GLOBAL WARMING: Causes of Global Warming
'Global Warming' Section Next Topic
What you need to know...
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Lesson Resources
CO2 Emissions: What has changed in the last 50 years?- CO2 emissions have increased significantly over the last 50 years
- The question is, what has caused this huge increase in CO2 emissions? - Transport? - Agriculture/farming? - Industrial acitivty? - Energy production? Cause #1: Industrial Activity?- Watch the video below and decide whether increased industrial activity has led to an rising CO2 emissions and therefore contributed to global warming.
- How is global warming related to globalisation and international trade levels?
Cause #2: Transport- There are a number of useful website articles on transport (see below)
- How environmentally friendly are electric cars? - The surprisingly complex truth about planes and climate change - Advancements in transport technology have had both positive and negative impacts on the environment in terms of emissions of greenhouse gases - Look at both graphics below which illustrate the relevant issues Cause #3: Farming- Food production and consumption contribute 19 to 29% of total greenhouse gas emissions
- This figure includes the full supply chain, including fertilizer manufacture, agriculture, processing, transport, retail, household food management and waste disposal. - The global livestock sector accounts for approximately 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions. - Emissions from this sector are expected to increase by 70% come 2050. - If you recall from Unit 11 the carbon footprint refers to the total greenhouse gas (CO2 equivalent) emissions casued by an individual, event, organisation or product traded by the UK - the question is what is the carbon footprint of a cheeseburger (watch the video below)? Cause #4: Energy production- The UK is responsible for about 2% of the whole world's man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
. - The UK energy sector contributed the largest share of UK emissions (35%), followed by road transport (21%). Residential and business emissions accounted for 15% and agriculture for 9%. - So how does energy production result in CO2 emissions? Well when fossil fuels (e.g. coal and oil) are burnt in the process of generating energy they release CO2 - China is the world's largest consumer of coal, the burning of which inevitably increases CO2 emissions into the atmosphere contributing towards global warming as well as local environmental issues (watch the video below) - Our use of energy has changed significantly over the last 100 years
- As technology has changed and advanced over the decades our demands for energy have increased - Click on this link to explore the different ways in which our energy needs have changed over time - More interactive and informative resources can be found here! - Below is an insightful video based on oil extraction which is worth a watch!! Want a re-cap on the causes of Global Warming?- The answer should be yes; watch and enjoy!
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