Overview

• The human race is heavily reliant on the burning of fossil fuels to sustain society
• When burned, these fossil fuels release carbon dioxide
• Along with several other gases, CO collect in the Earth’s atmosphere and contribute to a natural occurrence known as the greenhouse effect
• The greenhouse effect warms the Earth with the help of greenhouse gases, which absorb and radiate heat back to Earth
• With additional man-released greenhouse gases, the Earth is heated more
• This causes changes in climate, such as the average temperature and precipitation
• Higher temperatures can also cause habitat loss or gain
• Loss: Melting of the polar ice caps
• Gain: Warmer temperatures allow species to live in more areas
• This can lead to species extinction

• In addition to this, industry releases chemicals that are harmful to the ozone layer, such as chlorofluorocarbons, which deplete the ozone layer and allow more ultraviolet radiation to reach Earth
• This allows the UV to damage animals and plants, disrupting the ecosystem and destroying potential carbon sinks  
• Carbon sinks remove CO from the atmosphere and convert it into oxygen

Bibliography

URL:http://www.cyprus-institute.ecoethics.net/PDF/2006-MacMichael-Climate-Human-Health.pdf
Title:
Author:
Date Accessed: December 17 2012

URL: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/pd/climate/factsheets/howhuman.pdf
Title: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis
Author: IPCC
Date Accessed: December 17 2012

URL: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/n2o.html
Title: Climate Change
Author: EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency)
Date Accessed: December 17 2012

URL: http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=1A0305D5-1
Title: Canada’s Action on Climate Change
Author: Government of Canada
Date Accessed: December 18 2012

URL: http://www.bcairquality.ca/101/ozone-depletion-causes.html
Title: The Causes of Ozone Depletion
Author: Government of British Columbia
Date Accessed: December 20 2012

URL: http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/effects/index.html
Title: Health and Environmental Effects of Ozone Layer Depletion
Author: United States Environmental Protection Agency
Date Accessed: December 20 2012

URL: http://www.actionbioscience.org/newfrontiers/eldredge2.html
Title: The Sixth Extinction
Author: Dr. Niles Eldredge
Date Accessed: December 20 2012

URL: http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/critical-issues-sea-temperature-rise/
Title: Sea Temperature Rise
Author: National Geographic
Date Accessed: December 23 2012

URL: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100139297/lindzen-totally-pwns-the-alarmists/
Title: Reconsidering the Climate Change Act
Author: Richard S. Lindzen
Date Accessed: December 27 2012

URL: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/2010/5
Title: State of the Climate
Author: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAAA)
Date Accessed: December 27 2012  

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Title: Rat-borne Diseases
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Date Accessed: December 27 2012

URL: http://www.appinsys.com/globalwarming/GW_TemperatureProjections.htm
Title: Temperature Projections for the 21st Century
Author: Unknown
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Date Accessed: December 28 2012

URL: http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
Title: Climate Change: Evidence
Author: NASA
Date Accessed: December 28 2012

Evidence of Climate Change

• According to the National Climatic Data Center...
• In the USA, 2012 brought extreme temperatures, precipitation, and landfalling tropical cyclones twice the average value
• These numbers are only second to the year 1998
• In the year 2012, the US has seen 11 disasters that are responsible for $1 billion in losses
• The global sea level has risen 17 centimetres in the past century
• The global temperature is increasing
• The oceans are warming
• Antarctica lost 152 cubic kilometres of ice between the years 2002-2005

A Contrary Opinion

• In 2008, the UK passed the Climate Change Act
• Act sets a goal to decrease the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050
• Richard Lindzen, an American professor of meteorology gives his opinion of this
• His viewpoint is...
• CO2 will lead to the warming of the Earth, but not any significant amount
• A doubling of the 2008 levels of CO2  will only result in a mere 1ºC increase in temperature
• The fear the CO2  will cause drastic increases in temperature is only based on climate change models that can project incorrectly
• There is no immediate need for alarm, because the effect of the accumulating greenhouse gases is not immediate

Why is incorrect?

