PEOPLE'S IMPACT ON CLIMATE

• Is caused by human activities and threatens life on earth

  as we know it with rising greenhouse gas emissions.

  Climate Change
• Burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas trap heat in the atmosphere, causing the planet to warm. This disrupts the natural climate balance.

  Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• The greenhouse effect causes some of this energy to be waylaid in the

  atmosphere, absorbed and released by greenhouse gases

  Greenhouse Effect
• emissions from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) for energy.

  Carbon dioxide
• emissions from agriculture, waste decomposition, and fossil fuel extraction.

  Methane
• emissions from industrial processes and agriculture

  Nitrous oxide
• play a critical role in regulating our climate

  by acting as giant carbon sinks.

  Forests
• refers to the purposeful clearing or thinning

  of trees and forests.

  Deforestation
• Practices like large-scale clearing of

  land for agriculture can contribute to

  deforestation. Additionally, the use of

  certain fertilizers releases nitrous oxide

  (N2O)

  Agriculture
• Factories and industrial facilities

  often release various pollutants and

  greenhouse gases, including nitrous

  oxide (N2O) from processes like

  nylon production

  Industrial
• This is the most

  fundamental change.

  The average global temperature has already

  risen by over 1 degree Celsius.

  Rising Temperatures:
• A rise in the frequency and intensity of heat

  waves, droughts, floods, and wildfires.

  Extreme Weather Events on Steroids
• Glaciers and polar ice caps are melting at alarming rates,

  disrupting water resources in regions

  dependent on snowmelt. This also

  contributes to rising sea levels.

  Shrinking Cryosphere
• Climate change disrupts ecosystems. Plants and

  animals struggle to adapt to the changing

  environment, leading to shifts in

  migration patterns, habitat loss,

  Nature Out of Balance