Climate Change

Climate Change

1. Case Studies

   • The Little Ice Age (1300 - mid-1800s)
     • A period of a cooler climate
     • Believed to have been caused by sunspots
     • Social impacts
       • Food shortages leading to famine
       • Spike in death rates due to illness and malnutrition
       • Rapid spread of disease e.g. Bubonic plague
       • Transport affected - frozen rivers & impassable highlands
     • Economic impacts
       • Difficult farming conditions / Shorter growing season
       • Fewer crops to sell at market
       • Food prices increased
     • Environmental impacts
       • Animal migrations to warmer regions
       • Habitats destroyed and food webs affected
       • Some animals experienced rapid population decline e.g. Seals
       • Slow down in plant growth
   • How might a developed country be affected by Global Warming
     • UK
       • Likely to be warmer
         • Benefits
           • Winter heating costs and the costs of gritting the roads fall
           • Tourism increases - good for the economy
           • Fewer deaths in winter especially the elderly from the cold
           • More land can be farmed at higher altitides
           • Growing seasons would be different so new crops could be grown e.g. vines for wine
         • Costs
           • Summer drought and water shortages, especially in the south.
           • More illnesses e.g. sunstroke, skin cancer
           • Roads melt, railway lines buckle
           • Farmers change crops to those that need less water and more sun
           • Extinctions of some plants and animals as it gets too hot
           • Scotland's skiing resorts could be gone by 2050
           • More cases of tropical diseases like malaria
       • Sea level rise
         • Low lying coasts could flood
         • Greater erosion e.g. Holderness
         • Sea defences and flood barriers would cost £millions
       • More extreme weather
         • Heat waves
         • Floods
         • Storms
         • Extreme weather is hard to predict and costly
       • What can we do?
         • Decrease fossil fuels
         • Switch to 'green energy' - wind, solar, tidal
         • Recycle more
         • Use cars less and public transport more
       • The Stern Review 2005
         • We should spend 2% of our GDP now, reducing pollution OR the effects of global warming could decrease our GDP by 20%. 'Spend now or pay later'.
       • 1997 Kyoto Protocol = international agreement to cut carbon dioxide emissions
         • Some countries e.g. UK have cut emissions, others e.g. China haven't. We need ALL countries to sign up
   • How might a developing country be affected by Global Warming
     • Bangladesh
       • Low lying country. Threatened by rising sea levels and coastal flooding
       • Social/Economic impacts
         • A small rise in sea levels could massively impact upon Bangladesh's farmland and agricultural output e.g. rice crops.
         • More river flooding could cause damage to people's homes and more disruption to lives and the economy
         • 17 million people in Bangladesh alone will be threatened by flooding
         • Shrimp farming is very important but rising sea temperatures may damage this form of aquaculture
         • Increased flooding will increase the spread of waterborne diseases
       • Environmental impacts
         • Already severe flooding would become worse from heavier rainfall and sea level rise
         • Tropical storms could become more of a common occurrence, and possibly do more destruction if it were to move inland
         • The dry season is already getting longer and this could cause more droughts
     • Sudan
       • Unpredictable rainfall leading to droughts and desertification
       • Social/economic impacts
         • Droughts endanger lives and livelihoods through thirst, hunger (due to lack of crops) and the spread of diseases.
         • Many farmers will not have any crops to sell at the market, meaning they can not earn an income.
         • Drought can force people to migrate to other countries. This puts pressure on their resources, and also means there is nobody left to work in the country they left behind.
         • As water supplies begin to reduce, conflict over the remaining resources intensifies. This can be particularly severe if resources are shared between countries or tribes.
       • Environmental impacts
         • A shortage of water can cause the land to start to degrade. Eventually this may lead to desertification.
         • Drought can cause plants and animals to die. Animals that drink large quantities of water can be some of the first to die.