Climate change

Climate Change: True or False? Climate change has become a main part of today's media and global warming has become a major talking point for many of us. There seems to be much advertised evidence to support the theory of climate change and also there is information on how it is going to affect our lives. Also there is evidence to support the fact that climate change is not as bad as it is made out to be. From an article I have read called 'Instant Expert: Climate Change' I have gained much evidence to support the theory of climate change and some of the causes. Some of the theories that are believed to lead to climate change are the burning of fossil fuels which releases billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year and carbon dioxide is known to trap the Sun's radiation and in turn heat up the planet. This is believed to cause an increase of 2-5°C and this very small temperature rise could have catastrophic effect on crop growth, drought, ice caps melting, weather changes and the destruction of some habitats. However there is evidence from 'An Experiment That Hints We Are Wrong on Climate Change' that suggests that the Earth is not warming up as quickly as it is made out to be. It claims that there has been no overall change in air temperature since 1999 and that even though the sea-ice in the Arctic has diminished since 1978 it has grown by 8% in

  • Word count: 543
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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Climate Change

Climate Change Over recent years it has become evident how quickly our climate is drastically changing. Evidence of this is supported by ever growing, extreme weather conditions. Scientific research has concluded that increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor (), methane (), nitrous oxide (), and a few other gases are to blame for the sudden change in our climate. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is probably the most important greenhouse gas produced by human activities, primarily through the combustion of fossil fuels. Currently, there is more CO2 in the atmosphere than there has been in the past 600,000 years. The term 'greenhouse effect' was first used by Atmospheric scientists in the early 1800s. At that time, it was used to describe the naturally occurring functions of lucid gases in the atmosphere. In recent decades, we often hear about the greenhouse effect in somewhat negative terms. Effects of the climate change theory are already starting to become visible. Examples include accelerating glaciers, the vast shrinking ice caps, changes in plant and animal behaviour, longer and more severe tropical storms worldwide. As sea levels are slowly, gradually rising people living on low-lying islands and coastal cities face loosing their homes for good. In December 2005, a small community living in the Pacific island chain of Vanuatu became the first in the world to be formally

  • Word count: 954
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Miscellaneous
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Climate Change

U.K Climate Change and its Effects The threat of climate change will have impact in the following areas of life in the British Isles: • Sea level rises • Flooding • Ocean currents • Health • Agricultural • Wildlife However there may be new opportunities offered by a warmer climate. However, the overall effect of climate change for the world is NEGATIVE. Rising Sea Levels Sea level will rise by between 10cms and 90cms this century depending on how we reduce CO2 emissions. The coastline of Britain could change dramatically. Low lying areas could be invaded by the sea e.g. East Anglia Ocean Currents The Gulf Stream brings warmth to the UK and north-west Europe and is the reason we have mild winters. The average annual temperature of north-west Europe is about 9C above the average for our latitude. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, the temperature and density of the sea water in the North Atlantic will change with dramatic consequences. The gulf stream may stop or be greatly reduced. This would mean that less heat is brought to north-west Europe - harsher winters and mild summers. Flooding The UK has experienced devastating floods throughout the last five years, which have affected thousands of people and caused millions of pounds worth of damage. Last Summer's floods shocked the country - Large town were cut off or under

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  • Word count: 741
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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Climate change

Climate Change presentation Climate Change in relation to energy In relation to the UK case study, i will take a main example of climate change in relation to energy of "The Low Carbon Transition Plan." * Main ideas of The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan. Transforming the country into a cleaner, greener and more prosperous place to live is at the heart of our economic plans for 'building Britain's future' and ensuring the UK is ready to take advantage of the opportunities ahead. * The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan plots how the UK will meet the 34 percent cut in emissions on 1990 levels by 2020, set out in the budget. * We have already reduced emissions by 21 percent - equivalent to cutting emissions entirely from four cities the size of London. The objectives are, by 2020: * More than 1.2 million people will be in green jobs. * 7 million homes will have benefited from whole house makeovers, and more than 1.5 million households will be supported to produce their own clean energy. * Around 40 percent of electricity will be from low-carbon sources, from renewables, nuclear and clean coal. * We will be importing half the amount of gas that we otherwise would. * The average new car will emit 40 percent less carbon than now. Main Carbon Emissions * The 3 types of fossil fuels that are used the most are coal, natural gas and petroleum. When fossil fuels are combusted,

  • Word count: 1641
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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Climate change notes

