One major cause of global warming is the use of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas that were formed from the remains of plant material deposited during the earth's carboniferous period. We have known for only a few thousand years that coal, oil, and natural gas can be burned to provide energy. It was not until the mid-1800's, however, that we began to burn very large quantities of these fossil fuels. It has been estimated that between 1850

and 1950, approximately sixty billion tons of fossil fuel were burned, mostly in the form of coal. More recently, the worldwide consumption of fossil fuel has increased dramatically. The world now burns at least five billion tons of fossil fuel each year. This means that we are adding between fifteen and twenty billion tons of carbon dioxide to the air every twelve months! As this carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels enters the atmosphere, some of it is take up by photosynthesizing plants, and the oceans absorb some. But because we are burning so much fossil fuel at such a rapid rate, we are putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere much faster than these natural processes are taking it out. There is no longer a balance between the amount of carbon dioxide being added to the air and the amount of carbon dioxide being removed. As a result, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air is steadily increasing.

Another thing we can do to help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that accumulates in the air is to plant millions of new trees. This process is known as reforestation. Like other green plants, trees use carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But remember that burning fossil fuels adds about twenty billion tons of carbon dioxide to the air each year; In order to remove that much carbon dioxide from the air each year, we would need to plant enough trees to cover an area roughly the size of Australia! It's not very likely that we would be able to do that. But reforestation on a smaller scale can at least help slow the buildup of carbon dioxide in the air and delay global warming. Some industries are using reforestation as a way to make up for the carbon dioxide they are releasing into the air. Like conserving energy, planting trees is a way in which many people can become involved in helping to control the greenhouse effect and global warming. Reforestation is certainly not a "cure" for the greenhouse effect. But like energy conservation, it will help control problems while we are developing new energy sources that don't add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Much evidence exists showing that the climate changes in response to the greenhouse effect. The degree of change depends on the degree of global warming. Even the lowest projected temperature increases for the coming decades, however, are expected to cause considerable climatic changes. The greater the increase, the more dramatic the changes. Some parts of the earth will warm more than other parts. Some parts may even become cooler. Global circulation models have shown that warming will be faster near the poles than near the equator. Such changes will have a significant effect on weather patterns. There will be changes in precipitation, storms, and wind directions and so on. Rising temperatures are expected to increase tropical storm activity. The hurricane season in the Atlantic and Caribbean is expected to start earlier and last longer. Storms will be more severe. Changing wind patterns will mean that the paths of the storms will be changed, too, making some regions more vulnerable to damage than they are today.

Unfortunately, burning fossil fuels is not the only thing that we humans are doing to increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In many parts of the world today, forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Enormous numbers of trees are being cut down, both to provide timber and to clear the land for farming or ranching. This destructive process is called deforestation. In order to clear forests

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Approximate Word count = 2393
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)