The causes, effects and responses to climate change

Question 1

Describe the 9 stages of climate change since the last ice age.

Answer 1

1. The end of the last ice age was approximately 10,000 years ago.
2. The temperature since then has increased by 6°C.
3. Within this general trend, however, there have been a number of fluctuations.
4. After the last ice age the temperature rose rapidly for the following 2,000 years.
5. Between 4,000 and 8,000 years ago, there were two warm periods interrupted by a colder spell.
6. Another warm spell happened between the years AD800 and AD1200, which were known as the medieval warm period.
7. There then followed the Little Ice Age where temperatures were below the long-term average for 600 years, ending in the 1800s.
8. In the past 100 years the temperature has begun to rise steadily, with greater increases since the 1960s.
9. The temperature is projected to increase much more rapidly in the coming years, being 5°C warmer in 2100 than it is now.

Question 2

What are the two external factors that have contributed to climate change since the last ice age?

Answer 2

1. Solar output.

2. Orbital geometry.

Question 3

What are the four internal factors that have contributed to climate change since the last ice age?

Answer 3

1. Volcanic activity.
2. Surface reflection.
3. Change in atmospheric gas.
4. Tectonic activity.

Question 4

How has solar output contributed to climate change (6)?

Answer 4

1. This is the energy that comes from the Sun.
2. The energy that comes from the Sun changes over time.
3. Measurements made in the 1980s showed that the total amount of solar energy reaching the Earth has decreased by 0.1%. Although this is not much, if this trend continues for another 100 years, it could influence global climate.
4. It has been predicted that a 1% change in solar output could make the temperature rise or fall by between 0.5°C and 1°C.
5. It is thought that the activity of sunspots on the Sun’s surface affects solar output.
6. There was a period of drastically reduced sunspot activity between 1645 and 1715, which might have been a cause of the Little Ice Age.

Question 5

How has orbital geometry contributed to climate change (2)?

Answer 5

1. The shape of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun varies from nearly circular to elliptical and back to circular again every 95,000 years. Cold, glacial periods have occurred when the Earth’s orbit is circular and warmer periods when it is more elliptical.
2. The tilt of the Earth’s axis varies over time from 21° to 24.5°. This variation occurs over a 41,000 year time span. The greater the angle of the tilt, the hotter the summers are and the colder the winters are. When the angle is greater, the Earth usually experiences warmer periods.

Question 6

How has volcanic activity contributed to climate change (3)?

Answer 6

1. Volcanic eruptions release large amounts of sulphur dioxide and ash into the atmosphere.
2. These act as a cloak and reduce the amount of solar energy reaching the Earth’s surface.
3. In 1815, for example, Mount Tambora erupted. The following year was unusually cold over much of the world, with Europe having heavy snowfalls and frost throughout the summer.

Question 7

How has surface reflection contributed to climate change (2)?

Answer 7

1. During colder periods when there is a larger amount of snow and ice on the Earth, global temperature will drop due to the snow and ice reflecting sunlight back to space.
2. If the planet warms up, snow and ice will diminish and the Earth will continue to get warmer.

Question 8

How has a change in atmospheric gas contributed to climate change?

Answer 8

1. There is a clear relationship between the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and temperature variations.
2. Carbon dioxide is one of the most important gases responsible for the greenhouse effect.
3. The greenhouse effect keeps heat within the Earth’s atmosphere by absorbing longwave radiation.
4. Without the greenhouse effect, the average global temperature of the Earth would be -18°C rather than the present 15°C.

Question 9

How has tectonic activity contributed to climate change?

Answer 9

1. The movement of continents caused by plate tectonics affects the global pattern of atmospheric and ocean circulation.
2. The changing shape of the Earth’s surface causes winds and ocean currents to change.
3. This process is too slow to have much effect on the climate over the relatively short geological time span of 10,000 years.

Question 10

How has burning fossil fuels contributed to climate change?

Answer 10

1. Fossil fuels are fuels that are produced from coal, oil and natural gas.
2. When fossil fuels are burnt, gases are released and build up in the atmosphere.
3. The burning of fossil fuels has lead to an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
4. In China, 75% of energy is produced from coal.

Question 11

For what 2 reasons has there been an increase in the burning of fossil fuels?

Answer 11

1. Car ownership has increased.

2. There has been an increase in energy producers.

Question 12

What is methane (2)?

Answer 12

1. Methane is a greenhouse gas, which means that it can trap heat within the Earth’s atmosphere.
2. It makes up 20% of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Question 13

What 6 places does methane come from?

Answer 13

1. Wetlands including marshes and swamps.
2. The growing of rice.
3. Landfills that contain rotting vegetable matter.
4. Burning vegetation.
5. Fossil fuel mining.
6. The bowels of animals.

