Climate Change: The Basics, Summaries of Social change

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Climate Change:

The Basics

What is climate change and

why is it happening?

The Greenhouse Effect

The Earth is surrounded by

a thin layer of gases we call

greenhouse gases. These

gases are what make up our

atmosphere.

Source: NASA

The thickness of the atmosphere and the concentration of its gases influence the surface temperature on any planet. (^) Source: Climate Generation, Elizabeth Andre

What does “average” mean?

Climate is the average weather conditions

over time.

Global warming refers to an increase in the

Earth’s average temperature.

This map shows the five-year average variation of global surface temperatures from 1884 to 2012. Dark blue indicates areas cooler than average. Dark red indicates areas warmer than average. Source: NASA Climate http://climate.nasa.gov/key_indicators#globalTemp

What proof do we have?

Temperature & CO

Data

Source: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs_v3/ Source: NASA Climate, Data from NOA http://climate.nasa.gov/key_indicators#co

Global Sea Level Rise

Visit: http://climate.nasa.gov/key_indicators for interactive charts on sea level and other key climate change indicators. Source: NASA Climate http://climate.nasa.gov/key_indicators#seaLevel

Climate Change in the USA

Temperatures are rising, especially in winter.

Extreme rainfall and flooding events (24-hr

and 7-day) are more frequent.

Extreme droughts and massive wildfires are

more common

In rural communities, forests and farmland

are impacted, making crops and food more

scarce and expensive for all.

Source: National Climate Assessment: http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights/regions/rural-communities