Science

Climate
Change
BY: Ma.Emilia Pachano &
Alejandra Pinto
2B

2014

INDEX
Research
Weather and climate
difference
Causes of Climate Change
Earths Climate History
Timeline
Charts
Impacts of Climate Change
Are humans causing Climate
Change
What can we do
Reflection

Research
"Why Is Climate Important?" Why Is Climate Important? Web. 20 May
2014.
This web page gave me information about the ways that our lives
could change drastically because of the climate and weather.
Some of the examples that the page gave me where things like
floodings and hurricanes. This also says that if we continue to
pollute our planet this natural disasters will continue to happen
and every time even more stronger and someday this will
destroy our planet.
"Weather." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 20 May 2014.
This dictionary gave me the definition for climate and weather. I
needed this two definitions to be able to finish the section 2
because in this section it asks you to find the definitions and
compare them.
Dunbar, Brian. "What's the Difference Between Weather and
Climate?" NASA. NASA, 27 Apr. 2005. Web. 20 May 2014.
This was a very reliable source because it is NASA that lives
studying about the earth and the space. This source gave me a

very good definition of climate and weather and gave me some

of the differences between them.
"Comparison of Atmospheric Temperature with CO2 Over The Last
400,000 Years." Global Warming: A Chilling Perspective. Global
Warming: A Chilling Perspective, n.d. Web. 29 May 2014.
This web page give me the charts if the levels of CO2 in the
atmosphere during the las 400,000 years. It also give me the
chart of the temperature of lower atmosphere form the last
400,000 years. I needed this information for section 4 where we
need to describe the levels of CO2 and temperature on earth.
"Causes." Global Climate Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2014.
This web page gave me the causes of global change to be
able to finish section number 3 where we have to explain the
causes of climate change and the current climate change too.
This was a reliable source because its NASA web page and it
has good and accurate information.
"Global Warming Causes, Climate Change Causes - National
Geographic."National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.

This web page gave me more information about the causes of climate
change which I needed to complete the section number 3. This was a
reliable source because it is National Geographic web page where the
information is accurate and reliable, it has and author, a last updated date,
the date it was published, etc.
"Climate Change in the past." Natural History Museum. N.p., n.d. Web.
27 May 2014.
What are n.p. & n.d.
This source give me information about the biggest ice age and the
greenhouse earth with witch i was able to complete section number
four that asked me to give clear examples of those i mentioned
before.

Weather &
Climate
Climate is the composite or generally prevailing weather
conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity,
precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the
year, averaged over a series of years. In the other hand
Weather is the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind,
temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc. Climate and
Weather are different because of a measure of time. Climate
refers to how the atmosphere behaves over long periods of
time, for example during the past years the climate has been
changing and making the world warmer. But the weather
refers to the conditions of the atmosphere over a short period
of time, it is how the atmosphere is that day; in Ecuador the
climate lately has been cold and cloudy. Also the climate is
something global that cant change throughout the day, but
the weather is something that happens in one specific day,

place and time and it can change throughout the day. Climate
is important because it can change our way of living, for
example a flooding or a hurricane can change our lives on our
economy and our society.

Causes of Climate Change

Most of the scientists believe that the main cause of current
global warming is that humans are expanding the greenhouse
gasses. Because of all the factories, cars and other human
objects, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing
and making the atmosphere thicker and so the sun rays that
enter the atmosphere are not being able to get out again. The
greenhouse effect traps the heat coming out of the earth and
makes the world warmer. CO2 should not damage the
atmosphere but its amount is increasing by the greenhouse
gasses that humans release every day with our cars and
factories. Cars that use fossil fuels and factories are the
biggest pollutants. Other contributors to global warming is
Methane that comes from agriculture, Nitrous oxide form
fertilizers and cutting down trees, if we didnt cut down trees

then they will exchange CO2 for oxygen. Its obvious that
climate change is happening, charts and scientists prove it,
humans have to take actions to stop this, and it could become
a disaster.

Earths Climate History

In the recent geological past, most of the Britain was covered
by ice. The landscape shows many different glacial
landforms, especially in North West, scot land and the Lake
District. Fossils of mammals and woolly rhinoceroses that
lived in cold climates have been found in southern Britain.
This evidence shows that over the past two million years,
climate changed dramatically between ice ages and warm
periods, similar to the changes in climate we see today.
These changes were driven by cyclical changes in earth; it
also altered the distribution of solar energy between seasons
though out the earth. In conclusion of this is, the earths
climate is always changing because of human and natural
activities. For 40 million years ago on new Zealand an
investigation demonstrates that there existed a greenhouse
earth. This earth had warmer seas and a very low amount of

ice in Antarctica. The investigation explains that Antarctica

had not developed extensive ice sheets because of the
climate changes. The researchers also found that the water
temperature was 23-25C at the sea surface and 11-13C at
the deepest level. At that period of time there were high
carbon dioxide levels, temperatures increased and ice sheets
were very small. This information comes from the chemical
analysis of fossils of microorganisms called foraminifers,
found in marine rocks in new Zealand that were well
conserved and easy to investigate.

