Research on Climate Change (Dominic)

Introduction

I am a student of Maris Stellla high school doing a research on Climate Changes. We were supposed to choose a topic and find out more about it. After researching, we were supposed to choose a product that we want to make and present about our finding.

My group name is V Formation and my group members are (Dominic SS),(Jun Rong), (Jun Xiang), (Brendan Tan) and (Gregory Tay). We have chosen Global warming for the main topic, and how greenhouse gases contribute to it for the sub topic. As for our product, we have decided to do a comic strip to educate the public more about global warming and research paper to educate the public about what we have found out during the project.

Findings

What is green house effect?

Energy from the sun drives the earth's weather and climate, and heats the earth's surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse.

What caused Global warming?

Natural changes in climate take place over many years; this allows animals and plants to adapt to new environments. Scientists have discovered that the earth’s temperature is increasing too rapidly and that’s due to the amount of Carbon Dioxide that is released in to the atmosphere.

The primary factors underlying environmental degradation include: economic growth, broad technological changes, demographic shifts and governance structures. These can give rise to:

Increased demand for natural resources and energy

Market imperfections, e.g., subsidies that lead to the inefficient use of resources and act as a barrier to the market penetration of climate sound technologies; the lack of recognition of the true value of natural resources; failure to appropriate the global values of natural resources to the local level; and the failure to internalize the social costs of environmental degradation into the market price of a resource

Limited availability and transfer of technology, inefficient use of technologies, and inadequate investment in research and development for the technologies of the future

–Failure to manage adequately the use of natural resources and energy

The sun’s rays penetrate our atmosphere and keep the planet warm. Unfortunately because the Earth’s big gassy blanket is so thick, no heat can escape. The Earth retains the suns heat causing the planet to warm up more quickly than it should.

What is Global Warming?

The Earths surface temperature has been slowly increasing for the last 15,000 years, since the last Ice age.

Global warming simply refers to an increase in temperature of the Earths surface.

What are some solutions for reducing the impact of transportation on climate change?

Effect of global warming

Scientists believe that the increased levels of carbon dioxide could cause increased temperatures, changed weather patterns, and rising sea levels.

Other Greenhouse gases include: methane, nitrous oxides, water vapor, and chlorofluorocarbons.

The amount of carbon in the atmosphere has increased by 31% since the start of the industrial revolution in 1750. Levels of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere are at record highs (higher than any level over the past 420,000 years). Furthermore, the 1990s was the warmest decade since the start of reliable temperature data, possibly the warmest decade in the last 1,000 years.

Most scientists have looked at the increase in greenhouse gas levels, coupled with rising average surface temperatures and decreasing snow and ice coverage, as evidence of the effects of “anthropogenic greenhouse gases” (Source: Third IPCC Report).

The impacts of global warming could have severe consequences for human activities. Many of the consequences have environmental, economic, and health impacts. The changed temperatures and weather patterns can disrupt farming practices across nations, making areas that were once fertile no longer suitable for crop production. Changing temperatures might allow for the spread of tropical diseases, such as malaria, into areas that were at one time too cold to provide a suitable environment in which the disease could thrive. The increased temperatures could lead to heat waves that could threaten at-risk populations (especially the elderly, children, and the sick. As an example, consider the heat waves that hit France in the summer of 2003 and the heat waves in India). Rising sea levels could flood coastal cities. Changed weather patterns and increased temperatures might make natural catastrophes, such as hurricanes, more frequent and more severe. These last two impacts have the potential to cause a great deal of economic damage to the world’s economies. From an environmental standpoint, the changed climate patterns could disrupt the natural habitats of various species that may lead to certain extinctions.

The effect of a change in the weather on plant growth may lead to some countries not having enough food. Brazil, parts of Africa, Southeast Asia and China will be affected the most and many people could suffer from hunger.

Higher sea levels will threaten the low-lying coastal areas of the world, such as the Netherlands and Bangladesh. Throughout the world, millions of people and areas of land will be at danger from flooding. Many people will have to leave their homes and large areas of farmland will be ruined because of floods. In Britain, East Anglia and the Thames estuary will be at risk from the rising sea.

Global average temperatures are expected to increase by about 2-13°F (1-7°C) by the end of the century. That may not sound like a lot, so what’s the big deal? The problem is that small changes in global average temperature can lead to really large changes in the environment. Let’s look at some of the expected changes.

The main tools for both past and present climate analyses are computer climate models. Much like the models used to forecast weather, climate models simulate the climate system with a 3-dimensional grid that extends through the land, ocean, and atmosphere. The grid may have 10 to 60 different levels in the atmosphere and surface grid spacing of about 60 by 90 miles (100 by 150 km)—the size of Connecticut. The models perform trillions of calculations that describe changes in many climate factors in the grid

Sea-level rise projections: a few inches to a few feet

•2 ft: U.S. would lose 10,000 square miles

•3 ft: Would inundate Miami

•Affects erosion, loss of wetlands, freshwater supplies

•Half of the world’s population lives along coasts

Big question: Ice sheets

How to prevent global warming?

There are lots of things each one of us can do to help combat Global Warming. You can start by always switching lights off when you leave a room.

