1. Climate Change

2. History of the E arth  4,56 billion years old  ‘snowball earth’  Glacial periods  Interglacial periods  The peak of the last ice age was about 18, 000 years ago

4.  The Greenhouse Effect is natural  Without it the earth would be too cold to support life  The problem is the greenhouse effect is getting stronger because of our overuse of fossil fuels

5. Greenhouse Gases (GHG) Volcanic gases The effect of methane is 30 times stronger than CO2. Too much greenhouse gas in the atmosphere and the earth could be unlivable for humans. Carbon dioxideC02 MethaneCH4 Nitrous oxide (laughing gas)N20 Chlorine fluor carbons (CFC’s)CCl 2 F 2, CHClF 2, ….

6. Facts  The earth is now the warmest it has been in 2 million years  CO2 concentration is increasing rapidly

7. CO2  55% of what people produce gets absorbed by nature (oceans, forest)  The rest remains in the atmosphere and is responsible for global warming.

8.  A stronger greenhouse effect is nothing new for this planet. But it is new that its caused by people! Relativities are not an excuse for non- environmentally conscious living.

9.  The past 10.000 years, the most important activity of the human being is pollution  1970’s → noticable increase in extreme climate change → due to the influence of man  The world average temperature has already risen 1 degree  The temperature is likely to rise from 3-5 degrees Celsius this century

10. Albedo → Reflection of sunlight back into space  Albedo of the earth is 30 %  Ice floes 50 – 80 %  Rainforests and deserts 10 – 20 %  Forest 5 – 10 %  Grasslands 20 – 25 %  Ocean in the morning, evening 3 – 5 %  Ocean at noon 50 – 80 %

11. Consequences  Melting of the ice caps

12. Consequences  Loss of environment essential to many species including polar bears

13. Consequences  Sea levels rise → two mechanisms: 1. Water expands when it’s warmer 2. The melting of the ice caps and land ice

14. The Netherlands

15. Consequences  Desertification → logging and forest fires → agriculture productivity decreases

16. Consequences  Extinction of species → animals and plants can’t adapt fast enough

17. Extinction of species

18. Consequences  Migration of tropical plants and animals to temperate areas → piranha → barracuda → malaria

19. Consequences  Stronger hurricanes  More rainfall  More floods  Early flowering of plants