Contents 10 Greenhouse Earth What Is a Carbon Footprint Where Gases Come From Getting the Full Picture Around the World Carbon Offsets How Low Can We Go Green Transportation A Low Carbon Home 12 14 16 18 20 Shopping 22 Communication 24 26 Maximum Impact Power Up 28 Glossary 30 Learning more Index 32 NRTHE 1990
Greenhouse Earth A layer of gases called the atmosphere surrounds our planet These gases protect Earth by burning up space rocks before they hit the planet and filtering out harmful radiation They also keep Earth's temperature warm and constant Without the atmosphere it would be too cold for life to exist on Earth Earth s atmosphere is made up of about 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen The oxygen in the atmosphere is what allows us to breathe The remaining one percent is made up of the gases argon carbon dioxide and water vapor as well as tiny amounts of other gases Although carbon dioxide CO2 makes up only about 0 03 percent of the atmosphere it plays an important role Plants need carbon dioxide in order to make their food Carbon dioxide as well as other gases such as methane also trap the Sun s heat inside Earth's atmosphere When radiation from the Sun reaches Earth's surface some of it bounces back Some radiation will pass harmlessly through the atmosphere However if radiation hits molecules of Coz the I molecules will absorb the heat energy and trap it in the atmosphere Violent storms such as Hurricane Sandy could become more frequent as a result of rising temperatures In other areas droughts will become common more
Top 10 Carbon producing Countries 2011 Too Hot 2500000 Saudi Arabia Indonesia 2000000 Iran South Korea Germany 1500000 Japan Russia 1000000 India Too much coy in the atmosphere traps more heat and causes Earth's average temperature to rise This is called the greenhouse effect Records show that Earth's temperature has risen slowly but steadily over the last century and even more quickly in recent years Even small temperature rises can have a large effect They can create droughts They can also bring heavy storms and disrupt ocean currents which affects climate Warmer temperatures also cause the polar ice caps to melt which raises sea levels The rising sea levels could cause coastal cities to flood All of these changes to the usual pattern of weather are known collectively as global climate change United States China 500000 Many of the biggest carbon producing countries have huge populations This graph shows how many metric tons of carbon each country produces FAST FORWARD Rising sea levels could be a real problem for many low lying nations Scientists estimate that if climate change continues at the same pace land on which 100 million people currently live will be underwater within a century Do you think that people would take more decisive action against climate change if their own homes were at risk Give reasons for your
