What changes climate?

• Sun’s output
Incoming solar radiation is the main climate driver. Its energy output
increased about 0.1% from 1750 to 1950, increasing temperatures by 0.2°F
(0.1°C) in the first part of the 20th century. But since 1979, when we began
taking measurements from space, the data show no long-term change in
total solar energy, even though Earth has been warming.

• Earth’s orbit
Repetitive cycles in Earth’s orbit that occur over tens of thousands of
years can influence the angle and timing of sunlight.

• Volcanic eruptions
Huge volcanic eruptions can cool Earth by injecting ash and tiny
particles into the stratosphere.
 Cont….

• Drifting continents
In the distant past, drifting continents
make a big difference in climate over
millions of years by changing ice caps
at the poles and by altering ocean
currents, which transport heat and
cold throughout the ocean depths

• Greenhouse gases
Changes in the concentration of greenhouse gases, which occur both
naturally and as a result of human activities influence Earth’s climate.
Greenhouse gases absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared
range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect.
Greenhouse gases greatly affect the temperature of the Earth; without
them, Earth’s surface would average about 33 °C colder, which is about
59 °F below the present average of 14 °C (57 °F)
 Damage to coral reefs, Pacific
The severity of periodic warming due to El Nino in 1997 in the
Pacific led to the most serious death in coral ever known. It is
estimated that about 10% of the Earth’s coral reefs were dead,
another 30 % were seriously affected and another 30% were
degraded. The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network Townsville,
Australia, has predicted that all the reefs could be dead by 2050.

Butterfly populations in the United Kingdom

Global warming is leading to an early arrival of butterflies in Britain.
Scientists say that butterflies can now be spotted much earlier every
year in the last two decades. Some, like the red admiral, can now be seen
a month earlier than was the case in the mid – 1970s. Others, like the
peacock and the orange tip are appearing between 15 and 25 days earlier
than in the past. Future rise in temperature is likely to have a
detrimental effect on these butterflies. Some butterflies whichneed cooler
temperatures might suffer.
GLOBAL
WARMING is an
increase in the
earth's average
atmospheric
temperature that
causes
corresponding
changes in climate
and that may
result from the
greenhouse effect.
 MORE ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING

A gradual increase in the overall temperature of the

earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the
greenhouse effect caused by increased levels carbon
dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants.

Since the early 20th century, Earth's mean surface

temperature has increased by about 0.8 °C (1.4 °F),
with about two-thirds of the increase occurring since
1980.

Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and

scientists are 95-100% certain that it is primarily
caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse
gases produced by human activities such as the
burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.
Causes of Global Warming

Global warming is primarily a problem of too much carbon

dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere—which acts as a blanket,
trapping heat and warming the planet.

 As we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas for
energy or cut down and burn forests to create pastures and
plantations, carbon accumulates and overloads our
atmosphere.

Certain waste management and agricultural practices

aggravate the problem by releasing other potent global
warming gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide.
 Cont….
 The major greenhouse gases
are water vapor, which causes
about 36–70% of the greenhouse
effect; carbon dioxide (CO2), which
causes 9–26%; methane (CH4),
which causes 4–9%;and ozone (O3),
which causes 3-7%. Clouds also
affect the radiation balance.

 Human activity since the Industrial

Revolution has increased the
amount of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere, leading to increased
radiative forcing from CO2,
methane, tropospheric ozone,
CFCs and nitrous oxide.
Effects of global warming

 Sea level rise is accelerating. The planet's temperature is rising.

 The number of large wildfires is growing.

 Dangerous heat waves are becoming more common.

 Extreme storm events are increasing in many areas. More severe

droughts are occurring in others.

 These are having significant and harmful effects on our health,

our environment, and our communities.
Nitrous oxide Carbon dioxide Methane

Sulfur hexafluoride
Water
Increasing greenhouse“Greenhouse effect”
gases trap more heat

Earth’s surface
absorbs heat from
the sun and then re-
radiates it back into
the atmosphere and
to space.
 Increasing greenhouse gases trap more heat
Much of this heat is absorbed
by greenhouse gases, which
then send the heat back to the
surface, to other greenhouse
gas molecules, or out to space.
Though only 1% of atmospheric
gases are greenhouse gases,
they are extremely powerful
heat trappers.
By burning fossil
fuels faster and
faster, humans
are effectively
piling on more blankets,
heating the planet
so much and so
quickly that it’s
hard for Mother
Nature and human
societies to adapt.
How to reduce Global Warming?

