Energy
Basics of Climate Change - Upload Knowledge
Are you ready to heat-up your knowledge of global warming? We’ll help
you make sense of the hoopla and point to scientific resources to give you a
greater understanding of the concepts.
The
Alliance to Save
Energy reports that over 80% of pollution comes from the use and production
of energy. One of the biggest components of that pollution is the release
of
carbon dioxide (CO2) into our atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide does cycle into and out of the atmosphere by natural causes
in the
carbon cycle. But, since the industrial revolution, the concentration
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased from 280 ppm to over 367 ppm
according to the
U.N.
Environmental Programme. The famous
Keeling Curve graphically
shows this rise in CO2 concentration based on precise data measurements taken
since 1958. Most scientists agree that the increase is undoubtedly due to
industrial processes and massive transportation, both of which burn
fossil fuels that emit carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases, in turn, are what most scientists, including the
IPCC, believe is the primary cause of the
current trend of global warming. For more on the idea that humans are the
cause, check out this
list of scientific studies documenting the connection.
So why’s carbon dioxide such a bad guy? What did he ever do wrong?
Carbon dioxide is the most notorious of the “
greenhouse
gases,” and as you may know, greenhouse gases are one of the many factors of
global warming trends, and arguably the biggest contributing factor of
human-induced (
anthropogenic)
global warming. Carbon dioxide is the one we most frequently talk
about because the
National Academy of Sciences and
Climate.org
explain that it’s the one that is probably most responsible for the current
warming trend. However, other greenhouse gases do contribute to global
warming, including
water
vapor,
methane,
CFCs,
tropospheric ozone,
and
nitrous oxides. But, what confuses many people is the fact that
greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide have been helping to keep the earth warm
for a very long time. And, it’s a good thing they’ve been around because
the earth would be a very cold place without them, too cold for most life,
according to the
EPA. For more on any of the greenhouse gases, including the lesser
known and indirect greenhouse gases, visit
GHG Online.
The problem that most scientists are worried about is not that greenhouse gases
have the ability keep the earth warm and stable. Instead, it’s that
greenhouse gases also have the ability to make earth too warm and cause
instability because of that. Most scientists now agree that we are
emitting more
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere
than
the natural carbon cycle can process, which will cause increasing
temperatures from the
greenhouse effect. For more on the greenhouse effect, read
this page
by Climate.org. As
this
graph from the United Nations shows, a rise in carbon dioxide concentrations
in the atmosphere strongly correlates with rises in global temperatures
throughout the measurable record of history in the Vostok Ice Core.
Our climate on earth is very sensitive to even the smallest changes in
temperature. And according to the NOAA,
temperatures
have been rising since the late 1800’s and a change of only a couple degrees
Celsius could lead to many changes in many aspects of our climate. This is
why
greenhouse gases are often associated with the idea of
climate change. Climate change in turn could have far-reaching impacts
on humans and all other life because we depend so heavily on a stable climate.
So is it “global warming” or “climate change”?
If you’re confused by how society often uses “climate change” and “global
warming” to mean the same thing, read
this page by the
National Science Foundation and Carleton College to understand how these complex
definitions are currently used. In a real basic sense, “global warming”
means just the rise in global temperatures, while “climate change” means changes
in climate, including temperature, precipitation, weather, etc. Regardless
of which of these terms people use nowadays, they are usually referring to the
same thing, the human-induced (
anthropogenic)
cause and effect relationship between warming temperatures as the cause and
changing climate as the result. In other words, they usually mean that the
impact humans are having on our environment is causing higher temperatures, or
“global warming,” which could lead to the more complex process of “climate
change.”
Come on, is climate change really that bad?
Unfortunately,
we don’t know
exactly how bad climate change could be. Scientists’ inability to
reasonably predict all of the outcomes and how severe those outcomes could be is
one of the most unsettling characteristics of climate change.
