Republic of the Philippines

NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.:IM-GE STS-1ST SEM-2020-2021

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Bayombong Campus

DEGREE PROGRAM CAS/BSAB/ COURSE NO. GE STS

BSCE/BAS/BSAF
/BSFish
SPECIALIZATION COURSE TITLE SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
YEAR LEVEL 1&2 TIME FRAME 3 HOURS WK NO. 18 IM NO. 15

I. UNIT TITLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Chapter III – SPECIFIC ISSUES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND
SOCIETY

II. LESSON TITLE: Lesson 6 - Climate Change

III. LESSON OVERVIEW

This lesson will present the causes of climate
change and its effects on the society.

IV. DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the lesson students should be able
to:
1. Identify the causes of climate change
2. Assess the various impacts of climate change
including economic, geopolitical,
biological, meteorological, etc.
3. Apply STS concepts to the issue of climate
change
V. LESSON CONTENT: Lesson 6
6.1. Causes of Climate Change
6.2. Effects of Climate Change on Society
VI. LEARNING ACTIVITIES
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC),
a United Nations body that evaluates and monitors
climate change science, released its report on global
climate change.
The report's important conclusions were the following:
 the world's climate has changed significantly over the past century;
 the significant change has human influence;
 using climate models and if the trend continues, the global mean surface temperature will increase
between 1°C and 3.5°C by 2100.
• Climate is a measure of the average pattern of variation in
temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, precipitation,
atmospheric particle count and other
meteorological variables in a given region over long periods of time.
 Climate change refers to the statistically significant changes in
climate for continuous period of time.
 Factors that contribute to climate change can be
(1) natural internal process,
(2) external forces and
(3) persistent anthropogenic changes or human acts in the
composition of the atmosphere or in land use.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/climate-change-may-lead-to-severe-water-shortage-in-nepal-study-1234472

Causes of Climate Change

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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.:IM-GE STS-1ST SEM-2020-2021

The causes of climate change could be natural or by human activities.

1. Volcanic Eruptions
• Volcanic eruptions are one of the natural causes of climate change. When volcanoes erupt, it
emits different natural aerosols like carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxides, salt crystals, volcanic ashes
or dust, and even microorganisms like bacteria and viruses.

https://greentumble.com/3-main-natural-causes-of-climate-change/

• Temporarily, volcanic aerosols can provide cooling effect to the atmosphere for 1 to 2 years
because it blocks solar radiation coming from the sun.

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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.:IM-GE STS-1ST SEM-2020-2021

https://blogs.egu.eu/divisions/as/2017/09/22/volcanic-ash-particles-hold-clues-to-their-history-and-effects/

• What happens in violent volcanic eruptions is the release of ash particles in the stratosphere.
The volcanic ashes which have sulfur dioxide combine with water vapor. It then forms to sulfuric
acid and sulfurous aerosols. The sulfurous aerosols then are transported by easterly or westerly
winds.

https://bushtuckerchem.wordpress.com/acidic-oxides/
https://acidrain2014.weebly.com/impact-on-economy-and-environment.html

• There are several recorded major volcanic eruptions that cause climate change. Mount Tambora
of Indonesia erupted in 1816. It was considered as the largest known eruption in human history.
The eruption caused snowfall in the northeastern United States and Canada. It affected their
agricultural lands, losing crops that caused food shortage and increased human mortality. The
eruptions of Mount Krakatau of Indonesia in 1883 and Mount Pinatubo of the Philippines in 1991
contributed, too, to the cold years of planet Earth.
2. Orbital Changes
• Earth's orbit can also cause climate change. This was proposed by the Milankovitch theory. The
Milankovitch theory states that as the Earth travels through space around the Sun, cyclical

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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.:IM-GE STS-1ST SEM-2020-2021

variations in three elements of Earth-Sun geometry combine to produce variations in the amount
of solar energy that reaches Earth (Academic Emporia, 2017).
• The three elements that have cyclic variations are eccentricity, obliquity, and precession.

