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Power of The People: How We Have Changed The Climate on Earth

Global warming are two words you have probably heard repeated on the news many times in recent months. With researchers providing us with the most dire predictions about the end of the world as we know, world leaders and the global community at large has been sitting up and taking notice. But what is global warming, and why is doing something about this problem seem like such a difficult challenge? Is global warming as bad as they say, or does it even exist? Well, it appears that science has spoken and the answer is strong yes: global warming really does exist. In fact, the problem of global warming is now being positioned as our planet's most pressing problem. Global warming is such a big problem—is it true that it was caused by the very people—all of us living on earth—who are now seeking to get rid of it? The answer, again, is a resounding yes.

So what has caused global warming? The most basic cause of global warming has to do with the human activity that has caused the greenhouse effect to go overboard. The earth's atmosphere naturally sustains a natural supply of greenhouse gases. These greenhouse gases are for the most part a natural part of the earth's environment, and they work by capturing the heat emitted from the Earth.

These greenhouse gases work by catching just enough warmth to keep the surface of the planet warm enough to sustain human life on the planet, along with many other forms of life. Indeed, without the aid of these greenhouse gases, the earth would be much too cold to sustain any kind of life, human, plan, animal or otherwise.

So what is the problem with greenhouse gases? We need them to live on this planet, right? Right, but the problem arises when too many greenhouse gases are sent up into the earth's atmosphere. Human activity—all of us people—has led to too many greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. These gases exist mostly in the form of carbon dioxide, which is constantly being released into the atmosphere every time that you turn on your car and drive around.

So how just did we get to this point where we are releasing way too many greenhouse gases for our own good? The process of releasing large amounts of greenhouse gases up into the environment began after the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1700s. This is when human industry—busy people chopping and building and making factories—began to also create large amounts of greenhouse gases that were then released into the earth's upper atmosphere.

Now, we use fossil fuels that, upon being burned, release massive amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the earth's atmosphere. We use fossil fuels to run factories, to supply energy for our cars, to drive trucks, to fly planes, and to run power plants. Researchers believe that the majority of these greenhouse gases can stay in the Earth's atmosphere for many years, often fifty years and longer. To summarize then, since the industrial revolution, busy people and human activity everywhere have been responsible for producing more greenhouse gases than the Earth's atmospheres are capable of removing.

What can we do about the growing problem of greenhouse gases and the global warming that they are causing? To stop the current climate crisis, everyone, especially world leaders, must come together and make a conscious effort to dramatically cut the amount of greenhouse gases that are being released into the Earth's atmosphere. This is the only way we can make sure to stop the looming threats that we are faced with because of the effects of global warming.