What is global warming?

Different places on the Earth have different temperatures -- for example, the Saharan Desert in Africa is much warmer than a ski resort in Colorado! However, the typical, average temperatures on Earth have been slowly getting warmer over time, and this is what we call global warming.

It’s possible that global warming is happening naturally; throughout the billions of years of Earth’s history, temperatures and climate have undergone slow, natural changes. However, because our planet’s temperature is now increasing much faster than ever before, leading science indicates that the problems we now face related to global warming are being caused by human activities that are releasing more greenhouse gases.

Greenhouse gases are gasses that naturally keep some of the sun’s heat close to our planet instead of letting them back out into space. Having some greenhouse gases actually makes our planet livable, however, the problem has been that in recent years most scientists believe that industrial and agricultural practices like fuel use, cutting down trees, and factory production have caused us to release a lot more greenhouse gases than our planet is used to having! This is causing the greenhouse effect: Too much of the sun’s heat is being trapped and it’s giving us warmer temperatures, or, global warming. 

Even if warmer temps sometimes sound like a good idea, there are many ways that sudden and drastic changes in our climate have been and will continue to negatively affect our planet, from melting glaciers to rising sea levels and more. These changes affect plants, animals, and people by changing the inhabitability of some areas and endangering the lives of certain species. This is why it’s so important to “go green”: Reduce, reuse, and recycle to cut back on your emissions!

If we use less and create less waste it will reduce the number of factories and machines we need, which means there can be fewer harmful gasses that lead to global warming. 

Some easy ways to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions include carpooling (or walking if it’s close enough!), planting trees, using sunlight instead of electric lights whenever possible, and recycling everything you can!

What are some other good examples you can think of??