Face the Facts of Climate Change
Jan 02, 2016
Face the Facts Activity:
1.Form small groups.
2.Listen while a climate change statement is read aloud.
3.Discuss the statement with your group. Do you agree or disagree with the statement? Can you reach a consensus?
4.When prompted, hold up the appropriate Face the Facts card.
The terms global warming and climate change are
commonly used to refer to the same
phenomenon, though they actually have different
meanings.
Statement 1:
The terms global warming and climate change
should not be used interchangeably as they refer
to different concepts.
Answer: Agree
Global warming: refers to the observed increase in average temperatures near the Earth’s surface and in the lower layers of the atmosphere.
Climate Change: is a shift in the average weather of a given region over time. It includes changes in temperature, wind patterns and precipitation, which can mean an increase in droughts, floods, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and other weather events.
Greenhouse Effect: Trace amounts of greenhouse gases (GHGs) act like the glass of a greenhouse and trap the heat from the sun next to the Earth.
Enhanced Greenhouse Effect: Human activities over the last two hundred years have created a thicker blanket of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Increases in anthropogenic (or human-made) greenhouse gases have led to increased global average temperatures.
Weather patterns can be hard to predict, therefore
we should be sceptical about the accuracy of
climate predictions.
Statement 2:
Just as weather and climate are fundamentally
different concepts, so are the processes involved
in predicting each of them.
Answer: Disagree
Climate models use the past to predict the future
• Avg. global temperature records since 1860
• Today’s models now reproduce the past century global temperatures
• Reinforces confidence in future climate predictions
• Climate models predict that global temperatures will rise by 1.4 to 5.8°C over the next century
Scientists cannot agree whether the enhanced
greenhouse effect, or global warming, is being
caused by humans.
Statement 3:
Scientists are certain that the enhanced
greenhouse effect we have been experiencing is
directly linked to more greenhouse gases (GHGs)
in the atmosphere and that these GHG
concentrations have increased due to human
activity.
Answer: Disagree
Scientists Agree
• CO2 levels have increased due to increases in fossil fuel burning since the Industrial Revolution
• Global average temperatures have increased in line with CO2 levels
Over the last century, the Earth’s average surface
temperature has risen 0.7°C. And although that
may not sound like much, it is. The Earth - like the
human body - is in a delicate balance and very
sensitive to any change in temperature.
Answer: Disagree
• 1 metre rise in sea levels
• More intense weather events (i.e. Hurricanes)
• Reduced agricultural yields
• Declines in arctic sea ice and tundra permafrost
• Human health risks to increase
Over the next century, scientists expect:
The world’s poorest countries and most
vulnerable people will bear the heaviest burden of
climate change.
Statement 5:
For reasons of geography and poverty, the world’s
poorest people will be hit the hardest by climate
change.
Answer: Agree
• geographical vulnerability
• economic reliance on agriculture
• already poor conditions
• high population density
• lack of resources to detect and adapt to threats
Certain populations are more vulnerable due to:
The time to act on climate change is now.
Humans are at a crossroads where climate
change is concerned – a direct path to sustainable
societies and low carbon living must be taken.
Answer: Disagree
Where the potential impacts will be severe and
potentially irreversible, action must be taken to
prevent such harm even in the face of scientific
uncertainty.
We must follow the precautionary principle, which states that:
• Rises in global temperature will lead to the
passing of tipping points, which will eventually
lead to runaway climate change.
What will happen if we wait?
Experts and engineers have developed low-
carbon or no-carbon technologies, but developing
and implementing them will be too costly for the
economy.
Statement 7:
Claims that fighting climate change will cripple the
economy and cost hundreds of thousands of jobs
are unfounded. In fact, companies that are
already reducing their greenhouse gas emissions,
with conservation efforts and new technologies,
are discovering significant cost-savings.
Answer: Disagree
• Report by Sir Nicholas Stern in 2006, estimated
that an aggressive approach to mitigate CO2
levels will cost 1% of global GDP per year.
• The same report estimated a “do nothing”
approach would result in costs between 5 and
20% global GDP per year to deal with effects of
climate change.
The Stern Review
Given the global nature of climate change,
governments and world leaders should take the
lead on mitigation efforts.
Statement 8:
Taking action on climate change is ultimately the
responsibility of everyone. After all, we all pollute
the atmosphere with too much carbon. Though we
look to our elected officials and climate scientists
for leadership and guidance.
Answer: Agree and disagree