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Speech: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Fellow delegates, I am here to talk to you today to explain global warming and its effects, and why the US must ratify the Kyoto Protocol if we are to reduce global warming. Global warming is the term used about the fact that the Earth is heating up. Global warming is also generalised as “the greenhouse effect”. When heat from the sun enters a greenhouse through the glass most of the heat is captured inside and this is the exact same effect that is causing global warming on Earth. However, contrary to a normal greenhouse, the Earth does not have any glass surrounding it. Instead, the atmosphere consists of several “greenhouse gases” (Natural greenhouse gases include: carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) that cause the same effect as the glass does in a normal greenhouse. Methane is the result of decomposition of organic waste in landfills. Nitrous oxide is emitted from most types of industry, agriculture and from combustion of solid waste and fossil fuels. The remaining “greenhouse gases” are industrially produced and used for instance in refrigerators. Carbon dioxide is emitted whenever fossil fuels are burned (e.g. oil and gasoline). Since fossil fuels have been the most common energy source in the world for the last 100 years, the emissions of carbon dioxide have grown dramatically. The last 100 years of meteorological data shows that the average temperature of Earth has increased by one degree Celsius. At first sight this does not seem like that much but when looking at the changes the Earth is going through already that tiny temperature increase is dreadful. Glaciers are melting and abnormal rain patterns are causing severe flooding. Predictions show that if the growth in emissions of the greenhouse gases continues, temperatures on Earth will increase by up to 5.8 degrees Celsius by the year 2100. The highest increase of temperature will occur on the South and the North Pole while the biggest oceans in general will not get hotter. If the average temperature of the Earth increases more it will cause the amounts of ice on the North and the South Pole to melt resulting in sea levels to rise and flooding in areas of low-lying land in the world. These areas include among others Holland and Bangladesh. Holland has the money to build embankments but a developing country like Bangladesh has not. And, as we all know, despite Holland’s flood prevention systems, it has still suffered severe flooding within the past decade. Also, the effects of recent floods in Bangladesh have been catastrophic, with many deaths. A further increase of the temperature will also cause increased drought in areas already plagued with too much sun, such as Africa.
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