https://studyrocket.co.uk/revision/gcse-geography-b-edexcel/hazardous-earth/theories-of-naturalclimate-change

o Eccentricity is a term used to describe the shape of Earth's orbit around the Sun. The
impact of the variation is a change in the amount of solar energy from perihelion (around
January 3) to aphelion (around July 4). The time frame for the cycle is approximately
98,000 years (Academic Emporia, 2017).
➢ Currently Earth's eccentricity is 0.016 and there is about a 6.4% increase in
insolation from July to January (Academic Emporia, 2017), Academic Emporia
(2017) states, "The eccentricity influences seasonal differences: when Earth is
closest to the Sun, it gets more solar radiation. If the perihelion occurs during the
winter, the winter is less severe. If a hemisphere has its summer while closest to
the Sun, summers are relatively warm.

o Obliquity is the variation of the tilt of Earth's axis away from the orbital plane. As this tilt
changes, the seasons become more exaggerated.
➢ The obliquity changes on a cycle taking approximately 40,000 years. Academic
Emporia (2017) states the more tilt means more severe seasons-warmer
summers and colder winters; less tilt means less severe seasons-cooler summers
and milder winters."

o Precession is the change in orientation of Earth's rotational axis. The precession cycle
takes about 15,000 to 23,000 years.
➢ Precession is caused by two factors: a wobble of Earth's axis and a turning around of the
elliptical orbit of Earth itself (Academic Emporia, 2017).
➢ Obliquity affected the tilt of Earth's axis; precession affects the direction of Earth's axis.
The change in the axis location changes the dates of perihelion (closest distance from
Sun) and aphelion (farthest distance from Sun), and this increases the seasonal contrast
in one hemisphere while decreasing it in the other hemisphere (Academic Emporia,
2017).
➢ Currently, Earth is closest to the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere winter, which makes
the winters there less severe (Academic Emporia, 2017). Another consequence of
procession is shin in the celestial pales.
➢ Five thousand years ago, the North Star was Thuban in the constellation Draco.
Currently, the North Star is Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor.

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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.:IM-GE STS-1ST SEM-2020-2021

3. Anthropogenic or by Human Activities

• Human activities contribute to climate change. The largest known contribution comes from the
burning of fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide gas to the atmosphere.

https://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/nature/climate-change-causes.htm?ref=driverlayer.com/web

Greenhouse gases and aerosols affect climate by altering incoming solar radiation and outgoing
infrared (thermal) radiation that are part of Earth's energy balance.
• Changing the atmospheric abundance or properties of these gases and particles can lead to a
warming or cooling of the climate system.
 Since the start of the industrial era (about 1750), the overall effect of human activities on
climate has been a warming influence. The human impact on climate during this era greatly
exceeds that due to known changes in natural processes, such as solar changes and
volcanic eruptions.
 Human activities result in emissions of four principal greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide
(CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and halocarbons (a group of gases containing
fluorine, chlorine, and bromine).
 These gases accumulate in the atmosphere, causing concentrations to increase with time
(www.c02now.org). The greenhouse gases mentioned are natural gases
 However, the high level of these gases in the atmosphere contributes to the greenhouse
effect. The increasing amount of these gases is due to human activities.
High level of carbon dioxide comes from fossil fuel use in transportation; and the building, heating,
cooling, and manufacture of cement and other goods. Deforestation releases carbon dioxide and
reduces its uptake by plants.
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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.:IM-GE STS-1ST SEM-2020-2021

High methane https://www.our -energy.com/global_warming.html

emission is
related to
agriculture,
natural gas
distribution, and
landfills.
High nitrous oxide
is also emitted by
human activities
such as fertilizer
use and fossil fuel
burning.

https://

www.telegraph.co.uk/environment/
https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/longform/what-you-need-know-about-food-waste-and-climate-
change
• Halocarbon gas concentrations have increased primarily due to
human activities. Principal halocarbons include the chlorofluorocarbons
(eg., CFC-11 and CFC-12) which were used extensively as refrigeration
agents and in other industrial processes before their presence in the
atmosphere was found to cause Stratospheric ozone depletion.
• The abundance of chlorofluorocarbon gases is decreasing as a
result of international
regulations designed to
protect the ozone layer (The
Encyclopedia of Earth, 2016).
 Ozone is
another
greenhouse
gas that is
continually
produced and
destroyed in
the atmosphere
by chemical
reactions.
 In the troposphere, human activities have increased
ozone through the release of gases such as carbon
monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide, which
chemically react to produce ozone.