Produce more fuel-efficient vehicles

Reduce vehicle use

Improve energy-efficiency in buildings

Develop carbon capture and storage processes

Triple nuclear power

Increase solar power

Decrease deforestation/plant forests

The ozone layer in the upper atmosphere absorbs the sun’s
ultraviolet radiation, preventing it from reaching the earth’s
surface.

This layer in the atmosphere protects life on earth from the

dangerous UV radiation from the sun.

In the 1970s, scientists discovered that chemicals called

chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs, which were used as refrigerants
and aerosol spray propellants, posed a threat to the ozone layer.

The destruction of the ozone layer is seen to cause increased cases

of skin cancer and cataracts.

It also causes damage to certain crops and to plankton, thus

affecting natures food chains and food webs. This in turn causes
an increase in carbon dioxide due to the decrease in vegetation.
What is acid rain?
ACID RAIN is a rain or
any other form of
precipitation that is
usually acidic i.e. it has
low pH. Acid rain is
caused by emissions of
sulfhur dioxide and
nitrogen oxide, which
react with water
molecules in the
atmosphere to produce
acids.
 Causes of Acid Rain

The primary cause of acid rain is

the emission of harmful gases and
emissions by industrial power
plants and factories, and to some
extent, cars as well.

Burning of fossil fuels lead to

emission of gases that give oxides
of sulfur and nitrogen.

Burning of gasoline and diesel in

cars build the amount of acidified
water droplets in the atmosphere.
Effects of Acid Rain
The effects of acid rain are unhealthy and harmful.
Buildings, national monuments and bridges tend to
deteriorate faster.

The biggest reason to find satisfactory solutions for

acid rains is the damage to natural ecosystems. This
rain will affect the plants, trees, rivers, lakes, soil and
land wherever it may fall on.

Animals and plants that live in such areas are

severely affected. Their food sources get diminished,
they may develop unhealthy diseases or mutations, or
they may even die in extreme cases.
EFFECT ON HUMANS

The pollutants that cause acid

rain—sulfur dioxide and nitrogen
oxides damage human health.
These gases interact in the
atmosphere to form fine sulfate
and nitrate particles that can be
transported long distances by
winds and inhaled deep into
people's lungs. When we breathe
in air pollution, these very fine
particulates can easily enter our
body, where they can cause
breathing problems (asthma),
bronchitis and over time even
cause skin cancer.
Solutions for acid rain
•Understand acid deposition's causes and effects
To solve the acid rain problem, people need to understand
how acid rain damages the environment. They also need to
understand what changes could be made to the air pollution
sources that cause the problem.
•Use Low Sulfur Coal
The amount of sulfur oxides emitted by a power plant can be
reduced by burning coal with a very low percentage of sulfur
present.
•Use Scrubbers
Scrubbers remove 80-95 percent of the sulfur oxides.
Certain types do not remove nitrogen oxides. They are
costly to retrofit to existing power plants. They increase
the electric generating costs by 10-15 %.
What are Nuclear Disasters?

Nuclear energy is
generated by the process of
molecular fission, molcular
fusion and molecular decay.
Uncontrolled formation of
such energy leads to
nuclear disasters.

These disasters
significantly affect the
population and its effects
are observed for years.
Effects on Environment
A single nuclear accident
can cause loss of life, long
term illness and destruction of
property o a large scale.

Radioactivity leads to
cancer, genetic disorders and
death in the affected area for
decades.

It thus affects all forms of

life for generation to come.
 CASE STUDY
Nuclear disasters and leakages
In 1986 the Nuclear Power Station at Chernobyl in USSR developed a
problem that led to a fire and a number of explosions in its Nuclear
Reactor. The radioactive dust spread over many kilometers and covered
not only Europe but North America as well. Three people died in the
explosion and 28 shortly after due to radiation exposure. Some 259 sick
were hospitalized. As the area had to be evacuated 1,35,000 people had
to be moved immediately and another 1.5 lac by 1991. As radioactive fall
out continued even more people had to be moved. An estimated
6.5 lakh people may have been seriously affected. They may get cancer,
thyroid tumours, and cataracts, and suffer from a lowered immune
mechanism. As radioactivity passes from grass to herbivores, sheep in
Scotland and Reindeer in Lapland were affected and were unfit for
human consumption. Vegetable, fruit and milk were contaminated in
Europe. A French Nuclear Waste Processing Center in Normandy may
have affected the lives of children playing nearby. They may develop
Leukemia (blood cancer) in later life.
What is Wasteland?

