Transcript Climate Change File

Climate Change
Man vs Nature- Where do we lay the blame?
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Brainstorm on the board
What do you know about Climate Change?
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Is the Earth warming?
It’s getting hotter- Let’s take some notes
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Not all climate change is caused by humans
Natural Causes of Climate Change:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Plate Tectonics
Volcanic Activity
Sunspot Activity
Milankovitch Cycles
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1. Plate Tectonics Affecting Climate Change
• Ice needs a land mass to collect on.
• If plates move away from poles = no land for ice
to gather on
Currently there is no
land mass directly on
the North Pole, but close
enough with Greenland.
This allows ice to gather
and stick around.
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2. Volcanic Activity Causing Climate Change
• Volcanoes release of
aerosols (tiny solids)
that block solar
radiation).
• Ex. 1815 Mt. Tambora
“Year without a
Summer”. Snow in
June, frost in August.
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Volcanoes impacting weather
Mt. St. Helens
Mt. Pinatubo
Krakatoa
Mt. Tambora
The year without a summer
• The RED is a
simple fit (or best
fit) line.
• The dips you see
correspond to
LARGE volcanic
eruptions.
• Despite the ash
from the volcanic
eruptions, the
overall trend is
increasing.
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3. Sunspot Activity Causing Climate Change
• Sunspots are dark blemishes on the surface of the sun
• They release solar eruptions which radiate HEAT
Sunspots
Solar flare
50 times the diameter of Earth
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Natural Causes in Climate Change4. Milankovitch Cycles
• Earth’s tilt changes on a 26,000 year cycle
• Earth’s orbit becomes very elliptical, back to
“circular” on a 100,000 year cycle.
• Major glaciations occur when they both align.
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Natural Causes in Climate ChangeMilankovitch Cycles
• During circular orbits, Earth warms.
• During elliptical orbits, Earth cools.
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So there are 4 Natural causes of climate change.
Let’s check out this video from scientists who think
human impact is overstated:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C35pasCr6KI (11:38)
‘Climate Scientists Laugh at Global Warming Hysteria’
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What about the Human Impact?
The FOUR “Fs”
1. Farming
2. Flatulence
3. Fertilizing
4. Fossil Fuels
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Human Impact of Climate1. Farming
• Cutting down trees/vegetation
for farming
– Decreases the absorption of
CO2 (bad)
• Stirring soil (tilling) releases
naturally stored CO2 in soil
aggregates. (bad)
***We’ve been doing this for
1000s of years***
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Human Impact of Climate2. Flatulence
• Methane (CH4) is produced from cattle farts,
swamps & landfills
• Absorbs 20-30 times more radiation than CO2
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Human Impact of Climate3. Fertilizing & 4. Fossil Fuels
FERTILZING: Nitrous Oxide (N2O) is
produced from nitrogen fertilizers
FOSSIL FUELS: CO2 and N2O are
produced during the combustion of
fossil fuels.
N2O is also a greenhouse gas and is
300 times better at absorbing infrared
radiation than CO2*** = HOT
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Consequences of Climate Change
The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change):
"Taken as a whole, the range of published
evidence indicates that the net damage
costs of climate change are likely to be
significant and to increase over time."
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Consequences of Climate ChangeUS example
Hurricane Sandy 2012
$65,000,000,000
2012 Midwest/Plains Drought
$35,000,000,000
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Consequences of Global WarmingStorm frequency
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Consequences- Glaciers melt = oceans rise
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So are humans to blame?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7E1v24Dllk (25:24)
‘Al Gore: The Case for Optimism on Climate Change (TED
2016)
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