Air pollution, climate change and ozone loss

Transcription

1 Marie-Claude Blais Carole Mereb Presented to Rudolf Balek April 3 rd, 2008

2 Presentation plan Air Air pollution Climate change Ozone loss References Questions 2

3 Movie on climate change 3

4 Quiz How much CO2 do one person consume per year? 4

5 Air composition Air is a mixture of gases: 78% nitrogen 21% oxygen Traces of water vapour, carbon dioxide, argon, and various other components. 5

6 Atmosphere stratification Earth s atmosphere contains five different layers: Exosphere Thermosphere (Including ionosphere) Aurora and space shuttles Mesosphere Meteors Stratosphere Contains the ozone layer 19.9 % of the atmosphere Troposphere Air planes 80 % of the atmosphere 6

7 Atmosphere stratification 7

8 Atmospheric pressure 8

9 Presentation plan Air Air pollution Climate change Ozone loss References Questions 9

10 Outdoor air pollution Primary pollutants: Direct sources They are pollutants released into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels including forest burning, chemical, fertiliser paper manufacture, and waste incineration. Includes also gases like sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), Secondary pollutants: They are formed in the air when various gases interact with each other in the presence of sunlight. Ozone is a secondary ambient air pollutant. For exemple, smog and acid rain. 10

11 Outdoor air pollution Both primary and secondary pollutants are: Detrimental to human health. Depending on their concentration in the air. 11

12 Natural capital degradation 12

13 Natural capital 13

14 Major Classes of Air Polluants 14

15 Smog 15

16 Indoor air pollution Today, indoor air pollution is more a problem than outdoor air pollution. Buildings Inside cars that are in heavy traffic. Cigarette smoke inside Formaldehyde Radioactive radon-222 gas are the three most dangerous indoor pollutants. 16

17 Indoor radioactive radon

18 Important indoor air pollutants 18

19 Indoor air pollution Smoking and exposure to air pollutants can cause: Lung cancer Asthma Chronic bronchitis Emphysema Lead to large numbers of premature deaths. 19

20 Solutions to prevent indoor air pollution Do not buy furniture or anything containing formaldehyde. Remove your shoes before entering into your house to reduce inputs of dust, lead and pesticides. Do not live in a pre-1980 house without having its indoor air tested for asbestos or lead. (Asbestos is a group of minerals with long, thin fibrous crystals) Do not store gasoline, solvents or other volatile chemicals inside your house. Smoke outside of the house. Install carbon monoxide detectors in all sleeping areas. 20

21 Topography Two sets of topography and weather conditions that lead to prolonged temperature inversion, in which a warm air layer sits atop cooler air layer. First: temperature inversion can occur during cold, cloudy weather in a valley surrounded by mountains. 21

22 Topography Second: temperature inversion can occur in an area with a sunny climate, light winds, mountains on three sides and the ocean on the other. A layer of warm air form high-pressure system that prevents ocean-cooled air near the ground from ascending enough to disperse and dilute pollutants. Ex: Los Angeles and Mexico City 22

23 Solutions to prevent air pollution The U.S. Clean Air Acts established air pollution regulations that are enforced by each state and by major cities. The EPA has also set standards for more than 100 toxic air pollutants known or suspected to have health effects. Tougher fuel-efficiency standards would lower smog levels. Between 1990 and 2000, an emissions trading system helped reduce sulfur dioxide emissions in the United States by 30%. 23

24 Solutions to prevent air pollution Getting older, high-polluting vehicles off the road, using mass transit, increasing fuel efficiency, and using more alternative vehicle fuels can reduce outdoor air pollution. We can reduce indoor air pollution: By banning smoking indoors. By reducing the use of emitting materials, and preventing radon infiltration. Pollution prevention is the key to reducing pollution. 24