Climate change notes FACTORS THAT AFFECT CLIMATE CHANGE . Atmosphere: A layer of gases that surrounds a planet or moon 2. Weather: Condition of the atmosphere in a specific place at a specific time (describes wind, temp, moisture) 3. Climate: Characteristic weather patterns within a region averaged over a long period of time (Temp, wind velocity) 4. Earth has experienced many climate changes in the past EARTH AND THE SUN . Sun’s energy is the most important factor affecting climate on Earth (winds, rain etc) 2. The amount of radiation produced by the sun varies and a regular solar cycle (sunspot cycle) occurs every 11 years 3. When the number of sunspots is high, the Sun emits higher amounts of solar radiation. 4. Earth rotates tilted (23.5º) on an axis every 24 hrs 5. the combination of Earth’s annual orbit and its tilted axis produces the seasons Revolution: the time it takes for an object to orbit another object . it takes earth 365.24 days to make a complete revolution around the sun CHANGES IN EARTH’S ORBIT . Earth’s orbit, tilt and rotation change in repeating cycles 2. (1) Eccentricity: every 100 000 years, Earth’s orbit changes from circular to elliptical 3. Elliptical orbit means more solar energy for Earth which affects length of seasons 4. (2) Tilt: Earth’s tilt changes every 41000 years by about 2.4º 5. The greater the tilt,

  • Word count: 699
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Geography
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Climate Change revision

________________ Geo Skills & Challenges Part I ________________ These changes occurred due to natural causes. Natural causes of climate change are grouped into two categorises, internal and external factors. External Factors Solar Output: The amount of energy released from the sun changes over time. The concentration of sunspots can indicate the amount of solar energy emitted. The more spots there are; the more energy is given off and the warmer our climate is. (0.1% 1980’s) Orbital Patterns: The shape of the earth’s orbit around the sun changes over time. It changes from being virtually circular to being elliptical and back again every 95,000 years. Cold periods in our past have tended to occur during periods of circular orbits. Internal Factors Volcanic Activity: Volcanic eruptions can release large quantities of ash into the atmosphere. This ash acts like a blanket and blocks out the sun, reducing the amount of solar energy that reaches the Earth. To confuse matters... volcanoes can also release massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,

  • Word count: 2527
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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Climate change + Solutions

Brian Lockyer EGS - Practical 8 Climate change is a concept that has generated much controversy in recent times, the many competing theories as to why climate change is occurring is no longer meaningful and we are now at a stage where unless serious measures are introduced to combat the causes of climate change human kind as a civilisation could be wiped out forever. As a UCT student and a South African citizen I firmly believe that climate change has mainly been induced by the developed world, however, despite this fact, the responsibilities of combating global change do not primarily lie in the hands of the developed world. Successfully overcoming such a huge problem such as climate change requires the cooperation and willingness of the entire world. There comes a time where we have to accept responsibility for our actions. That time is now. It is not too late to correct the mistake we have made, however we need less talk and more action. The policies of mitigation and adaption which traditionally have been the main two policies in combating climate change have proved to be limiting in their effectiveness (Parry, 2009:1-2). For example, achieving current mitigation targets will not prevent major environmental impacts, as in order for mitigation to have any effect in reducing global damage global emission cuts of 80 percent are necessary (Parry, 2009:1). According to

  • Word count: 660
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Geography
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Evaluating climate change

CLIMATE CHANGE A critical analysis Climate change is a complex subject, with genuine areas of uncertainty and scientific controversy. There are also a number of misunderstandings which are recycled, often by non-climate scientists, and portrayed as scientific fact. Over hundreds, thousands and millions of years 'natural climatic changes have taken place. There appear to have been large- scale cycles of climatic variation. It would appear that climate change therefore is not a recent phenomenon as it has occurred in past cycles. Climate change is happening and humans are contributing to it. Temperatures provide the clearest evidence that the climate is changing and globally the average temperature has risen by more than 0.7 °C over the last 100 years. The natural greenhouse gas effect keeps Earth much warmer than it would otherwise be, without it Earth would be extremely cold. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour behave like a blanket around Earth. These gases allow the Sun's rays to reach Earth's surface but impede the heat they create from escaping back into space. Any increases in the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere mean that more heat is trapped and global temperatures increase - an effect known as 'global warming'. There is indisputable evidence from observations that the Earth is warming. Concentrations of CO2, created

  • Word count: 1236
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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Climate Change

Climate

  • Word count: 2228
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Physical Sciences
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Israel Climate Change

I. Climate change is, without a doubt, one of the most serious challenges facing the twenty first century world. Human survival and the development of all countries are at stake, rendering cooperation and joint efforts by the international community absolutely essential. It is therefore unsurprising that countries worldwide have placed climate change high on their list of environmental priorities. Israel is no different. Fully aware of the seriousness and urgency of reducing greenhouse gas levels, and with a deep sense of responsibility for the long-term development of mankind, the State of Israel is firmly committed to a sustainable development and realises the unprecedented need to reduce green house gas emissions in the atmosphere. Although classified Israel was classified as a developing country under the Climate Change Convention, a comparison of carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion between Israel and other countries shows that Israel is not far behind some of the developed countries listed in Annex I. The State of Israel has therefore resolved to undertake voluntary activities to restrict and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases on the basis of the conclusions of the interministerial committee on climate change. There is no doubt that increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the

  • Word count: 999
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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