The influence of man on the earth and the environment has been drastic to say the least. Carbon dioxide levels have increased 30% over the last 200 years.

The global rate of ice melting on glaciers and in Polar Regions has more than doubled since 1988.

Global warming from 12,000 civil aircraft each day adds to this problem because of contrails forming - trails of cloud from water vapor in the plane exhaust. Contrails reflect heat back to earth.

The greenhouse effect is a natural occurrence that maintains Earth's average temperature at approximately 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The real threat of climate change lies in how quickly the change occurs.

The Earth's avarage temperature is maintained at 60~ Fahenheit by the greenhouse effect. It is very important and necessary to keep all earth's heat from escaping to the outer atmosphere. Without this phenomenon, the temperatures on earth would be much lower and it would make almost impossible the life on this planet.

On the other hand, too many greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere could increase the greenhouse effect. An increase in global temperatures changes in precipitation patterns could be the results, making some places impossible to live in.

If temperatures do indeed rise significantly, the most important result would be that some portion of the polar icecaps would melt, raising global sea levels. The rise in sea levels would be disastrous for some places. Islands would disappear; meaning their millions of inhabitants would have to relocate. Flooding would occur along coastlines all over the world.

Strip mining poisons the water and causes defects and many additional problems. One of the major responsible for this situation is the industry. Clear-cutting prevents the earth of its natural defenses against global warming and maximises the problem of landslides.

Other adverse affect that man has on the environment is the bad water. Half of all hospital beds worldwide are occupied with people who have become ill because of it. Everyday 6000 children die from dirty water and poor hygiene, especially in poor countries of Africa. Another reason why the water is in such bad conditions is that the industry does nothing to improve the water conditions and keep it clean.

All is not lost though; there are many avenues that can be traveled to reverse man~s affects on the planet. By starting now to be environmental conscious and teaching the younger generations to follow your lead, we may yet be able to save the earth.