THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING Global warming is the greatest challenge facing our planet.

It is the increase in the temperature of the earths air. It is one of the most current and widely discussed issues in the world. It has far-reaching impact on biodiversity and climatic conditions of the planet. Global warming is a fundamental threat to all living things on earth. Global warming has many causes but the most outstanding ones can be listed as pollution,population growth, and deforestation.

The most important cause of global warming is pollution. Pollution is one of the biggest man-made problems. Pollution comes in many shapes and sizes. Burning fossil fuels is one thing that causes pollution. Fossil fuels are fuels made of organic matter such as coal, or oil. When fossil fuels are burned they give off a green house gas called CO2. What is more,mining coal and oil allows methane to escape. Methane is a greenhouse gas.Like all other greenhouse gasses methane is trapped within the atmosphere and causes a significant increase in the earths temperature. Another major man-made cause of global warming is population growth. More people means more food, and more methods of transportation. That means more methane because there will be more burning of fossil fuels, and more agriculture.Moreover,our modern car culture and appetite for globally sourced goods is responsible for about 33% of emissions in the U.S. With our population growing at an alarming rate, the demand for more cars and consumer goods means that we are increasing the use of fossil fuels for transportation and manufacturing. Another reason for global warming is deforestation. Deforestation is the clearing the land of forest or trees. Forests have been cut down for agriculture, industries and cities. The trees are natural regulators of carbon dioxide which is used to control its level's in the atmosphere. Trees are 50 percent carbon. When they are felled or burned, the C02 they store escapes back into the air. According to scientists, 13 million hectars of forests worldwide are lost every year, almost entirely in the tropics. Deforestation remains high in Africa, Latin America and

Southeast Asia.Therefore, climate change is a severe outcome of excessive cutting down of trees.

There are many causes of global warming ,the most important of which are pollution and population growth.On the other hand, several current trends clearly demonstrate that global warming is directly impacting on significant worldwide climate changes, rising sea levels and the melting of ice caps .

The most important effect of global warming is the significant rise of the average temperature during the past century.. Most scientists agree that planets temperature has risen 0.5 degree Celsius since 1900 and will continue to increase at an increasing rate. As a result, the world is getting warmer. The year 1990 was the hottest year in the last century. The consequences of the rise in temperature is being felt all over the globe. The findings of scientific research done in this field reveal that the temperature of the earth is likely to rise from 1.4C to 5.8C within a period of 100 years. Another equally important effect is that the increase in global temperatures will cause a rise in sea level. The sea levels as a result of melting of glaciers have risen from 0.35 mm to 0.4 mm. The rise in sea levels is a major cause of concern. A large number of cities located in coastal areas will submerge in the sea. Besides, many island countries will ultimately lose their existence and will be washed away from the surface of the earth. The damage of rising sea levels is diverse. Buildings and roads close to the water could be flooded and they could suffer damage from hurricanes and tropical storms. To conclude, global warming is mainly caused by pollution and population growth which result in a significant increase in the average temperature and a rise in the sea level. There are several things we can do to deal with global warming. In my opinion we have to find an urgent solution to this appalling problem.One answer is to stop making C02. We can do this by switching from oil, coal and gas to renewable energy. We can also use less energy and recycle more products. If we use less

energy and are more environmentally friendly, the earths temperature may not rise too much.