Transcript global warming - running into myself

Roger E. Jones
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English Teacher, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
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B.A., Northwestern University
M.A., University of Missouri
TESOL, Univ. of California, Los Angeles
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Fields of Study: Public Speaking, Writing,
International Relations, Art History
outline
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definitions
issues
pro / con
an inconvenient truth
practice debate
conclusion
global warming
noun
an increase in the average
temperature of the earth's
atmosphere and oceans, especially
a sustained increase sufficient to
cause climatic change.
definitions
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Global Warming
Greenhouse Gas
The Greenhouse Effect
Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC)
 Tradable Pollution Quotas
 Kyoto Protocol
WHAT IS GLOBAL WARMING?
Temperatures are rising because
we have dramatically increased
the amount of carbon dioxide in
the Earth’s atmosphere, by
burning fossil fuels such as coal,
gas, and oil, and by clearing
forests.
• Greenhouse Gas: A gas which traps
the sun's heat:
• Greenhouse Gas: A gas which traps
the sun's heat:
• Water vapor (H2O)
• Carbon dioxide (CO2) - exhaust from
cars and power plants.
• Methane (CH4) - from decomposing
organic matter.
Carbon dioxide and methane levels are at
their highest levels in the past 420,000
years.
The Greenhouse Effect
Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC)
• A scientific body formed in 1988 to
evaluate the risk of climate change caused
by human activity.
Tradable Pollution Quotas
• A country that wants to exceed its quota of
greenhouse emissions can buy part of another
country’s quota of polluting gases.
Kyoto Protocol
• A 1997 international treaty designed to
limit global greenhouse gas emissions
during the years 2008 - 2012.
• Goal: to reduce greenhouse-gas
emissions 5% below 1990 levels.
Kyoto Protocol
• The United States and Australia have not
ratified the Kyoto Protocol.
• The U.S. is responsible for about a quarter
of the emissions that have been blamed
for global warming.
issues
Who is responsible?
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Most scientists blame
industrialization:
 Automotive Industry (low fuel
economy)
 Oil companies (fossil fuels)
 Power plants (coal)
 Agri-business (biofuels,
deforestation, cattle
producing methane)
 Logging Industry
(deforestation)
Consequences of
global warming
Catastrophic weather such as
hurricanes will increase.
Melting polar icecaps will raise ocean
levels; the Arctic Ocean could be
ice free in summer by 2050.
Heat waves, droughts, and
wildfires will be more frequent.
Up to 300,000 people a year
will die – partly from the
spread of tropical diseases.
More than a million species
worldwide could be extinct
by 2050.
Endangered
Global sea levels could rise by
more than 20 feet, devastating
coastal areas worldwide.
The future of our coastal cities?
Between 1970
and 2004
global
greenhouse
gas emissions
have
increased by
70 %
• From 1971 to 2005 CO2 vehicle emissions
rose from 1.8 billion tons per year to 4.6
billion tons per year.
• The average global air temperature rose
between 0.5 and 0.74 degrees C during the
past century.
• An average 2 degrees C warming is predicted
by 2100.
• Sea level has risen between 10 to 25 cm in
the last 100 years.
The Earth is getting warmer.
What causes the warming is
hotly debated.
The Argument:
Human causes
(Anthropogenic):
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
exhaust from cars
and power plants.
Methane gas from
waste
Deforestation
The Argument:
Natural causes:
Some claim the sun
is getting hotter.
Also, the earth
goes through
natural cycles of
climate change.
Evidence that CO2 is Cause
carbon dioxide vs. global temperature graph
Is Global Warming for Real?
1973
CONFLICTING INFORMATION
2005
Is it already
too late?
an inconvenient truth
• Al Gore
• 2007 Nobel
Peace Prize
• Former Vice
President of
the United
States
pro / con
The big debate is political:
Global warming's harmful potential has
been proved; now we must prevent it
from getting worse.
OR
The evidence is inconclusive; trying to
prevent global warming could destroy
the economy.
Who is responsible for
slowing global warming,
and at what cost?
Industrialization is the
primary cause of
global warming.
Are alternative sources
of energy the answer?
The Kyoto Protocol –
effective or not?
Industries should
cut greenhouse
gas emissions
now.
What are the costs of
slowing global warming?
Can you have
economic
growth and
protect the
earth at the
same time?
Emissions
quota trading
Will it work?
Is unlimited
economic growth
really desirable?
practice debate
Topic 1:
Industrial growth
should be slowed or
limited in order to
curb global warming.
Topic 2:
Do newly-developed
economies, like India
and China, have a right
to increase their
industrial emissions?
Something to think about:
• Climate change may just be too big
and too vague a problem for
people to want to invest in trying to
solve. People like to fund things
they know will work.
• It will be the political process and
fear of the unknown that will
generate the needed response by
developed countries to mitigate
carbon emissions worldwide, if
this response is generated at all.
Thank you