Everybody has heard about “global warming” but most never really look into it. You always hear it being discussed on TV or on the news, so why is it so important? Well I am going to discuss the seriousness and the facts about global warming.

The First thing that everybody says is “what is global warming?”

Global warming is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. Greenhouse gas is when the sun’s warmth is trapped in the atmosphere. Well now that we know what global warming is, why is it important to us?

One main reason why global warming is very serious and important is the fact that it can affect many people. For example, it can cause people to move out of their homes and even cause death. An article made by the Natural Defense Resource Council(NRDC) says that if we don’t change anything about global warming then it can cause the death of over 250,000 people all over the world and cause 100 million people to lose their homes due to natural disasters caused by global warming. They state “As the heat waves, droughts, and floods associated with climate change become more frequent and more intense, communities suffer and death tolls rise. If we’re unable to reduce our emissions, scientists believe that climate change could lead to the deaths of more than 250,000 people around the globe every year and force 100 million people into poverty by 2030.”

Eighth grader Esli Lopez-Cruz, when asked her thoughts about global warming, stated that she would feel bad for those people because “many people would have to find new homes and many people wouldn’t be able to see their loved ones.”

One thing many people say about global warming is that they don’t have to worry about it because it’s a long term effect, but the effects are already happening. Global warming has started to increase a lot since the start of the industrial revolution. To show how fast the Earth is heating up, an article made by Livescience says that between 1880 and 1980 the annual temperature of the world increased by 0.13 degrees F per decade. After 1980 the rate has increased to 0.32 degrees F per decade. The article stated that “Between 1880 and 1980, the global annual temperature increased at a rate of 0.13 degrees Fahrenheit (0.07 degrees Celsius) per decade, on average. Since 1981, the rate of increase has sped up, to 0.32 degrees F (0.18 degrees C) per decade. This has led to an overall 3.6 degrees F (2 degrees C) increase in global average temperature today compared to the preindustrial era.”

Some future effects of global warming are that sea levels will continue to rise, natural disasters will become more frequent and more intense and the Arctic will be left with no ice. However there is some hope. Some solutions are that we can use electric powered cars instead of gas powered cars. Also, we can walk or use our bikes instead of using cars.

Now that we are informed about the seriousness of global warming we can hopefully try our best to keep our planet healthy and prevent global warming from doing anymore damage.