Global Warming – Karla Bovell 3.1
Global warming is the increase or rise in temperature of the earth’s atmosphere. Some think it is part of the earth’s natural cyclical variability and some think it is due to the increase in greenhouse gases which trap heat that would otherwise escape from Earth. However, greenhouse gases, such as water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, are an important part of our atmosphere because they keep Earth from becoming an icy sphere with surface temperatures of about 0°F. However, over the past century or so the amounts of greenhouse gases within our atmosphere have been increasing rapidly, mainly due to burning fossil fuels, burning of tropical rainforests, aerosols, air conditioners, chemicals released from decaying organic matter such as swamps, landfill sites, animal dung but deforestation also plays a huge part in the warming of the earth.
Deforestation is clearing Earth's forests on a massive scale, often resulting in damage to the quality of the land. Forests still cover about 30 per cent of the world’s land area, but swaths the size of Panama is lost each and every year. Forests are cut down for many reasons, but most of them are related to money or to people’s need to provide for their families. The biggest driver of deforestation is agriculture. Farmers cut forests to provide more room for planting crops or grazing livestock. Often many small farmers will each clear a few acres to feed their families by cutting down trees and burning them in a process known as “slash and burn” agriculture. Deforestation also drives climate change. Forest soils are moist, but without protection from sun-blocking tree cover they quickly dry out. Trees also help perpetuate the water cycle by returning water vapour back into the atmosphere. Removing trees deprives the forest of portions of its canopy, which blocks the sun’s rays