Science, Technology, and Society
Lesson 3: Climate Change
Learning Outcome:
a. Analyze and explain the causes and effects of climate change on society.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body that evaluates
climate change science, released its report on global climate change. The report‘s important
conclusions were the following: The world‘s climate has changed significantly over the past century; the
significant change has human influence; using climate models and if ‗ the trend continues, the global
mean surface temperature will increase between 1°C and 35°C by 2100.
Why should a few degrees of warming be a cause for concern? According to experts, global
climate change could have a greater potential to change lives on our planet than anything else except a
nuclear war. These changes will also lead to a number of potentially serious consequences. Climate
change refers to the statistically significant changes in climate for a continuous period of time Factors
that contribute to climate change can be natural internal processes, external forces, and persistent
anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. it can also be due to
natural occurrences or contributed by acts of humans.
Causes of Climate Change
The causes of climate change could be natural or human activities.
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Natural Causes
Volcanic Eruptions
Volcanic eruptions are one of the natural causes of climate change. When volcanoes erupt, it emits
different natural aerosols like carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxides, salt crystals, volcanic ashes or dust, and
even microorganisms like bacteria and viruses. The volcanic eruption can cause a cooling effect to the
lithosphere because its emitted aerosol can block a certain percentage of solar radiation. This cooling
effect can last for one to two years.
What happens in violent volcanic eruptions is the release of ash particles in the stratosphere. The
volcanic ashes which have sulfur dioxide combine with water vapor. It then forms sulfuric acid and
sulfurous aerosols. The sulfurous aerosols then are transported by easterly or westerly winds.
Volcanoes located near the equator are more likely to cause global cooling because of the wind
pattern. Volcanoes located near to north or south poles are less likely to cause cooling because of the
pole wind pattern, the sulfurous aerosols are confined in the pole area.
There are several recorded major volcanic eruptions that cause climate change. Mount Tambora of
Indonesia erupted in 1816. It was considered the largest known eruption in human history. The eruption
caused snowfall in the northeastern United States and Canada. It affected their agricultural lands,
losing crops that caused food shortage and increased human mortality. The eruptions of Mount
Krakatau of Indonesia in 1883 and Mount Pinatubo of the Philippines in 1991 contributed, too, to the
cold years of planet Earth.
Orbital Changes
Earth‘s orbit can also cause climate change. This was proposed by the Milankovitch theory. The
Milankovitch theory states "that as the Earth travels through space around the Sun, cyclical variations
in three elements of Earth-Sun geometry combine to produce variations in the amount of solar energy
that reaches Earth (Academic Emporia, 2017).
The three elements that have cyclic variations are eccentricity, obliquity, and precession.
1. Eccentricity - is a term used to describe the shape of Earth's orbit around the Sun. The impact of
the variation is a change in the amount of solar energy from perihelion (around January 3) to aphelion
(around July 4). The time frame for the cycle is approximately 98,000 years (Academic Emporia, 2017).
Currently, Earth's eccentricity is 0.016 and there is about a 6.4% increase in insolation from July to
January (Academic Emporia, 2017). Academic Emporia (2017) states, "The eccentricity influences
seasonal differences: when Earth is closest to the Sun, it gets more SOlar radiation. If the perihelion
occurs during the winter, the winter is less severe. If a hemisphere has its summer while closest to the
Sun, summers are relatively warm."
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2. Obliquity - is the variation of the tilt of Earth's axis away from the orbital plane. As this tilt changes,
the seasons become more exaggerated. The obliquity changes on a cycle taking approximately 40,000
years. Academic Emporia (2017) states "the more tilt means more severe seasons-warmer summers
and colder winters; less tilt means less severe seasons-cooler summers and milder winters."
3. Precession - is the change in orientation of Earth's rotational axis. The precession cycle takes about
19,000 to 23,000 years. Precession is caused by two factors: a wobble of Earth's axis and a turning
around of the elliptical orbit of Earth itself (Academic Emporia, 2017). Obliquity affected the tilt of
Earth's axis, precession affects the direction of Earth's axis. The change in the axis location changes
the dates of perihelion (closest distance from Sun) and aphelion (farthest distance from the sun), and
this increases the seasonal contrast in one hemisphere while decreasing it in the other hemisphere
(Academic Emporia, 2017). Currently, Earth is closest to the Sun in the Northern Hemisphere winter,
which makes the winters there less severe (Academic Emporia, 2017 ). Another consequence of the
precession is a shift in the celestial poles. Five thousand years ago, the art― Star was Thuban in the
constellation Draco. Currently, the North Star is Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor.
