Climate change and how to prevent global warming, Summaries of Earth science

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GLOBAL

WARMING

GLOBAL WARMING

 (^) Is the long-term heating of Earth’s surface observed since the pre-industrial period (between 1850 and 1900) due to human activities, primarily fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere.

OCEAN HEAT CONTENT IS

INCREASING

 (^) The top half-mile of most major ocean waters is getting warmer. The amount of heat absorbed by the oceans has increased significantly over the past two decades. Warmer ocean water damages coral reefs, threatens marine ecosystems, and disrupts global fisheries. A change in ocean heat content can also alter patterns of ocean circulation, which can have far-reaching effects on global climate conditions, including changes to the outcome and pattern of meteorological events such as tropical storms, and also temperatures in the northern Atlantic region, which are strongly influenced by currents that may be substantially reduced with CO increase in the atmosphere.

TEMPERATURE OF THE

LOWER ATMOSPHERE IS

INCREASING

 (^) The atmosphere is not warming uniformly. Warming is instead concentrated in the lower layers of the atmosphere, called the troposphere (where we live, where weather occurs, and where planes fly). Rising temperatures in the troposphere evidence the human fingerprint in global warming caused through the release of emissions from burning coal, oil, and natural gas.

THINGS TO DO TO STOP

GLOBAL WARMING

Power your home with renewable energy.  (^) Choose a utility company that generates at least half its power from wind or solar and has been certified by Green-e Energy, an organization that vets renewable energy options. If that isn’t possible for you, take a look at your electric bill; many utilities now list other ways to support renewable sources on their monthly statements and websites.

THINGS TO DO TO STOP

GLOBAL WARMING

Reduce water waste.  (^) Saving water reduces carbon pollution, too. That’s because it takes a lot of energy to pump, heat, and treat your water. So take shorter showers, turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, and switch to WaterSense-labeled fixtures and appliances. The EPA estimates that if just one out of every 100 American homes were retrofitted with water-efficient fixtures, about 100 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year would be saved—avoiding 80,000 tons of global warming pollution.