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= __Saving Our Earth: One Step At A Time__ =

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT:


The greenhouse effect uses the natural gases on the earth for trapping some of the sun’s heat so life can be sustained. The earth’s atmosphere is made of many layers, which are contained of 55% water vapor, 7% clouds, and 28% of other gases. Solar energy is passed through the atmosphere to heat the earth. The solar energy is absorbed by the water and earth to heat it. Some of the energy is reflected off the earth, but the energy absorbed by the atmosphere keeps the earth warm enough for life at night when the sun goes down. Without this warmth, earth's temperature would go down 60 degrees, and plants couldn't grow in the winter. Life needs the greenhouse effect.

**GLOBAL WARMING: THE BIG PICTURE:**

Global warming is the use of man-made gases that increase the heat on earth. Gases of carbon dioxide and methane go into the atmosphere and make more solar energy absorbed into the earth’s atmosphere. This is not good because the earth will eventually become way too hot for life to live. We must start acting now to stop global warming.


 * GLOBAL WARMING: CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: **



=== The three main man made green house gases are 72% carbon dioxide, 18% methane, and 9% nitrous oxide. As seen on the diagram above, these gases are formed by people. Power stations burn fossil fuels to make energy and provide the atmosphere with a 29.5% of the harmful amount of carbon dioxide. Contributors are cars, electricity, and farm’s machines. Look at the circle graph and think of how many of these you contribute to in your daily life. How much are you harming our earth? If you want to know precisely, take this quiz: [|Quiz]===

** GLOBAL WARMING: LOCAL EFFECTS: **


===Atmosphere changes: Man-made green house gases have gone into the atmosphere. Methane levels are 148% above pre-industrial levels, nitrous oxide levels have increased 18% in the past 200 years, and carbon dioxide levels have reached a 36% increase. Temperature changes: Atmosphere changes make the earth increase its temperatures every year in the troposphere, surface, and atmosphere. Global warming has heated 1.0-1.7 degrees Fahrenheit since 1850. Some effects of temperature are:=== **Weather changes: Global warming has increased the amount of water vapor being evaporated into the clouds. Since the 1970’s, there has been an increase in participation levels; there is risks of floods. Also, many storms have occurred from global warming. More hurricanes occur as ocean temperatures rise by the heating of global warming. Sea level changes: Sea levels are rising around the world from global warming heating the ice bergs in the poles. They melt, and then have raised the sea levels about 4.8-8.8 inches.** **In Boston, over time, the sea level could rise high enough that it would affect human life by killing plants and drowning homes.** 1. Christmas trees will be gone because the Pine Bark Beetle feeds off of them when it is not cold. But, global warming is making the earth warmer, which may eventually extinct Christmas trees. 2. Skiing competitions will be closed because the winter snow is being melted by the sun. 3. Snorkeling is hard to do these days because methane from power houses is polluting the water. 4. Say goodbye to lobster! The once chilly waters of New England are now too warm for some lobsters to live. 5. Penguins are becoming extinct because the higher waters make it harder for them to find food. Don’t you want your kids to see animals in the zoo? ** __ **Can global warming harm you? YES ** __ **1. 150, 000 people have been killed so far from the climate change. 2. The increase in heat in some areas has caused people to have heat strokes. 3. Warm temperatures are making the heart work too hard, which causes heart attacks. 4. Malaria is spreading because of the warming. It has spread through Africa, Europe, South America, and Russia. **
 * **Since the mid 1970s, the average surface temperature has warmed about 1°F.**
 * **The Earth’s surface is currently warming at a rate of about 0.32ºF/decade or 3.2°F/century.**
 * **The warming trend is seen in both daily maximum and minimum temperatures, with minimum temperatures increasing at a faster rate than maximum temperatures. Land areas have tended to warm faster than ocean areas and the winter months have warmed faster than summer months.**
 * **Widespread reductions in the number of days below freezing occurred during the later half of the 20th century in the United States as well as most land areas of the Northern Hemisphere and areas of the Southern Hemisphere.**
 * **Average temperatures in the Arctic have increased at almost twice the global rate in the past 100 years.**
 * What will we lose?


