FIONTAR - 2012 Sustainability Can I Make a Difference?

FIONTAR - 2012Sustainability

Can I Make a Difference?

What is the controversy all about?

Tackling some of the myths

Using energy is bad. Year 10 student 2012

When are we going to see the effects of it so people can see there is a problem?

Year 10 student 2011

Carbon dioxide is bad Professor of Mining Geology, Uni of Adelaide Ian

Plimer, scientist and Climate change sceptic

“Carbon dioxide cannot be measured”. Tony Abbott,

Our Current Global Concerns? Hotter temperatures

Water Shortage & Droughts

Cyclones & Floods

Forests being cut down

Pollution

Rising Sea levels

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSmN8Eq4qEg

Melting glaciers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fLG2AoOYgY

Biodiversity

http://vimeo.com/7592397

Our Current Global Concerns?

Climate ChangeThe controversy

A long-term change in the earth's climate, especially a change due to an increase in the average atmospheric temperature

Dictionary.com

George Monbiot vs. Ian Plimer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEsygjXunTs

http://shipbright.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/climate-change-epilogue-making-sense-of-it-all/

Climate ChangeThe scientific evidence

A long-term change in the earth's climate, especially a change due to an increase in the average atmospheric temperature

Dictionary.com

http://shipbright.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/climate-change-epilogue-making-sense-of-it-all/

Our Air is Made Up of: Nitrogen 78.08% Oxygen 20.95% Argon 0.93% Carbon Dioxide 0.038% Other Gases 0.002%

Neon, Helium, Methane, Krypton,

Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide, Xenon

www.bbc.co.uk/.../6_clean_air1.shtml

Also contains Water Vapour (1%)

Humidity- measure of Water Vapour

Forecasting Weather

taber4wards.org/pages/cal_cubs/week_8.htm

What is global warming about An inconvenient truth – The Basic

Science of global warming

What is the Greenhouse Effect?

The Natural Greenhouse Effect

The Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

Natural Greenhouse Effect Occurs when gases in the Earth’s

Atmosphere trap some of the Infrared Radiation (heat) that would otherwise escape from the Earth.

This energy originally comes from the sun.

www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/whatis.htm

The Natural Greenhouse Effect is very important

It ensures our daily average temperature on earth is 15 0C rather than -18 0C

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

During the last century Greenhouse Gases have increased dramatically.

We are producing TOO MUCH carbon dioxide.

What are the main Greenhouse Gases?

Carbon Dioxide (contributes 60%)

Methane (contributes 20%)

Chlorofluorocarbons (contributes 14%)

Ozone (contributes 9%)

Nitrous Oxide (contributes 6%)

Water Vapour

Heinemann – Chemistry One p335

Water Vapour Biggest contributor of Natural

Greenhouse Effect (72%) but does not contribute to the Enhanced Greenhouse

Level of water not increasing in any consistent way

How do we Measure the Damaging Effects of a Gas? Characteristic of the gas Abundance

Methane is about 80 times stronger as a Greenhouse Gas than carbon dioxide but does less damage because it is less abundant.

www.nps.gov/.../climate-change-causes.htm

In summary….

Greenhouse Effect Animation http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/earthguide/

diagrams/greenhouse/

Evidence that Greenhouse gases are on the rise

Evidence that greenhouse Gases are on the rise

Atmospheric methane

Carbon dioxide

Nitrous oxide

Carbon dioxide

State of the Climate 2012

Atmospheric CO2 increase

Decreasing C13 to C12 tells us it is fossil fuel

Oxygen is being used up as carbon is burnt to CO2

I am not saying Carbon dioxide is bad!!!!

We need Carbon dioxide to survive?

All animals breathe out carbon dioxide (small amount)

Plants remove carbon dioxide during the day and release oxygen

The problem is we are removing too may forests on Earth?

Current rate of deforestation is about 10 times the rate of reforestation

Plants take up Carbon Dioxide by Photosynthesis

Planting more trees would slow down the increase in carbon dioxide

The problem is we produce too much Carbon Dioxide because of fossil fuels (coal, crude oil and gas)?

Major contributors-

Electricity (we use mainly brown coal in Australia)

Burn Fossil Fuels

Coal & GasProducesElectricity

Makes Carbon Dioxide

Major contributors-

Transport (crude oil)

Burn fuelPetrol

Diesel etc

Energy for cars, trucks,

planes to move

ProducesCarbon Dioxide

Major contributors-

Industry Production of materials

Top 20 CO2 Emitters & Per Capita Emissions 2009

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

CHINA

USAIN

DIA

RUSSIA

JAPAN

GERMANY

IRAN

SOUTH KOREA

CANADA

UNITED K

INGDOM

MEXIC

O

SAUDI ARABIA

SOUTH AFRIC

A

INDONESIA

ITALY

BRAZIL

AUSTRALIA

FRANCE (inl. M

onac

o)

POLAND

SPAIN

1

2

3

4

5

CO

2 e

mis

sio

ns

(Gt

C y

-1)

Per C

apita E

missio

ns (to

nn

es C

perso

n-1 y

-1)

Global Carbon Project 2010; Data: Gregg Marland, Thomas Boden-CDIAC 2010; Population World Bank 2010

Australia Is 17th in producing carbon dioxide

emissions But per person we are third

Can I Make a Difference to My World?

Governments need to reduce emission of fossil fuels

Carbon sequestration

More efficient use of our fuels

Nuclear ????

Governments need to make the move to renewable energy sources.

Renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydro, wave, geothermal energy)

Securing a clean energy future

A carbon price alone is not enough!

This is more about a future energy strategy

We can make try and leave more sustainable lives?

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of responsibility, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of stewardship, the responsible management of resource use.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability

Use the car less, walk, ride a bike, carpool, public transport

Avoid products with lots of packaging

Move the thermostat down 2 degrees in winter

Move the thermostat up 2 degrees in summer

Use less hot water

Turn off electrical devices at the power point when you are not using them

Replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones

Plant a tree

We can solve problems

We reduced the Ozone Layer problem why not try and reduce the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect?

Ozone Layer The Ozone Layer is a layer of

molecules about 30 km above the Earth’s surface which protect us from the sun’s ultra violet rays.

Ultraviolet rays can burn us easily. (sunburn)

www.cec.org/ods/en/module01/cec_odspolicy_m01...

What causes the Ozone Layer to break down?

Certain chemicals (CFC’s) used in industry, in refrigerators and aerosols were reacting with the Ozone Layer and causing a hole to form in the protective layer over Antarctica.

What would happen to all the plants, animals and humans on earth if the hole in the Ozone Layer got bigger?

We would all be exposed to very high levels of ultraviolet light.

We would burn more easily.

Reduction in plant growth on the land and in the sea.

Similarities Both the Greenhouse & Ozone Layer

are environmental problems we have caused & are related to the sun.

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect is linked to the Earth’s infrared (heat) rays, while the Ozone Layer damage is related to the sun’s ultraviolet (burning) rays.

Differences The Enhanced Greenhouse Effect is

accelerating.

The hole in the Ozone Layer is slowly being reduced due to International collaboration. People have found alternatives to the chemicals that we used to use.

The Future The hole in the Ozone Layer is being

reduced. We have found a solution to this problem.

The Greenhouse Effect is the major environmental concern of this century. We need to find a solution to this problem.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXntPfWi8H0&feature=related

In summary