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The Cause And Effects Of Global Warming

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Scientists around the world have been researching climate change since the 1970’s. One thing most agree on is that the temperature of Earth is rising at a rapid pace and that global warming has been caused mostly by human activity. Our atmosphere contains gases that act as a blanket, because it traps heat from the sun and prevents it from escaping back into space. The trapping of the sun’s heat by these gases is known as the greenhouse effect, and the gases are called greenhouse gases. The main greenhouse gases that occur in nature are carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Without the greenhouse effect, earth would be too cold to support life. Over time, the amount of greenhouse gases trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere has increased significantly, causing worldwide temperatures to rise. Much of this increase is due to natural occurrences, such as gradual shifts in the Earth’s axis and volcanic activity. Over the last century, the rate of global warming has accelerated, with a worldwide temperature increase of 1.3°F. Some scientists have even predicted that temperatures will increase 0.5°F or more every 10 years, which is rough. There was a period where scientists did a see a slowdown through 2000-2010 but there was a problem. The problem was greenhouse gas emissions rose during this decade and they expected temperatures to have a steeper increase but they did not. Some theorized that the oceans absorbed some of the Earth’s heat, which kept the Earth’s surface cooler.

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