* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Common Misconceptions about Climate Change
Fossil fuel phase-out wikipedia , lookup
Climate resilience wikipedia , lookup
Heaven and Earth (book) wikipedia , lookup
Instrumental temperature record wikipedia , lookup
Climatic Research Unit documents wikipedia , lookup
German Climate Action Plan 2050 wikipedia , lookup
2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference wikipedia , lookup
Global warming hiatus wikipedia , lookup
General circulation model wikipedia , lookup
Climate sensitivity wikipedia , lookup
Climate change mitigation wikipedia , lookup
ExxonMobil climate change controversy wikipedia , lookup
Global warming controversy wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on human health wikipedia , lookup
Climate change denial wikipedia , lookup
Climate change adaptation wikipedia , lookup
Economics of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Climate change in Tuvalu wikipedia , lookup
Low-carbon economy wikipedia , lookup
Climate governance wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Climate change in Canada wikipedia , lookup
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change wikipedia , lookup
Fred Singer wikipedia , lookup
Climate engineering wikipedia , lookup
Climate change and agriculture wikipedia , lookup
Global warming wikipedia , lookup
Media coverage of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Citizens' Climate Lobby wikipedia , lookup
Attribution of recent climate change wikipedia , lookup
Scientific opinion on climate change wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on humans wikipedia , lookup
Climate change in the United States wikipedia , lookup
Climate change feedback wikipedia , lookup
Mitigation of global warming in Australia wikipedia , lookup
Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme wikipedia , lookup
Effects of global warming on Australia wikipedia , lookup
Climate change and poverty wikipedia , lookup
Surveys of scientists' views on climate change wikipedia , lookup
Solar radiation management wikipedia , lookup
Climate change, industry and society wikipedia , lookup
Politics of global warming wikipedia , lookup
Public opinion on global warming wikipedia , lookup
Common Misconceptions about Climate Change Misconception: Climate change and the loss of the ozone layer are pretty much the same thing. Fact: Climate change and the loss of the ozone layer are two different problems that are not very closely connected. The largest contributor to global warming is carbon dioxide gas released when coal, oil, and natural gas (called “fossil fuels”) are burned. CFCs, gases that cause stratospheric ozone depletion, play only a minor role in climate change. The depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer, including the ozone hole, is a serious environmental problem because it causes an increase in ultraviolet radiation, which can harm people, animals, and plants. This is a different problem from the problem of climate change. Misconception: Aerosol spray cans are a major contributor to climate change. Fact: Using aerosol spray cans has almost no effect on climate change. In the past, aerosol spray cans contained CFCs, which contributed to the depletion of the ozone layer (not the same as global warming). Under U.S. law, aerosol spray cans no longer contain CFCs. Misconception: General pollution and toxic chemicals are major contributors to climate change. Fact: Most forms of pollution play little or no role in climate change. The invisible carbon dioxide released when coal, oil, and gas are burned is the single most important contributor to climate change. The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, to produce energy for electricity, heat and transportation is the primary source of carbon dioxide, which is the most important contributor to global warming. Carbon dioxide does not contribute to general air pollution. Misconception: The space program is a major contributor to climate change because it punches holes in the atmosphere. Fact: The space program has almost no effect on climate change. The local changes rockets make in the atmosphere soon disappear. Gases released by rocket exhaust have no real impact on global warming. They have only a small, largely short-term, local effect on the different problem of stratospheric ozone depletion. Misconception: Using nuclear power causes climate change. Fact: Nuclear power does not contribute to climate change. If nuclear power is used instead of coal or oil, it will reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. "Renewable energy" sources, such as solar power, can also reduce carbon dioxide emissions. While nuclear power plants present a variety of other environmental problems, they do not emit gases that contribute to global warming. Excerpted from the U.S. Global Climate Change Research Information Office (http://www.gcrio.org/gwcc/index.htm) Downloaded and reformatted 12-16-09 by Mary Kelly Klein, Instructor, Mt. Hood Community College.