The fact that we are already here, participing to this
2007 Seo World Championship, shows that we know how serious the issue of
global warming is to our futures.
Here is some basic information on what
global warming means, and how we can help to stop the process.
Do scientists agree about global warming?
Scientists who study the climate are still arguing about how fast the earth is warming and how much it will warm, but they do agree that the earth is warming and that it will keep warming if we don’t do anything about it.
What is causing global warming?
Scientists agree that the burning of fossil fuels like oil and coal cause greenhouse gases to escape into the air and that these gases are causing most of the warming.
Another cause is deforestation. Trees soak up carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases, from the air.
What is the difference between "global warming" and "climate change?"
"
Global warming" refers to the increase of the Earth's average surface temperature, due to a build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. "Climate change" is a broader term that refers to long-term changes in climate, including average temperature and precipitation.
What will happen if global warming continues?
There are already some changes happening because of global warming.
Sea level is rising and some animals are already moving to new homes.
It’s already too late to stop
global warming completely.
If the warming gets worse, as scientists expect, there may be some kinds of plants and animals that become extinct (disappear completely) because they can’t move to new homes. There may be more storms and floods.
Sea level may rise so much that people have to move away from the coasts. Some areas may become too dry for farming.
What is being done about global warming?
Global warming is a very difficult problem to fix. People are having a hard time agreeing on what to do about it.
For example, everyone agrees that wasting energy is a bad thing to do. But some people think that their government should make laws about it, while other people think it should be up to each person or business to decide what to do.
Many countries and businesses in the world are not waiting until their government decides what to do. They have already started working on the problem.
What can I do about global warming?
We don’t have to wait until our kids are grown to do something about
global warming. Scientists agree that the burning of fossil fuels is causing global warming. Since these fuels are burned for energy, and everyone uses energy, everyone can help stop
global warming just by using less energy.
Think about the things we do each day that use energy. The lights in our house use electricity. The TV and computer use electricity. The washing machine, dishwasher and dryer all use gas or electricity. Every time we ride in our car, it uses gasoline.
There are some very simple things that everyone can do to help stop global warming:
- Turn off the lights when we leave a room. Use fluorescent bulbs in our room.
- Turn off our computer or the TV when you’re not using it. Unplug chargers when not in use.
- Wait until we have a lot of clothes to wash before using the washing machine. Don’t use the machine for one item just because it’s our favorite shirt.
- Take shorter showers. Heating water uses energy.
- Close the blinds on a hot day if the sun is shining in.
- Dress more lightly instead of asking for the air conditioning to be turned up, or use a fan.
- Dress more warmly when it’s cold, instead of asking for the heat to be turned up.
- Offer to help our parents keep the air filters on our AC and furnace clean.
- Walk short distances instead of asking for a ride in a car.
- Plant a tree.
Learn more about global warming so we can talk to people about it.