• The facts presented by Lindzen are true
• However, if we continued to release greenhouse gases at the rate we currently, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere 1000 years from now will be substantially greater
• This will increase the amount of solar energy that the atmosphere retains rather than reflects
• Although increased CO2 levels will not have an alarming immediate effect, it has the potential to have a devastating long-term consequence  

Depletion of the Ozone Layer

• Causes
• 80% depleting – Chlorofluorocarbons
• Used in industrial solvents and cooling devices made before 1995
• Halons
• Used in some fire extinguishers
• Do more damage than CFCs
• Methyl Chloroform
• Used in industry in aerosols, adhesives, and chemical processing
• Carbon Tetrachloride
• Used in solvents and some fire extinguishers
• Hydrofluorocarbons
• The less harmful alternative to chlorofluorocarbons, but still damaging
• Also considered a greenhouse gas
• Effects
• More ultraviolet radiation from the Sun is able to reach the Earth due to the depleted ozone layer
• Plants have limited abilities to adapt to higher levels of UV radiation can change the plant’s natural cycles (eg. timing of developmental stages)
• Due to complications, plants could die and reduce the number of carbon sinks available
• Due to increased levels of UV radiation, there have been a reported 6-12% reduction of the populations of phytoplankton near the poles
• Reduced populations of phytoplankton is detrimental to a marine ecosystem, as it supports the entire food webs

Image depicting the hole in the ozone layer

The Greenhouse Effect

• 31% of the Sun’s radiation is reflected back into space
• 20% is absorbed by the atmosphere
• Heat absorbed by greenhouse gases is radiated back to Earth, increasing the surface temperature of the planet.
• The remaining radiation is absorbed by the Earth’s lakes and oceans
• The greenhouse gases prevent the heat reflected from the Earth from escaping
• The greenhouse effect is a naturally occurring effect that prevents our planet from falling below the freezing point of water (-18ºC)
• However, the increased quantities of greenhouse gases are further increasing the amount the Earth is warmed by the Greenhouse Effect
• Patrick J. Michaels has projected that global temperature will increase
• Earth’s warming can lead to the extinctions of many species, as researched by Niles Eldredge
• Due to changes in the species’ habitats through human activity (eg. excessive usage of natural resources)
• Melting of the ice in the Arctic and Antarctic
• Warming of the Earth’s oceans by 0.1ºC in the past century up to depths of 700 metres
• The increased heat will allow animals to move out of their habitats and into others*  

Michaels’ projection of increasing global temperature

*Increased Habitat

• An increase in temperature will allow many organisms to leave their habitats and live in others
• An intelligent creature, such as the rat, would take advantage of this
• As a species, rats already have a very large habitable area
• Black Rats in particular are able to survive in the USA, Europe, South America, Australia and Africa
• In addition to having a large habitat range, rats are also known to carry over 70 different diseases and act as potential hosts to disease carrying parasites which can be fatal
• When rats move out of their natural habitat, they become an invasive species in its new home
• Often times, invasive species will be without any natural predators and a rich food source, allowing populations to boom

Greenhouse Gases

• A gas that releases and absorbs radiation and keep heat inside the Earth’s atmosphere
• Mainly released by the burning of fossil fuels
• The IPPC has confirmed increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
• Water Vapour
• Most common of all greenhouse gases
• Largest contributor to the greenhouse effect
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• Majority released due to fossil fuel use in transportations, heating/cooling, etc,...
• Reduced quantities of carbon sinks due to deforestation reduces the amount of CO2 that can be uptaken by plants
• Released naturally by decaying plant matter
• Stay in atmosphere for 50-200 years average
• Methane (CH4)
• Increased due to agriculture, natural gas distribution, landfills
• Released naturally from wetlands
• 60% is human released
• Stay in atmosphere for 12 years on average
• Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
• Released by fertilizer use, fossil fuel burning, wastewater management
• Stay in the atmosphere for 120 years on average
• Halocarbons (HFCs, PFCs, SF6)
• Most potent and long lasting gas released by human activity
• Lifespan
• HFH: 1-270 years
• PFC: 800-50000 years
• SF6: 3200 years
• Used as a coolant (eg. Air conditioners, refrigerators)

Why are these important?

These gases, mainly released by human activity, contribute to global climate change.  This natural occurrence uses greenhouse gases to trap thermal energy from the Sun inside Earth’s atmosphere.  With an increased amount of these gases, the amount of heat retained in the Earth’s atmosphere is growing.