CAUSES OF CLIMATE CHANGE The causes of climate change can be divided into two categories, human and natural

causes. It is now a global concern that the climatic changes occurring today have been speeded up because of man's activities. The natural variability and the climate fluctuations of the climate system have always been part of the Earths history however there have been changes in concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere growing at an unprecedented rate and magnitude. The United Nations, governments and many top scientists around the world believe that we must act now to stabilize and arrest further changes.

To understand climate change fully, the causes of climate change must be first identified. Scientists divide the causes into two categories, natural and human causes. Natural Causes of Climate Change The earths climate is influenced and changed through natural causes like volcanic eruptions, ocean current, the earths orbital changes and solar variations.

Volcanic eruptions - When a volcano erupts it throws out large volumes of sulphur dioxide (SO2), water vapour, dust, and ash into the atmosphere. Large volumes of gases and ash can influence climatic patterns for years by increasing planetary reflectivity causing atmospheric cooling. Tiny particles called aerosols are produced by volcanoes. Because they reflect solar energy back into space they have a cooling effect on the world. The greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide is also produced however the CO2 produced is insignificant when compared to emissions created by humans. Ocean current - The oceans are a major component of the climate system. Ocean currents move vast amounts of heat across the planet. Winds push horizontally against the sea surface and drive ocean current patterns. Interactions between the ocean and atmosphere can also produce phenomena such as El Nio which occur every 2 to 6 years. Deep ocean circulation of cold water from the poles towards the equator and movement of warm water from the equator back towards the poles. Without this movement the poles would be colder and the equator warmer. The oceans play an important role in determining the atmospheric concentration of CO2. Changes in ocean circulation may affect the climate through the movement of CO2 into or out of the atmosphere. Earth orbital changes - The earth makes one full orbit around the sun each year. It is tilted at an angle of 23.5 to the perpendicular plane of its orbital path. Changes in the tilt of the earth can lead to small but climatically important changes in the strength of the seasons, more tilt means warmer summers and colder winters; less tilt means cooler summers and milder winters. Slow changes in the Earths orbit lead to small but climatically important changes in the strength of the seasons over tens of

thousands of years. Climate feedbacks amplify these small changes, thereby producing ice ages. Solar variations - The Sun is the source of energy for the Earths climate system. Although the Suns energy output appears constant from an everyday point of view, small changes over an extended period of time can lead to climate changes. Some scientists suspect that a portion of the warming in the first half of the 20th century was due to an increase in the output of solar energy. As the sun is the fundamental source of energy that is instrumental in our climate system it would be reasonable to assume that changes in the sun's energy output would cause the climate to change. Scientific studies demonstrate that solar variations have performed a role in past climate changes. For instance a decrease in solar activity was thought to have triggered the Little Ice Age between approximately 1650 and 1850, when Greenland was largely cut off by ice from 1410 to the 1720s and glaciers advanced in the Alps. Current global warming however cannot be explained by solar variations. Some examples are evidenced such as since 1750, the average amount of energy coming from the Sun either remained constant or increased slightly. If global warming was caused by a more active sun, then scientists would expect to see warmer temperatures in all layers of the atmosphere. They have only observed a cooling in the upper atmosphere, a warming at the surface and in the lower parts of the atmosphere. This is due to greenhouse gasses capturing heat in the lower atmosphere. Also climate models that include solar irradiance changes cannot reproduce last century's observed temperature trend without including a rise in greenhouse gases. HUMAN CAUSES The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century saw the large-scale use of fossil fuels for industrial activities. Fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas supply most of the energy needed to run vehicles, generate electricity for industries and households. The energy sector is responsible for about of the carbon dioxide emissions, 1/5 of the methane emissions and a large quantity of nitrous oxide. Carbon dioxide is undoubtedly, the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Changes in land use pattern, deforestation, land clearing, agriculture, and other activities have all led to a rise in the emission of carbon dioxide. Methane is another important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. It is released from animals such as dairy cows, goats, pigs, buffaloes, camels, horses and sheep Methane is also emitted during the process of oil drilling, coal mining, leaking gas pipelines, landfills and waste dumps. The certainty of global warming can be seen through some of the natural phenomenon like the effect on crops and extreme weather conditions around the world. It is especially clear in the dramatic change of the polar caps, i.e. the Arctic ice cap is shrinking and the Antarctica ice shelf is melting.

