Describe the connection between fossil fuel burning, the melting of polar ice, and the rising of global sea levels.

When fossil fuels are burned, they emit carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun in the Earth's atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise. This rise in temperature causes places all over the Earth to heat up. In turn, the ice around the North and South pole melts. When this ice melts, it causes the global sea levels to rise.