Eliminating misconceptions on Climate Change!

1. Eliminating misconceptions on Climate Change! Quiz organised at Guzeppi Despott Boys’ Junior Lyceum during Global Education Week 2007

2. Statement Number 1 The primary culprit of global warming is carbon dioxide, released from burning coal, oil and natural gas in power plants, cars, factories. True

3. WHY? • Current contributions of the different greenhouse gases to the enhanced Greenhouse Effect • Carbon dioxide - 55% • CFCs 11 and 12 - 17% • Methane - 15% • Other CFCs - 7 % • Nitrous oxide - 6%

4. Statement Number 2 Countries like India and China will increase their emissions of greenhouse gases in the future. TRUE

5. WHY? Steady economic development is already occurring in both India and China. Therefore as the standard of living of the people improves so also will their buying capacity resulting in for example more people being able to afford buying a car.

6. Statement Number 3 All greenhouse gases are man made. FALSE

7. WHY? Water vapour provides the majority of the natural greenhouse effect.

8. Statement Number 4 Without these natural greenhouse gases the earth’s average temperature would be 33 degrees Celsius colder that it is today. TRUE

9. WHY? During the last Ice Age temperatures were 4 degrees Celsius cooler. Without the natural greenhouse gases the temperatures would be much lower.

10. Statement Number 5 Incoming radiation cannot pass through the greenhouse gases. FALSE

11. WHY? The incoming short-wave radiation can pass through the greenhouse gases. They are transformed into long-wave radiation (heat) on contact with the earth’s surface. It is some of this outgoing radiation that is trapped by a blanket of gases known as greenhouse gases

12. Statement Number 6 Greenhouses gases are all bad for the planet. FALSE

13. WHY? Without the natural greenhouse gases the earth’s average temperature would be far too cold for life in any form.

14. Statement Number 7 Ozone depletion also causes climate chaos. FALSE

15. WHY? Ozone depletion is a different problem, caused mainly by CFCs once used in refrigerators and air conditioners. In the past, CFCs were also used in aerosol spray cans, but that use was banned. CFCs deplete the stratospheric ozone layer that protects life on Earth from excess ultraviolet light that can cause skin cancer and cataracts in humans and other damage to plants and animals.

16. Statement Number 8 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and similar chemicals, which are also implicated in the separate problem of ozone depletion, contribute also to global warming. TRUE

17. WHY? Although ozone depletion is not the cause of global warming, there are a number of connections between the two. For example, many ozone-depleting compounds are also greenhouse gases. Some of the compounds now replacing CFCs in order to protect ozone are also greenhouse gases.

18. Statement Number 9 Europe has not been affected by climate change. FALSE

19. WHY? The temperature over Europe has risen by 1 degree Celsius over the past 100 years and the effects are becoming clearer by the day. Northern countries are experiencing more rainfall and snowfall while those in the south are struggling to cope with more frequent droughts.

20. Statement Number 10 Only the climate of European countries is being affected by global warming not their economy. FALSE

21. WHY? Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism will suffer as these sectors are all sensitive to climate change.

22. Statement Number 11 Melting glaciers and ice caps will contribute more to sea level rise this century than the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets according to new research. TRUE

23. WHY? Scientists state that around 60% of the ice which is being lost to the oceans and contributing to sea level rise comes from glaciers and ice caps. In contrast Greenland’s ice sheet is contributing 28% of the ice with the remaining 12% coming from the Antarctic. The rate of ice loss from glaciers is speeding up due to acceleration in the flow of glaciers that discharge icebergs directly into the ocean. When these glaciers become thinner, a larger fraction of their weight is supported by water, causing them to slide along their beds faster. The climate is acting as a trigger to set off this dramatic response.

24. Statement Number 12 It is only burning fossil fuels that causes CO2. FALSE

25. WHY? Population explosion - 12th October 1999 the birth of the sixth billionth citizen of the world. This means that at the start of the twenty-first century the world’s population was four times what it had been at the start of the previous century. Humans beings exhale carbon dioxide and breath in oxygen.

