We keep hearing the term global warming being tossed around. It's not unusual to hear it mentioned on national news at least once a week. But what does global warming actually mean?

Global warming, also known as climate change, is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth's surface. Since 1900, the average temperature on Earth has risen by more than a degree. One degree may seem small but the consequences of it have already been seen. People have been debating about whether this warming is a natural pattern or human related. In 2007, the United Nations scientists studying global warming declared that it is very likely that the warming trend is human caused.

The biggest contributor to global warming is carbon dioxide. The use of fossil fuels such as gasoline and oil produces carbon dioxide. When these fuels are burned, carbon dioxide gas escapes to the atmosphere. This large amount of carbon dioxide gas basically forms a large blanket in our atmosphere and does not allow heat to escape to space. The trapped heat slowly warms up the plant. As we keep emitting carbon dioxide, the blanket above us continues to thicken and even less heat can escape.

The biggest carbon dioxide emitter in the world is China and the United States comes in second. However when it comes to individual emissions, the United States is on top and is followed by Russia, the European Union, China and India respectively.

There are many effects from global warming disrupting our lives right now. One of the most noticeable changes is the loss of glaciers. They have been disappearing from the Arctic and Antarctic regions as well as from mountain ranges. We have also seen a change in weather patterns including stronger hurricanes, longer droughts, and flooding.

The effects we see now are small compared to what humans will have to experience and deal with in the future. Scientists predict that glaciers will continue to shrink, deserts will continue to grow, and the sea level will rise around 2 feet within 100 years. Combining the rise in sea level with continued beach erosion could spell disaster. Weather patterns will continue to change. These changes will affect agricultural industries throughout the world. Ecosystems will change and we will see a loss of biodiversity in organisms that don't learn to adapt. These are only a few of the predicted changes caused by global warming. To learn more about what global warming has the potential to do, please visit the EPA's website on climate change.

Although global warming may be inevitable at this point, there are many ways we can help slow down and weaken its progress. This most important thing we can do is lower emissions. We want to keep that carbon dioxide blanket in our atmosphere as thin as possible. We can also try to reabsorb some of this existing carbon dioxide in the environment. A great way to do this is by planting new trees. Trees suck up the carbon in their surrounding environment and store it their trunks. These new trees also create great new habitats for animals who have been displaced by human expansion and logging.