5b Ben Burkhart How Global Warming is Negatively Impacting

It has taken million of years for life to become used to the conditions on Earth. As weather and temperature changes, the homes of plants and animals will be affected all over the world. For example, polar bears and seals, will have to find new land for hunting and living, if the ice in the Arctic melts. Many animals and plants may not be able to cope with these changes and could die.

Is the earth really getting hotter? A: Yes. Although local temperatures fluctuate naturally, over the past 50 years the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history. And experts think the trend is accelerating: the 10 hottest years on record have all occurred since 1990. Scientists say that unless we curb global warming emissions, average U.S. temperatures could be 3 to 9 degrees higher by the end of the century.

Earth's surface has warmed by about one degree Fahrenheit in the past 140 years. That might not sound like much, but it has definitely impacted the earth. Scientists also think the rate at which the earth is heating up is increasing.

The greenhouse effect is what scientists believe is causing the sharp increase in global temperatures. The earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation, caused by the presence of gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane (from pollution) in the atmosphere, which allows incoming sunlight to pass through it but won't allow the heat to escape back out (like in a greenhouse).

We can act now to reduce our carbon emissions, slow the pace of global warming, and pass on a safer, healthier world to our children. Or we can choose to do nothing, continue pumping massive amounts of carbon into an already overloaded atmosphere, and suffer the increasingly costly consequences.