Physical and human causes of climate change

Climate change is lasting change in long term weather patterns over a significant period of
time. Climate change has positive and negative impacts and physical and human causes.
The greenhouse effect
Without greenhouse gases in its atmosphere, the Earth would be about 18°C colder on
average than it is now. That would make it too cold to support life as we know it.

Greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere include:

• water vapour

• carbon dioxide

• methane

• Nitrous Oxide

• chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

These greenhouse gases:

1. absorb heat radiated from the Earth

2. then release energy in all directions, which keeps the Earth warm
How the greenhouse effect works

1. Electromagnetic radiation at most wavelengths passes through the Earth's

atmosphere.
2. The Earth absorbs most of the radiation and warms up.
3. The Earth radiates energy as infrared radiation.
4. Some of the infrared radiation goes into space.
5. Some of the infrared radiation is absorbed by greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere.
6. The lower atmosphere warms up.
Are humans causing global warming?

Not everyone in the world agrees that humans are causing global warming by causing the
release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Some people believe that the current and
ongoing rise in global temperatures is being caused by natural factors and cycles of climate
change.

However, the vast majority of scientists do believe that humans are responsible for the
increase in greenhouse gases and therefore global warming. This is because the majority of
evidence in peer-reviewedjournals supports the theory that human activities are causing an
increase in greenhouse gases and this is causing global warming.
However, climate science is complicated and it is difficult to predict and explain what will
happen to global temperatures in the future, so scientists cannot be certain about global
warming.

The media (eg websites, TV news, newspapers) may sometimes present opinions and
articles which are simplified, inaccurate, based on only some of the evidence or biased. It is
important for new evidence to be shared with as many people as possible, so that other
scientists can check the results and interpretation, and repeat the experiments for
themselves.

When evaluating the quality of evidence on an issue like global warming, you should
consider:

• who did the research and whether they are trustworthy, skilled and experienced

• who funded the research, because that might cause some bias

• what methods were used to collect and analyse the data, because that might cause
uncertainties in the evidence base
• which organisation is reporting or publishing the evidence

Global warming
The greenhouse effect is the name given to the natural process that causes the Earth to be
warmer than it would be in the absence of an atmosphere.

Greenhouse gases are produced naturally and trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, like a
blanket.

Water vapour is the largest contributor, responsible for 98 per cent of the natural
greenhouse effect.

Global warming is attributed to the enhanced greenhouse effect. This is caused by the
increased concentration and effect of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane
and fluorocarbons.

When fossil fuels are burned in power stations, vehicles, industry or homes, greenhouse
gases enter the atmosphere.

Although these gases have always been present in the world's atmosphere their
concentration is increasing as more and more fossil fuels are burned.

Impact of greenhouse effect

Increasing greenhouse gases absorb more of solar radiation that is reflected back from the
Earth's surface, trapping heat and keeping it in the atmosphere.
The ability of the atmosphere to capture the Sun's warmth is essential for life on earth, but
if significantly more warmth is being held in the Earth's atmosphere this will have an impact
on the planet.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Another group of greenhouse gases includes the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). CFCs have
been responsible for depleting the ozone layer as they destroy ozone molecules.

The ozone layer is a high-level layer of gas in the stratosphere. The ozone helps to keep out
harmful UV rays, which cause sunburn and damage plants.

CFCs were used in aerosols, such as hairspray cans, fridges and in making foam plastics.

The resulting ozone holes let harmful UV radiation in and add to the problems of the
greenhouse effect and global warming, as the diagram below explains.

CFCs were banned in many countries in the mid-1990s after it was found that they were
breaking up the Earth's ozone.

Some scientists now say the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica could disappear within
50 years as ozone levels are stabilising.

The pie chart below shows the gases responsible for the enhanced greenhouse effect.
Global temperatures rising

Global temperatures have risen as the concentrations of CO2 and methane have risen

Climate change

For the last 10,000 years average global temperatures have been around 14˚C. However, in
the last 100 years our climate has started to change,

Increases in temperatures have been recorded on land and in the oceans.

