Climate Change

Potential energy

In physics, potential energy is the energy held by an object because of its position relative to other objects, stresses within itself, its electric charge, or other factors.

Potential energy

For example, a rock is being held up by you. If you let go of the rock, the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy and falls downwards.

This type of energy doesn't really affect climate change, due to there not being a lot of it and being converted to other types of energy.

Light/Radiant energy

Light and Radiant energy is the energy of electromagnetic and gravitational radiation. In short, it is the energy you see as light. For example, a flashlight converts electrical energy into light/radiant energy.

Light/Radiant energy

Light and radiant energy doesn't really contribute towards climate change on its own, however it is usually paired with heat energy, which produces light and radiant energy and does contribute towards climate change.

Generators

A generator uses a magnet to push electrons along, turning motive power into electrical power to use in an external circuit.

This converts the power into

electrical power, powering the turbine.

Generators

Combustion

Combustion is often used in engines, where fuel is burnt and the air in an engine expands.

Combustion

Coal

Coal, like some other types off fuels, can be used to power a turbine or engine using combustion. When heated up, it turns into a gas and expands, forcing a surface upwards or sideways. That energy can then be turned into power to be used or stored.

Coal

Natural gasses

Natural gas is a non-renewable hydrocarbon used as a source of energy for heating, cooking, and electricity generation.

Natural gas

Solar power

Solar panels can convert solar power (light energy) into kinetic energy or directly power a turbine.

Solar power

Energy efficiency

Energy efficiency is the amount of energy used to the amount of energy wasted. The formula for energy efficiency is (Energy used effectively) / (Energy used). For example, if a light bulb uses 100 joules of energy, and 50 joules is output as light energy, the energy efficiency is 50%.

Famine (Jadon Gilmore)

Jadon Gilmore is a villager who lives in a relatively poor part of Africa. Often, there are drought, flooding, unseasonable cold, typhoons, vermin depredations, insect infestations, and plant diseases, leading to a shortage of food.

Famine

Floods (Gus Hickman)

Gus Hickman is a uber driver who lives in an apartment near the sea. Although floods are a major inconvenience, making him have to stop work for a while, it does not actually cause any major damages, since he has insurance which covers natural damages.

Floods

Non-renewable energy sources

Non-renewable

Non-renewable energy sources commonly include coal, natural gasses and nuclear power. Non-renewable refers to *a natural substance that is not replenished with the speed at which it is consumed. This means that we are going to eventually use up the resource.

*source: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/nonrenewableresource.asp#:~:text=A%20nonrenewable%20resource%20is%20a,are%20examples%20of%20nonrenewable%20resources.

The carbon cycle

Carbon cycle

1. Carbon moves from the atmosphere to plants.

2. Carbon moves from plants to animals.

3 .Carbon moves from plants and animals to soils.

4 .Carbon moves from living things to the atmosphere.

5. Carbon moves from fossil fuels to the atmosphere when fuels are burned.

6. Carbon moves from the atmosphere to the oceans.

Source: https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/earth-system/biogeochemical-cycles

The greenhouse effect

The greenhouse effect is the way in which heat is trapped close to Earth's surface by “greenhouse gases.” These heat-trapping gases can be thought of as a blanket wrapped around Earth, keeping the planet toastier than it would be without them.

Source : https://climate.nasa.gov/faq/19/what-is-the-greenhouse-effect/#:~:text=The%20greenhouse%20effect%20is%20the,it%20would%20be%20without%20them.

Greenhouse effect

Sea level rise (Cole Hirst)

Cole Hirst is just your average citizen and lives in an area quite close to sea level. Due to climate change, the polar ice caps have started to melt, leading to sea level rise, often flooding the area he lives in every one to two weeks, causing major damages.

Sea level rise

Forest Fires (Kylo Dunne)

Kylo Dunne and his family live in an area close to a forest in California. Due to the constant heat, there are often forest fires, often damaging or even destroying his house. Due to the amount he spends on repairs, he has considered moving to somewhere else.

Forest fire

Natural Disasters (Rodrigo Mullen)

Storms/ hurricanes/ typhoons

Rodrigo Mullen is someone who lives in an apartment in Hong Kong. Often, there are typhoons, although they don't affect him much other than blowing away a few of his clothes, due to the apartment being quite sturdy.

Natural Disasters

Droughts (Billy Blake)

Billy Blake is a farmer who lives in India. Often, droughts dry up the land he farms in, halting all farming for days or even weeks every few years. Due to this, he has been lacking behind in profit and is hardly able to catch up to the amount his family spends.

Droughts

Albedo

Albedo is an expression of the ability of surfaces to reflect sunlight (heat from the sun). Light-coloured surfaces return a large part of the sunrays back to the atmosphere (high albedo). Dark surfaces absorb the rays from the sun (low albedo).

