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
What Is a Carbon Footprint You may have heard carbon footprints mentioned in the media What exactly does this term mean A carbon footprint is a measurement of the amount of greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere by the activities of a person or group of people Greenhouse gases contribute to the greenhouse effect and the warming of Earth To calculate your own carbon footprint you add up the emissions of all the lifestyle choices you make Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas but others such as methane and nitrous oxide are also included in carbon footprints A carbon footprint is often expressed in kilograms or metric tons with the unit Co e which is short for carbon dioxide equivalent It is a measure of the amount of Co that would have the equivalent global warming impact Take something as simple as buying a book The factory that printed the book will have emitted greenhouse gases while making it More gases were emitted by the truck that carried the book to the store where you bought it Did you go by car to the bookstore or did a delivery van bring the book to your house Both trips create more emissions Even an activity as simple as sending a text message contributes to your carbon footprint Electricity is used to send the
What about the author who used electricity to power the computer as he or she wrote the book A fraction of those emissions can be assigned to every copy that is sold Inexact science As you can see from this example calculating an exact carbon footprint is difficult You can find many carbon calculators online that ask questions about things like energy use in your home and your travel habits They can give you an approximate idea of what your carbon footprint is but it will just be an estimate The more detail taken into account the more accurate an estimate is likely to be Every product you use had to be made Manufacturing products always causes some CO emissions R E WI N D Today the world's CO2 emissions are 150 times higher than they were in 1850 This is partly because the world's population is so much larger However it is also due to industrialization Factories pump CO2 into the air when producing consumer goods Our lifestyles have also changed and we take for granted things such as car and air travel The world's population will only continue to increase What sort of lifestyle changes do you think are needed to stop climate change Explain your
