"In the last 35 years the number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes have almost doubled along with an increase in wind speed and size."

Grant Noble

April, 14,2010

Final Draft

Global Warming and Hurricanes.

Just image if your house is underwater, everything you have ever known is lost, and you have to restart your life, all because of a hurricane. Now what if you could change all that by turning off a light bulb, or walking to work. I argue that global warming causes a rise in water temperature, which affects the strength of hurricanes. As global temperatures rise, so do SST’s, “sea surface temperatures”, which increase the strength and intensity of storms, which damage the economy and wildlife forever.

The main thing I want people to understand is that global warming is a dangerous thing. When most people think of global warming they think of melting ice, or warmer days, not hurricanes. The fact is that global warming does a lot more then melt ice, global warming bleaches coral reefs, and causes larger storms. These storms damage property, and the lives of people and wildlife, and are only getting worse with time. The reason for this is the rise in Co2 in our atmosphere. The Co2 is acting like a shield and is not letting the sun’s ray’s escape as much. The rays are being trapped on earth for a longer period of time, and are overheating the earth.

The main way green house gasses are produced is through combustion. Everything on earth contains carbon, and when it is burned carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Some of the main contributors to carbon dioxide are your cars, and your electricity, through the burning of coal, and petroleum.

When you drive your car, you are burning a chemical called petroleum. This chemical contains long strains of carbons, which when burned turn in to carbon dioxide, which leads to global warming. There are many ways to limit the amount of carbon you put in the air, many of which include physical labor. Activities such as running or biking to work, can drastically decrease your carbon emissions, and may also get you in shape. Reducing you electricity bill will help you and the planet. 50% of all your electricity comes from the burning of coal. These coal run power plants, are one of the worst contributors to global warming. After the coal is burned, and run threw a generator, the gasses sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide are introduced into the atmosphere, furthering along global warming. The easiest way to do this is to turn off all the light when you are not in the room. You will notice the difference and so will the planet.