Gem ppt-12-climate change

PPT-12
Green Earth Movement
An E-Newsletter for the cause of Environment, Peace, Harmony and Justice
Remember - “you and I can decide the future”

Our world is always changing. Look out your window
long enough, and you might see the weather change.
Look even longer, and you'll see the seasons change.
The Earth's climate is changing, too, but in ways
that you can't easily see.
The Earth's climate is getting
warmer, and the signs are
everywhere. Rain patterns are
changing, sea level is rising, and
snow and ice are melting sooner
in the spring. As global temperatures continue to rise,
we'll see more changes in our climate and our
environment. These changes will affect people, animals,
and ecosystems in many ways. We shall try to learn the
3 aspects of climate change. That is:

1. Causes of climate change
The earth's climate is dynamic and always changing through a
natural cycle. What the world is more worried about is that the
changes that are occurring today have been speeded up because
of man's activities. These changes are being studied by scientists
all over the world who are finding evidence from tree rings, pollen
samples, ice cores, and sea sediments. The causes of climate
change can be divided into two categories - those that are due to
natural causes and those that are created by man.

1-A] Natural causes
There are a number of natural factors responsible for climate change. Some of
the more prominent ones are continental drift, volcanoes, the earth's tilt, ocean
currents, and comets and meteorites. Let's look at them in a little detail.
1-a} Continental drift
You may have noticed something peculiar about South America and
Africa on a map of the world - don't they seem to fit into each other like
pieces in a jigsaw puzzle? About 200 million years ago they were joined
together! Scientists believe that back then, the earth was not as we see
it today, but the continents were all part of one large landmass. The
continents that we are familiar with today were formed when the
landmass began gradually drifting apart, millions of years back. This drift
also had an impact on the climate because it changed the physical
features of the landmass, their position and the position of water bodies.
The separation of the landmasses changed the flow of ocean currents
and winds, which affected the climate. This drift of the continents
continues even today; the Himalayan range is rising by about 1 mm
(millimeter) every year because the Indian land mass is moving towards
the Asian land mass, slowly but steadily.

1-b} Volcanoes
When a volcano erupts it throws
out large volumes of sulphur
dioxide (SO2), water vapour, dust,
and ash into the atmosphere.
Although the volcanic activity may
last only a few days, yet the large
volumes of gases and ash can
influence climatic patterns for years. Millions of tonnes of sulphur
dioxide gas can reach the upper levels of the atmosphere (called
the stratosphere) from a major eruption. The gases and dust
particles partially block the incoming rays of the sun, leading to
cooling. Sulphur dioxide combines with water to form tiny droplets
of sulphuric acid. These droplets are so small that many of them
can stay aloft for several years affecting the temperature. The
extent to which this occurs is an ongoing debate.

1-c} The earth's tilt
The earth makes one full orbit around the sun each year. It is tilted at an angle
of 23.5° to the perpendicular plane of its orbital path. For one half of the year
when it is summer, the northern hemisphere tilts towards the sun. In the other
half when it is winter, the earth is tilted away from the sun. If there was no tilt we
would not have experienced seasons. Changes in the tilt of the earth can affect
the severity of the seasons - more tilt means warmer summers and colder
winters; less tilt means cooler summers and milder winters.

1-d} Ocean currents
The oceans are a major
component of the climate
system. They cover about
71% of the Earth and
absorb about twice as
much of the sun's radiation as the atmosphere or the
land surface. Ocean currents move vast amounts of heat
across the planet - roughly the same amount as the
atmosphere does. But the oceans are surrounded by
land masses, so heat transport through the water is
through channels. Winds push horizontally against the
sea surface and drive ocean current patterns. Certain
parts of the world are influenced by ocean currents more
than others.

1-B] Human causes
The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century saw the large-scale
use of fossil fuels for industrial activities. These industries created
jobs and over the years, people moved from rural areas to the
cities. This trend is continuing even today. More and more land
that was covered with vegetation has been cleared to make way
for houses. Natural resources are being used extensively for
construction, industries, transport, and consumption.
Consumerism (our increasing want for material things) has
increased
by leaps and bounds, creating
mountains of waste. Also,
our population has increased to
an incredible extent. All this has
contributed to a rise in greenhouse
gases like Carbon dioxide and
Mathene in the atmosphere

2. EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
What's happening now?
Temperatures have risen during the last 30 years, and
2000 to 2009 was the warmest decade ever recorded.
As the Earth warms up, heat waves are becoming more
common in some places, including the United States.
Heat waves happen when a region experiences very
high temperatures for several days and nights.

