Global Warming: Serious But Overlooked Threat

Essay by mustangcobra490Junior High, 8th gradeA+, March 2004

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---INTRODUCTION---

Global warming is a serious problem that can be minimized or even eliminated. Global warming is what happens when there is too much low-level ozone, or tropospheric ozone, and all the heat in the atmosphere is trapped close to the earth causing the temperature near the surface to rise. Global warming can be stopped before any appalling damage occurs.

---HISTORY/BACKGROUND---

During the Carboniferous period, which was about 300 million years ago, the weather was much warmer and wetter due to the high concentration of carbon dioxide present in the air. The high amounts of CO2 in the air made it a favorable place for plants to live. Also because of the lack of oxygen, the eventually dead plants did not decompose. Over millions of years, this undecomposed material became what is used today as fossil fuels. (Johnson 30) Most modern countries rely heavily on fossil fuels for power. To be exact, between 1850 and 1950, 60,000,000,000 (60 billion) tons of fossil fuels were burned.

(Johnson 32)

There are two types of ozone, low-level ozone and upper level ozone. Low-level ozone, which extends from 6-9 miles above the earth's surface, is created when certain chemicals react with sunlight or when three oxygen atoms come together. Low-level ozone can be toxic to living things and is also corrosive. Low-level ozone can form from unnatural sources, such as humans, as well as natural sources. When lightening occurs, it causes atoms of oxygen molecules to separate and recombine with other atoms to create ozone (O3). Sunlight combined with methane is also a source of ozone. Methane is a gas from decaying plants and animals and from the wastes of grazing animals. Trees, during photosynthesis, also give off hydrocarbons that combine with certain pollutants and sunlight to create ozone. Humans also contribute to the...