Global Warming is a major environmental issue, very popular but a great many students do not understand the subject thoroughly.

In ths article, I am going to explain the following,

What is Global warming?

What causes Global Warming?

How does Global warming affect us?

How can we prevent Global Warming?

Global Warming is simply the increase in the earth's temperature resulting in melting of ice caps at the North and South Poles, posing a threat to life at these locations, a thinning of the ozone layer (the layer that prevents us frim the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun) posing a risk to human skin health.

The culprit is basically the "greenhouse gases", namely Carbon Dioxide, Methane, CFCS.

Greenhouse gases are gases that trap heat during the day and release it to the earth at night when the temperature falls.  They are a good thing in the right amount as without them it would be freezing cold at night when the sun has set.  The temperature of the earth is maintained at a habitable level for humans at night by the greenhouse gases.

Before industrialisation of our Earth,  that is before we had cars, industrial engines and a lot of the machines that have hitherto made life "easier" for humans, there was no issue of global warming, the earth was just the right temperature, maybe a LITTLE TOO COLD.

However, we have too much of these green house gases now, as we are a hugely industrialised world with tonnes and tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted from car engines, home heating, aeroplanes and trains, tubes and other machines we use to make life easier.

The source of fuel producing Carbon Dioxide is also not a renewable source as we are running low on oil which has been the world's main source of energy for a long time.

The solution to this global issue is to cut our carbon footprint, and change to more renewable sources of energy with little or no carbon footprint.  For example,

• turn down the heating in our homes
• not leave lights and other elecrtical appliances on when not in use
• harnessing other sources of energy for our use eg The Sun, using solar panels on our homes to convert solar energy to electrical energy,
• recycling
• use energy efficient bulbs
• Choose green ways of doing things as much as we can.

We all can make a difference to our world, remember we have nowhere to go, it is our only Home.

ADEOLA MARGARET DUROJAIYE