Transcript Carbon Cycle & Climate Change

Discussion Questions
1. Do you believe global warming/climate change
Yes
No
is happening?
28
2
2. Do you believe human activity is contributing
to it?
Yes
No
26
4
3. What evidence do you have to support your
answers to #1 and #2?
Get a computer and…..
1. Go to class web site
2. Go to “Links” and search for the four
“Climate Change” sites listed there.
Number stickers match
Power cord plugged in
HW: Due Monday!
HW: Due Monday!
Carbon Cycle & Climate Change
Essential Question:
How is human activity linked to
global climate change?
The Carbon Cycle
1. What’s the difference between climate and weather?
Weather is short term (1 day, 1 year);
Climate is long term weather patterns (decades, centuries)
2. What evidence is there that climate is changing dramatically?
Give at least 6 different examples.
1. Glaciers, ice caps melting.
2. Sea levels rising.
3. Atmosphere temperatures rising.
4. Ocean temperatures rising.
5. Droughts longer and more extreme.
6. Stronger hurricanes and other tropical storms such as…….
Oct. 29, 2012
3. What are fossil fuels? Give examples and explain why they
are called fossil fuels.
• Coal, oil, natural gas.
• Formed by bodies of dead animals and plants under ground,
under pressure for millions of years.
• Our main source of energy for cars, homes, business, etc.
4. How is the burning of fossil fuels believed by scientists to be
causing global climate change?
• Burning fossil fuels adds carbon dioxide (CO2) to atmosphere.
• CO2 acts like a blanket, trapping heat in atmosphere, causing
climate to change.
5. What evidence is there for scientists to
conclude that burning of fossil fuels are
contributing to climate change?
• Increases of CO2 in
atmosphere correspond
(match) with increases in CO2
emissions from burning of
fossil fuels.
• No evidence that sunspots,
earth’s orbit, or volcanic
activity are causing it.
What happened in the early 1800’s that
Caused people to burn more fossil fuels?
6. What are the likely effects of climate change on people and the
environment? Give at least 5 different examples.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Crop damage from heat, droughts, storms.
Millions of people killed or left homeless by floods.
Millions of people without water for drinking, farming.
Terrorist attacks from de-stabilized countries.
Increased acidity of oceans harms sea life, ocean food chains.
Ocean acidification effects on sea urchins
A Pencil urchin under normal CO2 (left) and high CO2 (right).
“…. the report warns that
as temperatures rise and
severe weather increases,
food, water and electricity
shortages could create
instability in many
countries, spreading
disease, causing mass
migration and opening the
door for extremists to take
advantage of fractures in
already-unstable
countries.
7. What are some ways we can reduce our impact on climate change?
Give at least 5 different examples.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Use less electricity; turn off lights.
Switch to clean energy: solar, wind.
Drive more fuel efficient cars, burns less
gas. Drive less.
Recycle and Re-use, saves energy.
Plant more trees, stop deforestation.
Oppose coal trains, Keystone XL pipeline.
Support politicians and policies to reduce
fossil fuel consumption.
Videos
Daily Show & Climate Change March (start at 3 min.)
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPgZfhnCAdI
Questions?
"A broad analysis of the climate scientist community itself, the distribution of
credibility of dissenting researchers relative to agreeing researchers, and the level
of agreement among top climate experts has not been conducted and would inform
future ACC discussions. Here, we use an extensive dataset of 1,372 climate
researchers and their publication and citation data to show that (i)
97–98% of
the climate researchers most actively publishing in the field surveyed
here support the tenets of ACC outlined by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, and (ii) the relative climate expertise and
scientific prominence of the researchers unconvinced of ACC are
substantially below that of the convinced researchers."
What would happen if
all the ice melted?
• http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/
rising-seas/if-ice-melted-map
http://www.skepticalscience.com/big-picture.html
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/basics/today/carbon-dioxide.html