Glencoe Health

Introduction:
Global warming is one of the most serious environmental problems in the world today. In this lesson, you learned about how air pollutants are known as greenhouse gases contribute to global warming. At the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Web site on climate change, you can learn more about how global warming works, its effects on the environment and human health, and what people and governments can do to help solve the problem.

Links to Explore:
Climate Change: Basic Information
http://epa.gov/climatechange/basicinfo.html

Directions:

• Read the EPA’s fact sheet on climate change.
• Then answer the following questions:

1			Explain the difference between the terms climate change and global warming and how the two are related.
2			How much has the average surface temperature of the earth increased since 1900?
3			If greenhouse gases continue to build up in the atmosphere, how much could the earth’s average surface temperature rise by the end of this century?
4			Which two activities account for three-quarters of all human-generated greenhouse gas emissions?
5			List three effects of global climate change that scientists have already observed taking place.