Science

Climate Change BY: Ma.Emilia Pachano & Alejandra Pinto 2B 2014

INDEX Research Weather and climate

difference Causes of Climate Change Earth´s Climate History Timeline Charts Impacts of Climate Change Are humans causing Climate

Change What can we do Reflection

Research"Why Is Climate Important?" Why Is Climate Important? Web. 20 May 2014.

• This web page gave me information about the ways that our lives could change drastically because of the climate and weather. Some of the examples that the page gave me where things like flooding’s and hurricanes. This also says that if we continue to pollute our planet this natural disasters will continue to happen and every time even more stronger and someday this will destroy our planet.

"Weather." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 20 May 2014.

• This dictionary gave me the definition for climate and weather. I needed this two definitions to be able to finish the section 2 because in this section it asks you to find the definitions and compare them.

Dunbar, Brian. "What's the Difference Between Weather and Climate?" NASA. NASA, 27 Apr. 2005. Web. 20 May 2014.

• This was a very reliable source because it is NASA that lives studying about the earth and the space. This source gave me a very good definition of climate and weather and gave me some of the differences between them.

"Comparison of Atmospheric Temperature with CO2 Over The Last 400,000 Years." Global Warming: A Chilling Perspective. Global Warming: A Chilling Perspective, n.d. Web. 29 May 2014.

• This web page give me the charts if the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere during the las 400,000 years. It also give me the chart of the temperature of lower atmosphere form the last 400,000 years. I needed this information for section 4 where we need to describe the levels of CO2 and temperature on earth.

"Causes." Global Climate Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2014.

• This web page gave me the causes of global change to be able to finish section number 3 where we have to explain the causes of climate change and the current climate change too. This was a reliable source because its NASA web page and it has good and accurate information.

"Global Warming Causes, Climate Change Causes - National Geographic."National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.

• This web page gave me more information about the causes of climate change which I needed to complete the section number 3. This was a reliable source because it is National Geographic web page where the information is accurate and reliable, it has and author, a last updated date, the date it was published, etc.

"Climate Change in the past." Natural History Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 May 2014.What are n.p. & n.d.• This source give me information about the biggest ice age and the

greenhouse earth with witch i was able to complete section number

four that asked me to give clear examples of those i mentioned before.

Weather & ClimateClimate is the composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years. In the other hand Weather is the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc. Climate and Weather are different because of a measure of time. Climate refers to how the atmosphere behaves over long periods of time, for example during the past years the climate has been changing and making the world warmer. But the weather refers to the conditions of the atmosphere over a short period of time, it is how the atmosphere is that day; in Ecuador the climate lately has been cold and cloudy. Also the climate is

something global that can’t change throughout the day, but the weather is something that happens in one specific day, place and time and it can change throughout the day. Climate is important because it can change our way of living, for example a flooding or a hurricane can change our lives on our economy and our society.

Causes of Climate Change

Most of the scientists believe that the main cause of current global warming is that humans are expanding the greenhouse gasses. Because of all the factories, cars and other human objects, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing and making the atmosphere thicker and so the sun rays that enter the atmosphere are not being able to get out again. The greenhouse effect traps the heat coming out of the earth and makes the world warmer. CO2 should not damage the atmosphere but its amount is increasing by the greenhouse gasses that humans release every day with our cars and

factories. Cars that use fossil fuels and factories are the biggest pollutants. Other contributors to global warming is Methane that comes from agriculture, Nitrous oxide form fertilizers and cutting down trees, if we didn’t cut down trees then they will exchange CO2 for oxygen. It’s obvious that climate change is happening, charts and scientists prove it, humans have to take actions to stop this, and it could become a disaster.

Earth´s Climate History

In the recent geological past, most of the Britain was covered by ice. The landscape shows many different glacial landforms, especially in North West, scot land and the Lake District. Fossils of mammals and woolly rhinoceroses that lived in cold climates have been found in southern Britain. This evidence shows that over the past two million years, climate changed dramatically between ice ages and warm periods, similar to the changes in climate we see today. These changes were driven by cyclical changes in earth; it also altered the distribution of solar energy between seasons though out the earth. In conclusion of this is, the earth’s

climate is always changing because of human and natural activities. For 40 million years ago on new Zealand an investigation demonstrates that there existed a greenhouse earth. This earth had warmer seas and a very low amount of ice in Antarctica. The investigation explains that Antarctica had not developed extensive ice sheets because of the climate changes. The researchers also found that the water temperature was 23-25°C at the sea surface and 11-13°C at the deepest level. At that period of time there were high carbon dioxide levels, temperatures increased and ice sheets were very small. This information comes from the chemical analysis of fossils of microorganisms called foraminifers, found in marine rocks in new Zealand that were well conserved and easy to investigate.

