BODY PARAGRAPHS
NATURAL CAUSES
One major argument of climate change doubters is the fact that there are many natural factors such as Volcanic eruptions and Movements of crustal plates which can naturally emit greenhouse gasses and/or affect global circulation patterns of air and ocean water, these natural causes “although natural” still have effect on the increasing problem of climate change.
Volcanic eruption
Volcanic eruptions have a huge discharge of Carbon dioxide (CO2) this is a problem as C02 has contributed more than any driver to climate change between 1750 and 2011. CO2 Is considered as an insulator which is 2x better than oxygen (O2), CO2 also can stay in the atmosphere for up to a whopping 200 years. This mixture of an insulator and its long atmospheric life combined with 60 volcanic eruptions per year (on average) can lead to large amounts of heat and irregular weather patterns. Eruptions also emit aerosols such as volcanic ash or dust, and sulfur dioxide. Aerosols are liquids and solids that float around in the air and can scatter incoming solar radiation.
Movements of tectonic plates
As tectonic plates move, landmasses are carried along to different positions and new land forms are made. The movement of tectonic plates happens because they are floating on liquid mantle which is being moved by convection currents. When tectonic plated move it generally causes a change in ocean currents which in turn generates more heat as the warm water from the tropics won’t be transported to the poles and the cold water from the poles won’t be transported to the tropics therefore deregulating global climate. Tectonic movement also creates volcanic explosions which increase the CO2 in the atmosphere in turn leading to warmer temperatures.
ANTHROPOGENIC CAUSES
Humans involvement with climate change is the main reason why today were experiencing irregular weather patterns and a constant changing climate. The main human factor to climate change is the large amount of greenhouse gasses that we emit buy doing things such as burning fossil fuels.
Coal burning power plants
Burning fossil fuels to produce electricity is the largest source of CO2 output producing up to two billion tones every year. CO2 is known as a heat trapping pollution; this pollution can last for years to centuries in the atmosphere and with our power plants emitting anywhere up to two tonnes of CO2 per year it is starting showing visible effects of climate change in the form of global warming. The pollution from burning coal also leads to acid rain, which kills fish and plants and damages soils, this heavily detriments our agricultural future and can lead to bigger short-term problems
Land use change
land use change is the act of a human changing using the land for something that it wasn’t intended for, this can include things such as mining and deforestation.
Deforestation
Deforestation affects climate change in many ways. An example is that when a large body of trees (such as a rainforest) is cut down and replaced with crops the immediate change is that less transpiration takes place. This in turn leads to warmer temperatures as there is less rainfall. With less rainfall irrigation of the crops will dry out the soil as there is not enough rainfall, this makes the land dry and heats up the area. Cutting down trees also emits CO2 and less trees means there is less CO2 being absorbed and less O2 being produced.
Coal Mining
Coal mining has large impacts on the ongoing cause of climate change. Coal mining produces large amounts of greenhouse gasses mostly in the form of CO2. You might be wondering how just digging a hole will emit CO2 into our atmosphere, well in order to make a mine sight they must prepare the area, this means that there will be mass deforestation, as I said earlier when a tree is cut down the CO2 from the tree is released and there is no longer an even balance of O2 production and CO2 consumption. When the mine site has been cleared the digging, work requires large diesel trucks which produce large amounts of greenhouse gasses.
CONSEQUENSIS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
The consequences of climate change are seen in our everyday life from that really hot winter to the ridiculous flooding during the summer. Although there are many consequences to climate change I will be discussing the environmental consequences that we face due to climate change and how that affects us humans.
1. Rising temperatures
In 2020 the average temperature will be 1.5 degrees hotter than in 1990. This may not seem like a large difference but this small change in temperatures will result in more days which are 35 degrees or higher. This means that we are at more risk of natural disasters such as droughts and bush fires. Not only will we be at more risk of these events but they will also be more catastrophic and can lead to large downfalls in our agricultural sectors and more homes or lives will be lost to uncontrollable fires. These rising temperatures also means that when it rains it will be more intense for a longer duration leading to mass flooding.
2. Acidic oceans
As we produce greenhouse gasses the ocean absorbs all of these gasses, this makes the ocean acidic. Although this might not sound like a problem it is, acidic water can kill plankton, krill, crabs, coral and all sea creatures with external shells or skeletons. All these animals are vital to the ecosystem and with them extinct there will be many other animals to become extinct too.