1. The Basics of Global Climate Change

2. What is Climate? Climate is multi-year pattern of temperature, wind and precipitation…weather is day-t0-day conditions, climate is simply long-term weather. Climate varies with geography. Climate happens in the atmosphere. Overview of the Earth's atmosphere Overview of the Earth's atmosphere Climate affects the land masses, the oceans, and all the organisms.

3. The Greenhouse Effect Earth’s atmosphere acts as a blanket to keep heat from radiating away into space. This natural process modulates temperatures and minimizes extremes, making the Earth habitable for life as we know it. It is the composition of the atmosphere which produces this effect. Dry air is composed of: Nitrogen 78.1 %, Oxygen 20.9 %, Argon 0.9%, Carbon Dioxide 0.03%, Others (Ne, CH 4, He, Kr, H 2, Xe, O 3 ) 0.07 % The amount of water vapor in the air is variable. Only some of these gases are responsible for the greenhouse effect.

4. Greenhouse Effect http://www.global-greenhouse-warming.com

5. Greenhouse Effect What is albedo and how does it affect the warming trend? Polar Ice Caps vs. Open Ocean Equilibrium? Positive Feedback Loops Melting Ice Dissolved CO 2

6. Greenhouse Gases The primary greenhouse gases are: Water Vapor Carbon Dioxide Methane Nitrous Oxides

7. The Carbon Cycle What are carbon sinks?

8. Global Carbon Cycle (Billion Metric Tons Carbon)

9. Carbon Dioxide Emissions

10. Carbon Dioxide Emissions U.S. Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Gas, 2006 (Million Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent)

11. Carbon Footprint http://www.carbonfootprint.com

12. Emission Mitigation & Carbon Offsets We can reduce our carbon footprint by two methods: Reduce our direct or indirect emitting activities Purchase or invest in Carbon Offsets Reforestation projects (i.e. planting trees) Investing in clean, renewable energy sources (wind, water, solar, geothermal, biomass) The Goal is CARBON NEUTRALITY