Global Warming

Rachelle Gawlista

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Global_Warming_Predictions_Map.jpg

What is global warming?Global warming is a significant increase in the Earth's climatic temperature over a relatively

short period of time as a result of the activities of

humans. Specifically, global warming is the increase of one or more degrees Celsius in a period of one to two hundred years.

Temperature: What is Celsius?

O degrees Celsius = 32 degrees Fahrenheit

The human body is 98.6 ˚F or 37˚C

Freezing is 32˚F or 0˚CTo convert a Fahrenheit temperature into a Celsius temperature: Tc = (5/9)*(Tf-32)

To convert a Celsius temperature into a Fahrenheit temperature:Tf = ((9/5)*Tc)+32

What Causes Global Warming?• Global warming is caused by

greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that absorb and emit thermal radiation.

• Greenhouse gases aren’t necessarily bad though! Without them, Earth would be too cold for us to live on.

• The most common Greenhouse gasses are:– Carbon dioxide– Methane– Nitrous Oxide– Ozone – CFC’s

Where does Carbon Dioxide come from?

• Carbon dioxide comes from:– Fossil Fuels -Deforestation-Failing Sinks

A fossil fuel is Any natural carbon-containing material which when burned with oxygen produces heat or energy. Fossil fuel emissions are humans most significant contribution to the buildup of CO2 in the environment.

Fossil Fuels

Deforestation increases the severity of global warming because all living plants store carbon and when those plants die and decay, CO2 is released back into the atmosphere. As forests and grasslands are cleared for use, enormous amounts of stored carbon enter the atmosphere.

Deforestation

Failing SinksA carbon sink (such as the Artic Tundra) is a natural system that stores carbon over a period of thousands of years.

As the earth warms, natural carbon sinks are at great risk of failing and If carbon sinks, such as the Arctic Tundra, fail or destabilize, carbon will be released into the atmosphere. Since tundra's contain 1/3 of earth’s soil bound carbon, the failure of carbon sinks will cause significant amounts of carbon to be released into the atmosphere in the form of CO2.

Where does methane come from?

Methane comes from:-Herbivorous animals-Rice paddies

-Clathrates

*Methane is 100 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas!

What is Methane?

• Methane is a chemical compound that is created when bacteria breaks down organic matter under oxygen-starved conditions. This occurs when organic matter is trapped underwater, such as in rice paddies and in the intestines of herbivorous animals, such as cows, sheep, and goats.

Herbivorous Animals

• Bacteria in the gut of a herbivorous animal breaks down food and converts some of it to methane. When these animals belch, methane is released.

• In one day, one cow alone can emit half a pound of methane into the environment!

Imagine the 1.3 billion cattle on this planet burping several times a minute, releasing methane into the environment. That’s a lot of methane!!!

Rice Paddies

A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice.Since paddy fields are flooded, they are significant contributors to the formation and release of methane in the environment.

Clathrates Clathrates are a hidden source of methane.

They are frozen chunks of ice and methane that rest at the bottom of the world's oceans.

As global warming causes the worlds oceans to get warmer, the ice at the bottom of the ocean melts and methane is released.

Greenhouse gasses absorb and emit infrared radiation and therefore have the ability to trap heat within the Earth’s surface-troposphere system. As greenhouse gases become trapped in our atmosphere, so does the solar radiation from the sun. The more greenhouse gases buildup in the atmosphere, the more the warmth from the sun is trapped and the warmer Earth becomes.

Greenhouse gases can take several years to leave the atmosphere!

Why can global warming be bad?

• An increase in global temperatures can lead to:– A rise in sea levels

which can lead to flooding, droughts, heat waves, hurricanes and tornados

– Reduced flow of summer streams

– Extinction of species– More disease

www.cartoonsbyray.com

Global Warming Cartoons

Michael Guthrie

Now you will each have a chance to make your own global warming cartoon!

1.The person at the end of each aisle will come to the front of the classroom and get enough worksheets so that each person in their row has their own worksheet. Please also get enough crayons, markers or colored pencils for everyone in your row.

2.You will draw a cartoon that depicts one of the causes for the buildup of greenhouse gasses that we discussed today.

3.Once your cartoon is finished, please answer the questions at the bottom of your worksheet.

Causes for the buildup of greenhouse gases:

• CO2:– Burning of fossil

fuels– Deforestation– Failing carbon

sinks

• Methane:– From herbivorous

animals – Rice paddies– Clathrates

Sites Used:• http://www.acoolerclimate.com/causes-of-global-warming.html• http://www.flickr.com/photos/mella_kasuitku/3293495743/• seljacionline-forum.com • perso.crans.org • www.flickr.com/photos/57402879@N00/164177653/• moretorah.com • www.maxgladwell.com/.../shark-global-warming.jpg