009-honda-civic-hybrid/>