The levels of green house gases have been increasing, and are the major reason as to why the climate on Earth is getting warmer and impacting the environment and the way in which we live.  The increase in green house gases are heating up our planet because they are causing more long wave energy to be trapped in the atmosphere, and absorbing this energy therefore leading to global warming.

            1)  Increase of Carbon Dioxide emissions in the atmosphere

  The increase of carbon dioxide in the air has resulted in global warming.  Carbon dioxide levels have increased in the atmosphere because of cars, airplanes, power plants and buildings.  All of these things are a result of human behavior on the planet.  

The burning of fossil fuels in power plants is the biggest contributor to the rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  In 2002, according to the Ecobridge’s website,  about 40% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions stem from the burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation.

        Cars are the second biggest emitters of carbon dioxide.  According to the U.S. Emissions inventory 2006, about 33% of U.S carbon dioxide emissions comes from the burning of gasoline in internal-combustion engines of cars and light trucks.

2)   Increase of Methane

The rising levels of methane in the air, another green house gas,  also contributes to the increase in global climate change. According to the IPCC, Methane is more than 20 times as effective as CO2 at trapping heat in the atmosphere. US Emissions Inventory 2004 shows that levels of atmospheric methane have risen 145% in the last 100 years.  Methane is produced from rice paddies, bacteria in bogs (an area of wet, spongy land), and fossil fuels.  

3)  Deforestation

Deforestation is the activity of cutting down and burning forests and trees.  Humans are destroying many rainforests by cutting down and burning trees, creating a huge amount of carbon dioxide emissions into the air.  Also, humans are destroying temperate forests, which account for an absorption rate of 2 billion tons of carbon annually. It is estimated that we are losing 34 million acres of trees each year due to deforestation.

Sources:

http://www.ecobridge.org/content/g_cse.htm

http://timeforchange.org/cause-and-effect-for-global-warming