Reading Graphs: How to read a graph

What is the horizontal axis showing, and what is the range of values?

The horizontal axis is showing calendar years and the range of values (from when to when the data was collected is from 1979-2000.

Is present day on the right, or the left?
Present day(11 years ago) is on the right.

What is the vertical axis showing, what are the units, and what is the range of values?
 The vertical axis is showing degrees C˚.  The range of values is -0.6˚ -  0.8˚ C.  The horizontal axis is showing calendar years
The graph was created from data that was gathered.  Does the web page state where the data came from?
The web page (nasa) states that the information comes from surface temperatures in the tropospheric  layer.

Do I Believe What I Read?

After reading the two articles about global warming, I came to the conculution that I did not believe or agree with either of the two.  Actually saying that I did not agree would be a false statement because I could agree with both.  National Geographic, I personally think, is not a bias website.  On the other hand, I could not decipher whether or not the other one was bias or not.  I don't think that they both gave all the information and I think any information they had was accurate for the entire globe.

Soil Loss Intro -- The End of Cheep Food

I read the article The End of Cheep Food.  The article had many statistics.  Here are a couple:


Statistic: 98% of people do not derive their lively hood from the ground.  Only 1/3 of people make something.
Reaction: Compared to 1-2 centuries ago, that is not a lot of people who make a lively hood from the ground.  If you think about how much country land their is in the US and the world, then look at that percentage, that is not a lot of people farming.  I wonder what happens to all of that land.

Statistic: China has 20% of the worlds population, but only has 7% of the worlds farm land.
Reaction: That is a lot of people.  OK, first of all, China is a huge consumer of rice.  That is a staple in their diet.  But if they only have 7% of the land, how are they feeding everyone.  The article then goes on to say that countries are buying each others land in order to feed their people. This must be a reason that Chinese families can only have 2 children.