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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.:IM-GE STS-1ST SEM-2020-2021

Halocarbons released by human activities

destroy ozone in the stratosphere and have
caused the ozone hole over Antarctica.
https://sites.duke.edu/tlge_sss29/carbon-dioxide-
emissions/greenhouse-effect/

https://earthsky.org/earth/antarctic-ozone-hole-
is-not-yet-in-recovery

https://whyfiles.org/
2011/what-is-the-
status-of-the-ozone-
hole/index.html

Effects of Climate
Change on Society
• Climate change
could cause severe
effects to all life
forms around our
planet. It directly
affects the basic
elements of
people’s lives like
water, food, health,
use of land, and the
environment.
With the average
global temperature
which is predicted
to rise by 2 to 3°C
within the next fifty
years, glaciers will
continue to melt
faster.
• Melting or collapse
of ice sheets would
raise sea levels and
eventually threaten
at least 4 million
km² of land, which
today is home to
5% of the world's
population (Stern, 2007).
• Ecosystems will be particularly vulnerable to climate change, with one study estimating that around 15-
40% of species face extinction with 2°C of warming.

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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.:IM-GE STS-1ST SEM-2020-2021

• The consequences of climate change will become disproportionately more damaging with increased
warming. Declining crop yields due to drought, especially in Africa, are likely to leave hundreds of
millions without the ability to produce or purchase sufficient food. At mid to high latitudes, crop yields
may increase for moderate temperature rises (2 to 3°C), but then decline with greater amounts of
warming.
http://blogs.edf.org/climate411/2016/04/05/the-impacts-of-climate-change-on-human-health-a-sobering-
new-report/
Ocean acidification, a direct result of rising carbon dioxide levels, will have major effects on marine
ecosystems, with possible adverse consequences on fish stocks (Stern, 2007).

https://glacierkieranmercier.wordpress.com/2015/05/31/what-is-the-effect-of-melting-glaciers-on-canada-2/
http://diptikumar.wordpress.com/2012/12/19/polaricecapsfuture

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/eight-ways-climate-change-hurts-humans-180950475/
https://www.world-grain.com/articles/12663-study-shows-climate-change-could-cause-drought-in-wheatgrowing-areas
https://greentumble.com/grave-effects-of-climate-change-on-the-environment/
https://www.carbonbrief.org/climate-change-not-a-major-influence-on-brazil-drought-study-says
https://pinterest.ph/seabirdscience/ocean-acidification/
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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.:IM-GE STS-1ST SEM-2020-2021

• Climate change will increase worldwide deaths from malnutrition and heat stress. Vectorborne diseases
such as malaria and dengue fever could become more widespread if effective control measures are not in
place.

https://www.beforetheflood.com/explore/the-deniers/fact-climate-change-is-very-very-dangerous/

 Rising sea levels may result in more flooded areas each year with a warming of 3 or 4°C.
There will be serious risks and increasing pressures for coastal protection (Stern, 2007).
 Warming may induce sudden shifts in regional weather patterns like the monsoons or the El Niño.
Such changes would have severe consequences for water availability and flooding in tropical
regions and threaten the livelihood of billions.

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 Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.:IM-GE STS-1ST SEM-2020-2021

VII. ASSIGNMENT
Create an advocacy campaign by making a poster or a slogan that tells about how the community
will help mitigate the hazards caused by climate change. (15 points)
VIII. EVALUATION
1. What significant contribution can individuals make in response to climate change? (5 points)
2. What should be the significant contribution of the society as well as the government in mitigating
the hazards caused by climate change? (5 points)

REFERENCES
Serafica, Janice Patria et.al. (2017) Science, Technology and Society. Rex Printing Company Inc.
Quezon City
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/climate-change-may-lead-to-severe-water-shortage-in-nepal-
study1234472
https://greentumble.com/3-main-natural-causes-of-climate-change/
https://www.wur.nl/en/show/Causes-of-climate-change.htm
https://eesc.columbia.edu/courses/ees/climate/lectures/radiation/
https://www.gbrionline.org/news/climate-change-induced-floods-might-force-people-to-move-to-new-
areas/
https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2014/09/24/conservative-medias-crocodile-tears-on-climate/200874
https://www.greenmoxie.com/best-protections-and-controls-for-floods-caused-by-climate-change/
https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2018/07/25/climate-change-food-agriculture/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-ellen-harte/climate-change-this-week_b_13495378.html

Prepared by:
STS Instructors/Professors from the CAS – Natural Sciences Department

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