Source:https://www.npolar.no/en/fact/albedo/#:~:text=Albedo%20is%20an%20expression%20of,the%20sun%20(low%20albedo).

Albedo

Energy Transfers

Energy transfers

Energy can be transferred by:

mechanical working – when a force is applied to move an object through a distance.

electrical working – when charge flows (electricity)

heating – when energy is transferred between hotter and colder regions.

radiation – when energy is transferred as a wave, for example as light or sound.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zc3g87h/articles/zg2sn9q

India affected by climate change

Positive feedback loops

Positive feedback loop

In climate change, a feedback loop is something that speeds up or slows down a warming trend. A positive feedback accelerates a temperature rise, contributing to climate change.

Source:https://gml.noaa.gov/education/info_activities/pdfs/PSA_analyzing_a_feedback_mechanism.pdf

Greenhouse gasses

Greenhouse gasses reflect light and heat between each other, trapping heat energy and mainly radiation inside the Earth and contributing to global warming.

*The main gases responsible for the greenhouse effect include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor.

*source:https://www.nrdc.org/stories/greenhouse-effect-101

Greenhouse gasses

greenhouse gasses reflecting radiation from the sun

Renewable energy

Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy sources are sustainable, some are not.

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy

Renewable

Extinction (Clay Conley)

Extinction

Clay Conley is a polar bear living in the arctic. Due to the ice melting, his species has been more endangered than ever and being driven to the verge of extinction.

Polar bears are going extinct due to the ice and land they stand on melting, and since they cant swim well, its becoming harder and harder to survive.

Nuclear energy

Nuclear power

Nuclear energy can power a turbine when used to generate power by splitting a nucleus, then having the power converted into kinetic energy using a sort of generator, powering the turbine or converted into electrical energy.

Hydro power

Electricity/power is generated with hydro power when water rushes through a stream or river, turning a turbine. This is one of the most known renewable sources of energy.

Hydro

power

Geothermal power

Geothermal power plants use steam to produce electricity. The steam comes from reservoirs of hot water found a few miles or more below the earth's surface. The steam then can be used to rotate the turbine.

Geothermal power

Nuclear energy

Nuclear energy is the energy in the nucleus, or core, of an atom. Uranium is commonly split into 2 lighter elements, neutrons and energy.

Nuclear energy

Using nuclear energy doesn't contribute towards climate change. That's because nuclear reactors produce massive amounts of energy through fission — a physical process that splits uranium atoms to generate heat, and doesn't produce greenhouse gasses.

Electrical energy

Electrical energy is energy derived as a result of movement of electrically charged particles. When used loosely, electrical energy refers to energy that has been converted from electric potential energy.

Electrical energy

The generation of electrical energy affect climate change a lot, due to the fact that most electricity is generated with steam turbines using fossil fuels, nuclear, biomass, geothermal, and solar thermal energy, releasing a lot of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses.

Elastic energy

Elastic energy is the mechanical potential energy stored in the configuration of a material or physical system as it is subjected to elastic deformation by work performed upon it. For example, with a slingshot, you take some energy and store it in the sling as you pull it back. When you let go, the elastic energy is released and converted into kinetic energy, shooting the projectile forward.

Elastic energy

Elastic energy usually isn't involved in other types of energy that contribute to climate change, and doesn't contribute to climate change itself.

Magnetic energy

Magnetic energy is the energy between magnets. For example, if you release a magnet close but not next to another magnet, the magnetic energy is converted into kinetic energy and the magnets rush together.

Magnetic energy

This can be used in a generator, turning kinetic energy into magnetic energy, moving electrons around and creating electrical energy, thus contributing towards climate change.

Kinetic energy

Kinetic energy is the force that moves an object. For example, if a ball is rolling down a hill, it is kinetic energy that pulls and pushes the ball down the hill.

Kinetic energy

Using kinetic energy to generate other types of energy actually helps improve the situation for climate change. For example, using windmills instead of combustion to generate energy can save a lot of unnecessary resources and help with climate change.

Thermal/Heat energy

Thermal energy refers to the energy contained within a system that is responsible for its temperature. Thermal energy can be created using friction, electricity and others. For example, if you rub your hands together, they get significantly warmer, thus converting the kinetic energy into thermal energy.

Thermal energy

This converts other types of energy into heat, resulting in the environment heating up and climate change.

Chemical energy

Chemical energy is the energy of chemical substances that is released when they undergo a chemical reaction and transform into other substances. For example, combustion reaction converts chemical energy in coal into light and heat. However, in the process of doing so, it often releases large amounts of waste gasses as a byproduct, contributing to climate change.