25 Solutions to prevent air pollution 25

26 Solutions to prevent air pollution 26

27 Solutions to prevent air pollution 27

28 Presentation plan Air Air pollution Climate change Ozone loss References Questions 28

29 What is global warming? Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation. 29

30 What is global warming? Climate change is real. We can see it in: Direct measurements of rising surface air temperatures Rising subsurface ocean temperatures Increases in average global sea levels Retreating glaciers Changes to many physical and biological systems. It is likely that most of the warming in recent decades can be attributed to human activities. 30

31 Human Effect on Global Warming 31

32 Global Warming in the World 32

33 Global Warming in the World 33

34 Past climate change Temperature and climate have been changing throughout the earth s history. The last 90,000 years were a series of cold glacial periods followed by warmer interglacial periods. The past 10,000 years has been an interglacial period. 34

35 Past climate change And the hottest of all was

36 Past climate change Scientists study climate change by drilling holes in the arctic and making measurements. They analyze the air bubbles trapped in different segments of the ice cores Video 36

37 The Earth's Natural Greenhouse Effect By burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth s atmosphere. This thickens the thin layer of atmosphere and as it thickens more of the infrared are trapped and consequently the earth s temperatures are rising. 37

38 Consequences of global warming Glaciers are melting Plants and animals are being forced from their habitats More flooding and more droughts depending on the regions The number of severe storms and droughts is increasing. The number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years Malaria has spread to higher altitudes in places like the Colombian Andes, 7,000 feet above sea level. The flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade At least 279 species of plants and animals are already responding to global warming, moving closer to the poles. 38

39 Consequences of global warming Kilimanjaro, AFRICA Glaciers melting

40 Consequences of global warming Glaciers melting Grinnel Glacier, Glacier National Park

41 Consequences of global warming Glaciers melting 41

42 Consequences of global warming Precipitation change Climate change relocates the precipitations causing more flooding in some regions and more droughts in others. 42

43 Consequences of global warming Floods In Mumbai, India July 26, inches of rain in 24 hours Water levels reached seven feet The most an Indian city has ever received in one day The death toll in Western India reached

44 Consequences of global warming Droughts 44

45 Consequences of climate change Heat wave 45

46 Consequences of climate change Heat wave 46

47 Consequences of global warming Permafrost thawing Those trees put their roots in the permafrost soil. The permafrost is thawing so the trees are bending This building was built on the permafrost soil and has collapsed as the permafrost thaws 47

48 Consequences of global warming Hurricanes 48

49 Consequences of global warming Hurricanes When it hit Florida it was just a category 1 but then before it hit New Orland's it passed by warmer water and as the water temperature increases, the wind velocity increases and the moisture content increases. Katrina got stronger when passing over the golf. 49

50 Consequences of global warming Tornados 50

51 Consequences of global warming Typhoons 51

52 Consequences of global warming Arctic melting When the sun rays hit the ice, more than 90% bounces off back into space but when it hits the open ocean more than 90% is absorbed and so as the surrounding water gets warmer it speeds up the melting of the ice. There is a faster build-up of heat in the arctic than anywhere else on the planet. Polar bears are starting to drown because they swim long distances searching for ice. 52

53 Consequences of global warming Arctic melting 53

54 Consequences of global warming Arctic melting The Arctic is one of the two regions of the worlds experiencing faster impacts from global warming This is the largest ice shelf of the world and it cracked in half in

55 Consequences of global warming Arctic melting In the north pole, they have measured the thickness of the ice since 1957 Starting in 1970, their was a great drop off of the amount and extent and thickness of the ice. The ice has diminished of 40% in the past 40 years Within the next 50 to 70 years, the ice will be completely gone in summer time. 55

56 Consequences of global warming If Greenland was to disappear, the world sea level would raise up from 20 meters. Video 56

57 Climate Change and Human Activities By burning fossil fuels, clearing and burning forests and grasslands, raising large numbers of livestock such as cattle, planting rice, and using inorganic fertilizers, human have increased concentrations of greenhouse gases. 57

58 Factors Affecting the Earth's Temperature 58

59 Projecting Future Changes in the Earth's Temperature Projected range of temperature increase during the rest of the century 59

