By Samantha Jackson Grade 8

What is the greenhouse effect?

The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature the Earth experiences because certain gasses trap the energy from the sun. These gasses include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane. Without these gasses the heat would escape back into space making Earth 18° C colder! Because of this we call them greenhouse gasses.

What are the two main greenhouse gases, where do they come from, and how are they affecting climate change?

The first main greenhouse gas is methane which comes from cows when they fart. The second is carbon dioxide which comes from volcanoes and the burning of fossil fuels like when we go in a car or for electricity. Carbon dioxide also comes from people and animals when they breathe.

What is the difference between climate and weather?

Weather is the temperature and state of the area over a short period of time. While climate is the behavior of the area over a longer period of time

What major differences are there between the lifestyles of your grandparents and your

lifestyle?

3 people around the age of 50 were interviewed and they all said when they were growing up global warming wasn’t an issue; in fact they didn’t even know what global warming was then. They said that there would be 3 times as much snow in the winter when they walked to school. And in the summer they would be swimming in the lake in about 20° C. Personally I don’t go into the cold lake unless it’s at least 28° C! Would you?

What is the Industrial Revolution and how has this impacted climate change and greenhouse

gases?The industrial revolution took place in Britain in the 19th century (1800.) There were lots of factories and people moved out of the countryside to go to the cities to work. At the beginning of the 19th century 1/5 of the population lived in London. By 1951 more than half of the population lived in London. Chimney and factory smoke often blocked out most of the light in the cities and sometimes there would be a blanket of dirt on the street. To power the factories coal was burnt. Because of all this burning, a lot more carbon dioxide was pumped into the atmosphere contributing to global warming a lot.

What is the connection between carbon dioxide and temperature?

There is a huge connection between carbon dioxide and the temperature. The more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more the climate will change. Below on the left is a picture of the world at a normal carbon dioxide level and on the right is now.

How has the carbon dioxide level changed over the last 400,000 years and what is the level

today?

The only other time the carbon dioxide levels were this high were 15 million years ago just before the ice age when there was no ice caps and there was no humans!

The carbon dioxide level has gone up and down but at least once every 100,000 years it took a drastic rise. The level today is at it’s highest ever point (in 400,000 years)!

What has happened to the forest over the last 400 years and what have we used the trees for?

The forests have been cut down. We have used the tree’s for houses, furniture, books, paper andmany more. What else have we used the trees for?

What effect does cutting down trees have on climate change?

With less trees less carbon dioxide is being taken out of the air and with the population constantly rising the world is getting warmer. So the ice caps are melting, there are more natural disasters, the water levels are rising. Can you think of any more? There was a

landslide in Goldau, Switzerland in 1805. It covered the whole town and now there is and animal park there.Hurricane Katrina.

Moscow Red Square, just a few weeks ago.

What are the consequences of climate change?A lot things are happening because of climate change. There are natural disasters like you saw on the other page. There are also the animals that have very special habitats like the animals that live in the Arctic. They will be forced to adapt and find new habitats or they will become extinct. This will also happen to a lot of other animals that live in other areas of the world. Also with the ice melting, the sea levels are rapidly rising. This means there will be less land for us to live on and with more people to come, were going to be very squished! Can you think of any more?

This picture shows what would happen to the Nile Delta if the sea level rose just 1.5 meters!

What type of countries are the main contributors to climate change and what type of countries have been affected the most?

The USA consumes the most amount fossil fuels per person and produces the most carbon dioxide per person. However China is catching up and with a bigger population and rapid industrial growth, China could become the biggest contributor. Countries that have a lot of poverty are affected the most because usually they make the products that we use. It is very unfair because we are not just contributing to our own country but also to theirs.