Global+warming

 = Global warming =

Overview[[image:global-warming.jpg width="150" height="151" align="right"]]
Since 1750, America has made major changes in the way we think of agriculture, manufacturing, communication, and even transport- these changes gave way to what we now call the Industrial Revolution. During the late 18th and 19th century, newly constructed manufacturing plants and factories started contributing to a major issue of the 21st century, and what we know as //global warming//. In the 20th century, an invention for faster transportation, known as the automobile, started contributing to this issue as well. Factories and automobiles burn fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, which causes the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in our atmosphere to increase considerably. Greenhouse gases prevent heat from escaping into space, something that needs to occur in order for our climate to remain stable. With all of these greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, the Earth has become significantly hotter than it was in your time. In the last 100 years, the Earth's surface temperature has increased by about 1.4o F.

Central Issue
Global warming affects the world in many different ways- rainfall patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, glaciers are melting, trees are blooming earlier, and storms are becoming more severe(see Hurricane Katrina). Human health is also greatly affected, either directly or indirectly. For example- with hotter weather, mosquitoes become more prominent, causing greater cases of malaria. And with the air in this world becoming polluted with fossil fuels, smog becomes an immense health risk, especially for citizens in big cities like New York. The main problem with global warming, is the fact that the demand for fossil fuels is expected to increase with the predicted growth of the world. In fact, the average surface temperature of the Earth is predicted to increase by about 2 to 11.5o F by the end of the 21st century. But, the heat is not expected to be evenly distributed across the globe; land will become hotter than water, high latitudes will warm more than low latitudes, and certain continental areas will become hotter than others. Also, winters are expected to warm more than summers, leaving us with this question- By the end of the 21st century, will there only be one season in a year? 



Conclusion
In conclusion, global warming is a serious problem in the world today, but it can be prevented by conserving energy, turning off the lights , and walking places where driving is not necessary. We could all use a little wisdom from you, John and Abigail Adams, about how the world was back in the 18th century. There were no cars, little use of electricity- and most importantly, no global warming. media type="custom" key="5101749"  Two Cases of Global Warming

**References:** "Climate Change | U.S. EPA." //U.S. Environmental Protection Agency//. Web. 07 Dec. 2009. <http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/>.

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