Question 14

By how much have the levels of methane in the atmosphere been increasing by for the past decade?

Answer 14

There has been an increase of 1.5% a year.

Question 15

For what 4 reasons have the levels of methane in the atmosphere been increasing?

Answer 15

1. There has been an increase in the mining of fossil fuels.
2. Temperature has been rising, which causes an increase in bacteria emissions from wetlands.
3. There has been an increase in rice production due to the growing population in rice producing countries.
4. There has been increase in the number of cattle and sheep for meat reflecting an increase in Western-style diets.

Question 16

What is carbon dioxide (4)?

Answer 16

1. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, which means that it can trap heat within the Earth’s atmosphere.
2. It is the main gas released by burning fossil fuels.
3. About 3/4 of carbon dioxide emissions come from the combustion of fossil fuels for heating, transportation and power generation.
4. Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is quite low at just 0.04%.

Question 17

What 5 places does carbon dioxide come from?

Answer 17

1. Respiration of all living organisms.
2. Combustion.
3. Volcanic eruptions.
4. Combustion of organic matter.
5. Fermentation by microbes.

Question 18

Why have the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere been increasing?

Answer 18

Deforestation has led to less trees. This means that less carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere during photosynthesis.

Question 19

How can levels of carbon dioxide be reduced?

Answer 19

By capturing it from flue gases.

Question 20

What are 5 negative effects of climate change?

Answer 20

1. Drought.
2. Rising sea levels.
3. Retreating glaciers.
4. Rising sea temperatures.
5. Changing weather.

Question 21

What are the 5 negative effects of drought?

Answer 21

1. Drought causes a changing pattern of crop yields.
2. Countries closest to the equator are likely to suffer most as their crop yields will decrease.
3. In Africa, countries such as Tanzania and Mozambique will have longer periods of drought and shorter growing seasons. They could lose almost 1/3 of their maize crop.
4. It is forecast that in India there will be a 50% decrease in the amount of land available to grow wheat. This is due to hotter and drier weather.
5. In Kenya, droughts now happen every three years instead of every ten years. In 2006, Kenya suffered its worst drought for 80 years. Many farmers lost all of their cattle.

Question 22

What are the 6 negative effects of rising sea levels?

Answer 22

1. Research published in 2007 by The Hadley Centre for Climate Change at Exeter, showed that between 1993 and 2006 sea levels rose by 3.3mm a year. This will lead to an 88cm rise in sea levels by the end of the century.
2. A rise in sea levels will threaten large areas of low lying coastal land including major world cities such as London, New York and Tokyo.
3. Many islands in the Pacific Ocean are already being affected by rising sea levels. Two of the Kiribati islands are now covered with sea water.
4. Due to rising sea levels, Tuvalu has started to evacuate its population to New Zealand, with 75 people moving away each year.
5. Bangladesh suffers from coastal flooding. Experts say that if the sea level increases by 1m, Bangladesh will lose 17.5% of its land.
6. If homes and factories continue to be built on floodplains in the UK, the cost of flood damage will increase.

Question 23

What are the 6 negative effects of retreating glaciers?

Answer 23

1. The vast majority of the world’s glaciers are retreating, some more quickly than others.
2. This is thought by some to be due to the increase in temperatures caused by climate change.
3. Research has shown that 90% of the glaciers in Antarctica are retreating.
4. The melting of the glaciers at the poles could also affect ocean water movement.
5. It is believed that melting ice in the Arctic could cause the Gulf Stream to be diverted further south. This will lead to colder temperatures in western Europe, matching the temperatures found across the Atlantic in Labrador at the present time. Temperatures are frequently below 0ºC in the winter with averages of 8ºC – 10ºC in July, which is 10ºC cooler than the average UK summer temperature.
6. The Glacier National Park, Montana, USA, was created in 1910. At this time there were 150 glaciers. Since then this number has decreased to 30. It is predicted that within 30 years most, if not all, of the park’s glaciers will have disappeared.
7. There has been a loss of sea ice due to climate change. This is a problem for the polar bears of Wrangel Island, a Russian nature reserve, because they cannot travel overland to catch their prey.

Question 24

What is the negative effect of rising sea temperatures?

Answer 24

A Greenpeace report predicts that the Great Barrier Reef in Australia will be dead within 30 years due to rising sea temperatures.

Question 25

What are the 2 negative effects of changing weather?

Answer 25

In the Colca region of Peru, villages have been abandoned. They no longer have a water supply because of the lack of snow falling on the mountains.
There will be more storms and floods in the UK.

Question 26

In what 3 ways have schools responded to climate change?

