Global Warming is the increase in the average temperature on Earth’s surface. Not only does global warming affect the temperature, and the landscape of the Earth, it also affects ecosystems and homes for animals that are becoming endangered because they are not able to adapt to the temperature changes.

Global warming is something that has been increasing for the last 50 years. It is mainly caused by the increase of greenhouse gasses, carbon dioxide and methane that is primarily in the earth’s upper atmosphere. This is all because of human burning of fossil fuels, industrial, farming, and deforestation projects. So far the changes are small but they are expected to grow rapidly. Within the next couple of centuries, the Earth may become hotter than it has ever become before. When the oceans start to warm up and the glaciers melt, land and cities along the coasts may be flooded.

Glaciers are thick masses of slow moving ice that cover about a tenth of the Earth’s land surface. Most of these ice sheets are found in Antarctica and Greenland but smaller ice caps are found all around the world. All the glaciers added together contain about seventy-five percent of the available fresh water of the earth. By the end of next century, scientists are predicting that the sea-level will rise twenty-five inches. This doesn’t mean that the world is going to flood anytime soon, but it does need to raise awareness. Countries that are located the middle of the ocean on small islands are getting affected by this. The glacier that melts runs off into the ocean, which rises the ocean level. As the ocean level rises, more of the island is sinking year by year. Most people stuck out on these islands either do not want to leave or have now way to leave. They are losing their homes and lives because of global warming.

On the other hand, people are not the only ones who are suffering. So are plants and animals. Animals like polar bears that live in Antarctica and around the glaciers are not used to the temperature change their thick fur over heats them, and their habitat is slowly being destroyed. All their weight can sometimes not be carried on the thin ice since its melting so much, and the dropping temperatures affect the way they are used to doing things. They can’t adapt to a new way of living that easily. As far as plants, deforestation is occuring. This is used to make timber to just clear the way for new development. This is another way humans are increasing the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Sometimes they just set fire to the fields, and what about the life that was living there? So many plants and animals are becoming extinct that it is just too hard to get rid of their ecosystem like that.

Overall, we are seeing some changes for the worst on Earth today because of global warming. People need to start to be aware of what exactly they are doing to ecosystem and how they are harming the Earth itself, and the planet that they themselves live on. Even if some of the things that are occuring aren’t all humans fault, we need to do our best to keep Earth in its best shape.