N5 Geography climate change

Strategies to minimise future climate change

In the UK the government encourage people to make their houses more energy efficient by giving grants for things like loft insulation, which reduce the amount of energy used (1) 🏚→🏠

Turning off lights, electrical appliances and turning down thermostats reduces the amount of fossil fuels used, putting less CO2 into the atmosphere (1) 💡

Many countries like the UK encourage the use of public transport so reducing the damaging emissions from cars (1) 🚝

In Brazil laws have been passed to reduce the removal of forest through burning and illegal logging so reducing the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere (1) 🌳📜

The UK government are trying to reduce the use of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gases by introducing targets for renewable energy using green fuels such as HEP, wind power, solar power (1) ☀🌬💧

Many world nations including the UK take part in Climate Change Conferences, for example the Paris Conference December,2015 where nations agreed targets to reduce the causes of global warming (1) 👴🏻🇫🇷

An increasing number of cities are introducing policies to reduce car use & therefore greenhouse gas emissions (1) such as the new tram system in Edinburgh (1) and bicycle friendly infrastructure in Amsterdam (1)🚈🚲

Global impacts of climate change

• increased temperatures are causing ice caps to melt so polar habitats are beginning to disappear (1 mark)

• tourism problems will increase as increasing temperatures will mean there is less snow in some mountain resorts (1 mark) also adversely affecting winter sports (1 mark)

• higher temperatures may cause water shortages (1 mark)

• global warming is affecting weather patterns, leading to more droughts, crop failures and problems with food supply (1 mark) and causing more extreme weather, for example, tropical storms (1 mark)

• acidification of the oceans results in loss of coral (1 mark) this might reduce tourism on the Great Barrier Reef (1 mark)

• melting ice causes sea levels to rise threatening low lying island nations, such as Maldives (1 mark)

• an increase in sea temperatures causes the water to expand, compounding the problem of flooding (1 mark)

• global warming could threaten the development of developing countries as restrictions on fossil fuel use may be imposed to slow the rate of increasing CO2 levels (1 mark)

• the range of tropical diseases like malaria may spread as temperatures rise (1 mark)

• plant growth will be affected, and some species will thrive in previously unsuitable areas (1 mark)

Local impacts of climate change

• Climate change can lead to increased health care costs due to the spread of vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever.

CFC sources

fridges and freezers which have been disposed of incorrectly

Areosols

Air conditioning

Polystyrene packaging

Factors for climate change

The Earth’s stretch, tilt and wobble over thousands of years, the Earth’s tilt changes, its orbit changes and wobbles On an axis. This is also known as the Milankovitch cycle. These alter the amount of sunlight the Earth receives. More tilt=warm summers and cold winters, less tilt =opposite

Volcanic activity, ash and dust can protect earth from sun’s heat

Human causes of climate change

human factors include the burning of fossil fuels for transport, industry and power, producing carbon dioxide (1 mark)🏭

• worldwide deforestation, sometimes involving rainforest burning, which also produces carbon dioxide (1 mark)🌳🔥

• car exhausts, nitrogen fertilisers and power stations producing nitrous oxide, enhancing the natural greenhouse effect (1 mark)🚗💨

• CFCs found in fridges, air conditioning and aerosols, and as a by-product of the production of polystyrene packaging, like pizza and burger boxes leads to an enhanced greenhouse effect (1 mark)🚮🍟

• methane levels are rising due to increased rice production, landfill sites and from both ends of cattle (1 mark)🐮💨🌾

• the main greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. They are naturally occurring in the atmosphere but are believed to have increased through the burning of more oil, petrol and coal, at the same time as forests have been removed (1 mark)🛢

• the build-up of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), in the atmosphere, is believed to result in more heat being retained in the atmosphere than would usually be the case naturally. (1 mark)🟩🏠