What is
pollution?
Mostly it's smoke and gases
which come from burning
fuels to make energy. But it
isn’t always obvious.
Some of the polluting gases
stink - yuk! That's obvious!
Some pollution is clouds of black soot particles.
Some pollutants are deadly poisonous and can kill people.
But the main pollution is that colourless heavy gas which just about everyone has
heard of: carbon dioxide (often shortened to CO2). This gas has no smell and
people use it to put the fizz in fizzy drinks. It is also a 'greenhouse' gas. So what
is a greenhouse gas? Some gases in the air act like the panes of glass in a
greenhouse. They let the heat of the sun IN but they stop it going OUT. So the
greenhouse gets hot. This is happening in the Earth's atmosphere because people
are adding vast amounts of extra greenhouse gases which mostly come from
burning fossil fuels....and that spells trouble for the planet's climate. Most CO2
comes from people burning fossil fuels and destroying forests.
Greenhouse Earth
You’ve probably heard about the ‘greenhouse
effect’. If you
walk into a
greenhouse on a
sunny day, it’s
very warm inside
because the Sun’s
heat is trapped by the glass. Carbon dioxide gas
pumped into the air by burning fuels has just the
same effect: it traps the Sun’s heat energy near
the surface of the Earth making the air and oceans warmer. This is what scientists
call climate change or global warming. The Earth is warmer than it should be so the
seas and oceans take up more space because warmer water expands. The warming is
also making icy places like the Arctic and my home, the Antarctic, melt away. Lots
of my penguin friends are dying because of this and because of pollution. The
melted ice drains into the oceans, making sea
levels rise even more.
Global warming means that the level of the
sea goes up everywhere causing lots of floods.
Global warming also means more unpleasant
weather with more and bigger hurricanes,
typhoons, tornadoes and cyclones. That means
lots of people could go hungry because their
land is flooded, washed away or their crops
spoiled. Other places will get hot and dry as
people cut down more and more forests.
As this trend continues, we could see many rapid
changes to our environment, climate and
lifestyles. However, without a strong effort to
change our ways, it may become too late to help
our environment.
Questions:
Please answer the following questions in your Science folder on a lined piece of paper. Remember to
answer the question in full sentences using part of the question in your answer.
1. Pollution is starting to ruin the Earth and its atmosphere. What are three types of pollution
mentioned in the reading?
2. The greenhouse effect is something that we may have heard of before from the news, newspapers or
in class. However, what is the Greenhouse Effect? How does it work?
3. Why is the greenhouse effect a concern to the plants, animals and humans on Earth? What damage
can it cause (or has it caused)?
4. Can you suggest a way in which we can reduce the amount of greenhouse gases we produce? Are
there alternate power sources we could use that would help ensure this?