Climate change Flashcards
how do we know what earth was like millions of years ago?
-plants and animals found in the ground with special adaptations
-ice melting
-measuring weather records
-historical records
-ice cores (when you drill into ice and analyse its chemistry)
what is causing climate change?
solar energy from the sun passes through the atmosphere
some enrgy is bale to be reflected out but lots is trapped in the earths atmosphere
earths surface is heated
what makes a country more likely to be affected by climate change?
the country is an LIC
the country is low lying
the country has a lack of water
the country is on marginal land (no agricultral or industrial value)
what are the positive and negative impacts of climate change on a global scale?
increased yields due to higher temperatures
crops will be able to be grown further north due to warmer weather
reduced rainfall in rainforests due to deforestation
places become to warm for coniferous forests to grow
increased tropical storm and flood activity
what are the positive and negative impacts of climate change on the UK?
the length of the uk’s growing season will increase
plants and shhrubs can grow further north
many coastal ports will be flooded
many pests and diseases will exist due to mild weather
what are some management strategies for climate change?
mitigation
adaptation
what are some ways we can adapt to climate change?
changes in agricultral supplies- low latitude places may see a decrease in crop production however middle latitude countries will see an increase so these low latitude countries will need to introduce new drought resistance crops and irrigation systems and educate farmers more
managing the water supply-in the future we could be dealing with rainfall and periods of water shortages
we can collect water in the winter through systems of diversion canals and it freezes making an artificial glacier this will then melt in summer and can provide water for local villages
reduce risk from rising sea levels-the sea level has risen by 20cm since 1990 and will continue to do so. We can manage this by constructing sea walls, builiding houses on stilts and artificial islands and rebuilding coastal mangroves that trap sediment in the sea offereing natural protection
what are some ways we can mitigate climate change?
alternative energy sources- the uk aimed to produce 15% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020
planting trees-trees act as a carbon sink
international agreements-are not always met but are usually at least attempted so make some improvement such as Paris 2015 agreement were they wanted to keep the global temperature increase below 2* above pre industrial levels
carbon capture-technology is used to capture carbon then compress it and injected as a liquid into the ground to be stored in geological resovoirs
captures 90% of the cO2 that would otherwise be in the air
what are some natural causes of climate change?
orbital changes- cause cooling or warming of the earth’s surface as the earth will be closer or further away from the sun
volcanoes- during an eruption volcanoes release lots of carbon dioxide
solar output
what are some human causes of climate change?
usage of fossil fuels
agriculture- livestock such as cows, animal waste and fertilizers produce greenhouse gases
deforestation- less trees to absorb carbon dioxide
how can we reduce the development gap?
-aid
-intermediate technology (technology that is suitable for the area that is using it)
-debt releif (letting countries off of their debt)
-micro-finanace (lending small amount of money to people so that they can start a buisness)
-fair trade (paying a fair set price for crops)
-tourism
-industrial development (manufacturing valuable things like phones)
what are some causes of underdevelopment
-access to natural resources (fuel sources like oil, timber,minerals and metals and water)
-climate (reliability of rainfall for farming and climate can attract industry)
-location/terrain (landlocked countries make it harder to trade, mountainous terrain makes farming hard and scenery can attract tourist)
-war (people fight instead of working, government spend money on resources and things that are damaged need to be rebuilt which is expensive)
-trade (countries producing cheap primary products don’t earn as much as countries producing more valuable products,countries that sell services are richest)
-health (lack of clean water means more disease, people who are ill are unable to work and more money in healthcare means less spent on development)
-politics (corruption and stability of governments and the cpuntries ability to onvest in services and infrastructure)
-history(colonialism means europe is developed but other countries development has slowed down,the first countries to be industrializes are more developed)
-natural hazards (benefits from volcanic material, frequency and risk of hazards undermines development and affects tourism)
-education (creates a skilled workforce so more goods and services are made, educated people earn more money so pay more taxes developing the country)
what are the consequences of uneven development?
-wealth (people in more developed countries have higher incomes so more wealth than those in less developed countries)
-health(more developed countries have better healthcare with more doctors and specialist hospitals so live longer and are healthier than less developed areas)
-migration (if nearby countries are more developed or secure then people will move there to seek better opportunities and standard of living)
