Climate change Flashcards
What are the human causes of climate change
- Burning fossil fuels, for example coal, oil and natural gas release CO2 into the atmosphere, which will trap heat.
-Coal has been used increasingly to power factories , generate electricity in power stations and to heat homes
-deforestation, especially in the Amazon rainforest, has resulted in less CO2 being absorbed by trees, meaning more co2 will be trapped in the air
-trees are also often burnt to clear them quickly which also releases co2 in the air
Increased pop
-also increased cars- more diesel used for fuel increased exhaust emissions- nitrous oxide
-high demand for beef has resulted in more methane being created by belching cattle from animal dung- greater beef means more CO2
-methane released in landfill sights as waste decomposes- so as pop increases more waste is created so in hand more methane
refrigerators which are not decomposed of correctly release CFCs when the foam insulation inside of them gets shredded
as global temps rise- air conditioning, the coolent used in air conditioning create CFCs which must be disposed of correctly
- peat bog reclamation- such as in construction of wind farms has meant more CO2 Is being released
-increase in foreign travel for holidays and business travels for travel meaning more CO2 in the air
Physical causes of climate change
Volcanoes- releases CO2 when they erupt, which contributes to the greenhouse effect Sulphur dioxide is also ejected, if reached to the stratosphere and can oxygen and water to form sulphuric acid and condenses to for, sulphate aerosol droplets
-sun spot activity- sun has periods where it emits additional energy times where it is less active. Sun spots activity tends to happen in 11 year cycles
-Eccentricity- earths orbit becomes more oval in shape. This means that the amount of energy received will vary leading to warmer and cooler periods. This happens on a 97,000 year cycle
-Axial Obliquity- the change in earth axis. For example the more intense radiation would move north heating up the north more. This happens roughly every 41,000 years
-Fumeroles- These are vents in the earth surface which releases CO2 and hydrogen chloride. These gasses can absorb solar radiation in which can warm the planet
What are the global impacts of climate change
-low lying coastal areas will experience flooding, resulting in large displacements of people, loss of agriculture land and a destruction of property
-salt water would contaminate drinking wells and over 300 mill would rely on their foodstuff and fish would be affected
-some islands would become completely inhabitable, examples of this would be the Maldives.
- this would lead to a loss of homes, far, land tourist income
-we are likely to see an increase in the intensity and frequency storms due to an increase in sea temperatures.
-in areas of the USA this could lead to an increase in hurricanes to the south causing flooding, an example of this is in Florida
-increased in rainfall could lead to saturated soil and landslides.
-Many poorly built such as Rio de janiro may loose their homes as they are built on steep land
-increased rain and warmer temps in the USA amd Canada may see a 20% increase in crop field due to a longer growing season
- There a risk of forest fires, for example in Australia and California. This leads to species loss but also to damaged property
- increased ocean temps leads to coral bleaching causing it to die off.
- this has an impact on fish and other marine life who rely on coral habitat
-this would also have an impact on the tourist industry such as diving in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia
- fish stocks may be forced to migrate into cooler water impacting fishermen
Localeffects on climate change
Increased average rain fall- increased temps lead to increased evaporation which in hand means more rain.
-this has also created storms eg storm Frank in Aberdeenshire in 2015
Local effects on climate change
Examples for local effects
- flooding- transport links
-rainfall means more evapouratiom eg storm frank in Aberdeenshire
-rising sea temps, coastal erosion
-less snow means less skiing. Eg Cairngorms this would lead to a loss of Jon’s and impacts on the local economy
-sea temps go up so cod and haddock moves north
What are the management strategies for climate change
- the use of energy efficient lightbulbs. Last 10x longer than regular lightbulbs.
-10p carrier bags to reduce the amount of energy and wastage to make them
-hybrid and electric cars, reduces the amount of air pollution a normal car has
-use of public transport incentives such as under 22’s travel on busses for free
- in 2030 the government are banning diesel cars
- vegan straplines such as veganuary
- smart meters allows people to monitor the amount of energy a household is using
Come back to and make better flashcards
What are the effectiveness to the solutions of climate change
-energy efficient lightbulbs are not effective because they are dimmer than regular lightbulbs so not as many people want to use them
-10p carrier bags are effective because less people are willing to spend money for bags and more people bring bags when going shopping
-hybrid and electric cars aren’t effective because aren’t helpful for those who want to go for a long journey as they aren’t energised for as long as petrol cars
- public transport incentives aren’t effective because busses dont go exactly where you want to go and can’t bring equipment such as buggies
-gov banning diesel cars- not effective because not everyone can afford that so isn’t realistic
-have to go back to as not as full notes
