IB+Geography+-+Patterns+(causes+of+global+warming)

Causes of global climate change

__Caues of Climate Change - Methane__ Methane is a greenhouse gas that remains in the atmosphere for approximately 9-15 years that affects the temperature and climate system of the earth. Methane is over 20 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Methane can come from a variety of natural and human-influenced sources. Human-influenced sources are the most prominent and include landfills, coal mining, natural gas and petroleum systems, coal mining, and stationary and mobile combustion. Reducing methane emissions would be an effective method to reduce climate change in a relatively short period of time due to humans’ significant contribution to global methane production; about 60% of the worlds methane comes from human-influenced sources.

__**The Effect of Industry on Climate Change:**__

The rapid increase in industry over the past 50 years has definitely increased the amount of greenhouse gasses released into the atmosphere. With the number of big factories nearly doubling in recent years, the impact has without a doubt effected the environment, especially in terms of pollution and CO2 emissions. Not only do many large factories produce massive amounts of gasses, but on most occasions, these gasses are long lasting industrial gasses that over a longer period of time have a greater effect. Also, with the population rapidly growing with over 7 billion people living on this planet, the need for more resources is higher than before; therefore increasing the demand for certain industries. This in the end, causes more factories and industries to be built, causing deforestation levels to increase and again increasing the amount of pollution and gasses into the atmosphere. According to an article written by the guardian.uk, in 2005, five Britain companies produce more carbon dioxide than the total population of UK drivers combined. This indicates that it is not only forms of transport that have an effect on climate change but also the major corporations in terms of releasing CO2 is much greater. Overall, because of the increase in the number of factories, the CO2 emissions will continue to rise over time, therefore further threatening the environment.

N2O is produced by natural and human-related sources. Primary human-related sources are agricultural soil management, animal manure management, sewage treatment, mobile and stationary combustion of fossil fuels, adipic acid production, and nitric acid production. N2O is produced naturally by a wide variety of biological sources in soil and water (especially in wet tropical rainforests). Levels of N2O emissions vary from country to region. The emissions depend on many factors such as industrial and agricultural production characteristics, combustion technologies, waste management practices, and climate. An example of this is: “Heavy utilization of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers in crop production typically results in significantly more N2O emissions from agricultural soils than that occurring from less intensive, low-tillage techniques”
 * __Greenhouse Gas: Nitrous Oxide (N2O)__**

__ Table 1 U.S. Nitrous Oxide Emissions by Source (TgCO2 Equivalents) __
 * ** Source Category ** ||  ** 1990 **  ||  ** 1995 **  ||  ** 2000 **  ||  ** 2005 **  ||  ** 2006 **  ||  ** 2007 **  ||  ** 2008 **  ||
 * Agricultural Soil Management || 203.5 || 205.9  || 210.1  || 215.8  || 211.2  || 211.0  || 215.9  ||
 * Mobile Combustion || 43.9 || 54.0  || 53.2  || 36.9  || 33.6  || 30.3  || 26.1  ||
 * Nitric Acid Production || 18.9 || 21.0  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">20.7  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">17.6  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">17.2  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">20.5  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">19.0  ||
 * Manure Management || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">14.4 || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">15.5  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">16.7  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">16.6  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">17.3  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">17.3  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">17.1  ||
 * Stationary Combustion || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">12.8 || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">13.3  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">14.5  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">14.7  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">14.5  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">14.6  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">14.2  ||
 * Adipic Acid Production || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">15.8 || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">17.6  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">5.5  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">5.0  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">4.3  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">3.7  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">2.0  ||
 * Wastewater Treatment || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">3.7 || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">4.0  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">4.5  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">4.7  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">4.8  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">4.9  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">4.9  ||
 * N2O from Product Uses || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">4.4 || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">4.6  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">4.9  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">4.4  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">4.4  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">4.4  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">4.4  ||
 * Forest Land Remaining Forest Land || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">2.7 || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">3.7  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">12.1  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">8.4  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">18.0  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">16.7  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">10.1  ||
 * Composting || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.4 || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.8  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.4  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.7  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.8  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.8  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.8  ||
 * Settlements Remaining Settlements || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.0 || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.2  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.1  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.5  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.5  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.6  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.6  ||
 * Field Burning of Agricultural Residues || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.4 || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.4  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.5  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.5  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.5  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.5  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.5  ||
 * Incineration of Waste || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.5 || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.5  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.4  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.4  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.4  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.4  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.4  ||
 * Wetlands Remaining Wetlands || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">+ || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">+  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">+  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">+  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">+  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">+  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">+  ||
 * // International Bunker Fuels // || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.1 || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.9  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">0.9  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.0  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.2  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.2  || <span style="color: black; display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px; text-align: right;">1.2  ||
 * ** Total for U.S. ** || ** 322.3 **  ||  ** 342.5 **  ||  ** 345.5 **  ||  ** 328.3 **  ||  ** 329.5 **  ||  ** 327.7 **  ||  ** 318.2 **  ||