Answer 26

1. ‘Livesimply’ is a campaign that was initiated by the Catholic Church to encourage students to consider how they made choices in life by providing a number of resources for schools, which made students think about their impact in the world and sustainability. It ran throughout the whole of 2007.
2. Many schools are introducing energy efficient water and central heating systems that run from renewable sources such as wind turbines and solar panels.
3. Schools have also introduced notices to switch off lights.
4. Brentwood Ursuline is signed up with a programme with British Gas called Generation Green. This is where points are collected as ‘leaves’. We were the 2nd school in the UK to reach our leaf goal and so won £25,000 worth of solar panels. This has meant savings of £4,000,000 of free electricity. It has saved £1,200 of of the energy bill.

Question 27

In what 5 ways have local councils responded to climate change?

Answer 27

1. The UK’s target is to cut carbon emissions to 15% below the 1990 levels by 2010 and 20% by 2020.
2. The government believes that the local councils are important in the reduction of the UK’s carbon emissions as they have an influence on local home owners.
   15% of the UK’s carbon emissions are produced by houses.
3. Since April 2008 local councils’ success in cutting carbon emissions has been one of their targets. To help meet these targets, the government has given local councils $4 million. The idea is for those local councils that have already introduced ideas to cut carbon emissions to help those that haven’t.
4. The six best councils are Eastleigh Borough Council, the City of London, Barking and Dagenham, Middlesbrough, Woking Borough Council and Worcestershire. They have all introduced schemes that have cut carbon emissions. 5. For example, giving away free low energy light bulbs.

Question 28

In what 4 ways have local interest groups responded to climate change?

Answer 28

1. ‘Manchester is my planet’ is a group running a pledge campaign to encourage individuals to reduce their carbon footprint and become involved in a number of green energy projects.
2. The group started in 2005 and work with the local council.
3. There are now more than 20,000 people who have pledged to work towards a low carbon future.
4. One of the initiatives is the Green Badge Parking Permit. People who own cars that are recognised as having low carbon emissions can apply for a Green Badge Parking Permit, which allows car owners to buy an annual parking permit for NCP car parks within Greater Manchester at a 25% discount. The permit is valid for 12 months.

Question 29

What 6 major events show the responses to climate change on a global scal?

Answer 29

1. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC).
2. The Earth Summit in River de Janeiro.
3. The Kyoto Protocol.
4. The Millenium Development Goals.
5. The World Summit on Sustainable development.
6. The Bali Conference.

Question 30

When were the two meetings of the IPPC?

Answer 30

1988 and then 1995.

Question 31

What did the first IPPC report say?

Answer 31

The first report of the IPCC showed that the Earth had warmed by 0.5ºC in the past century. It recommended strong measures.

Question 32

What did the second IPPC report say?

Answer 32

The second report said that it was decided that carbon dioxide was the main contributor to climate change and that humans were contributing to the alteration of the Earth’s climate. It was also realised that many important aspects of climate changes are irreversible.

Question 33

When was the Earth Summit in River de Janeiro?

Answer 33

1992.

Question 34

What happened at the Earth Summit in River de Janeiro?

Answer 34

The UNFCC was signed by 154 nations agreeing to prevent dangerous warming from greenhouse gases. It set voluntary targets for the reduction of these emissions.

Question 35

When was the Kyoto Protocol?

Answer 35

1997.

Question 36

What happened at the Kyoto Protocol?

Answer 36

The UNFCC’s voluntary targets were replaced by legally binding controls on emissions. 178 countries signed a treaty that came into force in 2005.

Question 37

When were the Millennium Development Goals decided upon?

Answer 37

2000.

Question 38

What were the 8 main Millennium Development Goals?

Answer 38

1. Eradicating world hunger.
2. Achieving universal primary education.
3. Promoting gender equality and empowering women.
4. Reducing child mortality rates.
5. Improving maternal health.
6. Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
7. Ensuring environmental sustainability.
8. Developing a global partnership for development.

Question 39

Who decided upon the Millennium Development Goals?

Answer 39

All 193 UN member states and at least 23 international organisations.

Question 40

When were the Millennium Goals to be reached?

Answer 40

2015.

Question 41

When was the World Summit on Sustainable Development?

Answer 41

2002.

Question 42

What 3 things were agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development?

Answer 42

1. It was agreed to restore the world’s depleted fisheries for 2015.
2. It was discussed how the Millennium Goals would be achieved around just under 300 main points.
3. It was also agreed to focus on “the worldwide conditions which poses severe threats to the sustainable development of out people”.

Question 43

When was the Bali Conference?

Answer 43

2007.

Question 44

What 2 things happened at the Bali Conference?

Answer 44

1. The IPCC confirmed that there is a greater than 90% chance that global warming in the past 50 years has been caused by human activity.
2. All nations agreed to negotiate a deal to tackle climate change but were unable to agree the details at Bali. They promised to finalise the details by 2009 but this has not yet happened.