What will happen in the future?
The choices we make now and in
the next few decades will
determine how much the planet's
temperature will rise. While we
are not exactly sure how fast or
how much the Earth's average temperature will rise, we
know that:
If people keep adding greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere at the current rate, the average temperature
around the world could increase by about 4 to 12°F by
the year 2100.
If we make big changes, like using more renewable
resources instead of fossil fuels, the increase will be

Why does it matter?
Higher temperatures mean
that Heat waves are likely to
happen more often and last
longer, too. Heat waves can
be dangerous, causing illnesses
such as heat cramps and heat
stroke, or even death.
Warmer temperatures can also lead to a chain reaction
of other changes around the world. That's because
increasing air temperature also affects the oceans,
weather patterns, snow and ice, and plants and animals.
The warmer it gets, the more severe the impacts on
people and the environment will be. SEE NEXT-impact
of climate change on various human activities:

2-a} AGRICULTURE
The crops that we grow for food need specific conditions to thrive,
including the right temperature and enough water. A changing
climate could have both positive and negative effects on crops.
For example, the northern parts of the United States have
generally cool temperatures, so warmer weather could help
certain crops grow. In southern areas where temperatures are
already hot, even more heat could hurt crop growth. Global
climate change will also affect agriculture and food supply in many
other ways.

2-b} CROP LOSSES
Climate change could make it too hot to grow certain
crops, and droughts caused by climate change could
reduce the amount of water available for irrigation.
Climate change is also likely to cause stronger storms
and more floods, which can damage crops. Higher
temperatures and changing
rainfall patterns could help
some kinds of weeds and pests
to spread to new areas. If the
global temperature rises an
additional 3.6°F, U.S. corn
production is expected to
decrease by 10 to 30 percent.

2-c} ENERGY
Global climate change will
affect how much energy
we need and when we need
it. As temperatures rise, more
people will need to keep cool
by using air conditioning,
which uses a lot of electricity. However, some
people might need less energy to heat buildings
in the winter because it may not get as cold as it
used to be. Climate change could also make it
harder to produce certain types of electricity, such
as hydropower.

2-d} WATER SUPPLIES
Climate change is affecting where, when, and
how much water is available for people to use.
Many parts of the world already
have very little water, and
climate change could
make this problem worse.
Rising temperatures,
changing precipitation
patterns, and increasing droughts will affect the
amount of water in lakes, rivers, and streams, as
well as the amount of water that seeps into the
ground to replenish ground water.

2-e} LAKES, RIVERS, AIRSTREAMS
Many places rely on snowmelt to fill the lakes, rivers,
and streams that help keep drinking water reservoirs
full and provide water to irrigate crops. For example,
many parts of the western United States depend on
water from the Colorado River, which is fed by
melting snowpack in the Rocky Mountains.
Less snowpack and
earlier snowmelt will
reduce the amount
of water flowing into
The Colorado and
other rivers.

2-f} TEMPERATURE RELATED
ILLNESS
Heat waves are uncomfortable for
everyone, but for infants and young
children, the elderly, and people who
are already sick, they can be
especially dangerous. Extreme heat
can cause Illnesses such as heat cramps, heat stroke, and
even death. A 2003 heat wave in Europe caused about
50,000 deaths, and a 1995 heat wave in Chicago caused
more than 600 deaths. In fact, heat waves cause more
deaths in the United States every year than hurricanes,
tornadoes, floods, and earthquakes combined.
On the flip side, as the world gets warmer, the number of
illnesses and deaths related to extreme cold (like
hypothermia and frostbite) may decrease.

2-g} DISAPPEARING HABITATS
As the Earth gets warmer, plants and animals that need
to live in cold places, like on
mountaintops or in the Arctic,
might not have a suitable place
to live. If the Earth keeps getting
warmer, up to one–fourth of all
the plants and animals on Earth
could become extinct within 100
years. Every plant and animal
plays a role in the ecosystem (for example, as a source
of food, a predator, a pollinator, a source of shelter), so
losing one species can affect many others.

