INQUIRY PAPER

CLIMATE CHANGE

I. SUMMARY

Climate change, also called global warming, refers to the rise in average surface
temperatures on Earth. An overwhelming scientific consensus maintains that climate
change is due primarily to the human use of fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases into the air. The gases trap heat within the atmosphere,
which can have a range of effects on ecosystems, including rising sea levels, severe
weather events, and droughts that render landscapes more susceptible to wildfires.
Most climate scientists agree that the main cause of the current climate change/global
warming is human expansion of the greenhouse effects which certain gases in the
atmosphere block the heat from escaping, long-lived gases that remain semi-
permanently in the atmosphere and do not respond physically or chemically to changes
in temperature which are described as forcing climate change. The gases that
contribute to the greenhouse effect which cause climate change include: Water vapor,
Nitrous oxide, Methane, Chlorofluorocarbons, and Carbon dioxide.

● Water vapor. The most abundant greenhouse gas, but importantly, it acts as a
feedback to the climate. Water vapor increases as the Earth’s atmosphere warms, but
so does the possibility of clouds and precipitation, making these some of the most
important feedback mechanism to the greenhouse effects.
● Carbon dioxide. A minor but very important component of the atmosphere, carbon
dioxide is released through natural processes such as respiration and volcanic eruption
and through human activities such as deforestation, land use changes, and burning
fossils fuels. Human have increase atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration by more
than a third since the Industrial Revolution began. This is the most important long-lived
forcing of climate change
● Methane. A hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural resources and human
activities, including the decomposition of wastes in landfills, agriculture, and especially
rice cultivation, as well as ruminant digestion and manure management associated with
domestic livestock. On a molecule for molecule basis, methane is a far more active
greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but also one which is much less abundant in the
atmosphere.
● Nitrous oxide. A powerful greenhouse gas produced soil cultivation practices,
especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric
acid production, and biomass burning.
● Chlorofluorocarbons. Synthetic compounds entirely of industrial origin used in a
number of applications, but now largely regulated in production and release to the
atmosphere by international agreement for their ability to contribute to destruction of the
ozone layer.
References:
1. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, 2014 United States Global Change Research
Program, “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States,” Cambridge
University Press, 2009 Naomi Oreskes, “The Scientific Consensus on Climate
Change,” Science 3 December 2004: Vol, 306 no. 5702 p. 1686 DOI:
10.1126/science.1103618
2. Mike Lockwood, “Solar Change and Climate: an update in the light of the current
exceptional solar minimum,” Proceeding of the Royal Society A, 2 December
2009, doi 10.1098/rspa.2009.0519;
Judith Lean, “Cycle and trends in solar irradiance and climate,” Wiley
Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, vol. 1, January/February 2010, 111-
122.
II. VISUAL PRESENTATION
● Water Vapor
 Water Vapor Diagram
● Carbon Dioxide

Vocanic Eruption Deforestration

Burning Fossils Fuels

● Methane
 Decomposition of wastes in landfills Rice cultivation
● Nitrous Oxide

Fossil fuel combustion Biomass burning

● Chlorofluorocarbons

Sprays
III. WORD BANK

1.) Susceptible - Likely or liable to be influenced or harmed by a particular thing /

capable of being affected by a specified action or process.

2.) Precipitation - The action or process of precipitating a substance from a solution

/ water that falls to the ground as rain, snow, etc.

3.) Ruminant - An even-toed ungulate mammal that chews the cud regurgitated
from its rumen. The ruminants comprise the cattle, sheep, antelopes, deer,
giraffes, and their relatives. Or a contemplative person; a person given to
meditation.

4.) Manure - Animal dung used for fertilizing land / solid waste from farm animals
that is used to make soil better for growing plants.

5.) Consensus - A general agreement about something: an idea or opinion that is

shared by all the people in a group.

IV. I WONDER WHY

1.) What is climate change?
● a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from
the mid to late 20th century onwards and attribute largely to the increased levels of
atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.
2.) What are the long-term effects of climate change?
● Scientists have predicted that long-term effects of climate change will include a
decrease in sea ice and an increase in permafrost thawing, an increase in heat waves
and heavy precipitation, and decreased water resources in semi-arid regions.
3.) What are some of the signs of climate change?
● Temperatures are rising world-wide due to greenhouse gases trapping more heat in
the atmosphere.
● Droughts are becoming longer and more extreme around the world.
● Tropical storms becoming more severe due to Warmer Ocean water temperatures.
● as temperature rise there is less snowpack in mountain ranges and polar areas and
snow melts faster.
● Overall, glaciers are melting at a faster rate.
● Sea ice in the Arctic Ocean around the North Pole is melting faster with the warmer
temperature.
● Permafrost is melting, releasing methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, into the
atmosphere.
● Sea levels are rising, threatening coastal communities and estuarine ecosystem.
4.) How do we know the climate is changing?
● The scientific community is certain that earth’s climate is changing because of the
trends that we see in the instrumented climate record and the changes that have been
observed in physical and biological systems. The instrumental record of climate change
is derived from thousands of temperature and precipitation recording station around the
world. We have very high confidence in these records as a whole. The evidence of a
warming trend over the past century is unequivocal.
5.) How can climate change affect natural disasters?
● With increasing global surface temperatures the possibility of more droughts and
increased intensity of storms will likely occur. As more water vapor is evaporated into
the atmosphere it becomes fuel for more powerful storms to develop. More heat in the
atmosphere and warmer ocean surface temperatures can lead to increased wind
speeds in tropical storms. Rising sea levels expose higher locations not usually
subjected to the power of the sea and to the erosive forces of waves and currents.