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Global warming

Source: https://unsplash.com/, licencja: CC 0.

Link to the lesson

Before you start you should know
  • that the Earth's climate is changing constantly;

  • that saving electricity helps to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

You will learn
  • to explain what the greenhouse effect is and assess its significance for life on Earth;

  • to identify sources of greenhouse gases;

  • to present methods of reducing global warming.

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Nagranie dźwiękowe abstraktu

The Earth as a greenhouse

Our planet is surrounded by an atmosphere composed of various gases. The atmosphere acts as a protective coating: it blocks the harmful cosmic radiation from reaching the surface of the planet and absorbs some of the ultraviolet radiation originating from the Sun. Another important function of the Earth's atmosphere is the stabilization of the globe's temperature. Gases that determine the temperature of the planet are referred to as greenhouse gasesgreenhouse gasesgreenhouse gases. Thanks to them, the radiation from the Sun can reach the surface of the Earth, but the heat that is reclected by Earth cannot get back into space. This phenomenon is called the greenhouse effectgreenhouse effectgreenhouse effect. As a result, the average annual temperature on the Earth is around 15°C, which enables the existence of life. Therefore, the greenhouse effect is a natural and beneficial phenomenon.

Greenhouse gases are: water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, nitrous oxide, and others. The main greenhouse gas is water vapor. It enters the atmosphere primarily due to the evaporation of the surface of oceans and lands, as well as during volcanic eruptions and fuel combustion processes in industry and transport.

Carbon dioxide is a result of many natural processes: respiration of organisms, including that carried out by soil microorganisms decomposing organic debris, fires, weathering of rocks, and volcanic eruptions. More and more carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere as a result of industrial and automotive activities.

The next greenhouse gas is methane a component of natural gas. It is produced in the process of anaerobic decomposition of organic remains. Methane is also a product of fermentation that takes place in the intestines, especially of ruminant animals. One of the sources of methane is industrial human activity: mineral mining and mass cattle breeding.

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Na ilustracji schemat efektu cieplarnianego. Powierzchnia kuli ziemskiej, atmosfera, słońce, w dolnej części atmosfery gazy cieplarniane. Schematycznie narysowane padające promienie słoneczne oraz promieniowanie odbite i wypromieniowane ciepło. Większość promieniowania słonecznego przenika przez atmosferę i dociera do powierzchni Ziemi. Część odbija się od atmosfery i powierzchni Ziemi, a potem rozprasza w przestrzeni pozaziemskiej. Nagrzana powierzchnia Ziemi wypromieniowuje ciepło z powrotem do atmosfery. Niewielka część ciepła wypromieniowanego przez powierzchnię Ziemi przenika przez atmosferę i rozprasza się w kosmosie. Większość ciepła wypromieniowanego przez powierzchnię Ziemi nie może przeniknąć przez gazy cieplarniane i pozostaje w atmosferze. Podpisano: 1. Atmosphere, 2. greenhouse gases, 3. Earth, 4. Most of the solar radiation penetrates the atmosphere and reaches the Earth's surface, 5. Part of the solar radiation is reflected from the atmosphere and the Earth's surface, and then disperses in the extraterrestrial space, 6. The Earth's surface, which is heated by the Sun, radiates heat back into the atmosphere, 7. Most of the heat radiated by the Earth's surface can not penetrate through greenhouse gases and remains in the atmosphere, 8. A small part of the heat radiated by the surface of the Earth penetrates the atmosphere and disperses in the cosmos
Greenhouse effect
Source: Dariusz Adryan, GroMar Sp. z o.o., licencja: CC BY-SA 3.0.
Task 1

Before you watch the animation „Chemical structure of greenhouse gases”, write down the research question and the hypothesis. While watching the movie, write down your observations and finally – conclusions.

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Wykonaj ćwiczenie zgodnie z poleceniem.
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Film pod tytułem Chemical build of greenhouse gases przedstawia chemiczną budowę gazów cieplarnianych: pary wodnej (water vapor), dwutlenku węgla ( carbon dioxide) oraz metanu (methane). Cząsteczka pary wodnej składa się z atomu tlenu, oxygen i dwóch atomów wodoru, hydrogen. Cząsteczka dwutlenku węgla składa się z atomu węgla, carbon i dwóch atomów tlenu, oxygen. Cząsteczka metanu składa się z atomu węgla, carbon i czterech atomów wodoru, hydrogen.

Climate change on Earth

The greenhouse effect allows for maintaining a relatively high temperature on Earth, which, however, is subject to fluctuations. Geological research shows that, in the history of the Earth, periods of warmth have interchanged with the so‑called ice ages.

Temperature fluctuations were observed and recorded by chroniclers as early as in the Middle Ages, however, systematic measurements of air temperature were conducted only from the 18th century. They indicate that starting from the middle of the 19th century the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere has been constantly increasing, and the most rapid growth began around 1950. These changes are called global warmingglobal warmingglobal warming. There is no consensus among scientists whether this is a natural process or the result of the development of our civilization. Most likely, both of these hypotheses are partly correct.

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The amount of carbon dioxide released to the atmosphere as a result of burning fossil fuels
Source: Dariusz Adryan, licencja: CC BY 3.0.

The effects of global warming

Global warming is the cause of numerous changes affecting the entire planet, such as the melting of glaciers, the rising of sea and ocean levels, droughts, violent weather events and the extinction of many species.

The changes in the climate cannot be undone, but our impact on global warming can be limited. From all the greenhouse gases, we have the biggest influence on the carbon dioxide emission, which is why the European Union aims to reduce it. This requires, among others, reducing energy consumption, e.g. in industry, transport, households, and abandoning the use of fossil fuels.

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Exercise 1
Identify the functions of Earth's atmosphere. Select all the correct answers. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. protection against harmful cosmic radiation, 2. protection against excess UV radiation, 3. stabilizes the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, 4. stabilizes the Earth's surface temperature
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Exercise 2
Wybierz jedno zagadnienie opisane w abstrakcie. Poszerz swoją wiedzę na jego temat, szukając dodatkowych informacji w dostępnych ci źródłach (np. w internecie, encyklopedii lub specjalistycznych publikacjach).
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Exercise 3
Is global warming caused only by human activity or is it a completely independent phenomenon? Choose an answer basing on the state of today's knowledge. Możliwe odpowiedzi: 1. This is a phenomenon caused solely by human activity., 2. This phenomenon is completely natural and independent of human activity, 3. Most probably the human activity intensified the natural course of the phenomenon.

Summary

  • Thanks to the greenhouse effect, life on Earth has been created and maintained.

  • The effects of global warming include: melting glaciers, the rising of sea and ocean levels, droughts, severe weather events, extinction of species.

  • Reducing the consumption of energy obtained from fossil fuels can be a way of reducing global warming.

Keywords

greenhouse gases, global warming, fossil fuels

Glossary

greenhouse effect
greenhouse effect
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Nagranie dźwiękowe słówka

efekt cieplarniany – zjawisko wywołane przez gazy cieplarniane; polega na zatrzymaniu części ciepła pochodzącego od Słońca w dolnych warstwach atmosfery; dzięki niemu średnia temperatura powietrza na Ziemi jest względnie stała i znacznie wyższa niż gdyby atmosfery nie było

greenhouse gases
greenhouse gases
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Nagranie dźwiękowe słówka

gazy cieplarniane – gazy zawarte w atmosferze, które ograniczają wypromieniowywanie ciepła z powierzchni Ziemi w kosmos

global warming
global warming
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Nagranie dźwiękowe słówka

globalne ocieplenie – stały wzrost średniej temperatury powietrza na Ziemi obserwowany od kilkudziesięciu lat