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What are Carbon Emissions?

The Carbon emissions that are often talked about these days are associated with global warming.They refer to the emission of CO₂ gas.The gas is called carbon dioxide and is building up in unnatural amounts in the atmosphere as a result of pollution.

Most of the CO₂ that is being produced in the world today comes from the burning of fossil fuels like coal.Some of it is absorbed by the worlds plants, which is why it is so important to protect the environment.You can see from the table lower down the page that an enormous excess amount is going into our atmosphere right now.So much in fact that it is having an impact on the world's climate.The effect it has is called global warming.

Why Reduce Carbon Emissions?

Reducing carbon emissions helps to slow down global warming and subsequent climate change.Most thinking people in the world realize that global warming is a very serious matter.It is very important to minimize carbon emissions and global warming for the sake of our children and future generations.

What is Global Warming?

Global warming as the name suggests is a heating up of our planet.The greenhouse gases (which include CO₂ from carbon emissions) that are going into our atmosphere are trapping the heat from the sun and causing the atmosphere to be warmer than normal.The exact way it heats up is very complicated because it is dependant on a large number of factors.There is a rough correlation though and that is the more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere the warmer it will get.

Consequences of Global Warming

Much has been said about global warming and for very good reason.Unfortunately not enough is being done about it. Governments should be taking the correct steps but at the moment too little is being done.The amount of CO₂ pollution going into the atmosphere is still increasing each year.It is important that individuals do their part. One possible consequence of global warming is crop failure by drought,floods and wild storms like we have never seen before. Food prices may increase dramatically resulting in the starvation of millions of people.Extremes of weather are also likely to directly take peoples lives. Have a think about whether you want your children to face such conditions.Unfortunately the poorest nations will be the ones most affected and many of those are not significantly contributing to the problem.Global warming is deadly even though many people do not understand that, don't want to believe it or don't think it will affect them.It is already affecting every living organism on the planet and future consequences are likely to be severe.

Lets look at a few examples,in South East Australia there has been a drought for several years,Melbourne had its driest spring on record in 2008 and water storage levels in 2008 are the lowest they have ever been for a similar time of year.A desalination plant and also a water pipeline are being built to try and rectify the problems of Melbournes dwindling water supply.Many farmers in south east Australia are going through very difficult times due to the prolonged droughts.A recent CSIRO study has found that there will be decreased rainfall over much of temperate Australia due to global warming,in particular during Spring and Autumn and it already seems to be occuring.Droughts are also occuring in Argentina in South America which is in a similar climate zone.Needless to say that this has a devastating effect on the economy and food production of these regions.

More examples

How To Reduce My Carbon Emissions?

It is easy to reduce your carbon emissions if you make an effort.It is just a matter of getting used to a different way of doing things.Often there are health benefits and money savings associated with reducing carbon emissions. Please click on the links just below and read through the techniques and do as much as you can.These links can also be found at the very top left of every page.Good luck,the world depends on you.