Climate Change
Earth is home to millions of organisms. The conditions on
our planet are perfect for supporting life. Perfect
temperature, energy from the Sun, liquid water, and
oxygen in our atmosphere are a few of the many factors
that work together in harmony to create this perfect place
that can support life. Scientists have observed that the
global climate of the Earth is changing! But, what does
that mean for life on Earth?
First we need to look at what global climate is. Climate is
the average state of the atmosphere using long term data.
Remember that weather is the current conditions of
precipitation, winds, and temperature in a specific area.
And, climate is the long term average of those conditions
for a specific area. Now, global climate is the average
climate for the entire Earth. Earth has been getting
warmer, and its getting warmer quickly.
The global temperature of the Earth has increased almost
2°F over the past 50 years. 2 degrees doesn’t sound like a
very big change. However, this small change in
temperature has led to big changes on our planet. Glaciers
are melting and sea levels are rising. Polar bears are losing
some of the ice covered areas where they live and hunt
food. Melting ice from the polar areas can cause the water
to rise in other areas around the world.
What is causing these changes?
Both natural processes and human activities contribute to
rises in global temperatures. Solar energy is part of a
system in which energy comes to Earth from the Sun and
warms Earth’s surface, and then is released from the Earth
back out to space. There are a few things that can affect
how much energy we receive from the Sun. Clouds, air, and
reflective surfaces such as ice and snow reflect solar
energy back out to space. Erupting volcanoes release large
quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon
dioxide is a greenhouse gas. That means it traps heat and
keeps it in our atmosphere. A regular amount of
greenhouse gasses from natural processes help maintain
the temperature balance on Earth. However, scientists are
concerned that humans are adding new, greater amounts
of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere that could be
disrupting the balance. Human activities such as burning
fossil fuels release more greenhouse gasses into the
atmosphere than natural causes. Elementary Ali ©2016
KEY TERMS
Climate
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Global
Climate
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Greenhouse
Gasses
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