Pollution and greenhouse gases are major environmental issues plaguing our planet today. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, and more. These gases rise up to the atmosphere and create a thicker insulation layer. Radiation from the sun passes through the atmosphere but then gets trapped in the Earth because of that thicker atmosphere due to greenhouse gases. The Sun is a very hot object, and the rays it projects into the Earth are also hot. Because these rays are trapped in the Earth, the Earth gets warmer. This is what is known as global warming. It is called global warming because it is global, or is happening all throughout the globe.

Locals cannot grasp with the gravity of the seriousness of global warming. Richard Joe states, “With nice hot weather, the Earth should just take a vacation to the beach, have a nice cool drink of coke and eat some ice-cream.” Locals do not realize the Earth is not a person but in fact a planet, so they laugh of global warming as a joke. Global warming has the ability to change ocean currents, melt the icecaps which will not only destory homes for polar bears, seals, penguins, and more but will also cause rising sea level. Scientists report “no cap” as when you put ice in a glass of water and wait for it to melt, there will be more water in the cup and scientists say to treat the Earth like a glass of water in this situation except the water should not increase. If water levels rise, many cities will submerge underwater. Local John Doe says “I would love for my home to become a beach” but does not realize his entire home will be underwater, meaning he will no longer have a home.

Many people began attributing the rise of greenhouse gases to greenhouses. “Makes sense to me” Joe says, “If they are called greenhouse gases they must be coming from greenhouses.” However, the similar naming scheme is all but a coincidence, as greenhouses grow plants, not generate greenhouse gases. Middle school science teachers across the nation affirm plants to produce oxygen through photosynthesis, a chemical reaction where plants turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and glucose. Scientists have confirmed humans do breathe carbon dioxide and plants do produce oxygen. In fact, plants are reducing greenhouse gases because of their ability to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. Greenhouses trap heat inside so the plants are able to stay warm, and greenhouse gases are called that because they turn the Earth into a greenhouse which traps heat, not because greenhouses produce these gases. Greenhouses are beneficial for our planet and they are a great way to learn botany and gardening.