The document discusses global warming and climate change. It explains that burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, trapping heat and causing the planet to warm over time. This warming could lead to rising sea levels, changes in plant and animal ranges, and more extreme weather. The document outlines strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change through reducing emissions, transitioning to renewable energy, and protecting infrastructure. It also discusses common misconceptions and the role of the IPCC in providing climate change assessments.

1. ?
If climate changes
what might happen?

2. • The phrase "Global warming" or "Greenhouse
warming" refers to the fact that as more carbon
dioxide or other greenhouse gases are added to the
atmosphere, the temperature of the earth will rise,
assuming nothing else changes.
What is global warming?
Play

3. For the past few hundred years, people have been burning
fossil fuels such as coal and oil in ever increasing quantities.
While some of the carbon dioxide released is absorbed into
the ocean or taken up by plant life, in the short-term about half
of it remains in the atmosphere. Industrial activities also have
been releasing several other greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere.

4. Climate is not weather
• Weather is the condition of the atmosphere
at a particular place and time measured in
terms of such things as wind, temperature,
humidity, atmospheric pressure, cloudiness,
and precipitation etc.
climate is the average pattern of weather in a
place

5. The single
human activity
that is most
likely to have a
large impact on
the climate is
the burning of
"fossil fuels"
such as coal, oil
and gas.

6. Major contributors to possible climate
change:
coal, oil, and natural gas, when burned
release carbon dioxide, the most important
greenhouse gas

11. • Modest contributors to possible climate
change:
Deforestation: when wood is burned, the carbon
contained in the trees is released as carbon
dioxide. When wood rots in swamps methane
can be produced. Living trees remove carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere.

12. • rice paddies, cattle, coal mines, gas
pipelines, and landfills produce
methane, another greenhouse gas,
which today causes about 30% as much
warming as carbon dioxide.

13. • fertilizers and other chemicals release
nitrous oxide, which today causes about
10% as much warming as carbon dioxide.

14. Sea level rise and coastal storms
Most of the rise in sea level would occur because
water expands when it is heated. An increase in
the earth's average temperature of about 3.5°F,
which is probably too little to melt most polar ice,
would result in an increase in sea level of
between 8 and 30 inches

15. Plant migration: Climate may change faster than
plants can move from one region to another. This
may cause species extinction, lower biodiversity,
and changes in the way species interact.

16. Changes in insect pests: Climate change can affect
the number and kinds of pests directly. It can also
affect them by changing the mix of plant varieties
and their nutrient content. This can influence plant
survival, food chains, and the spread of disease.

17. • The phrase "Global warming" or "Greenhouse warming"
refers to the fact that as more carbon dioxide or other
greenhouse gases are added to the atmosphere, the
temperature of the earth will rise, assuming nothing else
changes. For the past few hundred years, people have been
burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil in ever increasing
quantities.

18. What can be done about climate change?
Three basic strategies are available
Abatement
Adaptation
Geo-Engineering

19. • Abatement: To abate means to slow or stop. Abatement
strategies aim to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide
and other gases that can cause climate change. They
include improving energy efficiency, so that we burn less
fuel, and using sources of energy that emit no greenhouse
gases, such as solar or nuclear power.

20. • Adaptation: Under this strategy people find
ways to live successfully with the changed
climate. For example, land use may change.
Aqueducts can be built to bring water into
newly dry areas. Coastal populations can be
protected from rising sea level by building
dikes and sea walls, by relocating populations
inland, and by protecting fresh-water supplies
from salt-water intrusion.
Teacher should discuss these points with students by giving examples

21. • Geo-Engineering: Geo means earth, so geo-
engineering means to engineer the earth's
atmosphere and oceans to reduce the amount
of climate change. For example, the amount of
sunlight that strikes the earth might be
reduced by putting more small particles into
the high atmosphere. The idea is to off-set the
warming effect of more greenhouse gas by
reflecting more sunlight back into space.

22. Things that an individual can do to reduce the chance
of climate change:
Most effective actions
• When you buy a car, choose one that gets good
mileage.
• Insulate and weatherize your home or apartment.
• Carpool or drive less.
• Replace old, worn-out appliances (e.g., refrigerators,
heat pumps) with the most efficient new models. If the
average U.S. citizen undertakes all of these actions,
they can reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by
about 25%, which equals about 5 tons of carbon
dioxide per year.
Teacher should discuss these points with students by giving examples

23. Less effective, but helpful, actions.
• Turn off lights and appliances when not
needed.
• Plant trees.
• Set the thermostat lower in winter and higher
in summer.
• Recycle.
Teacher should discuss these points with students by giving examples

24. • Ineffective actions.
Using aerosol spray cans does not cause
climate change. In the U.S., they no longer
contain CFCs.
• Individual actions that influence others.
Become informed and help your family and
friends to learn about climate change.
Actively support the government policies
you decide are most appropriate.

25. What might nations do?
• Improve energy efficiency
• Develop and use energy sources that emit
little or no carbon dioxide
• Improve forest and agricultural management
practices
• Reduce the impacts of climate change
Teacher should discuss these points with students by giving examples

26. How can people decide for themselves what
should be done about climate change?
• the no abatement policy takes no immediate
action on climate change or greenhouse gas
emissions.
• The goal of moderate abatement is to slow
greenhouse gas emissions and give society
more time to solve the problem.
• Stringent abatement is the most ambitious
climate change policy. By reducing total
greenhouse gas emissions worldwide to 60%
Teacher should discuss these points with students by giving examples

27. Common misconceptions about climate
change:
• Misconception: Climate change and the loss
of the ozone layer are pretty much the same
thing.
Fact: Climate change and the loss of the ozone
layer are two different problems that are not
very closely connected.

28. • Misconception: Aerosol spray cans are a
major contributor to climate change.
Fact: Using aerosol spray cans has almost
no effect on climate change.
• Misconception: General pollution and toxic
chemicals are major contributors to climate
change.
Fact: Most forms of pollution play little or
no role in climate change. The invisible
carbon dioxide released when coal, oil, and
gas are burned is the single most important
contributor to climate change.

29. • Misconception: Using nuclear power
causes climate change.
Fact: Nuclear power does not contribute
to climate change. If nuclear power is used
instead of coal or oil, it will reduce
emissions of carbon dioxide. "Renewable
energy" sources, such as solar power, can
also reduce carbon dioxide emissions

30. The IPCC
In 1988 The World Meteorological
Organization and the United Nations
Environment Program jointly established the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
or IPCC. The IPCC consists of a set of
committees of leading scientists from all
around the world whose task it is to
periodically review and report on the state of
understanding of the climate problem.