Cause

The Earth's axis is an imaginary line that runs
between the South and North poles. As it revolves
around the Sun, the Earth spins or rotates on it’s
axis. The period of one complete rotation is referred
to as a day and takes 23 hr 56 min 4.1 sec. The
period of one revolution around the Sun is referred
to as year, or 365.2422 solar days, or 365 days
5 hr 48 min 46 sec.

Q - What is the Atmosphere?

A - The Earth is wrapped in a thin blanket of air,
which extends upward from the surface slowly
thinning out into space. These several layers of gases
are called the atmosphere.

Q - What is the Green House Effect?

A - The greenhouse effect is naturally occurring and essential to Earth’s climate. The sun’s energy enters the atmosphere in the form of light waves and heats up the Earth. After warming the Earth this energy bounces off the surface in the form of infrared waves. The gases in the atmosphere naturally trap a portion of these outgoing infrared rays while others travel through the atmosphere into outer space. For thousands of years the Earth and the Sun have been in perfect Balance creating an average temperature on Earth of 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius). Without our greenhouses gasses our average temperature would be about 0 degrees Fahrenheit (or minus 18 degrees Celsius). BRRRR

Now we’re ready
Q-What is Global Warming?

A - Carbon dioxide caused by human activity and other greenhouse gases have added AND continue to add to the Earth’s atmosphere making it thicker. In this thicker state the atmosphere traps a lot of the infrared radiation. It is no longer able to easily escape the atmosphere and continue into outer space. As a result, the temperature on the Earth
is getting warmer, hence the name Global Warming.

Q- So Why Does That Matter?

A - One result of Global Warming is climate change or Wacky Weather. As the oceans get warmer storms get stronger. The Earth may experience more hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones and tornadoes. People will notice unseasonably cold or warm weather. This may include droughts, fires or flooding. As the climate changes, some plants and animals could become extinct.

Back On Earth

What Can We Do? Thanks for asking. The Answer is the exciting you can be a hero for THIS planet Starting Right Now -- Right This Minute. Each time you turn on a light, make microwave popcorn, listen to music or watch TV you are using electricity. At that moment imagine a puff of carbon dioxide rising into the atmosphere. Each time a person starts their car, mows their lawn or fires up a snow blower, that gas powered engine is puffing out carbon dioxide adding to the atmosphere.

The answer is Use Less Energy. It’s easy. Turn things off when you aren’t using them. Walk or ride your bike whenever you can. Unplug your video games when you’re not playing with them. Recycle whatever and whenever you can. Be more aware of what you’re doing; use less energy. In America heating, cooling and using electricity in our homes accounts for as much as 21 percent of global warming pollution. Driving cars and trucks also adds a significant amount of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. If we each choose to make some easy and inexpensive changes, Americans can cut these numbers significantly.

Here is a good example! A simple change is to exchange regular incandescent light bulbs for Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFLs). These new light bulbs use a fraction of the amount of energy to do the same job, saving on both electricity and money. To help reduce as much pollution as removing 3.5 million cars off the road, every household in the U.S. needs to replace just three 60-watt incandescent light bulbs with CFLs!”

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