However, even though scientists don’t know the exact levels of impact climate
change will have, they can reasonably predict that negative impacts will include
a rise of sea
level,
a
toll on ecosystems,
impact on
agriculture & food supply,
a taxing of our
water supply, and serious
human health
effects. Other effects may include huge economic and social
repercussions because of how heavily we depend on the stability of our climate
to support our civilization. For a general understanding of how the
science of climate change may play out, read
this page
by Climate.org. Then, for more about the different effects, click on the topic
of your choice in the left-hand toolbar of
climate.org
or check out the
EPA’s
health and environmental effects of climate change. Also, check out the
EPA’s site on how
specific parts of the world and U.S. might be affected.
Isn’t global climate change more complex than greenhouse gases and the
greenhouse effect?
Yes. Global climate change is very complex and can be caused by
many
processes. Also, the systems that cause climate change have countless
contributing factors, many of which are interrelated by either enhancing or
mitigating each other. We often refer to these interrelated processes as
positive or negative feedback loops.
For a more complete understanding of climate change from start to finish, the
National Academy of Sciences’
Facts and
Our Future Exhibit is a phenomenal resource! It walks you through what
climate change is, what causes it, how humans are affecting it, and some of the
possible results complete with pictures and thorough explanations of every
concept.
Climate change’s various processes also take place over varying timescales.
Check out the NOAA’s
Climate
TimeLine to begin to learn about the complexity of climate change through
the scale of different changes over the whole course of earth’s history. By
clicking on any of the timeframes, you can get an idea of what kinds of changes
can take place in that amount of time. It also explains specific climatic
events and trends that actually have occurred in the timeline.
Still have questions or want more material?
If you still have unanswered questions, check out all the questions and answers
from Dr.
Global Change. The NOAA also has
common
questions and answers. If your question has not already been asked to
one of these places, then ask
Dr. Global Change by clicking on the “Ask a Question” Tab in the top right
corner of the site.
If you’re looking for visual depictions of climate change concepts to better
understand the science or to show in your classroom, check out the
educational
graphics from the NOAA and the
vital climate graphics
from the United Nations Environment Programme.
For a list of global warming videos and DVDs with summaries of each one,
click
here.
If you’re a student or anyone doing research on climate change and need access
to the reports issued by major climate change conferences and panels, check out
the U.S. GCRIO’s Online Library.
They also have a catalog for
free climate change resources that you can order. For example, check
out the
Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report from the IPCC!
Search for additional resources through the National Science Foundation's
stellar list of
global warming sites with super helpful reviews on each one or Clean Air
Cool Planet’s
climate science links.
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What is a carbon footprint?
The carbon footprint of a human or a building or a company is an estimation of
the amount of greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere by one’s daily
activities of living, moving, and operating. The greenhouse gases are
estimated in terms of the equivalent effect they would have if they were all
carbon dioxide, so that’s why it’s called a “carbon footprint.” Read
Carbon Footprint™
for more information.
How do we figure out what our school’s carbon footprint is?
Measuring your school’s carbon footprint is a great way to raise school
awareness about climate change and an opportunity to educate students about
climate change in the classroom. You may also be able to use the results
of a carbon inventory to help raise community awareness and support for certain
green improvements you can make in your school district.
To find out your school’s carbon footprint, try one of the following
calculators…
- The
Clean Air Cool Planet Campus Carbon Calculator is tailored for colleges and
universities, but can be applied to your K-12 school. The easy-to-use
Excel sheets will guide you through collecting the information you need.
- The School Neutral
Carbon Footprint Calculator is designed specifically for K-12 schools by a
high school student with help from Live
Neutral.
- The EPA’s Climate
Change Emissions Calculator (CHECK) for schools is half-way down this page.
Students can learn first-hand how human activities impact the climate not only
by estimating their school’s greenhouse gas emissions, but also by being
challenged to find ways to cut down those emissions.
- The Emissions Calculator
from Abraxas Energy Consulting is a quick n’ easy way to estimate your
building’s likely emissions by type of pollutant and over the time period you
want considering the source you want to examine. You can look at one
month, a year, or even a comparison of multiple years.
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If you or your students are interested in estimating your personal carbon
footprints, check out
MSN’s green calculator, the
Carbon Footprint’s™
Calculator, the EPA’s
Personal
Emissions Calculator, or the American Forests’
climate change
calculator.
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