 * WHAT YOU CAN DO DIFFERENTLY: **

Use Cleaner Forms of Energy ** People use energy everyday, and it would be almost impossible to just stop using it. But, you can change the sources you get your energy from. Instead of letting power plants burn fossil fuels to make carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, try a different approach. Based on where you live, how much you’re willing to spend, and how much you want to save in the future, I challenge you to pick one of these three great ways to start the ending of global warming. **

__ **Use Water Turbines If: ** __**You Live Near Water or Near the Coasts ** = There are millions of gallons of water on the earth. So, why not use its movement and waves for energy? The water turbine goes in the water and if there is a lot of kinetic energy there, in forms of waves, it will turn. This turning will trap the energy it’s producing and save it for any forms of energy it can help with later. One hydroelectric dam used water turbines and never had to pay an electricity bill for their large house and paper factory. =

====** Why will this help? **Every time you turn on the lights or watch TV, the energy you used is provided by power stations. But, these stations make energy by burning fossil fuels; when they burn they make carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming. But, using water turbines doesn’t burn anything or make harmful gases. It’s using clean energy from water movements, which there is a lot of. ====

Cost for one water turbine: about $10,000, but, you’d pay it off in less than 2 years. Money you will save: Depending on how much you pay for electricity each month, you will save all of that if you have an effective wind turbine providing your energy. So, if your bill was $500, you wouldn’t have to pay it at all!


 * __Use Solar Panels If: You Live Somewhere With A Good Amount Of Sunlight__ **



Why will this help? ** **As said before, it is more efficient to use solar panels because they don’t harm the environment. They use energy that doesn’t have to be made by making gasses, so we don’t have to worry about global warming. Imagine the lives you could save from this.
 * Solar panels take energy from the sun’s renewable energy and trap it for later use or it is used it right away. Solar panels covering 2 square miles can power 160,000 homes when sun is shining on them. They heat the sun’s energy, which goes in its coils and create electricity by conducting silicon.

Cost for one solar panel: about 1,500 Money you will save: The average person in Florida saves $300-$400. In a study, you can save 41,296 if you use a 3kW solar panel system.**

__<span style="display: block; font-weight: normal; font-size: 26pt; color: #993366; font-family: Broadway; text-align: center; msobidifontfamily: Arial; msobidifontweight: bold;">**Use Wind Turbines If:** __**<span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 16pt; color: #cc99ff; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">You Live Somewhere Windy or Near Coasts ** ====**Wind turbines work by them spinning with the wind. When the blades spin from the wind, that energy goes in a generator, which is inside the turbine. This energy is then stored for using it in homes, factories, etc.**====

**They are a cleaner way for the energy used in your home. Instead of getting energy by burning fossil fuels, you’d get it from natural wind that we have so much of. Imagine how much energy and lives we would save using natural energy approaches. Cost for one wind turbine: about $35,000, but you will save 20% on your bill every month. Money you will save: With the amount you spend for energy, generally speaking, wind turbines will save you about 20% of your total. If your bill is $500/month, you will save $100. So, in 50 years you would save $60,000.**
 * Why will this help? **

A SUMMARY: ** ==== To sum up, the greenhouse effect is the use of natural gases like water vapor that trap some of the sun’s energy so life can be sustained on Earth and so it’s not too cold at night. Global warming is the use of man made gases like methane that contribute to global warming too much. These gases, formed by power plants, cars, etc., go into the air and trap more of the sun’s solar energy. This is causing many different effects on earth. Sea levels are rising from the glaciers melting, temperatures are rising drastically, and animals are becoming extinct. The greenhouse effect is good, but global warming is bad. So, you can use solar panels, wind turbines, or water turbines to end global warming. These will use natural energy for us, instead of burning fossil fuels, which contribute to global warming. It’s your future to save. ====

