(Note: This article is an opinion piece expressing one angle of the global warming argument. Though some proven facts are presented, points contained within the article represent the views of only some scientists and experts.)

Written by DeAnna Britton, Relate Contributing Writer

Have you experienced crazy weather lately? This may be due to global warming. For the last few years, we have heard of global warming and the effect it has on our lives. There has been warning for us to start treating our Earth better or we may not have much of one left. It is important for the youth of the world to be educated on the problems the world is facing so that they can unite and work to end the destruction of the place we call home. Here’s what you need to know.

The “greenhouse effect” is when there are certain gases in the atmosphere that trap heat. When there are a lot of these gases in our atmosphere, more and more heat gets trapped and it makes the Earth warmer. This is also what saves us from freezing. Greenhouse gases are valuable to us to keep the temperature on Earth stable. The problem is when we burn fossil fuels and other greenhouse gases, it increases the temperature of the Earth.

The increase in the Earth’s temperature can cause many harmful effects to our environment. When the temperature rapidly increases, the people and animals living on it can’t adapt quickly enough to these changes. It also changes the climate and starts to melt the polar ice caps, which increase sea levels. This warming also affects the weather. The weather becomes more extreme and causes more rain to fall or longer droughts to occur in some areas.

Recently, thousands of emails were released from the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit showing that data was falsified. These emails showed that data was changed to fit the global warming standards in order to pass the global carbon tax and trade. These are the documents that were said to have been destroyed, but they contained the information needed to verify the global warming claims. These emails were verified as authentic and shows that the research unit was lying in order to support the global carbon tax and trade, which would cost Americans more than $100 billion a year.

Starting on December 7th, the climate experts and global leaders will meet to discuss their goals and plan to fight global warming. This meeting is the ten-day UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark. There are more than 85 leaders attending this conference, hoping to find an answer on how to start to control global warming and keeping our Earth safe. According to the UN’s Panel on Climate Change, the reasons for the increase of greenhouse gases are because of things like deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels to run cars.

You can be a part of the effort to help our environment. Some steps to take are being aware of how much energy you are using in your house.

• Begin being conscious of how much water you use and turn lights off when you don’t need them; this will help a lot if everyone works to make sure they use less.
• Another way to help is to contact your local senators and ask them to consider passing a bill for climate and energy. Your senators are representing what is best for the people, so they will take what you have to say into consideration. It never hurts to try and you can really make a difference.
• If you drive, carpooling to school or work will decrease the amount of fossil fuels that are burnt. Remember, fossil fuels are dangerous to our atmosphere.
• If your school has a choice between paper plates and glass plates, go for the glass plates. Cutting down on waste will also help our environment.

The best way to help is to inform your peers of the dangers global warming can pose on our environment. Do your part in keeping our Earth in good shape.

Tags: burning fossil fuels, global carbon tax and trade, global warming, global warming claims, go green, greenhouse effect, treat earth better, UN's Panel on Climate Change, winter's here