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Warmup. Describe the Greenhouse Effect. What gas is most linked to the Greenhouse Effect?. Deforestation and Burning Fossil Fuels. Due to Increased Industrialization 2.6.3a. Forests. Forests are vital for life, home to millions of species, they: Protect soil from erosion,
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Warmup • Describe the Greenhouse Effect. • What gas is most linked to the Greenhouse Effect?
Deforestation and Burning Fossil Fuels Due to Increased Industrialization 2.6.3a
Forests • Forests are vital for life, home to millions of species, they: • Protect soil from erosion, • Produce oxygen, • Store carbon dioxide, • Help control climate • Purify the air and water we need to survive. • Forests are also vital for us to live as they provide us with • Food, • Shelter, • Medicines, • Many other useful products
Deforestation • Deforestation is an important factor in global climate change. • Climate change is because of a build up of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere and if we carry on cutting down the main tool we have to diminish this CO2 build up, we can expect the climate of our planet to change dramatically over the next decades.
Deforestation • It is estimated that more than 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide are released to the atmosphere due to deforestation, mainly the cutting and burning of forests, every year.
Forests help keep the carbon cycle in balance • But when forests are logged or burnt, that carbon is released into the atmosphere, increasing the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and accelerating the rate of climate change.
Carbon Cycle • Forests play a huge role in the carbon cycle on our planet. • When forests are cut down, not only does carbon absorption cease, but also the carbon stored in the trees is released into the atmosphere as CO2 if the wood is burned.
Smaller crops e.g. plants and agricultural crops also draw in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, however forests store up to 100 times more carbon than agricultural fields of the same area.
Without action now, most of the world's tropical forests will be lost by this century's end. most of the world's tropical forests will be lost by this century's end. • Every year, more than 15 million hectares of tropical forest — an area larger than the state of New York — are cut down, releasing millions of tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. • Many of the world’s tropical forests will be lost by this century’s end. With these forests we will lose important species, natural resources and local livelihoods, as well as the opportunity to slow climate change.
Protecting forests is essential to reducing global emissions and halting climate change. • Along with fighting climate change, forest conservation protects biodiversity and supports the livelihoods of local communities.
Despite the fact that deforestation isthe second leading contributor of carbon emissions worldwide after the burning of fossil fuels, countries currently have few incentives for preserving their forests.
Burning Fossil Fuels • Coal, oil and natural gas are the three different forms of fossil fuels that are widely used. • Large-scale use of fossil fuels started since the Industrial Revolution. • Today, these are the most cheap sources of energy available for the use of both personal as well as commercial purposes. • Petroleum is used to fuel our vehicles while coal and natural gas are used to produce electricity for our homes and offices. • Statistics show that almost three-fourth of the demands of the energy in the world is fulfilled by fossil fuels.
Burning Fossil Fuels • The presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere makes our planet warmer than any other planet of the solar system. • This is because it traps the heat obtained from sunlight and do not let it go beyond the atmosphere. • Burning fossil fuels releases a large amount of carbon dioxide into the air. • When there is a significant rise in the percentage of carbon dioxide in the air, the amount of heat captured by the carbon dioxide gas also increases. • This in turn leads to overall rise in the surface temperature of the earth which is also known as global warming.
Combustion of fossil fuels not only gives out carbon dioxide into the air, it also releases various types of gases like carbon monoxide, methane, nitrous oxide, etc. that cause air pollution.
Here is the tricky part… • How many of you could survive without a car, computer, house? • Where do these things come from?
Industrialization • Industrialization is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society (agriculture based) into an industrial one. • How do you think burning fossil fuels and deforestation are linked to industrialization?
How are they linked? • With the industrial revolution came factories. • Average income and population began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth. • More people needed more ‘stuff’! • ‘Stuff’ is made from factories. • Factories burn fossil fuels to make the ‘stuff’ • By burning fossil fuels, more carbon is released into the atmosphere. • By increasing deforestation (fewer trees), less carbon is absorbed from the atmosphere.
Activity: Carbon Footprint How much c02 do you Spew? • Calculate how many pounds of CO2 your “family” emits each year. • Calculate how many pounds of CO2 each person in your family emits (divide by # of family members) • Describe what the family does that accounts for their high/low carbon footprint. • Describe how your family got their name. • What could the family do to reduce their carbon footprint?
Video: Planting Hope (25min) • CosechaSustenibleInternacional (Sustainable Harvest International) • http://vimeo.com/8848600
Warmup • Describe how deforestation contributes to global climate change?