26. Statement Number 13 Gases are extracted from bubbles trapped in ice cores and provide record of past atmospheric concentrations. TRUE

27. WHY? Cores of ice from Antarctica provide an excellent record of the Earth's past climate. Scientists can measure traces of air and particles that were trapped in snow that fell thousands of years ago and infer what the Earth's climate was like.

28. Statement Number 14 Deforestation is not related to the problem of Global Warming. FALSE

29. WHY? Of these activities fossil fuel combustion for energy generation causes about 70-75% of the carbon dioxide emissions, being the main source of carbon dioxide emissions. The remaining 20-25% of the emissions are caused by land clearing of forests, burning, and by emission from motor vehicle exhausts.

30. Statement Number 15 The 11,000 people living in Tuvalu may evacuate to New Zealand due to the rising sea level as a result of Global Warming. TRUE

31. WHY? Tuvalu is a tiny country in the South Pacific and it may be the first to go under if sea level rises. This is the main reason why they may have to evacuate to New Zealand. The primary reason for this rise is that water expands as it warms. The second reason is that glaciers all over the world are melting, and when land-based ice melts, the water runs to the sea and increases its level. Thousands of small islands are threatened by the projected sea-level rise for the 21st century, as are low-lying coastal areas.

32. Statement Number 16 Malta will not be affected by climate change. FALSE

33. WHY? Coastal areas in Malta will become more vulnerable to storm surges as sea level rises.

34. Statement Number 17 The USA was keen to set particular targets during the Climate Change Conference held in Bali during December 2007. FALSE

35. WHY? 2007 marked the 10th anniversary of the expiring Kyoto pact. The US was one of the countries that did not want a workable global deal to follow it. There was almost universal agreement in Bali that the idea of 2020 climate targets should be included, making possible a deal to bring the developing world onboard over time. However the final agreement in Bali ended on a different note due to lack of commitment by the US. The 187 countries meeting on Saturday (15 December 2007) agreed to just launch negotiations towards a crucial and strengthened international climate change deal. The decision includes a clear agenda for the key issues to be negotiated up to 2009. Concluding negotiations in 2009 will ensure that the new deal can enter into force by 2013, following the expiry of the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol.

36. Statement Number 18 Most scientists working on this issue report that the observed global warming can be explained by natural variations such as changes in the sun's output or volcanic eruptions. FALSE

37. WHY? Due to human activities, the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere has been rising extensively during the last 150 years. As a result, it has exceeded the amount sequestered in biomass, the oceans, and other sinks. There has been a climb in carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere of about 280 ppm in 1850 to 364 ppm in 1998, mainly due to human activities during and after the industrial revolution, which began in 1850. Humans have been increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in air by burning of fossil fuels, by producing cement and by carrying out land clearing and forest combustion. About 22% of the current atmospheric CO2 concentrations exist due to these human activities, considered that there is no change in natural amounts of carbon dioxide.

38. Statement Number 19 The Kyoto Protocol in its present form is enough to stabilize climate. FALSE

39. WHY? Even if ratified, the Kyoto Protocol in its present form is only a start and would not be nearly enough to stabilize climate. It is estimated that greenhouse gas emissions would have to be reduced to less than one third of current levels to stabilize atmospheric concentrations.

40. Statement Number 20 Climate change is a threat to all humanity. As individuals we ought to act locally so together we can make a difference on a global scale. TRUE

41. WHY? Each of us can reduce our contribution to global warming by using less greenhouse-gas-producing energy: driving less, choosing fuel efficient cars and appliances (like refrigerators and water heaters), and using solar energy where feasible for water and space heat. We can encourage our political and business leaders to institute policies that will save energy and develop alternative energy sources that do not release carbon dioxide. We can preserve existing forests and plant new ones.

42. The choice we have in facing the problem of climate change is between action and delay. Thanks for your attention. Ms Rita DeBattista Head of DepartmentGeography

43. We must be the change we want to see in the world.