Global warming
Extreme weather, species becoming extinct and islands disappearing - climate change is serious for both humans and the nature around us. What exactly is global warming, and why is this happening now?
What is global warming?
Global warming means that the air in the atmosphere, which is a gas layer around the earth, is becoming warmer. This affects the whole planet, and every living being on the planet. In 4.5 million years, our planet has changed a lot. There have been both ice ages and warmer periods. The difference now is that this change is happening very quickly. Since 1880 the atmosphere has become about 0.8°C warmer. Before the end of the 2000s, temperatures may have risen by as much as 2-4 °C.
⬅ Many of the world’s largest rivers are about to dry up due to climate change, such as in Australia.
The difference between climate change and global warming
Global warming is the reason for the climate changes we are experiencing today. It is the continuous warming of planet Earth. The rise in temperature throughout the 20th century has been proven. Global warming is caused by the build-up of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere.
Climate change covers many different things that happen because of global warming. There could, for example, be rising sea levels, melting glaciers, changes in major weather patterns and in the length of the seasons. Climate change is caused by global warming.
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Why is this happening?
The climate change on our planet is partly because of natural causes, such as variations in solar radiation and volcanic activity. But it is also happening because of the burning of fossil fuels such as coal. This lets out more greenhouse gases, which are trapped in the earth’s atmosphere.
How does it work?
Greenhouse gases prevent heat from escaping from the atmosphere. This causes more acidic sea water, extreme weather, a thinner ozone layer, higher temperatures, melting glaciers and sea ice, rising sea levels and much more.
What can happen?
If greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced, the temperature of the earth could rise by 4°C and sea levels could rise by 26-82 cm by the year 2100. Some countries will get too much water, while others will not get enough. With the rise of 2°C, the sea could flood the homes of 280 million people.
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The greenhouse effect
The earth’s surface temperature of 15 °C is controlled by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, also known as the climate gases. They soak up radiation from the sun. These gases are like a blanket of heat around the earth. If they disappeared, the planet would freeze, but with too much gas, it becomes too hot.
We can compare the layer of greenhouse gases to the glass in a greenhouse: the sun heats the air inside the glass during the day and makes for good growing conditions for plants. At night, some of the heat is let out into the outside air again, and the greenhouse cools down.
Greenhouse gases
The most important greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere are water steam (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrogen dioxide (N2O), fluorine gases (such as CFCs, PFKs and SF6) and ozone (O3). All of these are natural gases, and water steam makes up 95 percent of greenhouse gases.
Enhanced effect
Greenhouse gases in the right amounts keep the earth warm enough for life. But with a stronger greenhouse effect, too much CO2 (from fossil fuels) escapes into the atmosphere. This causes more of the sun’s heat to be trapped in the atmosphere and the earth to heat up.
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What is methane?
We need energy
Even if we stopped releasing greenhouse gases today, the earth would still become warmer for hundreds of years to come. It is not possible to ban all fossil fuels, but it is possible for us to become less dependent on them. At the same time, we need to be using more renewable energy such as solar and wind energy. We must also find new types of energy and store more CO2. There are always new inventions, for example in Spain, the world’s first solar tower gives electricity to 94,000 homes. It saves emissions of 114,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.
Up until about 3,000 years ago, people burned wood, which is renewable. After this, wood was replaced with coal, which is a non-renewable fossil fuel. During and after the industrial revolution, which started in 1750, the need for fossil fuel increased. People were living longer, and as a result there were more people on the planet. Today, fossil fuels account for 85% of all energy. Only 15% comes from biofuels, biomass, wind power and solar energy.
Oil is probably the most commonly used fossil fuel. There are around 500 offshore oil rigs in the world. They produce almost 90 million barrels of raw oil per day.
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Did you know that…
…nuclear power does not emit a lot of greenhouse gases, but its fuel, uranium, can be extremely dangerous to use? An example of this is what happened at the Fukushima Power Plant in Japan when it was damaged by an earthquake in 2011. Life-threatening substances were spread over a large area and the disaster caused enormous environmental damage to the surrounding area.
The sea is changing
About 70 percent of the earth’s surface is covered by oceans. It is no wonder that it is called the ‘blue planet’. Despite each of our oceans having their own names, they are actually one large ocean. All life on earth is dependent on the ocean for survival. The ocean controls the climate, it absorbs 95% of solar radiation, drives the water cycle, gives food to millions of people and much more. Global warming is serious for our ocean. If sea levels continue to rise, eight of the world’s largest cities could be flooded.
Ocean acidification – what is it?
The ocean’s chemistry changes so that the water becomes sourer. It is normal for the ocean to absorb CO2, but due to there being more CO2 in the atmosphere than before, the ocean will absorb more than usual. Water (H2O) and CO2 combine to form carbonic acid (H2CO3). This is an acid that makes the ocean more sour.
