Human activity and climate change
- Human activity is contributing to the release of carbon dioxide and methane, both greenhouse gases
- Methane levels are increasing due to:
- More waste being sent to landfill sites due to an increasing human population
- Increased levels of farming
- Carbon dioxide levels are increasing due to:
- The increased demand for energy resulting in more fossil fuels being burned
methane + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water
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- Deforestation- fewer trees means less carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis
carbon dioxide + water → glucose + oxygen
- By analysis of the percentage of CO2 in the atmosphere and the changes in temperature over several hundred years, the evidence for the effects of CO2 on global temperature is convincing
- The evidence collected by scientists is peer-reviewed by other scientists to make sure that the results are valid and they are confident with the conclusions made
- Peer-reviewed evidence gives a clear correlation between the percentage of CO2 in the atmosphere and the changes in temperature as shown in the graphs below
- This has led many scientists to agree that human activities cause an increase in the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere at the surface
Graph to show the increase in carbon dioxide levels since 1700