GEC 103 Science, Tachnology and Society 1st Semester AY 2023 – 2024

Week 17 CLIMATE CHANGE

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson students should be able to:
1. explain how climate change happens
2. discuss the impact of climate change to society and the environment
3. recommend ways to mitigate the effects of climate change – on the personal level and
as a member of society

Content: Climate Change

A. Definition/Causes/ Effects/ Solutions
B. Earth’s Movement around the Sun
C. Milankovitch Parameters
D. Global Warming
E. Greenhouse Gases
F. Future Actions

Weather and Climate are not the same thing!

Climate Change is a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change
apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased
levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.
Another consideration in explaining climate change is the interaction between the sun
and the earth. The best way to visualize this relationship is to look at the orbit of the earth
around the sun. With the sun in the center, the earth moves in an elliptical motion

Milutin Milankovitch
-a scientist and meteorologist interested in the daily weather patterns and hypothesized that
variations in eccentricity, axial tilt/inclination, and precession of the earth's orbit resulted in
cyclical variation in the solar radiation reaching the earth, and that this orbital forcing strongly
influenced climatic patterns on earth.

Milankovitch Parameters
-is all about the effects of the change in the radius of the earth’s orbit, the change in the tilt of
the spin of the earth and the wobble in the spin axis.
-it is a cyclical movement related to the earth's orbit around the sun.
-it describes the collective effects of changes in the earth's movements on its climate over
thousands of years.
There are three of them:
1.eccentricity - is the term used to describe the shape of the earth’s orbit around the sun.
2. axial tilt/inclination – is the tilting of the earth on its axis; and
3. precession is the variation of the tilt of earth’s axis away from the orbital plane

CAUSES OF CLIMATE CHANGE

A. Orbital Changes
•Earth’s movement can also cause climate change. This was proposed by the
Milankovitch Theory.

Elements in this interaction between the sun & the earth are as follows:
1. Eccentricity–is the term used to describe the shape of the earth’s orbit around the
sun.
•The impact of the variation is the change in the amount of solar energy from perihelion
( the point when Earth (or another orbiting object ) is close/near to the sun) to aphelion
( a point when earth (or another orbiting object) is far from the sun ).
2.Obliquity –is the variation of the tilt of earth’s axis away from the orbital plane. the
more tilt means the more severe seasons. warmer summers &colder winters. less tilt
means less severe seasons –cooler summer and milder winters.
3. Precession–is the slow motion of the earth’s rotation axis on the celestial sphere. The
earth wobbles slightly on its axis, due to the effect of the moon’s gravitation. The axis of
the top is not upright, that makes the year about 20 minutes shorter caused by the
gravitational pull of the sun & moon on the earth’s equatorial bulge.
•Rotation–is the spinning or the movement of the earth on its axis from east to west, or counter
clockwise.
-The earth makes one complete rotation in 24 hours, causing one day and one night. Earth
rotation corresponds to a day.
•Revolution -is the movement of the earth around the sun in elliptical or oval orbit, from west
to east, causes the seasons to change throughout the year. Earth takes approximately 365.25
days to complete one revolution around ( 1 year ) the Sun in a slightly elliptical orbit with the
Sun at one focal point of the ellipse.

Other Causes of Climate Change

1. Burning of Fossil Fuels; Carbon dioxide emission from power plants and Electricity Production
2. Increase in usage of chemical fertilizers on croplands
3. Automobiles-Carbon emissions from the burning of gasoline to power cars, truck & other
transportation. It is one of the leading causes of global warming.
4..Mining -Mining oil and coal allows methane, to escape from the earth. Any time the soil is
disturbed, stored gases make their way into the environment.
5.Pollution-Pollution whether it is vehicular, electrical or industrial is the main contributor to the global
warming. Everyday billions of vehicles release various gases into the atmosphere. This causes earth to warm
up & increase its average temperature.
6.Deforestation-Deforestation is the cutting down of trees and plants to make way for any development
activity. Carbon dioxide is the air that our body lets out when we breathe. Trees take in this carbon dioxide
and release oxygen that we breathe in.
7.Landfills-are those big chunks of garbage that you must have seen on some expressway,
when you go out of your city, that stink. The garbage is then used by big recycling companies to
make some useful products out from that garbage.
8. Population-More people, more demand for food, more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, more demand
for cars & home.
9. Chlorofluorocarbons -are man-made chemicals that are very stable in the atmosphere. All the while
they are destroying ozone molecules. They are also commonly known by the DuPont brand nameFreon.
10. Fossil fuel power plants: These plants are responsible for releasing massive carbon
dioxide amounts into the atmosphere.
EFFECTS /IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
•Ecosystem will change
•Ice melting
•Spreading of the disease
•Extreme Ozone layer depletion
•Sea level rises
•Natural disasters like hurricane , floods and other storms increases

GLOBAL WARMING
-is used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere
and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the earth's climate.
-it is the increase in the average temperature of the earth’s near-surface air and oceans that is
associated with the increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere resulting
especially from pollution.

GREEN HOUSE EFFECT

-is the natural effect that releases heat in the atmosphere near the earth’s surface.
- it is the trapping of the long wavelength radiation that leads to more heating & a higher
resultant temperature. the carbon dioxide strongly absorbs infrared & does not allow as much
of it to escape into space.
GREENHOUSE GASES
–these are gases that trap heat in the earth’s lower atmosphere that cause the greenhouse effect
- the Primary Greenhouse Gases in Earth's Atmosphere are the following:
A. CARBON DIOXIDE [ CO2 ]
B. METHANE [ CH4 ]
C. WATER VAPOR
D. OZONE [ O3 ]
E. CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS [CFCs ]
F. NITROUS OXIDE [ N2O ]
OZONE DEPLETION is the destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer which shields the earth
from ultraviolet radiation harmful to life. Although natural phenomena can cause temporary ozone
loss, chlorine and bromine released from man-made compounds such as CFCs are now accepted as the
main cause of this depletion.

•Harmful to human health:

•More skin cancers, sunburns and premature aging of the skin.
•More cataracts, blindness and other eye diseases: UV radiation can damage several parts of the eye.
•Weakening of the human immune system (immunosuppression).
•Too much UV radiation can suppress the human immune system, which may play a role in the
development of skin cancer.
•Adverse impacts on agriculture, forestry and natural ecosystems:
•The world's major crop species are particularly vulnerable to increased UV, resulting in reduced
growth, photosynthesis & flowering.
•Only a few commercially important trees have been tested for UV (UV-B) sensitivity, but early
results suggest that plant growth, especially in seedlings, is harmed by more intense UV radiation
•Damage to marine life:
•a. Plankton(tiny organisms in the surface layer of oceans responsible for food chain) are threatened
by increased UV radiation.
•b. Decreases in plankton could disrupt the fresh & saltwater food chains, & lead to a species shift in
Canadian waters.
•Loss of biodiversity in our oceans, rivers and lakes could reduce fish yields for commercial and sport
fisheries.
•Crop losses :
•Climate change could make it too hot to grow certain crops
•Droughts caused by climate change could reduce the amount of water available for irrigation and
cause stronger storms and more floods, which can damage crops.
•The degradation of materials like wood, plastic, rubber, fabrics and many construction
materials by UV radiation
Moreover, solving a global problem also requires a global effort. It took a lot of years for
climate change to happen and it will surely also require much longer years for this
problem to be addressed. It’s never too late!

NCVFornier/MBBangcaya