During the 1940s and 19508, the theory fell into disrepute due to diocal‗bon dating, indicating a lag
in(cooling versus insolation and to a gale problem With high-frequency glacial advances (Academic
Emporia, 017). The theory was revived several times throughout the late 1960s to the present
(Academic Emporia, 2017).
The Carbon Dioxide Theory
Carbon dioxide (C02) is added when power and heat are produced by burning coal, oil, and other
fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide is transparent to sunshine but not invisible to infrared (heat) radiation
leaving the ground. Carbon dioxide absorbs part of the infrared radiation in the air and returns it to the
ground keeping the air near the surface warmer than it would be if the carbon dioxide did not act like a
blanket. Doubling the carbon dioxide raises the temperature t9 2°C to 3°C.
Human Activities
Human activities contribute to climate change. The largest known contribution comes from the
burning of fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases and
aerosols affect climate by altering incoming solar radiation and outgoing infrared (thermal) radiation that
are part of Earth‘s energy balance.‗Changing the atmospheric abundance or properties of these gases
and particles can lead to a warming or cooling of the climate system. Since the start of the industrial era
(about 1750), the overall effect of human activities on climate has been a warming influence. The
human impact on climate during this era greatly exceeds that due to known changes in natural
processes, Such as solar changes and volcanic eruptions. Human activities result in emissions of four
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principal greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (C02), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N20), and
halocarbons (a group of gases containing fluorine, chlorine, and bromine). These gases accumulate in
the atmosphere, causing concentrations to increase with time (WWW.CO2.org).
The greenhouse gases mentioned are natural gases. However, the high level Of these gases in the
atmosphere contributes to the greenhouse effect. The increasing amount of these gases is due to
human activities. A high level of carbon dioxide comes from fossil fuel use in transportation; and the
building, heating, cooling, and manufacture of cement and Other goods. Deforestation releases carbon
dioxide and reduces its uptake by plants. High methane emission is related to agriculture, natural gas
distribution, and landfills. High nitrous oxide is also emitted by human activities such as fertilizer use
and fossil fuel burning. Halocarbon gas concentrations have increased primarily due to human
activities. Principal halocarbons include the chlorofluorocarbons (e.g., CFC-ll and CFC-12) which were
used extensively as refrigeration agents and in other industrial processes before their presence in the
atmosphere was found to cause stratospheric ozone depletion. The abundance of chlorofluorocarbon
gases is decreasing as a result of international regulations designed to protect the ozone layer (The
Encyclopedia of Earth, 2016).
Ozone is another greenhouse gas that is continually produced and destroyed in the atmosphere by
chemical reactions. In the troposphere, human activities have increased ozone through the release 'of
gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxide, which chemically react to produce
ozone.
Halocarbons released by human activities destroy ozone in the stratosphere and have caused the
ozone hole over Antarctica. While water vapor is the most abundant and important greenhouse gas in
the atmosphere, human activities have only a small direct influence on the amount of atmospheric
water vapor. Indirectly, humans have the potential to affect water vapor substantially by changing
climate. For example, a warmer atmosphere contains more water vapor. Human activities also
influence Water vapor through CH4 emissions, because CH4 undergoes chemical destruction in the
stratosphere, producing a small amount of water vapor, and aerosols, the small particles present in the
atmosphere with widely varying sizes, concentrations, and chemical composition. Some aerosols are
emitted directly into the atmosphere while others are formed from emitted compounds. Aerosols contain
both naturally occurring compounds and those emitted as a result of human activities. Fossil fuel and
biomass burning have increased aerosols containing sulfur compounds, organic compounds, and black
carbon (soot). Human activities such as surface mining and industrial processes have increased dust in
the atmosphere
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(IPCC, 2007). On September 16, 1986, an international treaty was adopted. It is called the Montreal
Protocol. The treaty aimed to regulate the production and use of chemicals that contribute to Ozone
layer depletion (Britannica, 2017).
Effects of Climate Change on Society
Climate change could cause severe effects on all life forms around our planet. It directly affects the
basic elements of people‘s lives like water, food, health, use of land, and the environment.