Main Contributors and Causes of Climate Change According to the UK Government the main contributors of man-made causes of climate change in the UK are: * 4% of carbon emissions come from industrial processes * 7% come from agriculture for example methane emissions from livestock and manure, and nitrous oxide emissions from chemical fertilisers 21% carbon emissions from transport 65% come from the use of fuel to generate energy (excluding transport) About 40% of carbon emissions in the UK are the result of decisions taken directly by individuals. The biggest sources of emissions for most people are likely to be: * energy use in the home (the main use is heating) * driving a car * air travel There other elements of people's homes that contribute to climate change indirectly. Everything, from furniture to computers, from clothes to carpets, all use energy when it is produced and transported and this causes carbon emissions to be released. DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION Environmental degradation is a process through which the natural environment is compromised in some way, reducing biological diversity and the general health of the environment. This process can be entirely natural in origin, or it can be accelerated or caused by human activities. Many international organizations recognize environmental degradation as one of the major threats facing the planet, since humans have only been given one Earth to work with, and if the environment becomes irreparably compromised, it could mean the end of human existence. There are a number of ways in which environmental degradation can work. In a classic case, resources simply become depleted. Air, water, and soil are all resources which are vulnerable to depletion through overuse, as are natural resources like minerals and oil deposits. Habitat pressures which force animals into a small area can also contribute to resource depletion, as the animals consume a high volume of material in a small area. Pollution is another cause of environmental degradation. When the environment becomes polluted, it means that toxic substances have rendered it unhealthy. Pollution can come from a variety of sources, including vehicle emissions, agricultural runoff, accidental chemical release from factories, and poorly-managed harvesting of natural resources. In some cases, pollution may be reversible with costly environmental remediation measures, and in other instances, it may take decades or even centuries for the environment to cope with the pollution.

A number of social and legal issues are involved in environmental degradation, ranging from the need to provide living space for humans to questions about who is responsible forenvironmental cleanup. For example, if a company acquires a company which released toxic chemicals into the environment in an era when this practice was commonplace, it may argue that it has no legal obligation to clean up the chemicals, although it may be obliged to do so under ethical principles.

COMMON TYPES OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Solar energy is the generation of electricity from the sun. It is split up into two types, thermal and electric energy. These two subgroups mean that they heat up homes and generate electricity respectively.

Wind energy is the generation of electricity from the wind. Geothermal energy is using hot water or steam from the Earths interior for heating buildings or electricity generation. Biofuel and ethanol are plant-derived substitutes of gasoline for powering vehicles. Hydrogen is used as clean fuel for spaceships, and some cars.

RELATIVELY NEW CONCEPTS FOR ALTERNATIVE ENERGY Algae fuel Algae fuel is a biofuel which is derived from algae. During photosynthesis, algae and other photosynthetic organisms capture carbon dioxide and sunlight and convert it into oxygen and biomass. The benefits of algal biofuel are that it can be produced industrially, thereby obviating the use of arable land and food crops (such as soy, palm, and canola), and that it has a very high oil yield as compared to all other sources of biofuel. Biomass briquettes Biomass briquettes are being developed in the developing world as an alternative to charcoal. The technique involves the conversion of almost any plant matter into compressed briquettes that typically have about 70% the calorific value of charcoal. There are relatively few examples of large scale briquette production. One exception is in North Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where forest clearance for charcoal production is considered to be the biggest threat to Mountain Gorilla habitat. The staff of Virunga National Park have successfully trained and equipped over 3500 people to produce biomass briquettes, thereby replacing charcoal produced illegally inside the national park, and creating significant employment for people living in extreme poverty in conflict affected areas. [28] Biogas digestion Biogas digestion deals with harnessing the methane gas that is released when waste breaks down. This gas can be retrieved from garbage or sewage systems. Biogas digesters are used to process methane gas by having bacteria break down biomass in an anaerobic environment. [29] The methane gas that is collected and refined can be used as an energy source for various products.

