To the editor:

Oil and gas are made of carbon-based molecules. When they are burned (in our car engines or power plants) they turn into heat, water, and carbon dioxide. This is called a combustion reaction, and is often taught in chemistry class.

This means that every gallon of oil and gas that gets used turns into carbon dioxide, which is released into the atmosphere. Every gallon of gas we put into our cars, ends up in the atmosphere. Now think of all the gas every American combined puts into their cars each day, all ending up in the air.

This is why the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are now higher than they have ever been in the planets history.

Carbon dioxide traps heat inside the atmosphere and warms the planet. This is the cause of Climate Change.

This process has been a concern since 1965, which was the first time the President’s Science Advisory Committee presented this information to the United States.

Today, the planet has warmed nearly two degrees because of this, creating a shift in the planets weather patterns. People, animals, and plants are not prepared for this shift in weather, leaving cities to flood, forests to burn, and animals to go extinct.

Carbon dioxide also gets absorbed into the ocean, making the ocean water more acidic than ever before. The acidity dissolves shells and kills coral reefs.