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Global

Climate

Change

Greenhouse Effect

  • A natural process in which greenhouse gases absorb heat and release it slowly back into the atmosphere
  • Greenhouse gases do not trap energy that has been converted to heat at Earth’s surface.

Our Dynamic Climate

Effects of Latitude

  • Latitude is a measure of a place’s distance from the equator.
  • In general, the greater the latitude, the cooler a location’s overall climate will be.
  • The seasons are also caused by the changing angles at which sunlight strikes Earth.

Latitude

Winds

  • Caused by convection currents resulting from rising warm air and falling cool air
  • Transports moisture and heat
  • Global wind patterns move warm air away from equator, toward poles.
  • Cold air moves from poles toward equator.
  • Winds pick up moisture and can carry it for long distances until it falls as precipitation.

Wind

The Oceans and Climate

  • Ocean currents, which are caused by a combination of unequal heating of water and unequal salinity, affect climate by transporting heat.
  • El Niño and La Niña are disruptions to normal climate patterns caused by variations in the typical interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere.

Oceans

Other Factors that Can Cause Climate Change

Other

  • Topography: Higher altitudes have cooler temperatures; mountain ranges affect rainfall patterns.
  • Volcanoes: Gases and particles can temporarily block sunlight, causing air to cool.
  • Vegetation: Plant life promotes cloud formation and absorbs carbon dioxide.
  • Earth’s orbit: Changes in Earth’s orbit and the tilt of Earth’s axis affect the distribution of solar radiation.

Evidence of a Warming Earth

  • Rising global surface temperatures
  • Changes in precipitation patterns
  • Melting ice (glaciers, polar ice)
  • Rising sea level

Climate Change

Study

Studying Climate Change

  • Direct measurement is used to study today’s climate.
  • Proxy indicators, such as patterns in tree rings, give clues about past climates.
  • Models are used to make predictions about future climates.

Cause

Finding the Cause of Climate Change

  • According to studies, increases in greenhouse gases are the primary cause of climate change.
  • The increase in greenhouse gases is mainly due to burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use.

Effects on Organisms

  • Habitats shift, usually toward the poles or to higher altitudes.
  • Migrations start earlier in the spring.
  • Loss of ice makes hunting seals difficult for polar bears.

Effects of Climate Change

Effects on the Oceans

Ocean

  • An increase in ocean temperature is associated with a process called coral bleaching, in which algae living within corals die. Without the algae, coral cannot survive.
  • Changes in ocean acidity, resulting from an increase in dissolved carbon dioxide, can harm organisms.

Current Effects of Global Climate Change

Current Effects

  • Agriculture and forestry: Effects are complex.
  • Can be positive: Lengthened growing season for some crops
  • Can be negative: Droughts and forest fires
  • Economy: Decreased yields; increased property damage due to severe storms and climate conditions
  • Human health: Extreme heat waves increasingly common, can cause heat stroke and death

Future Effects of Climate Change

Future Effects

  • Diseases: Warmer temperatures can promote spread of diseases transmitted from animals to people.
  • Sea level: Low-lying populated coastal areas may flood as sea levels rise.
  • Water supply: Saltwater contamination of aquifers resulting from rising sea levels and a decrease in glacial ice may threaten freshwater supplies.

Use and Production of Electricity

  • Carbon footprint: The amount of carbon dioxide for which an individual or group is responsible
  • Most electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels.
  • Reducing electricity use reduces carbon footprints.
  • Ways to reduce electricity use:
  • Use energy-efficient technologies, which lessen the electricity needed to do a job.
  • Reduce the use of electrical devices and appliances.

Responding to Climate Change

Alternate Sources of Energy

  • Alternative Sources of Electricity
  • Nuclear power
  • Solar power
  • Wind power
  • Hydroelectric power
  • Geothermal power

Alternates

Advances in Vehicle Technology

  • Transportation is the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, second only to electricity.
  • Alternatives to fuel-only cars include:
  • Gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles
  • Vehicles that use alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas
  • Vehicles that use hydrogen fuel cells.

Advances

Reducing Dependence on Cars

  • Biking, walking, and using public transportation are all ways to reduce fossil fuel use.
  • Many communities lack good public transportation.

Reducing Dependence

Strategies for Reducing Greenhouse Gases

  • Agriculture / forestry: Reduce soil erosion and replace cut trees, to curb carbon dioxide emissions
  • Cap-and-Trade: System of emission allowances that can be sold or traded, gives companies incentive to reduce emissions
  • Carbon tax: A tax per unit on emissions
  • Carbon offsets: Instead of directly reducing emissions, companies can make a voluntary payment to a group that reduces or curbs greenhouse gases.
  • Carbon sequestration: Technology is used to trap and store carbon dioxide emissions.

Strategies

Cooperation Among Nations

Cooperation

  • The Kyoto Protocol is a binding international effort to reduce greenhouse gases to below 1990 levels.
  • The United States did not sign the Kyoto Protocol.
  • Many nations are planning to develop a new binding agreement to address global climate change some time in the future.
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