Environmental Science Notes

Name: ________________________________________________Date:___________
Topic: Climate Change
Reflections/Questions

Notes
1. Climate change is a _________________________ in the earths
weather patterns due to:
a. Increased ___________________________________ in the
atmosphere--CO2, CH4 (methane), etc.
b. __________________________________
c. __________________________ in the atmosphere
d. _________________ of ___________________ and
_______________________________
e. ____________________________ weather patterns
f. ________________________ ocean currents.
2. The change in earths climate can have many causes:
a. Natural:
i. _____________________: put large amounts of
particles and CO2 into the atmosphere
ii. ____________________ in the earths orbit
changes in the shape of the orbit over thousands of
years
iii. ____________over large areas (forest and
grassland fires)
iv. _____________________changes over time.
b. Human-caused:
i. Burning of ___________________________ (coal,
oil, and natural gas)
ii. ______________________Cutting down large
forested areas
iii. Other _________________________________

3. What is the greenhouse effect???

a. When _______________________ in the atmosphere trap
the heat from the sun and prevent it from radiating back into
space
i. _________________ (methane) among others have
this ability to trap heat.
b. This is a good process; without it, the earths temperature
would be too cold to support life
4. What processes naturally kept the greenhouse effect in balance?
a. The _____________________________ of CO2 by green
plants & algae
b. The absorption of CO2 by the ___________________.
5. In the past, the amount of CO2 put into the atmosphere
______________________________________________ over a
long period of time
6. If you look at the graph, temperatures remained somewhat
_______________ until the mid 1800s.
7. Then as the ________________________________________
started getting into high gear, temperatures begin to rise.
8. This is because more and more _____________________ are
being burned.
9. By the time we get to the 1990s, temperatures trend
_________________________, due to more countries burning
fossil fuels as they become more modernized.

10. From observing many things, climate scientists think that the
increasing global temperatures will have
_________________________ over time.
11. They make these predictions based on:
a. __________________ climate data:
________________________________________, among
other things
b. _________________________temperature trends.
c. __________________________________.
12. Some of the effects we already are observing:
a. _______________________________
b. _______________________________
c. ________________________________________
d. ________________________________________
e. _______________________________________