For 300 million years the ocean had a pH of about 8.2, but from the 19th century onward it has had a PH of 8.1. In time, all sea creatures from plankton and above will be affected. Corals and shellfish are especially vulnerable because their calcareous shell can dissolve.
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What is Ocean Acidification?
Sea animals in danger
The sea has only warmed up by 1°C, but this is enough to cause the death of many sea creatures. Habitats in the sea respond more slowly to global warming than habitats on land. The consequences, on the other hand, are far more serious. We see starving polar bears that have to swim long distances between spread ice blocks to hunt for seals. At the other end of the food chain, warmer oceans make good living conditions for plankton. To adjust to the new conditions in the sea, many species move to new places. If this opportunity is lost, they may die out.
Did you know that…
…the melting of drifting ice that floats on the sea does not contribute to the rise of sea levels? The sea will only rise when the ice in glaciers, ice caps and inland ice melts.
The land is changing
Global warming and climate change have caused the greatest damage in the Arctic, Antarctica, Alaska and in the northern regions of Canada and Russia. But the effects can be seen across the whole planet. Landscapes and habitats have changed. The most serious change is that fresh water sources are drying up because of the lack of rain. In Los Alamos, Mexico, the pine trees were so stressed by the drought in 2002-2003 that they were attacked by bark beetles. Nine out of ten pine trees died.
Disappearing islands
In 2016 we learnt that five of the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean had disappeared. The sea levels had risen by 20 cm in 20 years. The sea level is rising because the ice is melting and the water expands because of the heat. Other island states, such as Kiribati and the Marshall Islands are also at risk of the same fate.
Permafrost
Global warming has had the greatest impact on the earth’s coldest places. The permafrost – a 200-650-metre-thick layer of frozen ground has begun to melt. This has resulted in the ground collapsing under forests and cities, and the CO2 that has been stored in the ground is released into the atmosphere.
Desertification
When fertile land becomes desert, it is called desertification. This can mainly be blamed on droughts and cutting down forests. A further reason could be poor farming methods. Desertification leads to hunger disasters and to the extinction of species.
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Land animals in danger
The first animals to suffer because of climate change are those that do well in the cold. To escape the heat, many animals will leave both food and the breeding grounds of their natural habitats. In new locations, new predators, lack of food and dangerous diseases can threaten them. Researchers think that only 4 percent of the world’s animals and plants will benefit from climate change. The rest will have to move to new locations or become extinct. In 2009 the Bramble Cay rat in Australia became the first animal to become extinct due to climate change.
What will happen to us?
Humans need air, water, food, shelter and sleep to survive. It is precisely these human needs that climate change threatens to destroy.
Water shortage
La Paz in Bolivia is likely to become the first capital city in the world that will be more or less abandoned due to a lack of fresh water since the supply of meltwater from the glaciers has drastically become lower. Fresh water will become the world’s most valuable resource. This is likely to lead to conflicts and deaths.
Economic loss
As well as people dying, extreme weather can cause damages worth billions. It can mess up trade, industry and food production, resulting in many people losing their livelihood. This can also lead to people escaping to less exposed areas, causing overpopulation of these areas.
Dying crops
Climate change can have extreme consequences that can be hard to imagine. For example, it can result in there being too much water, or too little water, or temperatures being either too high or too low. This can lead to poor harvests or destroy the harvest completely. A lot of CO2 in the air means that some crops such as wheat are no longer as nutritious as they should be.
What is being done?
All over the world, intensive work is being done to find solutions to the problems caused by climate change. It is a huge task, which will need people, businesses, producers, energy companies and world leaders to think in new ways. They are often faced with resistance since fighting global warming requires thorough research, major efforts from environmental organisations, better technology and new laws. But the most important thing of all is the will to make a real change.
What does it mean to be carbon neutral?
Being carbon neutral is when the carbon released into the atmosphere is the same amount as the carbon saved using renewable energy, tree planting or carbon storage.
Carbon neutral places:
Vatican City in Italy, Ta’u in the South Pacific, the island of Samsø in Denmark.
Places that have committed to becoming carbon neutral:
British Columbia (Canadian province), Costa Rica in Central America, the Maldives in South Asia, Tuvalu in the South Pacific, Copenhagen (the capital of Denmark), Norway, Iceland and Sweden.
Being carbon negative means that more carbon is absorbed that is emitted.
Carbon negative countries:
Bhutan in South Asia
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Sources:
- Vår fantastiske planet (2017)
Orage Forlag AS
- Hofstad, Knut; Rosvold, Knut A.: Fukushima – kjernekraftulykke i Store norske leksikon på snl.no. Hentet 27. april 2022 fra https://snl.no/Fukushima_-_kjernekraftulykke
- NRK (10.06.2020)
nrk.no/skole
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Wageningen Livestock Research – YouTube
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Action for the Climate Emergency – YouTube
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