envipg

 Goin' Green to Change The World = THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT  = The greenhouse effect refers to the circumstances where the visible light from the sun pass through a medium and are absorbed then re-radiated back as longer infrared wave lengths unable to pass through the medium. In our planets case the suns visible light passes through our atmosphere and is then re-radiated back and becomes trapped in the atmosphere. The greenhouse gasses like Water Vapor, Carbon Dioxide, Methane and Nitrous Oxide are the culprits. These gasses trap the heat that is radiated from the earth causing our planet to heat up. This is good as it keeps the planet at a reasonable temperature during the night.

Global Warming: The BIG Picture
Global warming is basically the greenhouse effect on steroids. The greenhouse effect is actually good but there are too many greenhouse gasses that are trapping too much heat which in return causes are planet to heat up too much. As Humans we drive cars, use electricity and make products. All of those things generate green house gasses which go into our atmosphere. These gasses such as CO2, NO2, Methane and Water Vapor trap the heat that is re radiated from the earth. We are making to many greenhouse gasses and they are trapping to much heat. The earth is in trouble if we don’t stop it. This has many consequences including the rising of temperatures sea levels.

There are many contributing factors to global warming, the largest being transportation second largest being electricity and the third largest being Industry. You may not know but every day we contribute to global warming. Whether it be by using electronics in our houses or by driving our cars we are contributors. Though we don’t make a large difference we are a factor. As I said earlier industry is one of the biggest contributors as they need lots of electricity and fossil fuels to run. All of that electricity comes from a power plant that burns fossil fuel. Another big contributor that may be quite surprising is cows. One cow can produce from 100 to 500 liters of methane a day! Methane is 23 times more powerful than methane making the reduction of methane gas a large priority. The U.S. Food and Agriculture Organization says that agricultural ** methane ** output could increase by 60 percent by 2030 and currently we have about 1.5 billion cows and other grazing animals. Cars use fossil fuels thus they are contributors to global warming. Many things we don’t realize affect global warming.
 * GLOBAL WARMING: CONTRIBUTING FACTORS **

**GLOBAL WARMING: LOCAL EFFECTS** Global warming effects weather, oceans, ecosystems, polar ice, water availability, human health and economy. One big problem about getting the message of global warming out there is that most people think that they aren’t directly affected. The truth is global warming effects everybody. The price of vegetables and fruits will rise due to droughts. Temperatures will and are currently rising. Vector-Bourne diseases such as malaria will spread more easily. Conflict will arise over limited resources between nations. Lastly global warming will affect our economy but not all of the effects will be bad. The alternate energy market is already booming in terms of investment which is a good sign. We are already in an economic slump so it is only going to get worse as time goes on. You at home may not be able to enjoy many luxuries as the price of everything will go up. Global warming does in fact affect everybody on this planet and **YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE**!


 * WHAT YOU CAN DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE **
 * There are many things you yourself can do help lessen global warming. Not only you but going green can also a community effort. Energy efficient appliances are a great way to stop green house gas emissions. The less electricity we consume in our homes, schools and work places the less coal power plants need to burn. If power plants burn less coal their will be less green house gas emissions. LED lights consume less energy, generate more light, last longer and are smaller in size than traditional light bulbs. LED lights, though expensive, have the potential to help stop global warming. ** They consume from 0.15 to 0.40 watts - roughly one-twentieth that of an incandescent bulb so if we could use LED’s instead of traditional light bulbs we could use a tremendously less amount of electricity. You’ll also get a nice break on your electric bill too! If you ran a led light for 5 hours everyday it would last 20 years. You may be thinking that it is three times the price so how could I be saving money. The answer is that led lights last tremendously longer. So when you put it together you won’t be replacing lights every year which can add up to quite a bill. Another energy efficient appliance that can be bought is a fridge. Fridges more than a decade old can cost up to $100 more than a new energy star fridge. By switching to new appliances in our homes, works and schools we can save money and the planet!

** So now you know! Global warming is real and we are the cause. Every thing we do can contribute to the emissions of greenhouse gasses. But we can change that by going green. We can do things such as buy electric cars, use LED lights, recycle, use solar energy and many other things in order to stop global warming. Maybe it will be you who can change the world and save the future! **
 * A SUMMARY OF YOUR RESEARCH **

media type="youtube" key="snPdEl0Duoo" height="344" width="425"

“Methane-Cow” howstuffworks.com June 1, 2009 [] “The Effects of Global Warming” .alternate-energy-sources.com. 2008. June 1, 2009 [] “Global Warming” .howstuffworks.com. June 2, 2009. [] “The Green House Effect”. gsu.edu. June 2, 2009 [] “light-emitting diode” Wikipedia.org June 2, 2009. June 2, 2009. [] “Appliances” energystar.gov. June 2, 2009. [] “Benefits” 1hcdi.com June 4, 2009 []
 * BIBLIOGRAPHY **