9781422275429

AWARENESS OF THE CAUSE

THE ENVIRONMENT Human activity is impacting the planet in many ways—climate change, deforestation, pollution, and species loss are just some examples. GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE

Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere. This makes the Earth warmer. Scientific studies show that human activity causes most of these gases to be released into the atmosphere.

• Carbon dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas you hear people talking about. That's because we produce more carbon dioxide than any other greenhouse gas, and it's responsible for most of the warming of the Earth.

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM HUMAN ACTIVITY

• Greenhouse gases come from all sorts of everyday activities, such as heating homes, agriculture, industry, and driving. • These greenhouse gases don't just stay in one place after they're added to the atmosphere. As air moves around the world, greenhouse gases become globally mixed, which means the concentration of a greenhouse gas

METHANE 17.0%

OTHER GASES 11.9%

CARBON DIOXIDE 64.3%

NITROUS OXIDE 6.0%

like carbon dioxide is roughly the same no matter where you measure it.

FLUORINATED GASES 0.8%

SOURCE: United States Environmental Protection Agency.

SOURCE: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

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