Global Warming

Increases in the numbers of cattle and rice fields have increased the amount of methane released into the atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere absorb most of the energy radiated by the Earth. Some of this energy is reradiated back to the Earth and so keeps the Earth warmer than it would otherwise be.
Increasing levels of these gases may be causing global warming by increasing the ‘greenhouse effect’. An increase in the Earth’s temperature of only a few degrees Celsius:
− may cause quite big changes in the Earth’s climate
− may cause a rise in sea level.