Climate Change! What's That All About?
Much of the energy we use every day comes from non-renewable
resources .
Driving vehicles, heating and cooling homes, washing and drying
clothes, and using other appliances all use energy.
This energy may be generated by fossil fuels. This
causes greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and
affects such things as air and water quality as well as the
mixture of gases that
surrounds the Earth.
What are greenhouse gases (GHG)? They are gases such as carbon
dioxide and methane which are produced when fossil fuels are
burned. They occur in nature and form a natural "greenhouse" that
helps keep the Earth warm.
Scientific evidence strongly suggests that adding more greenhouse
gases into the Earth's atmosphere is expected to cause the
Earth's average temperature to rise. This could lead to changes
in many aspects of our weather such as amounts of rain and
snow, wind patterns, and extreme weather events. We call this
climate change.
|
