Threats to Biodiversity Climate Change Chapter 43 Threats to Biodiversity Climate Change
You Must Know How human actions are changing the Earth.
Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change One pressing problem caused by human activities is the rising concentration of atmospheric CO2 due to the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation
CO2 concentration (ppm) Figure 43.26 14.9 390 14.8 380 14.7 14.6 370 Temperature 14.5 360 14.4 CO2 concentration (ppm) 350 14.3 Average global temperature (C) 14.2 14.2 340 14.1 CO2 330 14.0 Figure 43.26 Increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, and average global temperatures Climatologists can make inferences about prehistoric climates. CO2 levels are inferred from bubbles trapped in glacial ice. Chemical isotope analysis is used to infer past temperature. 13.9 320 13.8 310 13.7 300 13.6 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Year 4
https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/
CO2, water vapor, and other greenhouse gases reflect infrared radiation back toward Earth; this is the greenhouse effect. This effect is important for keeping Earth’s surface at a habitable temperature. Increasing concentration of atmospheric CO2 is linked to increasing global temperature.
http://time.com/5559516/netflix-our-planet-glacier-david- attenborough/
Organisms are adapted to the environment in which their ancestors evolved.
Figure 43.27 Many organisms, especially plants, may not be able to disperse rapidly enough to survive rapid climate change. Researchers can track changes in tree distributions since the last period of glaciation to help infer future changes due to climatic warming (a) Current range (b) 4.5C warming over next century (c) 6.5C warming over next century Current range and predicted range for the American beech under two climate-change scenarios 9
Climate Change Solutions Global warming can be slowed by reducing energy needs and converting to renewable sources of energy. Reduced deforestation would also decrease greenhouse gas emissions.