Global warming, also known as the greenhouse effect, has been a hot topic in recent years, but global warming has been around for a long time. The Earth has warmed at a rapid rate over the past hundred years and particularly over the past two decades. Burning large quantities of fossil fuels; coal, oil and natural gas are causing global warming. The greenhouse effect involves gases in our atmosphere that trap heat, such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. “They maintain an average temperature on Earth of 59°F,” according to the book “An Inconvenient Truth: The Global Warming Crisis” by Al Gore. Combustion releases heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. Gases, particularly CO2 (carbon dioxide), act as a blanket that traps heat and limits the rate at which the Earth's surface can radiate heat to space. Another factor is deforestation; When forests are cut down or burned, they can no longer store carbon and it is released into the atmosphere. The result is global warming. Today, current levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are higher than at any time in the last 100,000 years. Why am I interested in this topic? Because humans play a big role in global warming. Everyone we know has contributed to and been affected by global warming. Think about it for a minute. You wake up, brush your teeth, flush the toilet, eat breakfast, drive to work or school, get home, flush the toilet, wash your hands, eat dinner, shower, then sleep. It seems like a lot of steps in your day, but to you it's just a normal day. Let's say brushing your teeth costs 1 gallon per minute and you take 2 minutes, so a total of 5 minutes seems about right. Let's say when you take a shower you waste 2 gallons... middle of paper... which dries and causes a forest fire. One of the most devastating natural disasters we have ever witnessed was Hurricane Katrina which hit New Orleans. The hurricane reached Category 5 and caused destruction in New Orleans. “There are no words to describe it” (68). Gore said: “As of today, there is really no way to slow carbon dioxide levels. With 7 billion people, it's really difficult to stop everyone from wasting resources and polluting the planet. We can only hope that technology advances further to do something about this. Once CO₂ is released into the atmosphere, it takes time to get rid of it. It's like a cycle. Planet Earth is believed to have already gone through this phase where the planet warms and then cools until another ice age. Works Cited Gore, Al. An Inconvenient Truth: The Global Warming Crisis. New York: Vikings, 2007.