Notes

(REMINDER WRITE IT ALL IN CAPS) GLOBAL
WARMING.
How the problem is getting worse all the time.

The problem is getting worse all the time because currently 80 percent of our energy comes from fossil fuels. And the amount of energy people use is increasing too, not least because developing countries such as China and India are becoming more affluent. According to the US Energy Information Administration's 2017 forecast, world energy consumption will increase by 28 percent between 2015 and 2040 and over 75 percent of that energy will still be coming from fossil fuels. In summary, if things continue as they are, we'll soon be using nearly twice as much energy and still getting almost as much of it from fossil fuels. Without drastic action, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will continue to increase—and Earth will continue to heat up. In other words, global warming will get worse.

Why GLOBAL WARMING is getting stronger.

Earth's atmosphere behaves like a gigantic greenhouse, though it traps heat a different way. Gases high in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide and methane, behave like a giant piece of curved glass wrapped right round the planet. The Sun's rays (mostly visible light and short-wavelength, high-energy ultraviolet radiation) pass straight through this greenhouse gas and warm up Earth. The warming planet gives off heat energy (longer wavelength infrared radiation), which radiates out toward space. Some of this outgoing radiation does not pass through the atmosphere, but is reflected back down to Earth, effectively trapping heat and keeping the planet about 33 degrees hotter than it would otherwise be. This is called the natural greenhouse effect and it's a good thing. Without it, Earth would be much too cold to support the huge diversity of life that it does

8 ways you can help prevent GLOBAL WARMING in your house.

1 Change a light. Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
2 Drive less. Walk, bike, carpool or take mass transit more often.
3 Recycle more.
4 Check your tires.
5 Use less hot water.
6 Avoid products with a lot of packaging.
7 Adjust your thermostat.
8 Plant a tree.