Eleni Trull
Sierra
SCI 101 Lisa Carloye
30 October 2015
Climate Change There is no doubt that the climate is changing, it is a naturally occurring phenomenon. Since climate change is naturally occurring, there is nothing we can do to completely eradicate the problem, but we have the ability to slow down the rate at which it is happening. Climate change is mostly anthropogenic and President Obama’s Clean Power Plan presents efficient policy options for helping prevent our climate issue from getting worse.
Section 1: How Climate Works
The climate of the Earth is affected by multiple factors, including greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Greenhouse effects warm the planet and even though CO2 concentration is low, increasing amounts can
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The wobble of the Earth’s rotation also affects how directly solar energy hits Earth.
Albedo and global wind patterns are another two factors that influence climate. Albedo is the amount of solar power that arrives at a surface and then gets reflected back into space (Hewitt, 348). Dark surfaces absorb the solar energy and eventually the heat radiates back to space, but light surfaces immediately reflect the solar energy back into space. The total albedo differs depending on cloud coverage, snow, ice, forests, and human developments. Earth’s albedo decreases with the melting of ice caps and causes Earth’s temperature to rise (Hewitt, 349). Wind patterns are also a factor of climate. They re-distribute the heat from the equator to the poles.
Section 2: Evidence of a Changing Climate
There is no doubt that the climate is changing and humans are the cause of it. Since 2005, the 10 hottest years have occurred in the past 14 years (Gore, 2006). What this shows is that the average global temperature is gradually increasing, especially now. CO2 levels have been rising rapidly as well. According to the IPCC report, there has been a 40% increase of CO2 since pre industrial times and 30% has been absorbed into the oceans (IPCC, 2013). More evidence that shows that the climate is changing is that Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass. Greenland lost around 150-250 cubic kilometers of ice per year in a 4-year period and Antarctica
All in the climate is changing. Climate change has been ongoing throughout all of Earth's history, worryingly humans are now the main cause for it. Over the past decade, the average Global surface temperature rose by approximately 0.6° Celsius. (UCAR, 2015) Melting glaciers, polar ice sheets and ice caps have seen a decline, Artic sea ice extent has decreased by 2.7% per decade, snow cover and mountain glaciers have declined in both northern and southern hemispheres as shown in figure 1. (ICPP, 2007) Due to a rising increase in greenhouse gases, a hole in the ozone layer has developed, causing change in Antarctica. With a higher climate in Antarctica comes melting ice around certain regions. Due to harsh winds produced by climate change, an uproar in warmer weather has spread across the Western Coast of Antarctica, whereas other regions are facing cooling trends. We can only come to the conclusion that climate change is at its worst. So what's causing the change in climate? Fossil fuels. Fossil fuels have contributed to 75% of the climates uproar. (Max De Boo, 2002) Once they burn they release CO2 into the atmosphere. The Earth is getting warmer due to the greenhouse gas layer thickening. Nothing can resolve climate change but things can be done to reduce it from becoming lethal. Using an alternative to fossil fuels, using transport less - cycle, walk, use public transport, these are all small starting point that add up in everyone contributes. (WWF,
Climate change happens when long term weather patterns are refined. It can be identified in the changes of temperature, winds, precipitation, and other forms of natural processes. This can occur through many different factors, one being through human activity. Global warming is one of the main scales used to measure climate change. For life to be able to continue on Earth, the sun is required. Solar radiation is reflected back into space, however, small amounts of radiation get trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing a rise of temperature. The atmosphere is composed of delicate gases, the most important gas being Carbon Dioxide. A main component on Earth is Carbon, which is released into the atmosphere through many activities, one human
Global warming is the steady heating of Earth’s land, oceans, and atmosphere caused primarily by human activity. Climate change is one of the world’s biggest challenges right now, from people actively arguing that it doesn’t exist- to other’s who don’t care enough to do anything about it. There’s evidence showing that climate change is happening and affecting our world now and from what it seems, if action isn’t taken, major consequences will soon arise. Most of the world’s land mass has experienced a 0.2-1.0 degree Celsius average temperature increase since the 1970s, the temperatures of the Artic has increased at almost twice the mean global rate. Climate change is caused by human factors such as greenhouse gases and ozone depletion and because humans are so dependent on fossil fuels in their day to day lives, the issue at hand is only going to get worse.
