Download Climate Change - Hale

Climate Change
CGW4U
What is Climate Change?
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Basically, the altering of long-term weather
patterns
Weather patterns do change over time naturally
 Ex:
The earth was on average several degrees
warmer than it is today during the Cretaceous
 Ex: During various Ice Ages the average global
temperature has been several degrees lower than it is
today
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However, the rate at which global temperatures
have been increasing, and the causes for this
increase, suggest that the current trend is
different than these previous natural fluctuations
How does it happen?
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Life on Earth is possible because of the warmth
of the sun
While some of this incoming solar radiation
bounces back into space, a small portion of it is
trapped by the delicate balance of gases that
make up our atmosphere
Without this layer of insulation, Earth would
simply be another frozen rock hurtling through
space
 Carbon
dioxide (CO2) is the most important gas in
this layer of insulation
How does it happen?
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Carbon is stored all over the planet — in plants,
soil, the ocean, and even us
We release it into the atmosphere as carbon
dioxide through activities such as burning fossil
fuels (coal, oil and gas) and cutting down trees
As a result, today's atmosphere contains 42%
more carbon dioxide than it did before the
industrial era
What does climate change look
like?
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On average, global temperatures are
increasing
 Some
months/years, and different places, will
be cooler than others at any given point
 As the earth’s average temperatures rises,
some place will actually get colder
What does climate change look
like?
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Rising sea levels due
to melting glaciers
and ice caps
Increased drought
conditions
More extreme
weather (hurricanes,
typhoons, tornados,
etc.)
The results
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Mass migrations
 Away
from flooded coastal cities, desertified areas no
longer capable of sustaining agriculture
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Famine
Spreading tropical diseases (like malaria)
Extinctions (like polar bears)
Disasters (forest fires, floods, violent storms)
The Debate?
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There are people who dispute that climate
change is happening, or that it is due to human
activity
While debate is always a good thing, the reality
is that the number of actual scientists who are
climate change deniers is an extreme minority
 The
little research that disputes climate change
findings is usually funded by petroleum companies
 The other reason to dispute climate science is
ideological: fear of government regulation, impact on
economy, etc.
What can be done?
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Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
 Move
away from fossil fuels (i.e. petroleum,
coal, etc.) towards renewable energy (i.e.
solar, wind, biomass, etc.)
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Stop destruction of CO2 consuming
elements of ecosystems (i.e. forests,
plankton, wetlands, etc.)
Specifically…
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Transportation
 More
efficient vehicles, more public
transportation
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Energy efficiency
 Better
insulated homes, appliances/lighting
that consume less energy
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Eating
 More
locally produced foods, less meat
Specifically…
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Waste
 Produce

less garbage
Travel
 Consume
less foreign goods, travel less
(especially by air)
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Industry
 Limit
GHG emissions from industrial sources
Poverty and Climate Change
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The least 50 developed countries of the world
account for 1% of worldwide emissions
of greenhouse gasses, but…
Climate change affects developing countries
disproportionately
 Food
production (agriculture, fisheries)
 Water
 Disease
 Displacement
Poverty and Climate Change
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Poverty also exacerbates climate change
 Reliance
on fossil fuels
 Deforestation
 Inability to adopt cleaner technologies
Units in this course
Globalization
 Water
 Food
 Poverty
 Gender
 Environment
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