Background Information:
FACT ONE
Earth is almost five billion years old (apparently), although life (resembling life as we know it) has only existed on the planet for the last 150 million to 200 million years. This means that life has only been present on Earth for only 5%-10% of its lifetime.
FACT TWO
Earth is almost five billion years old (apparently), although life (resembling life as we know it) has only existed on the planet for the last 150 million to 200 million years. This means that life has only been present on Earth for only 5%-10% of its lifetime.
FACT THREE
Despite being called Earth, only 29% of the surface is actually ‘earth.’ The rest of the planet’s surface (71%) is made up of water.
FACT FOUR
Earth is the only planet in the Solar System to have water in its three states of matter: as a solid (ice), a liquid (sea, rain, etc.) and as a vapour/gas (clouds). Water is, of course, the most important liquid for life.
FACT FIVE
The proportion of Ice to Liquid to Gas is changing dramatically. There is now substantially less Ice on Earth than there was 10 years ago. As Earth is a closed system, the net reduction in ice has lead to an increase in water and vapour.
FACT SIX
This is happening because the temperature of the earth is rising. This is due to the propagation of Green House Gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. These Green Houses Gases act as a form of insulation around the earth which traps heat. The temperature rise leads to extremes of weather; heat, storms, rain, wind and snow and other climatic events we have experienced of late.
