Global warming and climate change have become the looming environmental problems of our generation. The first step to dealing with the problem is to be aware of how greenhouse gas emissions warm up the planet, and understand its negative effects on a global scale.
With more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, heat from the sun is being absorbed by these gases and warming the Earth at an alarming rate. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are composed of 3 or more atoms that are loosely held together. When the gases absorb heat from the sun they vibrate and the molecules begin to release the absorbed heat. The released heat will either move to another greenhouse gas molecule, go out to space, or warm up the Earth’s surface.
Heat from greenhouse gases have caused the loss of sea ice at both poles which has greatly affected the ecosystem and the wildlife living there. Despite the science and research to prove that global warming is a real issue, humans continue to increase their greenhouse gas emissions. Studies have found that in the last 150 years, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased from 280 parts per million (ppm) to 400 ppm.