Wednesday 25th January 2012 English Writing Task- 500 word essay y Climate change is caused by human beings.

Unless we change our ways, the planet will be destroyed

I agree with this statement because we are the main residents of Earth, therefore we should look after it and we haven t as we are burning fossil fuel on a huge scale. Burning these fossil fuels is what provides us with electricity but by burning these fossil fuels we are also polluting the atmosphere with harmful chemicals. We could slow climate change down but we refuse to slow it down as the hunger for electricity and fuel powered transport is greater than the preservation of our earth.

I have done some research on climate change and this is what I have found. The pre-industrial concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 280 parts per million. As of March 2009, it has reached 387 ppm. Today, the amount of carbon dioxide is higher than at any time in the last 650,000 years. And the Earth's average temperature is increasing faster than ever before. Average sea level is expected to rise 7 - 23 inches before the end of this century; this is because the temperature is getting higher melting the ice earth has to create more water! The current pace of global average temperature rise puts approximately 20 to 30 percent of plant and animal species at increased risk of extinction. Carbon dioxide acts like a blanket, trapping the sun s heat around the planet.

I hope this gives you a better understanding of the severity and problem that climate change has on the planet. So we know climate change is caused by Carbon dioxide so let s look at some examples of how carbon dioxide is produced: y y y y y Through the decay of animal and plant matter. Burning fossil fuels. Production of cement. Volcanic eruptions. The using of oxygen in the human body and other animals (respiration).

We are to be held responsible for three of the above contributors, one we cannot help (respiration) but the one that contributes the most is burning of fossil fuels and we are to be held responsible for that. There are many ways to help slow down global warming here are a few: Change your lights to energy saving ones. Drive less.

Fly less. Recycle more and buy recycled. Use less hot water as it uses fossil fuels to make the water hot. Avoid products with a lot of packaging. Adjust your thermostat. Plant a tree. A single tree can absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its life time. Turn off electronic devices when not in us. Insulate your home so you use less fossil fuel to heat it up, not only is it good for the atmosphere but it saves you money!

To conclude we are not totally to blame for climate change but in my opinion we are heavily to blame, and I hope this essay gives you understanding of the situation and I hope you decide to help stop climate change.