Climate change Intro

Question 1

What is Climate Change Science?

Answer 1

Climate change science—the interdisciplinary study of the causes and consequences of changing climate for all Earth systems and the sustainability of human societies.

Question 2

What are three key elements of climate change science?

Answer 2

Three key elements of climate change science are the study of past climates, the measurement of current climatic changes, and the modeling and projection of future climate scenarios.

Question 3

What is some of the physical evidence of climate change?

Answer 3

Record-breaking global average temperatures for air, land surfaces, lakes, and oceans; ice losses from mountain glaciers and from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets; declining soil-moisture conditions and resultant effects on crop yields; changing distributions of plants and animals; the increasing intensity of precipitation events; and the pervasive impact of global sea-level rise, which threatens coastal populations and development worldwide

Question 4

What do most scientists agree is the reason for the present rapid climate change?

Answer 4

Although climate has fluctuated naturally over Earth’s long history, most scientists now agree that present climate change is resulting from human activities that produce greenhouse gases. The consensus is overwhelming and includes the vast majority of professional scientific societies, associations, and councils in Canada and throughout the world.

Question 5

What is amplifying earths natural greenhouse effect?

Answer 5

As discussed in earlier chapters, carbon dioxide (CO2) produced from human activities is amplifying Earth’s natural greenhouse effect. It is released into the atmosphere naturally from outgassing (discussed in Chapter 9) and from microbial and plant respiration and decomposition on land and in the world’s oceans

Question 6

What is the primary source of the CO2 that is increasing the greenhouse effect?

Answer 6

The primary anthropogenic source is the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas), which has increased dramatically in the past two centuries and added to greenhouse gas concentrations.

Question 7

What contributes more to greenhouse gasses? MDC’s or LDC’s?

Answer 7

Although more-developed countries (MDCs) currently emit the greatest share of total greenhouse gases and lead in per capita emissions, this portion is changing. According to some projections, LDCs will contribute over 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050