2-h} LOSS OF CORAL REEFS
Coral reefs are created in shallow
tropical waters by millions of tiny
animals called corals. Each coral
makes a skeleton for itself, and
over time, these skeletons build
up to create coral reefs, which
provide habitat for lots of fish and other ocean creatures.
Warmer water has already caused coral bleaching (a type of
damage to corals) in many parts of the world. By 2050, live
corals could become rare in tropical and sub-tropical reefs
due to the combined effects of warmer water and increased
ocean acidity caused by more carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere. The loss of coral reefs will reduce habitats for
many other sea creatures, and it will disrupt the food web
that connects all the living things in the ocean.

2-i} VANISHING FORESTS
Forests provide homes for many kinds of plants and
animals. They also protect water quality, offer
opportunities for recreation, and provide people with
wood. Forests are sensitive to many effects of climate
change, including shifting weather patterns, drought,
wildfires, and the spread of pests like the mountain pine
beetle. Unlike some
animals, trees can't just
get up and move when
the temperature gets too
hot or other conditions
change!

2-j} RECREATION
In addition to causing all sorts of problems, such as heat
waves, droughts, and coastline damage, warmer
temperatures could also affect people's jobs,
recreational activities, and hobbies. For example, in
areas that usually experience cold winters, warmer
temperatures could reduce opportunities for skiing, ice
fishing, and other winter sports. Also, rising sea level
could wash away beaches.

2-k} DISAPPEARING BEACHES
Higher sea level will mean less space at the
beach. A combination of stronger storms and sea
level rise could increase the rate of erosion along
the coast, and some beaches could disappear
altogether.

3-SOLUTIONS TO CLIMATE CHANGE
3-a} Forego Fossil Fuels
The first challenge is eliminating the
Burning of coal, oil and, eventually,
Natural gas. This is perhaps the most
daunting challenge as denizens of
richer nations literally eat, wear,
work, play and even sleep on the products made from such
fossilized sunshine. And citizens of developing nations want
and arguably deserve the same comforts, which are largely
thanks to the energy stored in such fuels. So try to employ
alternatives when possible—plant-derived plastics, biodiesel,
wind/solar power—and to invest in the change, be it by
divesting from oil stocks or investing in companies practicing
carbon capture and storage.

3- b} Infrastructure Upgrade:
Buildings worldwide contribute around one third of all
greenhouse gas emissions (43 percent in the U.S.
alone), even though investing in thicker insulation and
other cost-effective, temperature-regulating steps can
save money in the long run. Of course, it takes a lot of
cement, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, to
construct new buildings and roads. But energy-efficient
buildings and improved cement-making
processes (such as using
alternative fuels to fire up the
kiln) could reduce greenhouse
gas emissions in the developed
world and prevent them in the
developing world.

3- c} Move Closer to Work
Transportation is the second leading
source of greenhouse gas emissions
in the U.S. One way to dramatically
curtail transportation fuel needs is to
move closer to work, use mass transit,
or switch to walking, cycling or some
other mode of transport that does not
require anything other than human energy. There is also
the option of working from home and telecommuting
several days a week. Cutting down on long-distance
travel would also help, most notably airplane flights,
which are one of the fastest growing sources of
greenhouse gas emissions and a source that arguably
releases such emissions in the worst possible spot

3-d} Consume Less
The easiest way to cut back on greenhouse
gas emissions is simply to buy less stuff.
Whether by forgoing an automobile or
employing a reusable grocery sack, cutting
back on consumption results in fewer fossil
fuels being burned to extract, produce and
Ship products around the globe. Think green
when making purchases. For instance, if you are in the market for
a new car, buy one that will last the longest and have the least
impact on the environment. Thus, a used vehicle with a hybrid
engine offers superior fuel efficiency over the long haul while
saving the environmental impact of new car manufacture.
Paradoxically, when purchasing essentials, such as groceries,
buying in bulk can reduce the amount of packaging—plastic
wrapping, cardboard boxes and other unnecessary materials.
Sometimes buying more means consuming less.

