Research into Global Warming and what's happening to our Planet
Facts about Global Warming
Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius) around the world since 1880, much of this in recent decades, according to NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. The rate of warming is increasing. The 20th century’s last two decades were the hottest in 400 years and possibly the warmest for several millennia, according to a number of climate studies. And the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that 11 of the past 12 years are among the dozen warmest since 1850. The Arctic is feeling the effects the most. Average temperatures in Alaska, western Canada, and eastern Russia have risen at twice the global average, according to the multinational Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report compiled between 2000 and 2004. Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice-free summer by 2040 or earlier. Polar bears and indigenous cultures are already suffering from the sea-ice loss. Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting—for example, Montana’s Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910. In the Northern Hemisphere, thaws also come a week earlier in spring and freezes begin a week later. Coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to small changes in water temperature, suffered the worst bleaching—or die-off in response to stress—ever recorded in 1998, with some areas seeing bleach rates of 70 percent. Experts expect these sorts of events to increase in frequency and intensity in the next 50 years as sea temperatures rise. An upsurge in the amount of extreme weather events, such as wildfires, heat waves, and strong tropical storms, is also attributed in part to climate change by some experts.
What is Climate Change? Climate change is a long-term shift in the climate of a specific location, region or planet.
The shift is measured by changes in features associated with average weather, such as temperature, wind patterns and precipitation. What most people don’t know is that a change in the variability of climate is also considered climate change, even if average weather conditions remain the same. Climate change occurs when the climate of a specific area or planet is altered between two different periods of time. This usually occurs when something changes the total amount of the sun’s energy absorbed by the earth’s atmosphere and surface. It also happens when something changes the amount of heat energy from the earth’s surface and atmosphere that escapes to space over an extended period of time. Such changes can involve both changes in average weather conditions and changes in how much the weather varies around these averages. The changes can be caused by natural processes like volcanic eruptions, variations in the sun’s intensity, or very slow changes in ocean circulation or land surfaces which occur on time scales of decades, centuries or longer. But… humans also cause climates to change by releasing greenhouse gases and aerosols into the atmosphere, by changing land surfaces, and by depleting the stratospheric ozone layer. Both natural and human factors that can cause climate change are called ‘climate forcings’, since they push, or ‘force’ the climate to shift to new values
ď‚— The Stern Review on the economics of climate change
(2005) argues that climate change is likely to occur too rapidly for many species to adapt. ď‚— The global warming experienced in the last quarter of the
20th century has already caused ecosystem impacts. Species have been moving polewards by an average of 6km per decade.
I found some useful information in a geography text book. I have further information in my sketch book. As part of my project I want to try and make people appreciate their environment and the natural beauty that surrounds us and to do that I want to find information about the damage being done to out environment.
The Greenhouse Effect When the suns radiation reaches out atmosphere, some is
reflected back into space and some passes through and is absorbed by the earth. This causes the surface to warm up. Heat from the earth is radiated outward and absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This process prevents heat from disappearing into space and keep earth warm enough to sustain life. Some human activities intensify the warming effects by releasing additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. They have different heat trapping capacities.
How to prevent Global Warming.
Recycle – 15-25% of people do not recycle. Use compact fluorescent bulbs – replace 3 normal bulbs with
these and save 300lbs of carbon dioxide per year.
The 3 R’s
Plant a Tree ď‚— During photosynthesis, trees and other plants absorb carbon
dioxide and give off oxygen. There are currently too few of them to counter the increase in carbon dioxide/ ď‚— A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of CO2 during its lifetime.