Many people are unaware of the extent to which they contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. The truth is that we, as people, support the burning of fossil fuels almost without knowing it. We use them for everything from everyday household supplies to the gases we use to heat our homes and run our cars. The steady increase in the use of these fossil fuels is having an alarming effect on our climate. Global warming will change the Earth in unimaginable ways. With the ever-increasing amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, glaciers are melting rapidly, causing sea levels to rise. Coastal changes will certainly alter our living environment over the next hundred years. Global warming is a phenomenon in which the temperature on Earth increases. Throughout history, we have observed natural stages in our Earth's climate, between warm and cold periods, due to increasing carbon dioxide. These stages are generally cyclical, but temperatures are rising faster than ever (Pipkin). Ancient ice cores dating back 800,000 years show a constant level of greenhouse gases (Scambos). Proving this point, Ted Scambos states: “The dramatic increase in gases observed in recent decades – from 315 parts per billion in 1958 to 388 parts per million for carbon dioxide. . . "(37). Greenhouse gases are emitted by the burning of fossil fuels (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen oxides). These gases create a barrier that traps incoming solar radiation (insolation) and warms the earth Carbon dioxide is the most abundant gas but not as potent as methane. For example, “methane in the atmosphere warms the Earth more than 20 times more per molecule than carbon dioxide. , it oxidizes to carbon dioxide and remains... ... middle of paper ...... Mbia University Columbia University, January 19, 2011. Web. Kunzig, Robert "A world. without ice". National Geographic, October 2011: 90-109. Print. Orlove, Ben. “Retreating glaciers: examining the limits of human adaptation to climate change." Environment 51.3 (2009): 22. MasterFILE Premier. Internet . November 21, 2011. Pipkin, Bernard W.. Geology and Environment. Belmont, California: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Scambos, Ted. “Land ice: sea level, climate and our future commitment.” Bulletin of Atomic Scientists 67.1 (2011): 28-40. Elite academic research. Internet. November 21, 2011. Stephen M. Smith, et al. "A review of recent developments in the science of climate change. Part II: The impacts of climate change on a global scale." Progress in Physical Geography 35.4 (2011): 443-464.Academic Search Elite. Internet. November 21. 2011