Temps Rising
the most abundant and well known greenhouse gas
What is carbon dioxide?
the trapping of heat by certain gases to maintain a livable temperature on our planet
What is the greenhouse effect?
a change in the DNA of a gene or chromosome
What is a mutation?
a trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce
What is an adaptation?
what we reduce when we limit the burning of fossil fuels
What are carbon emissions (the amount of carbon dioxide released into our atmosphere)?
the rise in Earth's average global temperature due to human impact like the burning of fossil fuels
What is global warming?
What is nitrogen?
a mutation of a DNA code in the first cell of a polar bear allows the bear to develop a thinner coat of fur in a warming Arctic climate
What is beneficial?
the ability to blend in with your environment, like the peppered moths dark color on the tree bark turned dark by pollution in the 1800's in England
What is camouflage?
living things on the surface of the land that are great at taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere
What are trees?
What is methane?
the gas in our atmosphere created by photosynthesis
What is oxygen?
an alligator has albinism in the wild giving it white skin and pink eyes in the lush green and muddy swamp where it lives
What is harmful?
a type of adaptation like the tongue of a frog where a body part helps the organism survive
What is a structural adaptation?
What is solar power or wind power or hydroelectric power?
harmless gas that holds in heat in the atmosphere, more is being added by the evaporation of ocean waters as our global temp increases
What is water vapor?
the gas in our atmosphere removed by photosynthesis
What is carbon dioxide?
a mutation in a gene allows most people to be able to digest lactose (a sugar found in milk)
What is beneficial?
a type of adaptation where an action like digging a den helps an organism survive
What is a behavioral adaptation?
phytoplankton (algae) live here and help this be one of the largest carbon sinks on the planet
What is the ocean?
time period in the late 1800's and early 1900's where we saw a switch from making things by hand to making things using machines
What is the Industrial Revolution?
The burning of these energy sources puts more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
What are fossil fuels?
a mutation that has no effect on an organism's fitness (being able to survive and thrive in its environment)
What is neutral?
a behavioral adaptation where animals move to another place for a season
What is migration?
one easy way to reduce global warming (there are lots of them!)
What is turn off the lights when you leave the room, don't run the water while you brush your teeth, don't turn the air conditioning too low in the summer or the heat too high in the winter, or any other way you can think to reduce the amount of energy you use (like don't wait in drive through lines or take short showers)?