Global+Warming-+Ali+&+Ashley

​ = = = = = = == By Ashley LeSage and Ali Phillips The problem is that our earth is becoming more like a greenhouse, meaning that it lets sun in, but the bad thing is that all the gases are having a hard time getting out of the atmosphere. This is a fine enviroment for a greenhouse since the main point of a greenhouse is to keep plants in a warmer atmosphere, but these conditions for the whole world we don't want. The gas that creates the most problems with this is CO2. This gas may be a good thing for our enviroment, but not in the abundance we have of it now. Green plants alone use up 100 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year, so it's needed for plants, but there isn't any need for the extra. All that is happening with the extra is it's getting trapped in our atmosphere. With global warming we are having increased temperatures in air and water making the ice and snow melt. All this melting is creating a significant rise in sea levels. During just the 20th century the sea level rose up 17 centimeters and the temperature raised up to .74 degrees C.
 * Problems**



=Types of Air Pollution= There are four different types of air pollution. They include carbon-based gases, sulfur-basd gases, ozone and nitrogen-based gases. One of these gases is carbon dioxide or CO2. This gas is found naturally in the air but there has been an increasing amount that has been found in the air. This has been caused by an increased amount people burning fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gases. The increased amount of carbon dioxide in the air has caused a upset in the balance of the temperature of the earth. Carbon monoxide or CO is another gas that causes air pollution. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. It enters the air after the incompete combustion of fossil fuels occurs. This gas can be deadly when it is breathed in by any animal. The carbon monoxide binds with hemoglobin in the place where oxygen would normally. This starves the brain so oxygen so death can occur in a matter of minutes. A sulfur-based gas that contributes to air pollution is sulfur dioxide or SO2. When in the air it combines with water to form sulfurous acid, H2SO3. This gas is a major component of acid rain. Sulfur dioxide comes from the decompositon of organic materials in swamps and volcanoes. While often thought out as beeing only beneficial to the environment ozone is also an air pollutant. In fact it is one is the most major gases that causes pollution. Ozone is a form of oxygen and is a harsh irritant to the lungs and those with lung conditions it can be particularly damaging. But if the ozone is in the stratosphere it filters out the sun's harmful rays. == = = ==

**Greenhouse Gases** These greenhouse gases include methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and the one we have the most of carbon dioxide. Normally there is a natural balence between energy going into the earth and energy going out. The natural cycle starts with some of the ultraviolet from the sun coming into the earth and warming it, then when the earth cools it emits infrared radiation. Some of this infrared radiation is absorbed by the greenhouse gases instead of leaving the earth and going out of the atmosphere like its suppose to. These gases trap in heat in our atmosphere making the earths climate to increase. The abundance of these gases leave only one thing to blame, us. Human beings are the ones that create all the greenhouse gases that make our chances of a full out global warming on earth.



=Acid Rain= Rain water is naturally acid because as it falls through the air it combines with carbon dioxide to form carbonic acid or H2CO3. As most pollutants enter the air the more acidic rain becomes. One he pH scale normal rain is classified as having a pH of 5.6 to 6.6 and acid rain has a pH of 3.9 to 4.6. Once acid rain falls onto the soil it becomes part of the hydrologic cycle. The raindrops that fall percolate through the soil and absorb metals because of its acidity. The acidic water is then carried to lakes and gound water pools. The acid water in lakes greatly effects the balance of organisms living there. Fish and plankton are killed by the acid water while only a few insects such as the boatman beetle can exist in a acidic lake.



We are already having global warming now, and have been since the 20th century. The temperature is expected to go up approximentaly 0.2 degrees C over the upcoming two decades. The sea level is expected to rise up anywhere from 18 to 59 centimeters. Then as scientists predict what's going to happen in the next century they believe that the temperature will go up by at least 1.4 degrees C and may even go up to 5.8 degrees C. Then for the sea level they are predicting between 3.5"- 35" which could completely change all of our geography. With all this change because of global warming it is expected that we will have many extreme weather conditions in the future.
 * What's in store for the future?**

= = = = = = = = = = == = Sources = = =

"Causes of Global Warming | Global Warming." //Global Warming : Climate Change News, Facts, and Solutions//. Web. 04 June 2010. []

 * Bishop, Mark. "Greenhouse Gases." //Home - Faculty//. Web** . [].

"Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Climate Change | U.S. EPA." //US Environmental Protection Agency//. Web. 05 June 2010. [].

Gutnik, Martin J. //The Challenge of Clean Air//. Hillside, N.J., U.S.A.: Enslow, 1990. Print.

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