The Greenhouse Effect

4 Pages 1085 Words

The greenhouse effect occurs when gases such as methane, carbon dioxide,
nitrogen oxide and CFCs trap heat in the atmosphere by acting as a pane of
glass in a car. ³The glass² lets the sun light in to make heat but when the
heat tries to get out the gases absorb the heat. Holding this heat in causes
heat waves, droughts and climate changes which could alter our way of
living.
The main gases that cause the greenhouse effect are water vapor, carbon
dioxide (CO2), and methane which comes mainly from animal manure.
Other gases like nitrogen oxide and man made gases called
chloroflurocarbons get caught in the atmosphere as well. The decay of
animals and respiration are two main but natural sources of carbon dioxide.
In my opinion we people of the whole world should try and slow down the
emmission of greenhouse gases and/or find ways to balance the gases so the
climate doesn't change so rapidly. If it did we would be forced to adapt to
the new climate that we brought upon our selves. If we had a international
cooperation to put a damper on the production of chloroflurocarbons and
slowed down the use of fossil fuels it would dramatically slow down the
process of "global warming."
Over the last 100 years the global temperatures have been increasing slowly
but steadily. Since 1980 the temperature has risen 0.2 degrees C (0.4 degrees F
) each decade. Scientists predict that if we continue putting the same
amount of gas into the atmosphere by the year 2030 the temperature will be
rising as much as 0.5 degrees C (0.9 degrees F ) or more per decade. Over all
the global temperature could rise anywhere from 5 to 9 degrees over the
next fifty years.
If the temperatures do rise as predicted several things could happen. The
increases of temperature could alter the growth of crops in areas near the
equator due to insufficient rain and heat. This could really hurt countries
that rely on imported foo...