Human Activities & Climate Change

​Climate Change

​How does human activities influence climate change?​

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M​s. Pineda

1. What is the function of the Atmosphere?

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2. What is the purpose of earths Greenhouse Gasses?

3. List the 5 spheres of the earth? Describe each of Earth's spheres in 1 word.

​Please make sure to write down both questions and answers in your science notebook.

​Bell Work

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Desertification is the drying of land due to farming and overgrazing.​

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When vegetation is removed, erosion increases. ​

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​Desertification

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Urbanization is a shift of people living in rural areas to cities.

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​Urbanization

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Deforestation is the clearing of Earth’s forests on a massive scale.

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​Deforestation

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Multiple Choice

What is Desertification?

• is the drying of land due to farming and overgrazing.​

• is a shift of people living in rural areas to cities.

• is the clearing of Earth’s forests on a massive scale.

Multiple Choice

What is Deforestation?

• is the clearing of Earth’s forests on a massive scale.

• is a shift of people living in rural areas to cities.

• is the drying of land due to farming and overgrazing.​

Multiple Choice

When vegetation is removed, erosion ________. ​

• Increases

• Decreases

Change in water flow/dam building is the building of barriers that impede the flow of water in a river.

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​Change in water flow/dam building

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Climate Change are the changes in climate due to the heating of the Earth due to carbon emissions. (cars, factories, farm animals)

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​Climate Change

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According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), “climate change is variability in the properties of the climate (temperature, humidity, precipitation) over decades or more, caused by natural or human forces.”​

What influences climate change?

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​What is Climate Change?

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Open Ended

What influences Climate Change?

​primarily carbon dioxide molecules that are released into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels.

​​Greenhouse gases:

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​They affect the absorption, scattering and emission of radiation within the atmosphere and at the Earth’s surface, which in turn affects global warming and cooling.

​​How do greenhouse gases affect climate?

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​Once released, these gases remain in the atmosphere for up to thousands of years.

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Luckily, many greenhouse gases can be naturally removed from the atmosphere through eco-sinks, like forests. 

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Trees remove carbon dioxide from the air, offsetting CO2 release by about 15 percent.

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​What happens to green house gases?

• Extreme weather

• Rise in sea level

• Precipitation 

• Long-term warming trends

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​Global Warming Effects​

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​Video # 1- CNN Explains: Deforestation ​

​Please write down questions & answers in notebook.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4jhjt1_eyM​

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1. What is deforestation?

2. What human habits cause deforestation?

3. How is deforestation impacting our environment?

​Video # 2- Neil DeGrasse Tyson Explains Climate Change

​Please write down questions & answers in notebook.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VUPIX7yEOM​

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1. What is climate change?

2. What human habits cause climate change?

3. How is climate change impacting our environment?

Open Ended

Scenario 1: A farmer allows his cattle to graze (eat vegetation) without any constraints.  The vegetation around the farm has slowly dissappeared.  ​

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What effects will this have on the environment?​

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Would you think that this would cause urbanization, deforestation or desertification?  Why?  

Open Ended

Scenario 2: A dam was built California in 1999 to block the Santa Ana River and help generate hydroelectric power.  ​

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What effects might this have on the environment?  

Open Ended

Scenario 3: Since 1978 over 750,000 square kilometers (289,000 square miles) of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed across Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana, and French Guiana.  This clearing of rainforest is driven by industrial activities and large-scale agriculture. By the 2000s more than three-quarters of forest clearing in the Amazon was for cattle-ranching.​

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What effects might this have on the environment?  ​

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Would you classify this as deforestation, urbanization or desertification?

Open Ended

What are small changes you can make in your lives to positively impact the world’s climate?