Land that is unfit for cultivation, or is unproductive,

unimproved, or barren is known as wasteland.

Land reclaimation is creation of new land where there is

water.

It consists of two distinct processes:

1. One involves creating new land from sea or riverbeds.
2. The other refers to restoring an area to a more
natural state(such as after pollution or salination
have made it unstable).
 Methods of Wasteland Reclaimation
Methods of Wasteland Reclaimation

AFFORESTATION:
Growing the forests over cultivable wasteland.

REFORESTATION:
Growing the forest again over the lands where they were
existing and was destroyed due to fires, overgrazing, and
excessive cutting. Reforestation checks water logging,
floods, soil erosion and increase productivity of land.

PROVIDING SURFACE AREA:

The easiest way to protect the land surface from soil
erosion is to leave crop residue on the land after harvesting.
 Cont….
MULCHING:
Protective cover of organic matter and plants like
stalks, cotton stalks, tobacco stalks etc. are used which
reduce evaporation, help in retaining soil moisture and
reduce soil erosion.

CHANGING GROUND TOPOGRAPHY ON DOWNHILLS:

Running water erodes the hill soil and carries the soil along
with it. This can be minimized by following alternation in
ground topography:
(a) Strip farming: Different kinds of crops are planted in
alternate strip along the contour.
(b) Terracing: In this arrangement, the earth is shaped in
the form of levelled terraces to hold soil and water. The
terrace edges are planted with such plant species which
anchor the soil.
(c) Contour ploughing: In this arrangement, the
ploughing of land is done across the hill and not in up and
down style.
 Cont….

LEACHING:
In salt affected land, the salinity can be minimized by
leaching them with more water.

CHANGING AGRICULTURAL PRACTISES:

Mixed cropping, crop rotation and cropping of plants
are adopted to improve soil fertility.

ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION:
This refers to the natural development or redevelopment
of an ecosystem which help in reclaiming the minerally
deficient soil of wasteland.
Need for wasteland development

Wasteland development provides a source of income for

the rural poor.

It ensures a constant supply of fuel, fodder and timber

for local use.

It makes the soil fertile by preventing soil erosion

and conserving moisture.

The program helps maintain an ecological balance in the

area.

The increasing forest cover helps in maintaining local

climatic conditions.
TEHRI, UTTAR PRADESH
Nagchaund village in Tehri District of Uttar Pradesh was once an
eroded and deforested land. When Soban Singh Bhandari
returned to his village after retirement from the army in 1987 he
was struck by this degradation. After six months he became the
pradhan of the village and decided to implement various village
development schemes differently. Through the Jawahar Rozgar
Yojana, he gained immense community support. In 1990 the
Forest Department selected a 30-hectare barren piece of
community land for a micro-watershed development program.
The villagers controlled grazing in the area, undertook
plantations for fuel and fodder. Bhandari helped the village raise
money by selling the fodder from the area to a neighboring village
and the money was used for development and maintenance work.
This community effort has had a great impact on
the ecology of the area. The moisture content of the area
increased and the water sources of the villages were recharged.
Local people now have access to all the natural resources they
need for their daily lives.
 What is WASTE?
Any material which cannot be
used in the form in which it is
produced is called a WASTE. It
is no longer needed by us
because it has lost its value. If
it is thrown around, it can
cause soil, air or water
pollution. It also poses a
serious threat to normal life,
plants, animals and human
beings.
 WASTE

Basis of physical state Basis of degradibility

Biodegredible Non-biodegradible
Waste Waste

Solid Liquid Gaseou

Waste Waste s Waste
 Effect of wastes
GHGs are accumulating in Earth’s atmosphere as a result of human
activities, causing global mean surface air temperature and
subsurface ocean temperature to rise.

Rising global temperatures are expected to raise sea levels and

change precipitation and other local climate conditions.

Changing regional climates could alter forests, crop yields, and water
supplies.

This could also affect human health, animals, and many types of
ecosystems.

Whether rainfall increases or decreases cannot be reliably projected for

specific areas.
 Waste Management
REDUCE
Reduction is the best option. If we
reduce at source, there is a smaller
chance of waste generation and the
pressure on our already stretched
natural resources is reduced.

REUSE
Reuse is the next best option, as the product is reused
in its current form without any energy expended to
convert it into a new item.

RECYCLE
Recycling is the last option, as although it converts a
waste into a resource, it uses energy to transform that
resource into a new useable product.