| The past 100 years has seen the Earths surface | | | | surface of the Earth. The reduction in area of this |
| warm up approximately 0.6°C. Over these 100 years | | | | valuable environmental, social and economic resource |
| there has been a massive increase in man made | | | | through deforestation has the potential to cause |
| greenhouse gasses, mainly down to the effects of | | | | problems on a global scale. Trees absorb carbon |
| burning fossil fuels and the depletion of forest and | | | | dioxide from the atmosphere for photosynthesis, and |
| woodland. These are not the only two topics in the | | | | help to regulate the natural greenhouse effect. |
| Global Warming debate, as there are many other | | | | Deforestation takes away a potential consumer for |
| topics that affect Global Warming and contribute to | | | | the carbon dioxide mankind is pumping into the |
| climate change. · Carbon Dioxide · CFCs · | | | | atmosphere. In addition, if forests are removed by |
| Deforestation · Emissions · Fossil Fuels All of these | | | | burning, a lot of extra carbon dioxide locked up in tree |
| and many more have an impact to our environment | | | | wood is returned to the atmosphere. Emissions |
| and in turn attribute to Global Warming. Carbon Dioxide | | | | Greenhouse gases are emissions in the atmosphere |
| Carbon dioxide, aka CO2 is a colourless and odourless | | | | that occur naturally, released by natural sources. |
| gas made up of two oxygen atoms and one carbon | | | | These gasses are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous |
| atom. CO2 is produced when carbon is burned in an | | | | oxide and ozone. The last 200 years has seen a |
| excess of oxygen. E.G. it is released into the | | | | dramatic rise of these greenhouse gasses into the |
| atmosphere during natural forest fires and the | | | | atmosphere by man-made substances. These |
| man-made combustion of fossil fuels. CO2 can be | | | | additional emissions are increasing greenhouse gas |
| found in other natural sources like volcanic eruptions, | | | | concentrations in the atmosphere above their natural |
| decay of dead organic matter (Plants and Animals | | | | limits, enhancing the natural greenhouse effect that is |
| ETC), evaporation from the oceans and breathing. | | | | believed to be causing global warming. Fossil Fuels |
| Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by | | | | Power that everybody uses is created by the burning |
| carbon dioxide absorbers, known as "sinks". The main | | | | of fossil fuels, weather it be conventional power |
| removal of Carbon dioxide from our atmosphere is | | | | stations that burn coal, oil or gas to produce electricity. |
| absorption by seawater, photosynthesis by | | | | Road vehicles burn fossil fuel in the form of petrol or |
| ocean-dwelling plankton and land-dwelling plantation, | | | | diesel, these are fuels refined from oil. The above |
| including forests and grasslands. CFCs | | | | called fossil fuels because of the way they are |
| Chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs as they are more | | | | formed. It takes millions of years of decay to produce |
| commonly known are all man-made and do occur | | | | these fuels. Fossil fuels are made by the burial and |
| naturally. CFCs started to be utilised in the 1930s | | | | compaction of rotting vegetation on land (coal), and |
| where they were used in aerosols, foam manufacture, | | | | marine organisms on the sea floor (oil and gas). Burning |
| air conditioning and refrigeration. CFCs are a far | | | | fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, |
| stronger greenhouse gas than CO2, and they damage | | | | that enhances the greenhouse effect. As you can see |
| the stratospheric ozone. The Montreal Protocol in 1987 | | | | these are just some of the major contributors to |
| helped in the phasing out CFCs emissions in an | | | | Global Warming. There are many other topics as |
| attempt to protect the ozone layer, but because of the | | | | subheadings under each of these that play an equal |
| long atmospheric lifetimes CFCs have they will | | | | part in contribution to our Climate Change. It is in these |
| continue to influence the greenhouse effect for many | | | | sub headings that we as individuals can make a |
| years. Deforestation The world's forests cover | | | | difference in. |
| approximately a quarter to a third of the total land | | | | |