Global warming effects include changes in weather patterns leading to widespread droughts and floods, melting of the polar ice caps and glaciers, and rising sea levels - in addition to rising temperatures worldwide. These changes are occurring in large part due to greenhouse gasses, mainly carbon dioxide, getting pumped into the atmosphere. These greenhouse gasses interact with the ozone layer and trap heat closer to the surface, which raises the temperature.

One of the terms that goes hand in hand with Global Warming is carbon footprint. Your carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse pollutants that your day to day activities - driving, use of appliances, and other things - generates. The best way the average person can help limit their impact on the environment is to reduce their carbon footprint.

To help counteract global warming, environmentalists and other experts recommend a move to green energy. Green energy is sustainable, non-polluting forms of energy production including wind power, hydroelectric generation, and solar energy. In early days, wind and solar power were inefficient and were troubled by lots of infrastructure problems. In recent years, however, both these infrastructure and efficiency problems have, for the most part, been overcome. Production costs have dropped to the point that conversion to solar or wind power is becoming cost effective for the average consumer.