Situation of Global Warming

What will happen if global warming continues?
There are already some changes happening because of global warming. Sea level is rising and some animals are already moving to new homes. It’s already too late to stop global warming completely. If the warming gets worse, as scientists expect, there may be some kinds of plants and animals that become extinct (disappear completely) because they can’t move to new homes. There may be more storms and floods. Sea level may rise so much that people have to move away from the coasts. Some areas may become too dry for farming.

Is it getting better or worse?
Thanks to all the fossil fuels we burn, there is now more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than at any time in the last 420,000 years. However, the actual amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is still relatively small. Before industrial times, it was about 280 parts per million (ppm). Today, it’s around 380 ppm. That means if you had a chunk of atmosphere about as big as your bedroom, all the carbon dioxide in it would take up 380 millionths of the space—or roughly half the volume of a shoebox. Doesn’t sound much to worry about, does it?

But the important thing is that the amount of carbon dioxide is rising: in the last 150 years or so, humans have increased the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by around a third — and that’s a very big change for something as finely balanced as our planet. Most people have no idea how much carbon dioxide they generate each day. The carbon for kids web page gives you some idea what your personal carbon dioxde emissions look like. The United States produces roughly 20 tonnes of carbon dioxide for each one of its citizens each year. Or to put it another way, that’s enough carbon dioxide to cover the entire land surface of the United States 30 cm (1 ft) deep. Most of this gas winds up in the atmosphere and contributes to global warming.

The problem is getting worse all the time. Currently, 80 percent of our energy comes from fossil fuels. According to the International Energy Institute, this could increase to 90 percent by 2020. And the amount of energy people use is increasing too, not least because developing countries such as China and India are becoming more affluent. According to the US government’s Energy Information Administration, world energy consumption will increase by 71 percent between 2003 and 2030.

In summary, if things continue as they are, we’ll soon be using nearly twice as much energy and getting even more of it from fossil fuels. Without drastic action, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will continue to increase—and Earth will continue to heat up. In other words, global warming will get worse.

Sources:
http://www.explainthatstuff.com
http://www.pewclimate.org/global-warming-basics/kidspage.cfm