Unit 1 - Challenges - Climate Change (Section B)

Unit 1 - Challenges - Climate Change (Section B)

1. Causes

   • After the last ice age - contributors?
     • Volcanoes add sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere and act as a blanket, reducing amounts of solar energy reaching the earth. Mount Tambora - The year without a summer
     • Less solar energy reaching us - from 1°C to 0.5° if it continues
     • Carbon dioxide levels - Greenhouse effect
     • Snow and ice levels - Snow and ice reflecting sunlight back to space
     • Tectonic activity - Tectonic movement affects the global pattern of atmospheric and oceanic circulation
     • Tilt of the Earth's axis or the orbital variation of the Earth
   • On a local and global scale
     • Fossil Fuels - Coal, oil and natural gas are burnt to create energy, but they also produce carbon dioxide, which contribute to the greenhouse effect.
     • Methane - Increases in methane by about 1.5 percent a year. Produced by bacteria emissions from wetlands, Rice production and cattle-style diets

2. Effects

   • Different crops can be grown in the UK due to rising temperatures (e.g. Bananas)
   • Rising sea levels will threaten low-lying major cities such as London
   • 90% of the glaciers in Antartica are retreating
   • Two of the Kiribati islands are now lost to the sea
   • India - there will be a 50 per cent decrease in the amount of land to grow wheat on due to hotter and drier weather
   • Bengali flooding - If the sea level goes up by 1m, Bangladesh will lose 17.5% of its land
   • Tuvalu - 75 people moving to New Zealand each year
   • Tanzania and Mozambique will have longer droughts - could lose a third of their maize crop
   • By the end of the of the century there will be an 88cm rise in sea levels
   • Droughts in Kenya - 2006
   • Glaciers in Montana - 150-30 decrease
   • Melting ice in the Arctic could cause the Gulf Stream to be diverted further south - results in colder temperatures in Europe

3. Responses

   • June 1992 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. UN meets up to draw up first international environmental treaty
   • December 1997 - Kyoto Conference, Japan - 181 countries signed these points. Greenhouse gas emissions to be cut by 5.2%. National limits - EU - 8%, US - 7%, JAP - 6%, RUS - 0%.
   • December 2007 - 180+ representatives were present.
   • Greenpeace - Reduce emissions in everything
   • Schools - 'Live Simply' is a campaign set up in 2007 by the Catholic Church to encourage students to live sustainably
   • Schools - Introduction of energy-efficient water and central heating systems run on wind turbines or solar panels
   • The Clear Skies scheme - 12.5 million pounds will have been invested in wind turbine projects in school
   • Local interest groups - 'Manchester is my Planet'- Pledge campaign. 20,000 have pledged to work towards a low-carbon future
   • Local councils - Woking Borough council has used money to provide power to some of its public buildings. 4 million pounds given to local governments