Human causes of climate change

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  • Created on: 14-03-17 10:54
Causes of Global Warming
The most important greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor. While all these gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, emissions from human sources has caused their levels to rise.
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Human CO2 Increase: Burning Fossil Fuels:
Burning coal to generate electricity, burning oil to power vehicles and aircraft, or burning wood in fires used for cooking or to provide heat, etc. changes the state of stored organic carbon from a liquid or solid into a gas.
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Human CO2 Increase: Deforestation:
Vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, converting this to carbon which is stored within all plants (i.e it is a carbon sink). When vegetation is burned, this organic carbon is released into the atmosphere.
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Human methane increase: Decomposing organic matter:
Landfills, animal waste, sewerage and dams are all human sources of methane and can be released into the atmosphere.
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Human methane increase: Natural gas extraction
Methane escapes during oil and gas extraction (e.g. fracking) operations and is released into the atmosphere.
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Nitrous Oxide
Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas that is released primarily by fertilizers used in agriculture and landscaping, but also during the burning of fossil fuels and other organic matter.
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Water Vapor
Water is essential for life, and as it is constantly cycling from one state to another, the most abundant of all the greenhouse gases. human emissions promote atmospheric warming, which in turn promote evaporation that results in more water vapor in.
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Chlorofluorocarbons
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are long-lasting greenhouse gases that also destroy the ozone layer. CFCs do not occur naturally in the atmosphere – they are synthetic compounds that only originate from human sources, including: aerosols...
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Burning coal to generate electricity, burning oil to power vehicles and aircraft, or burning wood in fires used for cooking or to provide heat, etc. changes the state of stored organic carbon from a liquid or solid into a gas.

Back

Human CO2 Increase: Burning Fossil Fuels:

Card 3

Front

Vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, converting this to carbon which is stored within all plants (i.e it is a carbon sink). When vegetation is burned, this organic carbon is released into the atmosphere.

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Landfills, animal waste, sewerage and dams are all human sources of methane and can be released into the atmosphere.

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

Methane escapes during oil and gas extraction (e.g. fracking) operations and is released into the atmosphere.

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
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