In school, you might do a reading about global warming or climate change, see it on your news feed often, or maybe even just hear about it passed down from other people. Now I know what you are thinking, what the heck is even global warming and why do we care so much? 

Well, I want you to know exactly what it is, how it is affecting the earth, and why you should care about it.  

According to the Oxford dictionary, global warming is a gradual increase in the temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide. In an article published by NASA in a time period between the 1850s and 1900s, due to human activities and the burning of fossil fuels, global warming was on a rise.

Global warming is always being confused with climate change, climate change is a change in global or regional climate patterns. Also in the NASA article, it is said since the pre-industrial period human activities have increased global warming temperature by 1-degree Celsius, but currently, it has been raised by 0.02 Celsius.

According to Earthday.org, within the next two decades, global temperatures will rise 1.5 Celsius degrees. The last seven7 years have been the warmest the Earth has ever been, and more than a million species are at risk of extinction. Now, that you know about global warming:, get the facts and evidence.

I want you to ask yourself, why should I care and what should I do to save my planet? 

It is proven that carbon dioxide is the planet's worst enemy. Carbon dioxide is released when fossil fuels are burned for energy, but we need the energy to power our cars, homes, and smartphones.

Now, I know you're thinking that well how am I going to charge my phone or drive my car to work and school. There are other outlets to help use the power that is healthy for the planet. You can choose a utility company that generates energy from wind and solar power. Also, you reduce water waste, invest in energy-efficient appliances, drive a fuel-efficient vehicle, and shrink carbon life.

Global warming won’t just impact forests, ocean life, but it will affect us, humans. We may not know it, and we may brush it off, but we need to take action now if we are going to live on this planet. We live in a beautiful world that needs to be taken care of just the way it takes care of us. I hope you take action and speak up against global warming.