**__Greenhouse Gas: Fluorunated Gases__**
In 1989, the European aerosol industry voluntarily stopped the use of CFCs (ChloroFluoroCarbons). These first generation fluorinated gases were ideal propellants for aerosol products due to their vapor pressure, non-toxicity and non-flammability. However, CFCs deplete the stratospheric ozone layer and are powerful greenhouse gases. As a result of its policy, the aerosol industry no longer contributes to the creation of the so-called ‘ozone hole’. Additionally the aerosol industry has decreased its greenhouse impact related to Climate Change by 99% compared to the period prior to 1989. Today, the European aerosol industry has primarily shifted to flammable liquefied propellants (hydrocarbons and dimethyl ether) but still uses HFCs (HydroFluoroCarbons). These third generation fluorinated gases are less hazardous but remain greenhouse gases. Currently, the only widely available liquefied propellant today that is non-flammable is HFC-134a (no other non-flammable liquefied propellant is currently widely available). Fluorinated gases emit small quantities of substance into the atmosphere and they are used for refrigerants and cooling systems. These gases are still potent ones however. They are known as “High GWP gases” (High Global Warming potential gases). The reason why they are potent is because it traps heat very efficiently since they are used for cooling systems that work on trapping heat and making heat not present so there can be a cold environment (cold = the absence of heat).

Tar sands are a huge contributor to the Global Warming problem since both the mining and processing of tar requires far more energy and releases far more greenhouse gases than other gas and oil production methods. Since the demand for oil is going up the mining and processing of tar sands have gone up drastically. In Canada it is likely that tar sands are their largest producer of greenhouse gases. In 2008 it was projected that production of tar sands in the US alone would go from 27 to 126 million tons in 2015. The problem with tar is that is impure and very hard to mine so to mine it big machinery and other high energy using processes have to be used just to get the tar sand out of the ground. Another problem is that then they have to get rid of all the useless things like sand and clay so they can get the bitumen, which can finally be processed and made into oil and other petroleum based products. Of course both the purification and the processing also require a lot of energy. Basically the whole process requires a lot of energy which releases a lot of greenhouse gasses and in the end all that is produced is oil which will then be used somewhere else and release more greenhouse gasses.
 * __Causes of Climate Change - Tar Sands__**

__**Greenpeace**__ Greenpeace is a non-governmental organization that serves as the voice for the earth. The independent global campaigning organization is a non-profit group that works to protect and conserve the environment as well as to promote peace. The group aims to protect things like the world’s oceans, forests and agriculture. The group also believes in a toxic free future that involves the number one threat facing our planet, Climate change. Climate change is a high priority area for Greenpeace. The non-profit mainly focuses on the idea of clean and renewable energy. The “energy revolution” as they call it is based on five founding principles. 1.** Increase human well-being ** without fossil fuels. 2. ** Fair energy access for all **, including the 2 billion people that are left without power in our current fossil-fuel based energy system. 3. ** Respect for natural limits: ** use no more resources the Earth can provide us and don’t emit more than the Earth and the atmosphere can take back (in particular CO2 emissions). 4. ** Phase out dirty, dangerous fuels ** like coal and nuclear. 5. ** Use proven, existing renewable energy. ** Every technology described in the scenario already exists and has been proven to work.

The Greenpeace group has laid out a simple plan that shows that they think is the solution to climate change.


 * Make sure emissions peak in 2015 and decrease as rapidly as possible towards zero after that
 * Developed countries must make cuts of 40 percent on their 1990 carbon emissions by 2020
 * Developing countries must slow the growth of emissions by 15-30 percent by 2020, with support from industrialized nations
 * Protect tropical forests with a special funding mechanism - forests for climate
 * Replace dirty fossil fuel energy with renewable energy and energy efficiency
 * Reject false solutions like nuclear energy