Explain the concept of global warming?

Answer 1

• About 250 years ago there were about 1 billion people in the world. We started building factories, and they were powered by burning fossil fuel, like coal, in steam engines.

• As time went by, we discovered oil, and invented cars and other forms of transport. We found we could generate electricity by burning coal. It was pretty easy to dig up coal and oil, and cut down trees, and we didn't worry that when coal and oil were burnt a lot of extra carbon dioxide (CO2) was going up into the atmosphere.

• Now we have almost 7 billion people in the world, and most of them want to own a car and a house with a fridge and TV and air-conditioning.

• All the extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere traps the heat and stops it reflecting back out to space. This is how a greenhouse, or glasshouse works, so it's known as the greenhouse effect. And with fewer trees to absorb carbon dioxide, it means there's more CO2 in the atmosphere to warm up.

• So over the past 250 years the earth has slowly been getting warmer. Recently it's started warming faster. We have to act fast to reduce the greenhouse gases so that the earth stops warming.

• Already the ice caps are melting, and sea levels are rising. Tundra is melting and giving off methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more dangerous that carbon dioxide.

• Global warming is beginning to cause climate change, where weather events (storms, floods, droughts etc) may happen more often and more severely.

Answer 2

I would start by explaining that energy comes to our world from the sun as visible light and warms the surface of the world. This warmth is re-radiated back into space, but some is blocked by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, keeping the world warmer than it otherwise would be. I would then say that if humans increase the amount of these greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, as we do by burning coal and oil, then more heat is trapped on the earth. This can interfere with nature and cause damaging climate change.

Answer 3

The concept of Global Warming is that the Earth is getting hotter because of the emission of green house gasses. These gasses include carbon dioxide.

Answer 4

An increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere (especially a sustained increase that causes climatic changes)