WHO DID THIS?
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The main contributors to global warming are humans. As some of the daily objects they use causes a major output of greenhouse gases. One of the main gases is CO2, something about CO2; they were first naturally put in the atmosphere, but since the Industrial Revolution the amount of CO2 has significantly risen at an alarming rate. Burning fossil fuel, is one of the ways humans increase the CO2 in the atmosphere, another is through deforestation. Deforestation is the second biggest human made source of CO2 output into the atmosphere. When trees are cut they release CO2 that they have in store during the photosynthesis process, sources say that deforestation releases billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. Another way deforestation contributes to global warming is that by killing trees reduces photosynthesis, where trees absorb the CO2 from the atmosphere to play a part in photosynthesis.
While deforestation was second on the list, the first human made source of CO2 is burning fossil fuel. Basically when fossil fuels are burned they emit CO2 to the atmosphere. Fossil fuels are used to power cars, airplanes, and electricity plants. Humans use electricity everyday, and that's where coal comes in. Coal is burnt in many factories, and these factories emit a large amount of CO2 as a result of burning coal. Another cause of global warming is the increase in population, since we humans breathe out CO2, it means the more the population grows, the more CO2 is being released, and at the same time with higher deforestation rates, there aren't enough tree's to absorb the CO2 causing excess amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
The picture above are the results of deforestation in Kenya, the picture on the left shows the trees on January 31st, 1973 and the picture on the right shows the decrease of trees in January 27th, 2000.
Methane also affects the atmosphere, as told in the previous page methane comes from industry and agriculture. From the industry the largest source of methane is natural gas and petroleum, since methane is the primary component of natural gas, during the production process, processing, storage and distribution some of the methane is distributed into the atmosphere. Next is form the agriculture, livestock such as buffalo, sheep, goats and cattle, emits methane as a part of their digestive system. Their manure when stored also produces methane, and since these livestock are raised for human purposes it makes humans just as responsible.
"In 2010, estimated worldwide emissions from human activities totaled nearly 46 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases" - Climate Change Indicators in the United States: Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions
While deforestation was second on the list, the first human made source of CO2 is burning fossil fuel. Basically when fossil fuels are burned they emit CO2 to the atmosphere. Fossil fuels are used to power cars, airplanes, and electricity plants. Humans use electricity everyday, and that's where coal comes in. Coal is burnt in many factories, and these factories emit a large amount of CO2 as a result of burning coal. Another cause of global warming is the increase in population, since we humans breathe out CO2, it means the more the population grows, the more CO2 is being released, and at the same time with higher deforestation rates, there aren't enough tree's to absorb the CO2 causing excess amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
The picture above are the results of deforestation in Kenya, the picture on the left shows the trees on January 31st, 1973 and the picture on the right shows the decrease of trees in January 27th, 2000.
Methane also affects the atmosphere, as told in the previous page methane comes from industry and agriculture. From the industry the largest source of methane is natural gas and petroleum, since methane is the primary component of natural gas, during the production process, processing, storage and distribution some of the methane is distributed into the atmosphere. Next is form the agriculture, livestock such as buffalo, sheep, goats and cattle, emits methane as a part of their digestive system. Their manure when stored also produces methane, and since these livestock are raised for human purposes it makes humans just as responsible.
"In 2010, estimated worldwide emissions from human activities totaled nearly 46 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases" - Climate Change Indicators in the United States: Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions
IMAGES AND FURTHER INFORMATION
Some pictures are linked to other websites that have further information on certain topics.
To find out more about deforestation and habitat loss go to: http://standuptohabitatloss.weebly.com/