Atmospheric carbon impacts the temperature of the Earth because it is a greenhouse gas. When visible light from the sun heats the surface of the earth, some of the energy is transmitted back towards the
Climate change is a massive issue that is caused by many different things however, the main reason is greenhouse gasses. Greenhouse gasses are gasses, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide being the main three (Greenhouse Gases), that allow direct sunlight to reach the surface and
The rise in temperature is altering the climates most basic elements: rainfall, evaporation, and days of sunshine and nighttime temperature.
The idea of climate change, for many, is an opinionated subject with much discussion of whether it is a real issue or just a natural phenomenon. However in recent years it is clear to see that trends in the Earth’s climate and surface temperature has spiked to levels never seen before. Despite all the evidence of the high levels of greenhouses gases and the rise in temperature, many still believe that
Climate change can be defined as a significant change in the “average weather” of any given region sustained in the long-term and can be caused by Earth 's dynamic processes, external forces including variations in sunlight intensity, and also by human activities (USEPA, 2014).
A common misunderstanding of the climate system characterizes it like a pendulum. The planet will warm up to "cancel out" a previous period of cooling, spurred by some internal equilibrium. This view of the climate is incorrect. Internal variability will move energy between the ocean and the atmosphere, causing short-term warming and cooling of the surface in events such as El Nino and La Nina, and longer-term changes when similar cycles operate on decadal scales. However, internal forces do not cause climate change. Appreciable changes in climate are the result of changes in the energy balance of the Earth, which requires "external" forcings, such as changes in solar output, albedo, and atmospheric greenhouse gases. These forcings can be cyclical, as they are in the ice ages, but they can come in different shapes entirely.
Earth’s climate can be observed as an ever changing continuum throughout history. Just in the last 650,000 years there have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat, the end of the last ice age occurring about 11,700 years ago. With climate change being a seemingly characteristic and even beneficial quality of Earth (the end of the ice age did mark the beginning of the modern climate era fit to sustain human civilization after all) it may be easy to disregard the significance of the current period of climate change our planet is in. However, most of the climate changes that occurred before the one beginning around 1950 were attributed to variations in the Earth’s orbit that affect the amount of solar energy received by it. The current
It is believed that human activities are the cause of climate change. The world doesn’t have all the answers to why climate change is occurring, but there are general ideas. Evidence that the atmosphere and oceans are warming, rising sea levels and enormous declines in the amount of sea ice, glaciers and permafrost in the Arctic prove that climate change is indeed real.
People around the world turn a blind eye on the topic of climate change, many believe that climate change is a hoax, but our Earth is changing. Our average air and ocean temperatures are rising, there is a widespread melting of snow and ice and a rising average in sea levels. These are things happening because of climate change. As habitants of the Earth, it is our duty to restore our planet after the wrongs we have done to it.
Some people may say climate change isn’t real, while others may just disagree with that statement. There is scientific proof that climate change is real. The current warming of the Earth’s surface is caused by an increase of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide. These gases are called fossil fuels. Many, many fossil fuels are being burned every single day. This is causing much of the degredation to our environment.
The main contributor to climate change is the human race, but there are some natural factors that are contributing as well as humans. Volcanic eruptions and changes in irradiance can be factors that influence climate change. Although they can cause changes to the climate, they are short term
The Earth 's climate can be posh by natural factors that are external to the climate system, such as fluctuations in volcanic activity, solar output, and the Earth 's orbit around the Sun. In terms of the Earth 's energy balance, these issues mostly effect the amount of incoming energy. Volcanic outbreaks are irregular and have relatively short-term effects on climate.