Global warming and energy are interconnected topics that work on the same basis. Generally what causes climate change is burning energy radiated from sun and stored in the earth's crust in the form of fossil fuel. We are giving earth double the amount of energy to release into space. The energy from the sun, and the sun's energy from the past; in the form of energy released from fossil fuel burning. The earth can't radiate heat out as fast as we generate energy. Thus, heat accumulates on earth and temperature rises indicating higher heat content for the planet.
We discuss:
-Day zero.
-The greenhouse effect.
-Svante Arrhenius Nobel prize winner and his discovery.
-Greenhouse gases.
-Different greenhouse gases: H2O, Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous oxide, and Chlorofluorocarbons; We also discuss the difference between their effects and their concentrations.
Events caused by climate change:
-Hurricane Irma.
-South Asia floods.
-East Africa drought.
-Hurricane Harvey.
-Heat wave in India and Pakistan.
-NASA's new map for the world.
United nations legal instruments:
-Kyoto protocol.
-Paris agreement.
-Which countries emit the most greenhouse gas?
Solutions:
-Renewable energy.
-Reduce meat consumption.
-Fix devices instead of buying new one.
-Carbon Foot Print.
6. The Greenhouse Effect
Nobel Laureate Svante Arrhenius found the connection
between the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the
global temperature some 122 years ago.
Source https://goo.gl/JZJ4Yj
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7. Greenhouse Gases
A layer of greenhouse gases – primarily water vapor, and
including much smaller amounts of carbon dioxide, methane and
nitrous oxide – acts as a thermal blanket for the Earth, absorbing
heat and warming the surface to a life-supporting average of 59
degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius)
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8. Water vapor H2O
The most abundant greenhouse gas, but importantly, it acts as a
feedback to the climate. Water vapor increases as the Earth's
atmosphere warms, but so does the possibility of clouds and
precipitation, making these some of the most important feedback
mechanisms to the greenhouse effect.
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9. Carbon Dioxide CO2
A minor but very important component of the atmosphere, carbon
dioxide is released through natural processes such as respiration and
volcano eruptions and through human activities such as deforestation,
land use changes, and burning fossil fuels. Humans have increased
atmospheric CO2 concentration by more than a third since the Industrial
Revolution began. This is the most important long-lived "forcing" of
climate change
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*Source https://goo.gl/XN1PQ6
10. Methane CH4
A hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural sources and human
activities, including the decomposition of wastes in landfills, agriculture,
and especially rice cultivation, as well as ruminant digestion and manure
management associated with domestic livestock. On a molecule-for-
molecule basis, methane is a far more active greenhouse gas than carbon
dioxide, but also one which is much less abundant in the atmosphere.
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12. Nitrous oxide N2O
A powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation practices,
especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel
combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning.
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13. Chlorofluorocarbons CFCs
Synthetic compounds entirely of industrial origin used in a
number of applications, but now largely regulated in production
and release to the atmosphere by international agreement for their
ability to contribute to destruction of the ozone layer. They are
also greenhouse gases.
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15. Hurricane Irma September 2017
The strongest observed in the Atlantic since 2005 in terms of
maximum sustained winds, caused widespread and catastrophic
damage. (Photo: Fran Afonso/Oxfam)
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16. South Asia floods August 2017
The worst it has been in nearly 30 years. More than 1,200 were
killed in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. While some flooding is
expected during monsoon season, this level is unusual and
unheard of for most of the communities hit. (Photo: Oxfam India)
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17. East Africa drought 18 months ago
Millions of people are facing acute food and water shortages.
(Photo: Katie G. Nelson/Oxfam)
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18. Hurricane Harvey August 2017
flooding areas with over four feet of water and displacing tens of
thousands of people from their homes.
(Photo: 1st Lt. Zachary West/U.S. Army)
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19. Heat wave in India and
Pakistan In summer 2015
In 2015 both countries were gripped again by scorching heat, with
temperatures soaring to 53.5C (128.3F) in Pakistan in May. The heat
wave also hit the Middle East and Southern Europe, where it was
named "Lucifer". (Photo: Oxfam India)
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21. If we keep burning fossil fuels indefinitely, global
warming will eventually melt all the ice at the poles
and on mountaintops, raising sea level by 216 feet.
Explore what the world’s new coastlines would look
like.
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30. Kyoto Protocol
• By 1995, countries launched negotiations to
strengthen the global response to climate change, and,
two years later, adopted the Kyoto Protocol.
• The Kyoto Protocol legally binds developed country
Parties to emission reduction targets. The Protocol’s
first commitment period started in 2008 and ended in
2012.
• The second commitment period began on 1 January
2013 and will end in 2020. There are now 197 Parties
to the Convention and 192 Parties to the Kyoto
Protocol
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31. Paris Agreement
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• At the 21st Conference of the Parties in Paris, Parties
to the UNFCCC reached a landmark agreement to
combat climate change and to accelerate and intensify
the actions and investments needed for a sustainable
low carbon future. The Paris Agreement builds upon
the Convention and – for the first time – brings all
nations into a common cause to undertake take
ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt
to its effects, with enhanced support to assist
developing countries to do so. As such, it charts a new
course in the global climate effort.
32. Paris Agreement
• The Paris Agreement’s central aim is to strengthen the
global response to the threat of climate change by
keeping the global temperature rise this century well
below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels
and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase
even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
• On Earth Day, 22 April 2016, 175 world leaders
signed the Paris Agreement at United Nations
Headquarters in New York. This was by far the
largest number of countries ever to sign an
international agreement on a single day.
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