•Currently, the production of hydrogen fuel uses fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are used to separate hydrogen from the other atoms that it is bonded with—a process called electrolysis. When scientists discover a way to power electrolysis with alternative forms of energy -- such as hydro, wind, solar, or biomass sources -- hydrogen has the potential to be renewable and free of emissions at both the consumption and production ends.

•Hydrogen is the ideal fuel for fuel cells. These cells convert chemicals directly into electricity with a high level of efficiency. Fuel cells are already being used for military purposes and space flights; further research is needed before they are economically competitive with the existing technology.

•Hydrogen fuel cells produce water vapor as their byproduct—they are a very clean source of fuel. Disadvantages: Hydrogen fuel cells are currently handicapped by a high cost, the need for large storage containers to hold the hydrogen on the vehicle, the difficulty of obtaining pure hydrogen, and the challenge of undergoing electrolysis (splitting the hydrogen atoms) by efficiently using alternative fuel sources.

Ethanol is produced from fermented corn. Most cars with little engine modification to reduce ghg emissions can use ethanol blends—gasoline plus 5-20% ethanol—. However, the procedure to produce ethanol is very energy intensive and requires the use of fossil fuels. Several transit agencies have experimented with ethanol buses. Their results prove that the buses consume more fuel and end up costing too much. The buses consume more fuel because the energy content of ethanol is lower than regular fuels. The high cost makes it unlikely that ethanol will ever become a widely used alternative for conventional fuel.

Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and our use of fossil fuels will not be easy, but it is doable. Here’s how some researchers at Princeton view it.

Our current path is toward doubling CO₂ emissions in the next 50 years, with even greater increases beyond that. In order to get off this path, we need to find ways to keep emissions constant for the next 50 years and then reduce them during the second half of the century. This would [9] limit atmospheric CO₂ to about 570 ppm—still greater than the roughly 380 ppm in the atmosphere today, but enough to avoid the worst predicted consequences.

A majority (60%) of carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation sector come from personal vehicle use. Encouraging the use and development of public transportation reduces the number of cars on the road and reduces total greenhouse gas emissions.

Many communities do not carefully plan for growth. Carefully planned growth should take into account transportation options so that public transit and alternative forms of transportation can access the neighborhoods easily. Also, neighborhoods should heed the need to use transportation. Businesses, stores, and homes can all be located in the same area, often connected by bike paths and walkways. These planned neighborhoods use land efficiently; because of this, it is possible to drive direct routes (this reduces the amount of fuel wasted and thus reduces the amount of overall GHGs released).

If you are going to drive, don’t drive alone. By sharing a ride, you get to have company and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by limiting the number of cars on the road.

By making sure your car is in tip-top shape, you can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Cars that are well kept increase fuel efficiency.

New technologies provide another way to reduce emissions. Currently, research is focused on replacing petroleum-based fuels and increasing fuel efficiencies.

Once individuals are aware of how their transportation choices contribute to global climate change, hopefully they will change their habits to reduce emissions.

Most of the rubbish we throw away can be recycled, such as glass bottles and jars, steel and aluminium cans, plastic bottles and waste paper.

Recycling used materials uses less energy than making new ones.

Ask your parents if you have Energy Saving Bulbs in your house, they last much longer than ordinary household bulbs and use much less energy so they are better for the environment.

•Switch lights off when you leave the room.

•Don’t leave anything on standby.

•Walk rather than use the car when possible.

•Cycle more, use you body’s own energy.

•Recycle as much as possible.

To switch equipment off properly it needs to be turned off at the plug.

When you switch off the television with the remote control your TV

Automatically goes into standby or ‘sleep mode’. In ‘sleep mode’ the

TV is still using electricity even though you aren’t watching it.

Of course, you don’t have to take transit or drive to travel from one place to another. Sometimes, the old fashioned methods work out the best in the end anyway. Walking, biking, rollerblading, skateboarding, and other similar activities have almost no impact on the environment. They also have substantial health benefits. Just make sure that you do it safely! For people who live in areas that lack public transportation, walking or biking is a great alternative for individuals who do not want to rely on a personal car. These old fashioned gentlemen were eco-friendly before it was hip to be “green.”

Unplug appliances or plug into a power strip and switch it off

Buy water-saving appliances and toilets; installing low-flow shower heads.

Alcohols can be blended with petroleum fuels as “replacement” fuels this is sometimes called gasohol. No infrastructure change is thus necessary for alcohol. It is compatible with the ubiquitous existing fuel distribution and retailing systems and thus does not have to overcome the transitional barriers faced by alternative fuels.

Public transportation releases fewer greenhouse gas emissions into the air per person than driving does.

§Taking a train or bus is much cheaper than owning a car, and you don’t have to find a parking space once you get to your destination!

Compressed natural gas has been successfully used by transit agencies in New York and Los Angeles. It is gaining popularity across the country because it reduces the emissions of particulate matter and nitrous oxides—two air pollutants that cause much of the urban air pollution. However, CNG may not be effective at reducing GHGs. First of all, CNG’s buses tend to be less efficient than diesel, requiring them to consume more fuel. They are also heavier (CNG requires a heavier fuel tank to keep natural gas pressurized), which again means that they consume more fuel. And most importantly, there is an increase in methane emissions. Methane, a GHG, is much more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Therefore, a decrease in CO₂ emissions can be offset by a very small increase in methane emissions. Transit agencies view CNG as a transitional fuel choice; the most promising replacements for CNG buses are hybrid-electric buses.