climate change Flashcards
climate change:
The scientific theory that the earth’s climate is being altered by humans
climate change and the green house effect
green houses effect
green house gasses
anthropogenic green house gases
green house effect
the warming of the atmosphere as some of its gasses absorb heat given off by earth’s surfaces
green houses gasses
atmosphere gasses that create the greenhouse effect by absorbing and holding heat in the earths
anthoropogenic greenhouses
green houses gasses created by people
meet carbon dioxide and methane
carbon dioxide: via burning of fossil fuels
Methane:via decomposition of organic material and solid waste
impact of climate change
-global temperature will increase
-significant(total?) melting of the polar ice caps and glaciers
-the impact of pest and disease will increase
-droughts will become more widespread
-large numbers of environmental refugees could be created
our ecological footprint
measures the environmental impact of a persons activities
Types of resources
divided into four categories
1. renewable resources
2. non-renewable resources
3. flow resources
4. other resources
renewable resources
are resources that can be regenerated if used carefully
Eg. fish, forest
non-renewable resources
resources that can be limited and cannot be replaced once they are used up
eg. coal,natural gas,gold
flow resources
resources that are replaces by natural action and must be used when they occur or be lost
eg. sunlight,wind
other resources
resources that do not fit into the other three categories
eg. niagara falls,rocky mountains
other resources and the grand canyon
-the grand canyon generates a lot of money(7 hundred ten million dollars)
-gives people jobs
-generating money for the local economy
How do we increase our supply of non-renewable resources
we can’t increase our supply of non-renewable resources. so we must use them sparingly
How do resources become resources
- must have value
-must be enough resources
-must be economical
None of the 3r’s
landfills and the burning of waste represents the worst possible use of resources
Waste Diversion
process that reduce the amount of waste going to landfills
-include reduction recycling and revising
Recycling Is Just The Beginning
Benefits
-Allow new products to be created from resources already used once
-limits the amounts of garbage ending up in landfills
Drawbacks
-Materials must be collected from transportation to a recycling facility and sorted
-Energy must be used to recycle materials into new items
The benefits of buying reusable(Enviromental)
-The item is used by someone else when it is no longer wanted
- The environmental cost of producing item is avoided
The benefits of buying reusable (Economic)
Previously owned items are less expensive than items that are brand new
re-usable retailers operate in our community
what re-usable retailers operate in your community?
Reducing is best
-the item is neither purchased or produced in the first place
-fewer new items are produced
-Amounts to great resource saving
rethinking our use of resources
rethinking has to happen by three groups
-individuals
-companies
-government
The power of individual: how can individuals influence( Government)
-younger votes represents the largest share of eligble voter
-younge people can impact change by voting
The power of individual:how can individuals influence(Companies)
Boycott-A decision not to use or purchase products in order to show support for specific cause or to discourage
Rethinking by companies:eco-friendly stores
-Many consumers consider the impact of items before purchasing
-80% of Canadians say that they are willing to pay more to reduce their environmental impact
