Climate Change: The Basics

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Climate ChangeThe Basics

• Bureau of Air Quality

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What is Global Warming?

• Global warming is a result of human activities
  affecting climate in serious ways, intensifying a
  natural phenomenon called the greenhouse
  effect.
• The result is a long-term rise in the Earths
  temperature.

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What is Climate Change?

• Climate Change ? Global Warming
• Climate Change is the overall change in climate
  due to global warming.
• Melting of polar ice cap, other glaciers
• Thawing of tundra
• Sea level rise

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What Causes Global Warming?

• The burning of fossil fuels releases large
  quantities of greenhouse gases such as carbon
  dioxide and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere.
  Decaying garbage in landfills releases methane,
  another greenhouse gas.
• All of these gases prevent the suns energy from
  escaping back into space.

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What Causes Global Warming?

• Trapping heat close to the surface of the earth
  raises global temperatures, turning our world
  into a planetary greenhouse.
• Since the Industrial Revolution, concentrations
  of greenhouse gases have substantially increased.

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How Do We Know Its Happening?

• The 8 warmest years on record have all occurred
  since 1998.
• Since the mid 1970s, the average surface
  temperature has warmed about 1F.
• Average temperatures in the Arctic have increased
  at almost double the global rate in the last 100
  years.
• There was also an increase in precipitation in
  the last century.
• Source International Panel on Climate Change
  2007 www.epa.gov

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Why Should We Care?

• More frequent, intense storms
• Changes in species habitat ranges
• Endangerment/extinction of some species
• Mosquitoes and other pests increase in number and
  live in more places
• Crop yields may suffer, affecting food supply
  worldwide

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Why Should We Care?

• A warmer climate makes moisture evaporate more
  quickly, causing more damaging and costly
  droughts in some areas and heavier rains in
  others.
• Warmer land and sea temperatures will result in
  more severe tornadoes and hurricanes.

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Why Should We Care?

• People living in coastal areas would have to
  relocate houses or spend hundreds of millions of
  dollars per year on projects to hold back the
  sea.
• Opportunities to enjoy hunting and fishing could
  dwindle as habitats in certain parts of the
  country change before the fish and wildlife that
  live there have a chance to adapt.

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Why Should We Care?

• Variations in water temperature could affect fish
  populations.
• Small temperature fluctuations can make a big
  difference. In the last Ice Age, annual global
  temperatures averaged roughly 9ºF colder than
  today.

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How Can We Help?

• Drive less
• Curb energy consumption at home
• Make your home more energy efficient
• Plant trees they absorb carbon dioxide
• Buy fuel-efficient cars
• Reduce, reuse, recycle

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What Have We Done?

• Many new homes and buildings use EPAs Energy
  Star features. They are up to 30 more energy
  efficient than standard designs. Even older
  homes can be upgraded to become 20 more energy
  efficient.
• Wind power provides enough electricity to power
  4.5 million homes in the U.S.
• Sources
• Energy Star (www.energystar.gov), American Wind
  Energy Association (www.awea.org)

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What Have We Done?

• The average new vehicle sold in the U.S. today
  gets twice as many miles per gallon as new cars
  did in 1973.
• Many consumers and businesses are starting to
  rely on vehicles that run efficiently on
  electricity, solar power or compressed natural
  gas.

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What Have We Done?

• Thousands of companies have cut their energy
  consumption by using energy-efficient lighting.
• Landfill Gas to Energy projects across the
  country are capturing methane and using it to
  generate electricity and boiler steam for space
  heating or converting it to natural gas or fuel
  for vehicles.

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Sources of Clean Energy

• Solar harnesses energy from the sun to heat our
  homes and provide hot water.
• Geothermal taps into natural reservoirs of
  steam and hot water underground and draws them to
  the surface to use as heat or to generate
  electricity for home or industrial uses.

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Sources of Clean Energy

• Biomass employs crops and trees specifically
  grown as fuel sources or converts waste products
  from agricultural crops, forests and municipal
  solid waste into liquid and gas fuels used for
  heat or electricity generation.
• Wind uses modern wind-capturing turbines to
  generate electricity.

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For more information

• The Climate Registry http//www.scdhec.gov/environ
  ment/baq/climateregistry.aspx
• EPA Climate Change Website http//www.epa.gov/clim
  atechange