** __BIBLIOGRAPHY:__ ** __PICTURES:__ __ Brandon "Global Warming: Bunch of Gas or is the Heat On?" __The Afterburn __April 24 Date viewed 5/29 <URL> [|http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://staffwww.fullcoll.edu/tmorris/an_inconvenient_truth/greenhouse_effect.jpg&imgrefurl=http://afterburnenergy.blogspot.com/2008/02/global-warming-bunch-of-gas-or-is-heat_14.html&usg=__C8N4yZkTwxe8DLmqL2Lejyn_V7M=&h=335&w=500&sz=6 5&hl=en&start=17&tbnid=eqqS3fmCYmFylM:&tbnh=87&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgreenhouse%2Beffect%2Bdiagram%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den] __

__"Climate Change"__ Kirklees __July 2008 Date viewed 6/1 <URL> [|http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/community/environment/green/images/Global- Warming.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/community/environment/green/climatechange.shtml&usg=__P X9t0FPgMRDhCC6xA55z01fCtjg=&h=240&w=240&sz=12&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=0GH_Xm_G-GK5mM:&tbnh=110&tbnw =110&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dglobal%2Bwarming%2Bdiagram%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den] __

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__"Conference Introduction"__ National Clean Energy Conference __2008 Date viewed 6/2 <URL> [|http://images.google.com/imgres?i mgurl=http://icleanenergy.org/images714/alternative-energy.jpg&imgrefurl=http://icleanenergy.org/&usg=__ hnRIRliz56X0pibhBURQ78cdMrY=&h=303&w= 380&sz=63&hl=en&start=86&tbnid=Zz2n43d_APO2UM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=123&prev=/images%3Fq%3 Dclean%2Benergy%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D80] __ Charles Nicholas Breeden "Water Power" Alternative Energy Sources 2009 Date viewed 6/2 <URL> [|http: //images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://musclecar-crazy.com/underwater-ocean-turbine_69.jpg&imgrefurl=http://musclecar-crazy.com/water%2520pwoer.html&usg=__Jj2hDQmK76aagrPs8n _hS-QfQps=&h=267&w=300&sz=60&hl=en&start=26&tbnid=jVeFNVdb_0yhdM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=116&p rev=/images%3Fq%3Dwater%2Bturbine%2Bin%2Bocean%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D18] __"Late Lite Solar Panles."__ Boat Owner’s World __June 23, 2008 Date viewed 6/2 <URL> [|http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.boatownersworld.com/lake_lite/images/solar-panels-sun.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.boatownersworld.com/lake_lite/solar_panels.htm&usg=__bK2LbGNlkXHuzmsTWk_pgsRHal0=&h=500&w=328&sz=80&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=t2nFDUIVmL-pzM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=85&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsolar%2Bpanels%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den] __

__WEBSITES:__

__ "Recent Climate Change" __Climate Change-Science __December 20, 2007 Date viewed 6/3__ <URL> [|http://epa.gov/climatechange/science/recentcc.html]

__"Campus"__ National Wild Life __Date of Publication 2009 Date viewed 6/3__ <URL> [|http://www.nwf.org/campusecology/]

__John Neur "Top 100 Effects of Global Warming."__ Center for American Progress __Sep. 24, 2007 Date viewed 6/3 <URL> [|http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/09/climate_100.html] __

__John Ashbury "How much money can wind power save me?."__ Try Simple 2009 __Date viewed 6/3 <URL> [|http://trysimpleliving.com/how-much-money-can-wind-power-save-me/.php] __

__“Using water to make your own electricity”__ Discover Renewable Energy __2008 Date viewed 6/3 <URL>__ [|http://74.125.45.132/search?q=cache:Cf2Hdz1BpfAJ:www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/content/download/10152/37038/file/Hydroelectri city.pdf+how+much+money+will+you+save+using+water+turbines&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us] __“Household Emissions Calculator”__ Climate Change __Date viewed 6/3 <URL>__ [|http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html] __“How Wind Turbines Work”__ Technology__ 11/30/2006 Date viewed 6/3 <URL> [|http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/wind_how.html]