Today the world depends heavily on fossil fuels to provide its energy needs.
Whenever these fuels are burned,
climate-changing gases are released into the atmosphere - 40,000 tons (nearly the weight of the Titanic) have been released across the world since you began reading this!
These gases act like one-way mirrors. They let in energy from the Sun but trap it and stop it from escaping back out into space. The trapped energy stays near the Earth's surface and causes it to warm.
As the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased they have started to have a big impact on the climate and weather patterns.
Governments around the world are trying to agree on how to cut back on these gases and sort out the problem, but individuals and organisations, like the Science Museum, also need to do their bit.
At the Science Museum we've begun an investigation - with the help of the Carbon Trust - to improve the way we use energy around our Museum sites and to find ways we can use low-carbon energy sources, such as biofuels and solar power.
Although we've only just started, we've already achieved a 10 per cent reduction in our total energy use and carbon dioxide emissions.
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Fascinating fact
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Hurricane
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Carbon dioxide map
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Watch: Greenhouse effect
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