TRYING TO PUT A BANDAID ON A GAPING WOUND

What is global warming?

Global warming is when the earth heats up (the temperature
rises). It happens when greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water
vapor, nitrous oxide, and methane) trap heat and light from the sun
in the earths atmosphere, which increases the temperature. This
hurts many people, animals, and plants. Many cannot take the
change, so they die.
What causes global warming?

Many things cause global warming. One thing that causes

global warming is electrical pollution. Electricity causes
pollution in many ways, some worse than others. In most
cases, fossil fuels are burned to create electricity. Fossil fuels
are made of dead plants and animals. Some examples of
fossil fuels are oil and petroleum. Many pollutants (chemicals
that pollute the air, water, and land) are sent into the air
when fossil fuels are burned. Some of these chemicals are
called greenhouse gasses.

We use these sources of energy much more than the sources

that give off less pollution. Petroleum, one of the sources of
energy, is used a lot. It is used for transportation, making
electricity, and making many other things. Although this
source of energy gives off a lot of pollution, it is used for 38%
of the United States energy.

Some other examples of using energy and polluting the air are:

Turning on a light

Watching T.V.

Listening to a stereo

Washing or drying clothes

Using a hair dryer

Riding in a car

Heating a meal in the microwave

Using an air conditioner

Playing a video game

Using a dish washer

When we throw our garbage away, the garbage goes to landfills. Landfills
are those big hills that you go by on an expressway that stink. They are full

of garbage. The garbage is then sometimes burned. This sends an

enormous amount of greenhouse gasses into the air and makes global
warming worse

Another thing that makes global warming worse is when people cut
down trees. Trees and other plants collect carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a
greenhouse gas.

Carbon dioxide is the air that our body lets out when we breathe. With
fewer trees, it is harder for people to breathe because there is more
CO2 in the air, and we dont breathe CO2, we breathe oxygen. Plants
collect the CO2 that we breathe out, and they give back oxygen that
we breathe in. With less trees and other plants, such as algae, there
is less air for us, and more greenhouse gases are sent into the air.
This means that it is very important to protect our trees to stop the
greenhouse effect, and also so we can breathe and live.

This gas, CO2, collects light and heat (radiant energy), produced by
the sun, and this makes the earth warmer. The heat and light from
the sun is produced in the center of the sun. (The sun has layers just
like the earth.)

Temperatures are shooting upward [in the Arctic] faster than

at any other place on the planet

This is what we would expect whether global warming is

due to rising CO2 emissions or natural variability.
Polar ice is white and reflects incoming short-wave
radiation from the sun; sea water is dark and absorbs it.
When sea ice melts, the Arctic ocean absorbs more
radiant energy, amplifying the initial warming.
Conversely, cooling expands sea ice, producing more
cooling. Arctic climate swings!

What is the government doing to stop global warming?

The Clean Air Act has also made car companies change some of
the things inside of the cars. Cars pollute a lot. While cars make
more than half of the worlds smog (visible pollution in the air),
many things that cars need to move and heat up make even
more pollution. Some things that are inside of cars, buses,
trucks, and motorcycles, like gasoline, pollute the air when the
fuel is burned. It comes out as a chemical and when mixed in
the air, forms smog. Smog is a kind of pollution that you see in
the form of a cloud. If you have ever been to California you can
see a lot of smog in some places. Sometimes the smog gets so
bad that you cannot see at all! Smog forms when car exhaust,
pollution from homes, and pollution from factories mixes in the

air and has a chemical reaction. The suns heat and light add to
the reaction.
Cars, buses, and trucks are also responsible for over 50% of
dangerous chemicals let into the air. Some of these chemicals
can cause cancer, birth defects, trouble breathing, brain and
nerve damage, lung injures, and burning eyes. Some of the
pollutants are so harmful that they can even cause death.

Which types of cars are the most fuel efficient and why?
The most fuel-efficient cars in Europe all have fuel efficiency over
64 miles to the gallon, which translates to 27 kilometers per liter.
The car which tops the list is the Citroen C1, followed by the Toyota
Aygo, Renault Clio, Citroen C2, Fiat New Panda, Toyota Prius
gasoline hybrid, Citroen C3, Vauxhall Corsa, Peugeot 206, and
another model of the Vauxhall Corsa. Many of these cars are
available in other parts of the world including Africa and Asia,
where a high premium is placed on gas efficiency as well.
What factors might contribute to a desire for increased fuel
efficiency in cars?
It uses less gas, saving money and the environment.
You may receive government incentives depending on your
location.
The petroleum supply is running out, so we need a different
source of energy.
It may be more culturally appropriate to walk or ride a bicycle
than use "modern technology" in some places.
A new, innovative car is certainly something to show off.
It is important to realize that fuel efficiency does not directly relate
to emissions causing pollution and potentially leading to climate
change. Rather, it depends on the fuel source used to drive the
vehicle concerned. Cars can, for example, run on a number of fuel
types other than gasoline, such as natural gas LPG or biofuel or
electricity which creates various quantities of atmospheric
pollution.
A kilogram of petrol, diesel, kerosene and the like in a vehicle leads
to approximately 3.15 kg of CO2 emissions. Additional measures to
reduce overall emission includes improvements to the efficiency of
air conditioners, lights and tires.

There is also a growing movement of drivers who practice ways to

increase their MPG and save fuel through driving techniques. They
are often referred to as hypermilers. Hypermilers have broken
records of fuel efficiency, averaging 109 miles per gallon driving a
Prius. In non-hybrid vehicles these techniques are also beneficial.
Hypermiler Wanye Gerdes can get 59 MPG in a Honda Accord and
30 MPG in an Acura MDX.
Hybrid vehicles can spare petroleum fuel and so, be more efficient
than nowadays conventional vehicles.
In the future hydrogen cars may be commercially available.
Powered by chemical reactions in a fuel cell, that creates electricity
to drive very efficient electrical motors; these vehicles promise to
have zero pollution from the tailpipe. Potentially the atmospheric
pollution could be near zero, provided the hydrogen is made by
sustainable methods using solar, wind power or low CO2 energy
sources such as nuclear power plants or hydro electric dams.
Currently railways can be powered using electricity, delivered to
trains through an additional running rail or overhead catenary
system. The atmospheric pollution, like electric cars, is no longer
"at site", rather at a distant power station. Some railways, such as
SNCF and Swiss federal railways, derive most, if not 100% of their
current from hydroelectric or nuclear power stations, therefore
atmospheric pollution from their rail networks is very low (although
the atmospheric effect of hydroelectric plants is controversial). This
was reflected in a study by AEA Technology between a Eurostar
train and airline journeys between London and Paris, which showed
the trains on average emitting 10 times less CO2, per passenger,
than planes, helped in part by French Nuclear generation.
Controversially, it is thought by scientists that where emissions
take place in the Earth's atmosphere has an overall effect on
climate change. Atmospheric changes from aircraft result from
three types of processes: direct emission of radioactively active
substances (e.g., CO2 or water vapor); emission of chemical species
that produce or destroy radioactively active substances (e.g., NOx,
which modifies O3 concentration); and emission of substances that
trigger the generation of aerosol particles or lead to changes in
natural clouds (e.g., contrails). What this means is that the total
warming effect of aircraft emissions is 2.7 times as great as the
effect of the carbon dioxide alone.