Published in the February 17 – March 1, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Michelle Kopari’s fifth-]grade class at Nordstrom Elementary School
Global warming harms Earth in many ways. Everyone needs to realize that their everyday activities are contributing to the damaging of our planet. We must find ways to reduce the amount of harmful greenhouse gasses that we put into our atmosphere or the Earth might heat up and we and other living things might become extinct.
Some greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide (or “laughing gas”). Many of these gases are produced through the process of burning fossil fuels. These fuels are coal, oil and natural gas which are burned to make products in factories, to keep people warm in their homes, or as petroleum products used to move automobiles, trucks, trains and airplanes.
After coal and oil is burned, they are chemically transformed into carbon dioxide (or CO2). The carbon dioxide and methane that goes into the atmosphere mixes with the other gases.
However, these gases get stuck in our atmosphere and retain heat coming from sunlight, causing the planet to warm up. The greenhouse effect is based on the principle of a greenhouse such as one where you can grow plants.
We do have solutions to minimize the impact of global warming on our planet. We can go to work or school in carpools because cars burn the fossil fuels and instead of having one person in a car driving to a destination you can have two or more passengers. Lighting systems using advanced technology such as LEDs (light-emitting diodes) are far more efficient than traditional lighting technology such as an old-fashioned lightbulb. If your destination is close, you can walk or bike there instead of driving, reducing fossil fuel consumption.
It’s up to our generation and everyone else to save our planet by reducing our carbon footprint.
It’s time to act to stop the threat of global warming.
After a Junior Journalism workshop by Morgan Hill Life Publisher Marty Cheek, Nordstrom Elementary School fifth graders in Michelle Kopari’s class wrote this column.
