Global Warming

1. Global Warming

2. What is global warming? Global Warming: The atmospheric warming of temperatures occurring across the globe for a sustained amount of time caused by greenhouse gases.

3. The Process • Heat from the earth rises • Before the last 150 years, only a thin layer of atmospheric gases, known as greenhouse gases surrounded the planet. This thin layer helped to trap some heat… and allowed the rest to be released into space. • This was good because it kept our planet warm, but not too warm.

4. Prior to 150 Years Ago Heat Rises Earth Some heat cannot pass through the atmosphere A lot of the earth’s heat escapes into the atmosphere

5. The Problem • In the past 150 years or so, the gases in the atmosphere have increased tremendously and have made the atmosphere thicker. • Because the atmosphere is thicker, it is more difficult for heat to escape. • Because heat can’t escape… the earth heats up… creating global warming!

6. Today Heat Rises More heat is trapped because it cannot pass through the atmosphere as easily Earth Some heat escapes, but it isn’t as easy, because the atmosphere is so thick

7. Prior to 150 Years Ago Heat Rises Earth Some heat cannot pass through the atmosphere A lot of the earth’s heat escapes into the atmosphere

8. Today Heat Rises More heat is trapped because it cannot pass through the atmosphere as easily Earth Some heat escapes, but it isn’t as easy, because the atmosphere is so thick

10. What is causing global warming? Naturally Occurring Gases: Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Human Produced Gases: Carbon dioxide from fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal), methane from landfills and fossil fuels, and nitrous oxide from agricultural and industrial activities

12. Industrial Activity • During the 150 years of the industrial age, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by 31 percent. 31%

14. The United States • The United States makes up only 5% of the world’s population, but we consume 25% of the world’s energy and oil. • Thus, the U.S. is the largest contributor togreenhouse gases, followed next by China!

15. America has gas! • It is estimated that Americans use 380 million gallons of gas every day. EVERY DAY!

16. Do all scientists believe that humans have created the problem of global warming?

17. No.Some scientists believe global warming is not a serious problem, and some scientists believe that global warming is occurring naturally.

18. There is some debate • However, these scientists are a minority. • Most scientists, even the Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA), believe that global warming is a problem and that humans have created or enhanced this problem.

19. Most Scientists Agree… • From studying climate patterns over time, Dr. Oppenheimer, a professor at Princeton University, says global warming is not a natural shift. • Temperatures were very stable over the last few hundred years… then all of a sudden, in the last 50 years the temperatures have gone up and up and up. • "It bears the imprint of human activity,” says Dr. Oppenheimer. Not a “natural” phenomenon.

20. A Rise in Temperature • In the last decade (the 1990s) thetemperature rose 1 degree fahrenheit. • Consider this: Most scientists believe a shift of only 4 degrees in the opposite direction sent our planet into the last ice age.

21. A Polar Problem • Scientists say that if you wantto gauge the affects of global warming in the future, keep your eye on the Arctic. • NASA images reveal that Arctic sea ice has been melting drastically over the last 25 years. • One study found almost 400,000 square miles of sea ice is already gone.

23. Melting Glaciers • Glaciers are also melting at alarming rates! • If present warming trends continue, all glaciers in Glacier National Park could be gone by 2030. The park's Grinnell Glacier is already 90% gone • Ice cores taken from the Dunde Ice Cap in the Qilian Mountains indicate that the years since 1938 have been the warmest in the last 12,000 years. 

24. Watching a Glacier Melt! • In southern Peru the rate of melting of the Qori Kalis glacier during the 8 year period 1983 to 1991 was 3 times the pace of the previous 20 years, 1963 to 1983. • The Qori Kalis is receding at about two feet per day. • Sitting beside the glacier, one could witness the melting hour by hour.

25. A Rise in Sea Levels • Because ice is melting, the water that it creates is raising the sea-levels world wide. • The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has warned that along the Atlantic coast in the U.S. and also along the Gulf Coast, sea levels could rise 1 – 4 feet by the year 2050.

26. The Effects • If sea levels continue to rise, the effects include: A) Wetlands, swamps, and marshes will be forced further inland B) Beaches will erode further inland C) The salinity (level of salt) of rivers, bays, and ground water tables will increase

28. Drought Warmer temperatures are also making the earth more prone to drought In some places, drinking water is difficult to find or there are limits on how much water you can use each day

29. Drought • Drought leads to fewer crops and a decreased food supply… and in some cases, extreme drought can lead to famine. • Drought was responsible for approximately 20,000 deaths worldwide in the 1990s alone.

30. Wild Fires • Warmer temperatures and drought conditions also lead to fires. • The United States has seen its increase in forest and wild fires. Many have threatened urban areas such as San Diego and L.A. • In 2006 wildfires burned 3 million acres – more than 3 times the average

31. The warmer the planet gets… The sooner the snow melts each year… The drier the land becomes… The greater chance a fire could break out and rage out of control.

32. Hurricanes • Warmer oceans are the fuel that ignites stronger hurricanes. • Due to global warming and warmer oceans, hurricanes have become more numerous and also more powerful in strength.

34. Hurricanes • In fact, the duration and strength of hurricanes have increased by about 50 percent over the last three decades, according to a recent study. 50%

35. Heavy Rain • Some scientists believe that the increased levels of rain in certain areas of the world is also a result of warmer temperatures. • As the planet warms up, more water is being evaporated into the atmosphere, thus causing additional rain. • Rain has increased in the U.S. by 7% in the past three decades.

37. Coral Reefs • According to most scientists, global warming is also responsible for the destruction of coral reefs. • Warmer temperatures are heating the coral • This is causing coral to expel microscopic plants and algae that give the coral color and nourish it. • This is called coral bleaching.

38. This is how you expect a coral reef to look…

40. This is what coral looks like after bleaching itself due to warm temperatures…

43. 90% Gone… • Coral reefs around the Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean have taken the brunt of warming seas, as 90% of these corals have been killed over the past two years. • Some of the coral reefs that disappeared had been alive for up to 2.5 million years.

44. Life without a Reef • If coral reefs disappear… imagine the thousands of aquatic animals that will also disappear. • The coral reef is often considered as valuable to man as the tropical rainforest. Scientists use discoveries from the reef to create new medicines. Without the reef, we lose a valuable ecosystem.

45. The Future

46. Most Agree – It’s a Problem! • Although global warming is a very debated issue in the world today, most scientists do agree that human activity has caused an increase in greenhouse gases, which is warming our planet.

47. Most Agree: There’s a Solution • Most scientists also agree that now that we have recognized a global problem, we can work together to help lower the levels of greenhouse gases that humans are adding to the atmosphere.

48. What do you think?

49. Do you think global warming is a serious problem?

50. Do you think that humans around the world can work together to stop global warming?