Greenhouse gases climate change all that

they maintain the temperature of the Earth, and allows the Earth to be warm enough to support life

• carbon dioxide • water vapour • methane

• they absorb heat radiated from the Earth • they then release energy in all directions, which keeps the Earth warm enough to support life

• energy from the sun travels to the Earth as short wavelength radiation like UV or visible light • some of the short wavelength radiation simply reflects back into space but most of it passes easily through the atmosphere • The energy of the radiation is absorbed when it reaches the surface of the earth • the surface of the earth now radiates the energy as long wavelength radiation such as infared • the energy in the long wavelength radiation is absorbed • because the energy is trapped in the atmosphere, this causes the temperature of the atmosphere to increase

• deforestation land for grazing cattle • burning fossil fuels coal for electricity, petrol and diesel to power cars, gas to heat out homes

• agriculture - growing rice in paddy fields, methanes also released when cows pass wind • landfills

peer review

because it’s so complex, and there are so many variables, so its hard to make a model that isn’t oversimplified, and this leads to speculation

where stories may be biased or only some of the information is given

• polar ice caps melting, causing a rise in sea levels, causing increased flooding in coastal areas and coastal erosion • changes in rainfall pattern may cause regions to have too much or too little water, may affect ability to produce food • frequency and severity of storms may increase • changes in temperature and water available in a habitat may affect wild species • increasing temperatures could change the distribution of animals such as insects and could change the distribution of insect bourse diseases such as malaria

because short wavelength radiation does not interact strongly with the gas molecules in the atmosphere

• coal for electricity • petrol and diesel to power cars • gas to heat homes

because more of the energy from the sun is being trapped

the carbon footprint is the total amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted over the full life cycle of a product, service or event

• insulating our homes • turning down heating • use public transport as they release less co2 per passenger • ## use renewable electricity sources like solar power

• most of the solutions are expensive, people are reluctant to pay • some are inconvenient, people would rather drive than take public transport

• eat less beef and dairy products • trapping methane released by landfills and burning it to produce electricity

• people enjoy eating meat and dairy and are probably unlikely to change their diet • trapping and burning methane costs money

methane is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than co2

things that release energy when they are combusted (burned)

• coal • hydrocarbons

the carbon and hydrogen atoms react with oxygen in the air (they are oxidised)

combustion that gives us co2 and water vapour as a product

we make carbon monoxide rather than CO2, as there is not enough oxygen