TonyHernandezIII

ClimateChange

Thechangeinourclimateisveryreal,somepeopledontbelieveitorthinkitisaliebut
inthisreadingyouwilllearnaboutnaturalresources/fossilfuelsandhowusashumansare
harmingourplanetinonly166years.

Section1:NaturalResources&ImpactofhumanPollution

FossilFuelsBeingFormed

Fossilfuelsareformedfromprehistoricplantsandanimalshundredsofmillionsofyears
ago.Whentheseplantsandanimalsdie,theystartdecomposinginanenvironmentwithout
oxygenandovertimetheygetburiedundermanylayersofmud,rockanddebri.Theheatand
pressureonthedecomposingplantsandanimalscauseachemicalchange,turningthe
decomposedmaterialintofossilfuels.

Oilisformedfrommarinelifedecomposing
ontheseafloor.Pressureandheatbuildsupand
turnsitintoacompoundofcarbonsandhydrogen.
Naturalgasisformedverysimilarlybutgotburied
deeperintheearthandtheheatandpressurewas
moreextreme.Unlikeoilandnaturalgas,coalwas
formedfromplantsandanimalsontheforestfloor.
Coalisformedfromthedecomposingplantsand
animalsmostlyinafloodedforest,theyfirstturn
intopeatasoilthatisorganicallyrich.Asthe
pressurebuildstheoxygenandhydrogenareloweredturningthemintocoal.

CombustionandCO
2

Combustionandfossilfuels,producingCO
.Fossilfuelsareallhydrocarbonswhichare
2
ahydrogenandcarbonmixture,butthechemicalstructureofthedifferentfossilfuelsarevery
different.Naturalgasisverysimplehavingfourhydrogensandone
carbon(CH
),PropaneisC
H
threecarbonandeighthydrogen.
4
3
8
Normalgasoline,C
H
eightcarbonandeighteenhydrogen.Butcoal
8 18
isthemoststructurallycomplexofthefossilfuels,crudeoilisalsoa
complexstructureofhydrocarbonsandotherelements.Combustion
enginesusethefuelsandareignitedinpressurealsocreatingCO
and
2
energyasheat.Whenthefuelignitesintheengineitpushesthepiston

downandpressuresucksthepistonbackuptoigniteagain,thisupanddownmotionmovesthe
crankmakingpower.

CO
andGreenhouseGas
2

Thecarbondioxidecontentintheatmosphere
hasincreasedimmenselyovertheyearsfromwhen
theIndustrialRevolutionstarted.400,000yearsago
theCO
contenthasstayedbetween180ppmto
2
about280ppm,howeverinthelast166yearscarbon
dioxidehasrisentoover400ppm.Theglobal
temperaturecorrelatestotheCO
concentration
2
whentheCO
risesthetemperaturerises,andthey
2
samewaywhentheCO
decreasestheyboth
2
decrease.Scientistbelievethatcorrelationisduetoa
phenomenonknowasthegreenhouseeffect.

ThegreenhousegaseffectmakeourearthjustlikeagreenhouseandthealltheCO
is
2
liketheglassinagreenhouse.Howagreenhouseworksisthesunsshortwaveradiationcan
gothroughtheglassandbeabsorbedbyplants.Theplantsthenreemitlongwaveradiation
thatcannotgothroughtheglass.Theselongwavesbeingtrappediswhatcreatesheat.The
sunlightcangothroughtheCO2butjustliketheglassinagreenhousethelongerwavescannot
passthroughandistrappedmakingheat.

Section2:ClimateChange

Therearemanyreasonstoclimatechangelikethegreenhouseeffectpoisoningourair,
thesealevelsrisingfromtheglaciersmeltingduetotheglobaltemperaturerising.

Duetotheglobaltemperaturerising
meansmoreicewillmelt,andmoreand
moreglaciersaremeltingandtherearent
asmanyglaciersaroundtodayasthere
usedtobe.Thereasatelliteimagescreating
atimelapseshowingtheicecapsshrinking
andbreakingapartinthenorthandsouthice
sheets.Inthepictureontheleftitshowsthenorth
icecoveringalotofareaaroundthenorthpolein
1980.Andin2012aboutlessthanhalfoftheiceis
meltedaway.IfallofGreenlandweretomeltthe
sealevelwouldriseabout20feet.Thetwo
largestglaciersintheworldhavelostmore

thantwothirdsoftheirsurfacearea.Andin
GlacierNationalParkusetohave150glaciersin1850butnowtheyonlyhave25glaciers.

