Our Climate Crisis
A basic breakdown
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather is the state of the atmosphere at any given place and time. Climate is a set of meteorological and environmental conditions that characterise a geographical region defined over long periods of time.
What does climate change actually mean?
Climate Change is the shift in the average state of a climate. This could be global warming or cooling. We are seeing climate change as a result of global warming, however.
What are the effects of climate change?
-Rise in average global temperatures
-Rising sea levels
-Increased rainfall in parts of the world, droughts in others.
-Extinction of species of plants, animals, birds and insects.
-Increased poverty
-Increased hunger
-Mass migration
-Bigger economic inequality between nations
How can we stop the climate crisis?
Scientist say we must achieve zero carbon emissions by 2030. This means the amount we produce in CO2 has to be equal to the amount removed by natural filters (plants and new technologies)
What is needed to cut down emissions of CO2?
-Reduce fossil fuel.
We need laws in place against the use of fossil fuels.
We need funding for new sustainable technologies that can make and distribute sustainable energies (fossil fuel alternatives)
-Global changes in popular habits
Reducing consumption.
Saving energy
Choosing foods that are produced responsibly and traded fairly.
How much time do we have?
We are already seeing the effects of the climate crisis. It's getting worse and will continue to do so if we don't take sufficient action.
What are Fossil Fuels, and why are they bad?
Fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of energy. They are deposits of organic materials (plants and animals) that have formed over hundreds of millions of years beneath the earths crust.
The main fossil fuels are...
-Oil
-Coal
-Natural Gas
They make up 85% of the world's energy sources.
When they are burned, CO2 is released into the air, which is the main cause of global warming.
What is the Paris Agreement?
The Paris Agreement was signed by 195 countries, and came into force in 2016. It states that a sufficient number of policies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions will be put in place by 2020 to ensure that global warming does not exceed the limit of 2 degrees celsius. However, we need to keep global warming at a maximum level of 1.5 degrees Celsius to reduce the vulnerability of natural and human systems. In 2017, the US (The second largest producer of CO2) withdrew from the Paris agreement.
What are some renewable sources of energy?
-Geothermal energy
-Hydroelectric energy
-Solar energy
-Wind energy
-Marine energy
This carrd is largely informed by Valentina Giannella's book "We Are All Greta, Be Inspired To Save The World". I highly recommend reading it. The sole purpose of this carrd is to provide information on the Climate Crisis.