You may have noticed how different the climate is today compared to ten years ago. This was one of the warmest winters in history. I watch the news every morning and see that millions of people live in areas where at least a foot of rain, ice, sleet and snow falls on them every day. The ice is so thick that it is causing power lines to freeze and snap, leaving them without electricity and freezing them for days. Many have to evacuate to other locations if they can go out or even drive their own car. Let's not forget the increasingly frequent river floods, fires and landslides, the increase in storms such as tornadoes and hurricanes. This year, 11 tornadoes have been spotted in California, which is very unusual for sunny California. As carbon dioxide levels in the Earth's atmosphere increase, temperatures rise every year. Have you ever thought about what could cause these climate changes? Studies have been conducted and climatologists have come to the conclusion that increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) have made the Earth's atmosphere warmer than it was millions of years ago. In this article we will focus on how CO2 levels are the key issue in climate change. First we'll find out what carbon dioxide is and how CO2 traps heat from the sun in the atmosphere. Secondly, the greenhouse effect and how human activity affects the climate will be discussed. Finally, we will talk about ways to reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Plants need carbon dioxide to grow. They absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen through the process of photosynthesis. People need carbon dioxide too, we recycle it too. The amount of carbon dioxide…half the paper…so it creates a change in our climate. Humanity has contributed to this change by cutting down trees, burning coal, gasoline and using other fossil fuels. That's why we need to switch to alternative energy sources such as wind energy, solar energy and other renewable resources. Using these alternative energy sources could reduce carbon dioxide or eliminate the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the daily activities of humans. All over the world there is a need to invest in more alternative energy sources. One country won't be able to do it alone and if it were a global undertaking we would be well on our way to reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and possibly reversing this climate change. Because if we don't do this we won't have an Earth to live on because at the rate we're going we'll end up destroying it.