Fossil fuels contribute to the majority of human energy supply and these vary widely in the impacts of their production and emissions and their use if unexpected to increase tp met global energy demand
Fossils fuels contribute to the majority of humankind’s energy supply, and they differentiate in their impacts of production and their emissions, which is expected to meet global energy demands
Sources of energy with lower carbon dioxide emissions than fossil fuels include renewable energy ( such as biomass, solar, hydropower, wind, wave, tidal, and geothermal) and their use is unexpected to increase
Renewable energy: energy which can be gathered from natural sources which is able to be replenished faster than they are used
Nuclear Power is a low carbon low emission non-renewable resources but is controversial due to radioactive waste and potential scale of any accident
Energy security depends on adequate, reliable and affordable supply of energy that provides a degree of independence
The energy choices adopted by a society may be influenced by availability, sustainability, scientific and technological developments, cultural attitudes and political, economic and environmental factors
Advantages and Disadvantages of Energy Sources:
Climate describes how the atmosphere behaves over relatively long periods of time whereas weather describes the conditions in the atmosphere over a short period of time
Human activities include:
One location to another can vary in potential impacts of climate change as it may be perceived as either adverse or beneficial. these impacts may include changes in water availability, distribution of biomes and crop growing areas, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, coastal inundation, ocean acidification and damage to human health
Positive and negative feedback mechanisms are associated with climate change and may involve long time lags
Greenhouse gases effect is normal and necessary condition for life on earth. The role of these greenhouse gases are to maintain mean global temperatures, maintain normal and necessary conditions for life, and allow short wavelengths of radiation to pass through the earth’s surface, however, they trap the longer wavelength such as infrared radiation
Global climate models are complex and there is a degree of uncertainty regarding the accuracy of their productions
Climate is the average weather patterns over many years for a location on earth
Global warming potential (GWP): is a relative measure of how much heat a known mass of a GHG traps a number of years compared to the same mass of carbon dioxide
Mitigation: attempts to reduce the causes of climate change. It is the use of technology and substitution to reduce resource inputs an emissions per unit of output. Involves reducing the flow of heat trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, either by reducing these gases, or enhancing them which accumulate and store them.
Mitigation strategies to reduce GHGs:
Mitigation strategies for carbon dioxide removal:
Adaptation: attempts to manage the impacts of climate change. This involves adjusting to actual or expected future climate. The goal is to reduce our vulnerability to the harmful effects of climate change.
Adaptive capacity varies from place to place and can be dependent on financial and technical resources. MEDCs can provide economical and technical support to LEDCs
International efforts and conferences to address mitigation and adaptation strategies for climate change