Climate Change

Climate Change

1. Greenhouse effect

   • Human activities/ Man-made products:
     • 1Burning fossil fuels 2Clearing vegetation
       • Carbon Dioxide
     • Air conditioners, refrigerators, aerosols
       • chlorofluorocarbons
     • Farming, landfill
       • Methane
     • Air pollution
       • Ozone
     • Chemical fertilizers
       • Nitrous oxide
     • Increase the amount of greenhouse gases in the air
       • Global warming
   • Global climate change
     • Temerature increase
     • Frost days decrase
     • Intensity of percipitation decrease
     • Duration and frequency of percipitation decrease
     • Percipitation becomes more extreme
     • Percipitation falls as rain more often
     • Urban development with dense and tall concrete buildings
       • Heat Island effect
         • Climate change in Hong Kong
           • Increase in temperature, cloud cover, rainfall, hot nights, heavy rain and thnderstorm
           • Decrease in wind speed

2. Harrmful effects

   • Shrinking ice at the Poles
     • Sea level increase
       • Flooding of low-lying areas and island countries
   • More and strongerclimatic hazards
     • Flooding
     • Drought
     • Heat waves and wild fires
     • Stronger typhoones and blizzards
   • Spread of tropical diseases to temperate areas
   • Extinction of species
     • Coral reefs
   • Disruption of crop yields and the food supply

3. Possible benefits

   • Shorter and warmerwinters save more energy in cold areas
   • As rainfall in some areas increases, the problem of water shortages will be eased
   • Less severe winters in cold areas will result in fewer people die from cold weather

4. Solutions

   • International level
     • Difficult for MDCs and LDCs to reach an agreement on the emissions limits of greenhouse gases
   • Natinal level
     • Afforestation
     • Promote rooftop and vertical greening
     • Save energy
       • By cycling and building energy-efficient houses
     • Use renewable energy
     • Waste seperation and recycling
     • Limit the density and height of buildings
     • Reuse Methane from landfill sites
   • Individual level
     • Care more about the problem of climatic change
     • Review our habits and lifestyle