Question

chapter 3: why it matters
sam hanson

1. what is climate change?
2. how is global warming different from climate change?
3. describe two factors contributing to global warming.
4. how will climate change affect humans?

Explanation:

1. Defines climate change as long-term shifts in global or regional weather patterns, including temperature, precipitation, and wind trends, driven by natural and human factors.
2. Distinguishes global warming (a specific, human-driven rise in average global surface temperatures) as one component of the broader climate change phenomenon, which encompasses all related weather pattern shifts.
3. Identifies two key human-caused factors: greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning, and deforestation that reduces carbon absorption.
4. Outlines major human impacts: threats to food/water security, increased extreme weather risks, and worsened respiratory health from poor air quality.

Answer:

1. Climate change refers to long-term shifts in global or regional weather patterns, encompassing changes in average temperatures, precipitation levels, wind patterns, and other climate variables, driven by both natural processes and human activities.
2. Global warming is a specific aspect of climate change: it describes the long-term rise in Earth's average surface temperature, primarily caused by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change is the broader term that includes global warming plus all other associated shifts in weather and climate systems (such as changes in rainfall patterns, storm frequency, and sea level rise).
3. 1. Fossil Fuel Combustion: Burning coal, oil, and natural gas for energy, transportation, and industry releases large amounts of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$), a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, trapping heat and raising global temperatures.
4. Deforestation: Clearing forests (for agriculture, logging, or development) removes trees that absorb $CO_2$ from the atmosphere, reducing the planet's natural carbon-capturing capacity and increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases.
5. Climate change will affect humans in multiple ways: it will threaten food and water security by disrupting crop growth and altering freshwater availability; increase the frequency and severity of life-threatening extreme weather events like heatwaves, hurricanes, and floods; and worsen respiratory and cardiovascular health issues due to poor air quality from increased wildfires and ground-level ozone. It will also displace communities via sea level rise and ecosystem loss, creating climate refugees.