60 Projecting Future Changes in the Earth's Temperature If the warming continues, we can expect catastrophic consequences : Deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years to 300,000 people a year. Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide. Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense Droughts and wildfires will occur more often The Arctic Ocean could be ice free in summer by 2050 More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by

61 Factors Affecting the Earth's Temperature Almost 30% of all the CO2 that goes up each year in the atmosphere comes from forest burning Time laps picture of the earth at night over 6 months period In white, the lights of the cities In red, the burning forests and brush fires In yellow, the gas layers 61

62 Factors Affecting the Earth's Temperature Ocean conveyer 62

63 Factors Affecting the Earth's Temperature 63

64 Possible Effects of a Warmer World 64

65 Possible Beneficial Effects of a Warmer World 65

66 Dealing with the Threat of Global Warming 66

67 Dealing with the Threat of Global Warming Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or from smokestacks and storing (sequestering) it in plants, soil, deep underground reservoirs and the deep ocean. 67

68 Dealing with the Threat of Global Warming 68

69 What can you do 69

70 What Is Being Done to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions? Greenhouse gases are an important part of the Kyoto Protocol. Unfortunately, Kyoto Treaty of 1997 only dealt with reducing current and future emission levels. It offered no solutions for the gases that are already in the atmosphere and will continue to be a problem for the next century or so. 70

71 Presentation plan Air Air pollution Climate change Ozone loss References Questions 71

72 Ozone Depletion in the Stratosphere The ozone layer keeps 95% of the sun's harmful UV radiation from reaching the earth's surface. Use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting compounds has lowered the average level of ozone in the stratosphere. One effect is seasonal ozone thinning over the poles. Consequences : UV radiation can cause skin cancers and damage plants and animals 72

73 Global Warming & Ozone Depletion 73

74 Effects of Ozone Depletion 74

75 Solutions Against Ozone Depletion 75

76 Protecting the Ozone Layer We should immediately stop producing all ozone-depleting chemicals CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) are generated only by industrial processes, they are the only greenhouse gases that are entirely man-made. CFCs identifies the ingredients of CFCs as chlorine, fluorine, and carbon compounds. For many years, CFCs have been found in aerosols and air conditioners. Recent legislation (Montreal Protocol and Copenhagen Protocol ) has made them less common, but the CFCs released over the years will continue to be a long-term factor in the greenhouse effect. Ozone will continue to be depleted for years because CFCs take time to reach the stratosphere and are persistent. 76

77 77

78 Reduce your impact at home Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl) Move your thermostat down 2 in winter and up 2 in summer Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner Install a programmable thermostat Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket Use less hot water Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible Turn off electronic devices you re not using Unplug electronics from the wall when you re not using them Only run your dishwasher when there s a full load and use the energysaving setting 78

79 Reduce your impact at home Insulate and weatherize your home Be sure you re recycling at home Buy recycled paper products Plant a tree Get a home energy audit Switch to green power Buy locally grown and produced foods Buy fresh foods instead of frozen Seek out and support local farmers markets Buy organic foods as much as possible Avoid heavily packaged products Eat less meat 79

80 Reduce your impact at home Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates Keep your car tuned up Check your tires weekly to make sure they re properly inflated When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle Try telecommuting from home Fly less 80

81 Think globally, act locally There is no doubt we can solve this problem. In fact, we have a moral obligation to do so. Small changes to your daily routine can add up to big differences in helping to stop global warming. The time to come together to solve this problem is now TAKE ACTION Video 81

82 Presentation plan Air Air pollution Climate change Ozone loss References Questions 82

83 References Living in the Environment, Fourteenth Edition, G.Tyler Miller,Jr. An Inconvenient Truth movie, Al Gore 83

84 Presentation plan Air Air pollution Climate change Ozone loss References Questions 84

85 Questions 85

86 Thank you for your attention! Marie-Claude Blais Carole Mereb