TheArcticOceanisnormallycoveredina
sheetoficebutrecentlythissheetoficehasbeen
shrinking.Inseptember2015thesurfaceareaofthe
icesheetswasatitslowestlessthan5millionsof
squaremilesinseptember.Theiceisntalwayslow
buttheaverageisadecreasingslope.Themelting
greatlyendangersthepolarbeargivingthemlessare
toliveandcanmakeithardtomovearoundandand
strandedthemwithnowaytogetfood.

400,000yearsagotheCO
content
2
wasstayedbetween180ppmtoabout280
ppmupuntilthestartoftheindustrial
revolutionin1850.Theindustrialrevolution
dramaticallyincreasedtheCO
content.The
2
globaltemperatureinthelast50yearshas
o
increasedby0.9
C,theCO
thatisreleased
2
fromburningfossilfuelscreatethegreenhouse
effectonourplanettrappingheatinour
atmosphere.Themostrecentmeasurementof
theCO
inouratmospherewasindecemberof
2
2015andiswas402.56ppm,andinjanuaryof
2005themeasurementwasonly378.21ppma
24.35ppmincreaseintenyears.

Theclimatechangeonearthisobviouslyrealandishappeningfromthegreenhouse
effectandtheglaciersmelting.Asolutionneedstobefoundbeforesomethinghorribly
incrediblehappenedtotheonlyplanetwecallhome.

Section3:Freshwater&OceanSystems

Whatroledotheoceansplayforthegreenhouseeffectandwhathelpdotheyprovide.
TheoceansoneourearthareahugehelpinourstruggleoftheGreenhousegaseffect.The
oceansabsorbabout90%oftheenergryinouratmospheretappedfromtheGreenhousegas
effect.


Theoceanstakeinmorethanninetenthsoftheexcessheatintheatmosphere,and
putsthisenergyintothedeepsoceantocooldown.Theoceanshighheatcapacityletitabsorb
heatandbarelychangetemperature.Eventhoughtheoceansareabsorbingtheequaltooffive
Hiroshimabombsexplodingeverysecond.Butwearestillnotsurehowmuchmoreenergyour
oceanscanabsorbbeforeitcanttakeinanymore.Theoceanscanstorehugeamountsof
energybuttheyarestillwarmingup,eventhedeepestwatersarenotascoolastheyusetobe,
theoceansgetwarmerabout0.002celsiusperyear.

Arcticseaiceisfrozenoceanwateritmeltsandcreatesmoreice,thearcticseaice
helpsregulatetheglobaltemperature.Thearcticiceisbrightwhiteandwhenthesunlighthits
theiceitreflectsbackintotheatmosphere,reflectingabout80percentofthelight.Recently
thereislessarcticseaicerevealingmorearcticoceanandtheoceanabsorbs90percentofthe
greenhouseenergyheatinguptheoceanmakinglessandlessice.Evenasmallincreasein
temperaturecanmelttheice.Albedoishowwellsomethingreflectsolarenergy,zeroisblack
whichisaperfectabsorberofenergy,andoneiswhitewhichisamazingatreflectingthe
energy.

TheoceansabsorbtheCO
inouratmospherebutwhenitdoesthisthewaterbecomes
2
acidic,theoceanshaveabsorbedtheCO
produced.WestartedreleasingtonsofCO
when
2
2
theindustrialrevolutionstartedin1850.Wereleaseabout22metrictonsintotheatmosphere
everyday,thatmadetheoceanaciditygoupby30percent.Theearthformed4.5billionyear
ago,lifeformedonearth3billionyearsago,whenlifewasformedCO
wasbeingemittedbut
2
veryslowlybutwasadaptedtooverbillionsofyears.Humanshavebeenherefor200,000
years,usbreathingcreatedmoreCO
butwasadaptedovertheyears.In1850theindustrial
2
revolutionstartedthatsonlya166yearsago.In166yearsweemittedmoreCO
gasthanhas
2
everbeenemittedinbillionsofyearsovertime.AswecontinuetoputmoreandmoreCO
into
2
theairmakingtheoceanmoreacidicwemakeitharderandharderforspeciesintheoceanto
survive.Theacidisactuallydestroyingthemandsoonkillingthem,permanentlyharmingthe
balanceinthefoodchain.

ThisoverloadoverCO
emissionswillkillanimalsintheoceanbytheendofthedecade
2
andthenuseashumans,dontworryabouttheearththeearthwilladaptbutwewontsurvive
thatlongifwedontgetthisundercontrolnow.

Section4:Conclusion

Therearemanyreasonsandexamplesofclimatechange,thereforethenextstepneeds
tobetakenandaccomplished.Usashumanareharmingourplanetinonly166yearsifwe
dontstopthisjustimaginewhatwillhappentoearthinahundredyearsOrtwohundred
Threehundred?Ifwehaventkilledofftoomanyanimalsyet