Timeline1800-1870: the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere was 290 ppm (parts per million) when it was measured1870-1910: chemicals and other contaminating gasses are released to the atmosphere in the second industrial revolution1920-1925: cheap energy gets inaugurated with the opening of Texas and the Persian Gulf oil fields1930: global warming gets popular in the 19th century when it was reported1945: US office of naval research discovers information for a better understanding of climate change

1957: launch of soviet sputnik satellite brings new funding and coordination to climate studies.1963: suggest that feedback with water vapor could make the climate sensitive to changes in CO2 levels.1967: international global atmospheric research program gather data for better short range weather prediction.1972: ice cores and other evidence show big climate shifts in the past around 100,000 years ago.1975: investigations of trace gasses in the stratosphere show warnings about the effects on the environment caused by airplanes and the discovery of of danger to the ozone layer.1981: election of Reagan. Backlash against environmental movement to power 1985: Ramanathan and collaborators announce that global warming can become bigger in a short period of time for methane and other greenhouse gasses increase.1987: Montreal protocol of the Vienna convention creates restrictions on emissions of ozone-destroying gasses.1989: many industries form global climate coalition tell the politicians and the public that global warming may or may not be happening and that it is to uncertain to take action. 1998: “super el Niño" causes many disasters and becomes warmest year on record.2000: global climate coalition dissolves many corporations with threat of warming; nut oil lobby convinces the US administration to deny the problem.

2003: because of the collapse of ice sheets and sea levels rises faster than anyone believed, there are a lot of concerns rises.2009: climate experts announce that global warming is getting bigger, dangerous and faster than they expected.2013: there was a pause on global warming of the atmosphere since 1998 and the oceans continued to become warmer.

Charts

Impacts of Climate Change

Over the period of 1948 to 2013, the temperature has been warmed. Increased winter and spring temperatures have been part of these warming trends to a bigger degree than other seasons. The warming trends are also affecting the amount of rain, snow, and ice. Other is the risk of extreme weather events such as heat waves, heavy rainfalls and related flooding, dry spells and/or droughts, and forest fires. In addition the climate change affected by changing ocean environments, extreme sea level, wave regimes, and ice conditions will create dramatic reductions in Arctic sea ice cover, mainly during the summer season are increasing the global warming. Human food system, economies, cities and communities are adapted to the climate we live with. Climate change puts humans in a food fix. On the one hand, some land use practices contribute to global emissions. People and communities depend on agriculture. Around the world, a lot of communities are having issues to adapt with the climate changes. If the greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, humans would be locked in to devastating rises in temperature. Moving toward a more diversified, cleaner energy portfolio and scaling up energy efficiency lessen our dependence on fossil fuels and are critical steps toward reducing human emissions. From big cities to small communities, 50% of the global population lives near the coast. But this way of life is deeply imperiled by rising seas, coastal erosion and storms that are intensified by climate change. Habitat destruction and land use changes are degrading and destroying natural resources human need. When we destroy these forests to clear land for ranches or farms, that carbon gets released into the atmosphere and accelerates climate change.

Humans causing Climate Change?

Climate change is also caused because of human activities. Burning fossil fuels and the destruction of forests to use that area for agriculture. When the industrial revolution started, the human activities and influences have increased and made the climate get out of balance. These activities change the land surface and release substances to the atmosphere. When this happens it influences on the amount of outgoing energy that can create warming and cooling effects on the climate. Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas and it’s the most contributing effect that causes the atmosphere get thicker so the sun rays get inside the earth but can’t get out so the earth becomes warmer. The greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has led to the natural greenhouse effect that is of concern because ongoing emissions of greenhouse gases have the potential to warm the planet to levels that have never been experienced in the history of human civilization. Such climate change could have far-reaching and/or unpredictable environmental, social, and economic consequences. In conclusion the overall effect of human activities since the Industrial Revolution has been a warming effect, driven primarily by emissions of carbon dioxide and enhanced by emissions of other greenhouse gases.

What we can do

1. Reduce, Reuse, RecycleDo your part to reduce waste by choosing reusable products instead of disposables. Buying products with minimal packaging (including the economy size when that makes sense for you) will help to reduce waste. And whenever you can, recycle paper, plastic, newspaper, glass and aluminum cans. If there isn't a recycling program at your workplace, school, or in your community, ask about starting one. By recycling half of your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.

2. Drive SmartLess driving means fewer emissions. Besides saving gasoline, walking and biking are great forms of exercise. Explore your community mass transit system, and check out options for carpooling to work or school. When you do drive, make sure your car is running efficiently. For example, keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gas you save not only helps your budget, it also keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

3. Save lightTurn off the lights and electronic devices when they are not in use. Also replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. CFLs also last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds less energy, and give off 70 percent less heat.

4. Be GreenHumans depend on trees so they could create paper and then use it. Imagine how many trees are cut down each day for our paper need. Be green and plant a tree, you will make a change. Also take care of the plants. Don’t ruin them or step on them.