With the average global temperature which is predicted to rise by 2 to 3°C within the next fifty
years, glaciers will continue to melt faster. Melting glaciers will increase flood risks during the wet
season and strongly reduce dry-season water supplies to one-sixth of the world‘s population,
predominantly in the Indian subcontinent, parts of China, and the Andes in South America. Declining
crop yields due to drought, especially in Africa, are likely to leave hundreds of millions without the ability
to produce or purchase sufficient food. At mid to high latitudes, crop yields may increase for moderate
temperature rises (2 to 3°C) but then decline with greater amounts of warming. Ocean edification, a
direct result of rising carbon dioxide levels, will have major effects on marine ecosystems, with possible
adverse consequences on fish stocks (Stern, 2007).
Climate change will increase worldwide deaths from malnutrition and heat stress. Vector-borne
diseases such as malaria and dengue fever could become more widespread if effective control
measures are not in place. Rising sea levels may result in more flooded areas each year with a
warming of 3 or 4°C. There will be serious risks and increasing pressures for coastal protection (Stern,
2007).
Ecosystems will be particularly vulnerable to climate change, with one study estimating that around
15-40% of species face extinction with 2°C of warming. The consequences of climate change will
become disproportionately more damaging with increased warming. Higher temperatures will increase
the chance of triggering abrupt and large-scale changes that lead to regional disruption, migration, and
conflict. Warming may induce sudden shifts in regional weather patterns like the monsoons or the El-
Niño. Such changes would have severe consequences for water availability and flooding in tropical
regions and threaten the livelihood would raise sea levels and threaten at least 4 million km2 of land,
which today is home to 5% world‘s population (Stern, 2007).
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Work Sheets
Name: Date :
Course & Section:
No Answer (no pt.) Needs Improvement Adequate (6 pt.) Quality (8 pt.) Exemplary(10 pt)
(4 pts)
Did not answer the Answers are partial Answers are not Answers are Answers are
question. or incomplete. Key comprehensive or accurate and comprehensive,
points are not clear. completely stated. complete. Key accurate, and
Question not Key points are points are stated complete. Key ideas
adequately addressed, but not and supported. are clearly stated,
answered. well supported. explained, and well
supported.
Activity 4.3
Explain the causes and effects of climate change on society. As a student what would you do to ease
this problem?
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Work Sheets
Name: Date :
Course & Section:
No Answer (no pt.) Needs Improvement Adequate (6 pt.) Quality (8 pt.) Exemplary(10 pt)
(4 pts)
Did not answer the Answers are partial Answers are not Answers are Answers are
question. or incomplete. Key comprehensive or accurate and comprehensive,
points are not clear. completely stated. complete. Key accurate, and
Question not Key points are points are stated complete. Key ideas
adequately addressed, but not and supported. are clearly stated,
answered. well supported. explained, and well
supported.
Independent Learning 4.3
Make a reflective essay that helps in mitigating the hazards caused by climate change.
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Module References and Sources
The following are the references and sources used in compiling this module:
Main Source: Science, Technology, and Society textbook, First edition by: Janice Patria Javier
Serafica, Greg Tabios Pawilen, Bernardo Nicolas Caslib, Jr. & Eden Joy Pastor Alata (2018) Published
by the Rex Book Store.
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https://www.history.com/news/sumerians-inventions-mesopotamia
https://babylonianempire8c.weebly.com/science-and-technology.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_technology )
Academic Emporia. (n.d.). "Milankovitch Theory." Accessed August 1,
2017.http://academic.emporia.cdu/aberjame /student/howard2/theory.htm.
Britannica. (n.d.). "Montreal Protocol." Accessed August 1, 2017,
https://www.britannica.com/event/Montreal-Protocol.
Esribano, R. & Tanarro, I. (2010). Spectroscopy of the Atmosphere.Madrid: 2010. Accessed October
10, 2017. https://books.google.com.ph/books.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2007). "ClimateChange." Accessed August 1, 2017.
https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and data/ar4/wg1/en/faq-2-1.html
Pavico, J.M.F. (2015). Exploring Life Through Science. Quezon City: Phoenix Publishing House.
Real Climate. (2010). "The Carbon Dioxide Theory of Gilbert Plass.Accessed August 1, 2017.
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2010/01/the-carbon-dioxide-theory-of-gilbert-plass/
Stern, N. (2007). "How Climate Change Affects People Around the World" In The Economics of Climate
Change. p. 56-65. https//books.google.com.ph/books.
The Encyclopedia of Earth. (2016). "Climate Change." accessed October 25, 2017.
http://www.editors.eol.org/eoearth/wI
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