Changes to rainfall patterns have been observed - these are sometimes more extreme. This
means that locations are either a lot wetter or a lot drier than they used to be. At other
times the rainfall pattern is out of season.

The extreme rainfall in the UK during the summer of 2007 is an example of this. During the
spring and summer of 2012, the UK experienced higher than average rainfall. In 2010 winter
brought exceptionally cold conditions and higher than average snowfall. However, in
general, UK summers are getting drier and winters are getting wetter.

Causes of global warming

Physical causes

• Variations in solar energy - sunspot activity raises global temperature.

• Volcanic eruptions - large quantities of volcanic dust in the atmosphere shield the
Earth from incoming insolation, lowering global temperature. For example, the
eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 caused a dip in global temperatures.
 • Changing oceanic circulation such as the periodic warming (El Nino) and cooling (La
Nina) of areas of the tropical Pacific Ocean.
• Melting permafrost releasing large quantities of methane gas.

These physical causes of global temperature change have always existed and have been
responsible for alternate heating and cooling cycles of the Earth's temperature in the past.

Human causes

The human causes of global warming have been in the news a lot in recent years and
continued to cause much controversy. Developed countries currently use more energy, burn
more fossil fuels and give off more greenhouse gases than developing countries.

Developing countries want to catch up with developed countries and this normally means
using more energy and burning more fuel. Many of the human factors below are the result
of growing population and economic development.

• The burning of fossil fuels for transport, industry and power, producing carbon
dioxide.
• Worldwide deforestation, sometimes involving rainforest burning, which also
produces carbon dioxide.
• Car exhausts and nitrogen fertilisers, producing nitrous oxide.

• CFCs found in fridges, air conditioning and aerosols and as a bi-product of the
production of polystyrene packaging, like pizza and burger boxes.
• Methane, produced from rice fields, landfill sites and from both ends of cattle.

• Atom bomb testing.

• Increasing industrialisation leading to air pollution.

• Traffic pollution.

• Rubbish dumps.

Collectively, these physical and human causes have contributed to climate change.

The effects of global warming

The effects of global warming include:

• glaciers and polar ice melting

• sea levels rising

• patterns of rainfall changing, producing floods or droughts

• habitats changing

• health

We are already experiencing some of these effects. The consequences of global warming
will affect billions of people, all around the world.
The carbon footprint and its reduction

The carbon footprint of a product is the total amount of carbon dioxide (and
other greenhouse gases) which are emitted over the full life cycle of a product, service or
event.

For example, the carbon footprint of a car would include the carbon dioxide emitted by:

• machinery whilst the metal is extracted from the Earth's crust and processed

• power stations which generate the electricity used to manufacture the car

• the car itself when it is driven for many years

• the machinery which is used to dispose of or recycle the car

The carbon footprint of a person during one year would consist of the total amount of
carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by all of the activities they take part in, and
the manufacture, use and disposal of all the products and resources they use. For example,
a typical young person might:

• use electricity at home, probably generated from fossil fuels, for lighting their room
and using electronic devices
• use a gas-powered boiler at home (which produces carbon dioxide) for heating and
hot water
• travel to school by bus or car (which probably runs on petrol or diesel)

• eat beef or rice which have been farmed using methods that release methane
• travel abroad once per year on an aeroplane (which produces carbon dioxide)

It can sometimes be difficult for individuals to make all the changes that they would like to
do to reduce their carbon footprint. For example, it might be too expensive to fit
photovoltaic cells on the roof of your house, and you might work too far from your house to
be able to cycle.

Question1:
Name three greenhouse gases.
Answer: water vapour, methane and carbon dioxide
Question 2:
Suggest two reasons why climate change leads to rising sea levels.
Answer: Water from melting glaciers and polar ice enters the oceans. As the Earth’s
temperature increases, seawater warms up and expands.
Question 3:
Suggest and explain three ways that someone living in the UK could reduce their carbon
footprint.
Answer:

1. Fit photovoltaic solar panels onto the roof of their house, which will reduce the
amount of electricity they use which has been generated from fossil fuels.
2. Commute to work by bicycle instead of driving.
3. Improve their home insulation (eg loft insulation or double glazing) which will
reduce the amount of gas burned in the boiler.