Homework Research different views on climate change What are the different arguments over climate change? Which are valid?

Lesson objectives: To assess the implications of climate change Key terms: Water vapor Scenarios Thermohaline circulation Positive feedback

Describe the patterns shown in the graph

Highest rate of temperature change in late 20 th – 21 st century 1990s warmest decade on record Most increases in the mid and high latitudes of northern hemisphere Argument that human activity has significantly increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

Recap of the GHGs What are the contributors and impacts of: Carbon dioxide Methane Nitrous oxides Chloroflorocarbons Ozone Describe and explain figure 3.4 on p55

Water vapour, albedo, methane

Alternative views most climate-change skeptics do concede the planet is warming Instead, they debate the cause, its potential impact, and whether human intervention can affect it. some sceptics believe those who blame the warming of the planet on human activity are alarmists They believe environmentalists use catastrophic climate change to place nature over the needs of people and force the switch from fossil fuels to alternative energy sources, and tends toward "big- government intervention."alarmists Most debate centres around: Are people responsible for the warming trend? What impact will more warming will have on the planet? Can anything be done about it?

Some of the scepticism comes from suggestions that there may be flaws in the IPCC data such as projecting Himalayan glaciers could melt by 2035 They have also questioned the accuracy of some of the climate models.

Consequences Thermal expansion - 3mm per year Increased acidity – more CO2 absorbed creating carbonic acid – impacts on coral Ice caps and glaciers melting Peat bog thawing Food Water Ecosystems Extreme weather Use p 152 – 154 and annotate onto to your world map

On a post it write down one question that you have about atmospheric change