3-e} Be Efficient
A potentially simpler and even bigger impact can be made by
doing more with less. Citizens of many developed countries are
profligate wasters of energy, whether by speeding in a gas-
guzzling sport-utility vehicle or leaving the lights on when not in a
room.
Good driving—and good car maintenance,
such as making sure tires are properly inflated
—can limit the amount of greenhouse gas
emissions from a vehicle and, perhaps more
importantly, lower the frequency of payment
at the pump.
Similarly, using more efficient refrigerators, air conditioners and
other appliances can cut electric bills, while something as simple
as weatherproofing the windows of a home can reduce heating
and cooling bills. Such efforts can also be usefully employed at
work, whether that means installing more efficient turbines at the
power plant or turning the lights off when you leave the office.

3-f} Eat Smart, Go Vegetarian?
A surprisingly high percentage of
our daily impact on the
environment comes from our food
choices, and one obvious benefit
of vegetarianism is its relatively
low impact. Just think about it:
Eating grain instead of feeding that grain to a cow for
months or years is a more efficient, less wasteful
way of getting the nutrition and energy needed to live
happily. Simply, it just takes less grain, which takes
less land, which requires less fertilization and water,
and which reduces erosion of top soil.

3-g} Stop Cutting Down Trees
Every year, 33 million acres of forests are cut down. Timber
harvesting in the tropics alone contributes 1.5 billion metric tons of
carbon to the atmosphere. That represents 20 percent of human-
made greenhouse gas emissions and a source that could be
avoided relatively easily.
Improved agricultural practices along with paper recycling and
forest management—balancing the amount of
wood taken out with the amount of new
trees growing—could quickly eliminate
this significant chunk of emissions.
And when purchasing wood products, such
as furniture or flooring, buy used goods or,
failing that, wood certified to have been
sustainably harvested. The Amazon and
other forests are not just the lungs of the
earth, they may also be humanity's best
short-term hope for limiting climate change.

3-h} Unplug
Believe it or not, U.S. citizens spend more money on electricity to
power devices when off than when on. Televisions, stereo equipment,
computers, battery chargers and a host of other gadgets and
appliances consume more energy when seemingly switched off, so
unplug them instead.
Purchasing energy-efficient gadgets can also save both energy and
money—and thus prevent more greenhouse gas emissions. To take
but one example, efficient battery chargers could save more than one
billion kilowatt-hours of electricity—$100 million at today's electricity
prices—and thus prevent the release of more than one million metric
tons of greenhouse gases.
Swapping old incandescent light bulbs for more efficient
replacements, such as compact fluorescents (warning: these light
bulbs contain mercury and must be properly disposed of at the end of
their long life), would save billions of kilowatt-hours. In fact, according
to the EPA, replacing just one incandescent light bulb in every
American home would save enough energy to provide electricity to
three million American homes.

This educational PowerPoint Presentation (editable) is
prepared by GEM Team (courtesy: internet).
For other similar GEM PowerPoint Presentations on
various environmental issues see next slide.
These PPTs may be downloaded from our website
www.infantjesusjogeshwari.in
The GEM PPTs can be creatively used for various
groups like school/college students, NGOs,
government officials, Church groups, SCC groups,
housing society members and so on.

1. Twenty Simple Tips
2. Solar Energy
3. Junk Food
4. Plastic – a boon or bane?
5. Green Passion
6. Zero Garbage
7. Soft drink – A Health Hazard
8. Waste to energy
9. Rain Water Harvesting
10. Eco-friendly Religions
11. Happy Green Diwali
12. Climate Change
13. The future of Biodiversity
14. Genetically Modified Foods
15. Waste Water Treatment
16. Body, Organ, Tissue Donation
17. Organic Farming
18. Waste to cooking gas
19. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
20. Protect Mangroves
21. Say NO to Bottled water
22. Save Lakes and Ponds
23. Forests are green lungs
24. Coal Mining and Ecology
25. Sin of Food Waste
26. Climate change and Poverty
27. Stop Water Pollution
28. Carbon Footprints
29. Parks and Open Spaces
30. Rising Sea Levels
31. Laudato Si – Pope’s Encyclical
32. Air Pollution
33. Life Style Changes
34. Laudato Si – Fr Gerard
35. Water Pollution
36. Sand Mining
37. Kids Eco Clubs
38. Water Disaster

Do your little bit of good
where you are; it's
those little bits of good
put together that
overwhelm the world”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu

For Free GEM E-Newsletters visit –
www.infantjesusjogeshwari.in. Go to GEM
section,
click GEM E-NEWSLETTERS

Gem ppt-12-climate change

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