Fossil Fuels and the Greenhouse Effect

Name: _________________________________       Date: _____________

For more than a century, Earth has been getting warmer. Is this warming a phase of long-term climate change, the result of human activity, or both? There's more and more evidence that emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are directly linked to global warming. Cars, factories, and power plants spew huge amounts of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

In this activity you'll find out more about the connection between the burning of fossil fuels and global warming. You'll also discover what you can do to help keep greenhouse gas levels under control.

1. To begin, go to the EPA's Global Warming: What It Is page.
   
   The temperature of Earth has warmed by _______ degrees Fahrenheit over the past ________ years.
   
   
   
   
2. Click Greenhouse Effect in the left margin. Define the greenhouse effect.
   
   
   
   
3. What would happen if there were no greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to trap heat?
   
   
   
   
   
4. How is an actual greenhouse similar to what's happening in the biosphere?
   
   
   
   
   
5. Click the link for the greenhouse effect animation. As you advance through the six scenes of the animation, summarize the main ideas of each scene in the chart below.
   
   

   Scene Number/Title	Summary of Main Ideas
   1. Introduction
   2. Solar Rays
   3. Infrared Rays
   4. Deforestation
   5. Emissions
   6. Conclusion

   
   
6. Now click Can We Change the Climate? Describe the impact of the Industrial Revolution on greenhouse gas levels.
   
   
   
   
7. List three specific ways greenhouse gas levels rose due to the Industrial Revolution.
   
   
   
   
8. Scroll to When Do You Send Greenhouse Gases into the Air? List at least five things YOU do every day that add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
   
   
   
   
9. Next, go to What's the Big Deal? As you read the page, complete the table below showing the possible effects of global warming.
   
   

   Global Warming Effect On:	Summary of Effect
   Human Health
   Ecological Systems
   Sea Level Rise
   Crops and Food Supply

   
   
10. Finally, you'll discover how We Can Make a Difference. List at least five things you can do that would help reduce greenhouse gases.