GLOBAL WARMING

aka: “Climate Change” aka: “The Greenhouse Effect”

Also referred to as:‘A CAR WITH THE WINDOWS ROLLED UP ON A SUNNY SUMMER DAY’ EFFECT

Greenhouse Effect

Graphic courtesy of SEI Combat Climate Change

1. LIGHT enters the atmosphere

2. Light is CONVERTED TO HEAT when it strikes certain surfaces

3. SOME OF THIS HEAT is trapped by gases

IS GLOBAL WARMING REAL?

YESALL MAJOR SCIENTIFIC

STUDIES AGREE THAT HUMANS ARE CAUSING CARBON DIOXIDE TO INCREASE AND THAT TEMPERATURES HAVE GONE UP

AT MINIMUM THERE IS A STRONG CORRELATION BETWEEN CARBON DIOXIDE AND TEMPERATURE … IF NOT AN ACTUAL CAUSE AND EFFECT RELATIONSHIP

COMPLICATEDVARIABLES INCLUDE CLOUD FORMATIONICE MELT RATESOCEAN CIRCULATION PATTERNSOCEAN CHEMISTRYCHANGES IN VEGETATIONSEA LEVELSAND MANY OTHER FACTORS.

G.H.G.GREEN-HOUSE GASESCARBON DIOXIDE (CO2)– created

by the burning of fossil fuels and the burning of forests

METHANE – (CH4 - Flatulence) result of raising animals for food

C.F.C.’S, NITROUS OXIDES AND WATER VAPOR

Levels of CO2 from 1958 to Present

(Image courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons, data provided by the U.S. Department of Energy.)

CARBON DIOXIDEFLUCTUATES UP AND DOWN EACH

YEAR.Low in summer while plants in

Northern Hemisphere were active growing and taking CO2 out of the air / high in winter when plants dormant and fossil fuels burned more for heat

CARBON DIOXIDEOVERALL INCREASES FROM YEAR

TO YEAR1958 315 PARTS PER MILLION (PPM)2000 368 PPMINCREASE CAUSED BY BURNING

OF FOSSIL FUELS AND DEFORESTATION

Deforestation

Causes 25-30% of yearly Carbon Dioxide

Changing land use from forestry to a non-forest use by the burning and cutting of about 34 million acres of trees each year.

CFC’S CHLORO FLUORO CARBONS IN PAST WHERE FOUND IN

REFRIGERANTS, AEROSOLS AND STYROFOAM

TODAY ARE NO LONGER MADE – BUT SOME ARE STILL IN PRODUCTS MADE BEFORE 1990

CFC’STRAP HEAT – CONTRIBUTE TO

GLOBAL WARMINGLARGER PROBLEM - THEY

DESTROY OZONE WHICH PROTECTS US FROM THE ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION OF THE SUN WHICH CAN CAUSE SKIN CANCER

WHY WORRY??CHANGE IN CLIMATE PATTERNSRESULTS IN DROUGHTS AND HEAT

WAVESCOULD EFFECT FOOD PRODUCTIONPOSSIBLE FLOODING OF SOME

COASTAL AREASSPREAD OF CERTAIN DISEASES

Species Extinction

Effects on life Phytoplankton growth

Ocean stratification Contribute to global warming The food chain

Effects of climatic changes

on Arctic Plants

Figure 2. This picture was obtained from research

found on www.absc.usgs.gov

Coral Reefs Bleaching

Before

After

Melting Ice Sheets

As ice melts, trapped CO2 released.

In Greenland earthquakes occur due to weight of ice disappearing

Glaciers20% reduction in size

from 1962 – 2001 for 466 glaciers

Can mean flooding and

then drought for regions near glaciers

Photos taken in 1913 (top) and 2005 (above) show the decline in Shepard Glacier in Montana's Glacier National Park.

Severe Weather Draught wildfires Floods “Climate Change”

Skeptics?

Myths about global warming

Scientists don’t agreeHave to choose between economy

and environmentToo big a problem for anyone to do

anything about

THESE ARE ALL FALSE

WHY SHOULD THE USA CARE?

WHILE WE REPRESENT ONLY 4% OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION – WE CREATE 22-36% OF THE WORLD’S G.H.G.

WHAT IS BEING DONE?

KYOTO TREATYCLIMATE ENGINEERING

(cloud seeding, synthetic trees, etc.)

INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS

Small, everyday steps: Turn off lights Switch to CFL’s (Compact

Fluorescent Lightbulbs) Unplug unused electronics Car pool, walk, ride bike, take

public transportation Air dry clothes Buy organic/local produce Shorter showers Plant trees

Will we change?

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.“

- Charles Darwin

INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS

REDUCE USE OF OIL and COAL MADE ELECTRICITY

RECYCLINGPLANTING OF TREES

The End