| ast 100 years has seen the Earths surface warm up | | | | Deforestation |
| approximately 0.6°C. Over these 100 years | | | | The world’s forests cover approximately a |
| there has been a massive increase in man made | | | | quarter to a third of the total land surface of the |
| greenhouse gasses, mainly down to the effects of | | | | Earth. The reduction in area of this valuable |
| burning fossil fuels and the depletion of forest and | | | | environmental, social and economic resource through |
| woodland. These are not the only two topics in the | | | | deforestation has the potential to cause problems on |
| Global Warming debate, as there are many other | | | | a global scale. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the |
| topics that affect Global Warming and contribute to | | | | atmosphere for photosynthesis, and help to regulate |
| climate change. | | | | the natural greenhouse effect. Deforestation takes |
| · Carbon Dioxide | | | | away a potential consumer for the carbon dioxide |
| · CFCs | | | | mankind is pumping into the atmosphere. In addition, |
| · Deforestation | | | | if forests are removed by burning, a lot of extra |
| · Emissions | | | | carbon dioxide locked up in tree wood is returned to |
| · Fossil Fuels | | | | the atmosphere. |
| All of these and many more have an impact to our | | | | Emissions |
| environment and in turn attribute to Global Warming. | | | | Greenhouse gases are emissions in the atmosphere |
| Carbon Dioxide | | | | that occur naturally, released by natural sources. |
| Carbon dioxide, aka CO2 is a colourless and odourless | | | | These gasses are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous |
| gas made up of two oxygen atoms and one carbon | | | | oxide and ozone. The last 200 years has seen a |
| atom. CO2 is produced when carbon is burned in an | | | | dramatic rise of these greenhouse gasses into the |
| excess of oxygen. E.G. it is released into the | | | | atmosphere by man-made substances. These |
| atmosphere during natural forest fires and the | | | | additional emissions are increasing greenhouse gas |
| man-made combustion of fossil fuels. CO2 can be | | | | concentrations in the atmosphere above their natural |
| found in other natural sources like volcanic eruptions, | | | | limits, enhancing the natural greenhouse effect that is |
| decay of dead organic matter (Plants and Animals | | | | believed to be causing global warming. |
| ETC), evaporation from the oceans and breathing. | | | | Fossil Fuels |
| Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by | | | | Power that everybody uses is created by the |
| carbon dioxide absorbers, known as "sinks". The main | | | | burning of fossil fuels, weather it be conventional |
| removal of Carbon dioxide from our atmosphere is | | | | power stations that burn coal, oil or gas to produce |
| absorption by seawater, photosynthesis by | | | | electricity. Road vehicles burn fossil fuel in the form |
| ocean-dwelling plankton and land-dwelling plantation, | | | | of petrol or diesel, these are fuels refined from oil. |
| including forests and grasslands. | | | | The above called fossil fuels because of the way |
| CFCs | | | | they are formed. It takes millions of years of decay |
| Chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs as they are more | | | | to produce these fuels. Fossil fuels are made by the |
| commonly known are all man-made and do occur | | | | burial and compaction of rotting vegetation on land |
| naturally. CFCs started to be utilised in the 1930s | | | | (coal), and marine organisms on the sea floor (oil and |
| where they were used in aerosols, foam | | | | gas). Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, a |
| manufacture, air conditioning and refrigeration. CFCs | | | | greenhouse gas, that enhances the greenhouse |
| are a far stronger greenhouse gas than CO2, and | | | | effect. |
| they damage the stratospheric ozone. The Montreal | | | | As you can see these are just some of the major |
| Protocol in 1987 helped in the phasing out CFCs | | | | contributors to Global Warming. There are many |
| emissions in an attempt to protect the ozone layer, | | | | other topics as subheadings under each of these that |
| but because of the long atmospheric lifetimes CFCs | | | | play an equal part in contribution to our Climate |
| have they will continue to influence the greenhouse | | | | Change. It is in these sub headings that we as |
| effect for many years. | | | | individuals can make a difference in. |