Timeline
1800-1870: the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere was 290 ppm (parts
per million) when it was measured
1870-1910: chemicals and other contaminating gasses are released to
the atmosphere in the second industrial revolution
1920-1925: cheap energy gets inaugurated with the opening of Texas
and the Persian Gulf oil fields
1930: global warming gets popular in the 19th century when it was
reported
1945: US office of naval research discovers information for a better
understanding of climate change
1957: launch of soviet sputnik satellite brings new funding and
coordination to climate studies.
1963: suggest that feedback with water vapor could make the
climate sensitive to changes in CO2 levels.

1967: international global atmospheric research program gather data

for better short range weather prediction.
1972: ice cores and other evidence show big climate shifts in the past
around 100,000 years ago.
1975: investigations of trace gasses in the stratosphere show
warnings about the effects on the environment caused by airplanes
and the discovery of of danger to the ozone layer.
1981: election of Reagan. Backlash against environmental movement
to power
1985: Ramanathan and collaborators announce that global warming
can become bigger in a short period of time for methane and other
greenhouse gasses increase.
1987: Montreal protocol of the Vienna convention creates restrictions
on emissions of ozone-destroying gasses.
1989: many industries form global climate coalition tell the
politicians and the public that global warming may or may not be
happening and that it is to uncertain to take action.
1998: super el Nio" causes many disasters and becomes warmest
year on record.
2000: global climate coalition dissolves many corporations with
threat of warming; nut oil lobby convinces the US administration to
deny the problem.
2003: because of the collapse of ice sheets and sea levels rises faster
than anyone believed, there are a lot of concerns rises.
2009: climate experts announce that global warming is getting
bigger, dangerous and faster than they expected.
2013: there was a pause on global warming of the atmosphere since
1998 and the oceans continued to become warmer.

Charts

Impacts of Climate
Change
Over the period of 1948 to 2013, the temperature has been warmed.
Increased winter and spring temperatures have been part of these
warming trends to a bigger degree than other seasons. The warming
trends are also affecting the amount of rain, snow, and ice. Other is the
risk of extreme weather events such as heat waves, heavy rainfalls
and related flooding, dry spells and/or droughts, and forest fires. In
addition the climate change affected by changing ocean environments,
extreme sea level, wave regimes, and ice conditions will create
dramatic reductions in Arctic sea ice cover, mainly during the summer
season are increasing the global warming. Human food system,
economies, cities and communities are adapted to the climate we live

with. Climate change puts humans in a food fix. On the one hand,
some land use practices contribute to global emissions. People and
communities depend on agriculture. Around the world, a lot of
communities are having issues to adapt with the climate changes. If
the greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, humans would be
locked in to devastating rises in temperature. Moving toward a more
diversified, cleaner energy portfolio and scaling up energy efficiency
lessen our dependence on fossil fuels and are critical steps toward
reducing human emissions. From big cities to small communities, 50%
of the global population lives near the coast. But this way of life is
deeply imperiled by rising seas, coastal erosion and storms that are
intensified by climate change. Habitat destruction and land use
changes are degrading and destroying natural resources human need.
When we destroy these forests to clear land for ranches or farms, that
carbon gets released into the atmosphere and accelerates climate
change.

Humans causing
Climate Change?
Climate change is also caused because of human activities.
Burning fossil fuels and the destruction of forests to use that
area for agriculture. When the industrial revolution started, the
human activities and influences have increased and made the
climate get out of balance. These activities change the land
surface and release substances to the atmosphere. When this
happens it influences on the amount of outgoing energy that
can create warming and cooling effects on the climate.
Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas and its the most
contributing effect that causes the atmosphere get thicker so
the sun rays get inside the earth but cant get out so the earth

becomes warmer. The greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

has led to the natural greenhouse effect that is of concern
because ongoing emissions of greenhouse gases have the
potential to warm the planet to levels that have never been
experienced in the history of human civilization. Such climate
change could have far-reaching and/or unpredictable
environmental, social, and economic consequences. In
conclusion the overall effect of human activities since the
Industrial Revolution has been a warming effect, driven
primarily by emissions of carbon dioxide and enhanced by
emissions of other greenhouse gases.

What we can do
1.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Do your part to reduce waste by choosing reusable products instead of
disposables. Buying products with minimal packaging (including the
economy size when that makes sense for you) will help to reduce
waste. And whenever you can, recycle paper, plastic, newspaper, glass
and aluminum cans. If there isn't a recycling program at your
workplace, school, or in your community, ask about starting one. By
recycling half of your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of
carbon dioxide annually.
2.
Drive Smart
Less driving means fewer emissions. Besides saving gasoline, walking
and biking are great forms of exercise. Explore your community mass

transit system, and check out options for carpooling to work or school.
When you do drive, make sure your car is running efficiently. For
example, keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your gas
mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gas you save not only
helps your budget, it also keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the
atmosphere.
3.
Save light
Turn off the lights and electronic devices when they are not in use. Also
replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.
CFLs also last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds
less energy, and give off 70 percent less heat.
4.
Be Green
Humans depend on trees so they could create paper and then use it.
Imagine how many trees are cut down each day for our paper need. Be
green and plant a tree, you will make a change. Also take care of the
plants. Dont ruin them or step on them.