Global Warming
is a term used to describe the theory that global temperatures have
been rising because of the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
NASA scientists warned that rising carbon dioxide levels from petroleum
use were causing a potentially catastrophic global-warming trend by trapping
the sun's radiation close to Earth. This theory, also known as the greenhouse
effect, argues that such pollutants create warm air that raise the temperature,
causing the Antarctic ice cap to melt and global sea levels to rise.
The EPA also concluded that rising sea levels could submerge 30 to 80 percent
of U.S. coastal wetlands by the year 2100, if emissions of carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases continued at the current rate. Supporters of
the global warming theory argue that higher earth temperatures will cause
extreme climatic changes and flooding and will disrupt agriculture around
the world.
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