Chapter4

• Greenhouse gases that are naturally-occurring

  • carbon dioxide
  • methane
  • water vapor
  • nitrous oxide
  • ozone.
• Biomass

  • It is a type of energy that can be considered as both renewable and nonrenewable resources. This energy derives from that found in plants.
  • It is organic.
• The Evidence for rapid climate change is compelling:

  • Global Temperature Is Rising
  • The Ocean is Getting Warmer
  • The Ice Sheets are Shrinking.
  • Glaciers are Retreating.
  • Snow Cover is Decreasing
  • Sea Level is Rising
  • Arctic Sea Ice is Declining
  • Extreme Events are Increasing in Frequency
  • Ocean Acidification is Increasing
• Five key greenhouse gases

  • carbon dioxide
  • nitrous oxide
  • methane
  • chlorofluorocarbons
  • water vapor.
• Renewable Resources

  • Can be used repeatedly and does not run out because it is naturally replaced.
  • Examples of this sources are wind power, solar power, bioenergy and hydroelectric, including tidal energy.
• Fossil Fuels

  • greatly contributes to global warming and climate change.
  • include coal, petroleum, natural gas, oil shales, bitumens, tar sands, and heavy oils.
• Climate Change

  • result to the use of machineries that significantly increase emissions.
  • as a direct or indirect results of human activity, altering the composition of the global atmosphere.
  • long term change in the average weather patterns that have
• Desertification


  Climate change is beginning to degrade and dry out land in several areas of the globe.
• Montreal Protocol

  • Is an international teary that focuses on the need to protect the ozone layer.
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC)

  • a convention that recognizes the negative effects of greenhouse gases (GHG) on the Earth's climate and the human condition.
• Kyoto Protocol

  • is the first international agreement sponsored by the UNFCCC. It was the International agreement introduced by the UN in 1997 and enforced in 2005.
• Paris Agreement

  • Is the most recent treaty relating to the UNFCCC. The agreement was signed by almost all present parties except Russia, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and other smaller countries.
• Millennium Development Goals (MDG)

  • These goals served as the road map that guided the development of all participating nations with a target date of 2015.
• Highest contributor to climate change

  • Fossil fuels  
• Water vapor 

  • most abundant greenhouse gas.
• Nitrous Oxide

  • powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion ,nitric acid production, and biomass burning
• Carbon Dioxide

  • a minor cause but very important component of the atmosphere.
• Methane

  • a hydrocarbon gas produced both through natural sources and human activities, including the decomposition of wastes in landfills ,agriculture, and especially rice culturation.
• Chloroflourocarbons (CFC)

  • Synthetic compound entirely of industrial origin used in a number of applications and has the ability to contribute to the destruction of ozone layer.
• elliptical

  • This means there is one point in the orbit where Earth is closest to the Sun, and another where Earth is farthest from the Sun.
• Environmental Awareness

  • means being mindful of the environment and the factors that affect it positively and negatively.
• Sustainable development

  • is a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development ,and institutional change
• Environmental degradation

  • is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife.
• Pollution

  • is the introduction of harmful substances in the environment ,which is present almost
• Urbanization

  • a population from rural to urban areas and the transformation of towns and cities into a larger areas due to the gradual increase of people living and and working there.
• Industrialization

  • is the process of transforming the economy of a nation or region from a focus on agriculture to a reliance on manufacturing.
• Solar Energy

  • harnesses the Sun's energy for industrial processes, buildings, transportation, and electricity.
• Solar thermal Energy

  • systems collect and transform solar energyinto high-temperature thermal energy that can be used directly or converted to electricity
• Two methods are employed in this technology

  • a central receiver system
  • a solar thermal plant
• central receiver system

  • also called central power tower ,consists of a huge array of computer-controlled mirrors called heliostats that track the Sun and focus sunlight on a central collection tower
• solar thermal plant

  • collects the Sun's energy and pumps water to the receiver where the thermal energy heats the water to form steam
• Photovoltaic (PV) Cells or Solar Cells

  • a transparent panel containing semi conductive material with a thickness ranging from less than that of human hair to a sheet of paper
• concentration system

  • uses direct sunlight and lenses or curved mirrors to focus radiation onto highly efficient solar cells
• Flat-plate systems

  • utilize the whole incident solar radiation, including diffused solar rays