Floating wind farms Floating wind farms are similar to a regular wind farm, but the difference is that they float in the middle of the ocean. Offshore wind farms can be placed in water up to 40 metres (130 ft) deep, whereas floating wind turbines can float in water up to 700 metres (2,300 ft) deep. The advantage of having a floating wind farm is to be able to harness the winds from the open ocean. Without any obstructions such as hills, trees and buildings, winds from the open ocean can reach up to speeds twice as fast as coastal areas. Solar The primary obstacle that is preventing the large scale implementation of solar powered energy generation is the inefficiency of current solar technology. Currently, photovoltaic (PV) panels only have the ability to convert around 16% of the sunlight that hits them into electricity. [49] At this rate, many experts believe that solar energy is not efficient enough to be economically sustainable given the cost to produce the panels themselves. Both Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), have heavily funded solar research programs. The NREL solar program has a budget of around $75 million [50] and develops research projects in the areas of photovoltaic (PV) technology, solar thermal energy, and solar radiation.[51] The budget for Sandias solar division is unknown, however it accounts for a significant percentage of the laboratorys $2.4 billion budget. [52] Several academic programs have focused on solar research in recent years. The Solar Energy Research Center (SERC) at University of North Carolina (UNC) has the sole purpose of developing cost effective solar technology. In 2008, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed a method to store solar energy by using it to produce hydrogen fuel from water.[53] Such research is targeted at addressing the obstacle that solar development faces of storing energy for use during nighttime hours when the sun is not shining. In February 2012, North Carolina-based Semprius Inc., a solar development company backed by German corporation Siemens, announced that they had developed the worlds most efficient solar panel. The company claims that the prototype converts 33.9% of the sunlight that hits it to electricity, more than double the previous high-end conversion rate.[54] Wind Wind energy research dates back several decades to the 1970s when NASA developed an analytical model to predict wind turbine power generation during high winds. [55]Today, both Sandia National Laboratories and National Renewable Energy Laboratory have programs dedicated to wind research. Sandias laboratory focuses on the advancement of materials, aerodynamics, and sensors.[56] The NREL wind projects are centered on improving wind plant power production, reducing their capital costs, and making wind energy more cost effective overall.[57] The Field Laboratory for Optimized Wind Energy (FLOWE) at CalTech was established to research alternative approaches to wind energy farming technology practices that have the potential to reduce the cost, size, and environmental impact of wind energy production. [58] Geothermal Geothermal energy is produced by tapping into the thermal energy created and stored within the earth. It is considered sustainable because that thermal energy is constantly replenished.[70] However, the science of geothermal energy generation is still young and developing economic viability. Several entities, such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory [71] and Sandia National Laboratories [72] are conducting research toward the goal of

establishing a proven science around geothermal energy. The International Centre for Geothermal Research (IGC), a German geosciences research organization, is largely focused on geothermal energy development research. SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT (SFM) is the management of forests according to the principles of sustainable development. Sustainable forest management uses very broad social, economic and environmental goals. A range of forestry institutions now practice various forms of sustainable forest management and a broad range of methods and tools are available that have been tested over time. The "Forest Principles" adopted at The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 captured the general international understanding of sustainable forest management at that time. A number of sets of criteria and indicators have since been developed to evaluate the achievement of SFM at both the country and management unit level. These were all attempts to codify and provide for independent assessment of the degree to which the broader objectives of sustainable forest management are being achieved in practice. In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Non-Legally Binding Instrument on All Types of Forests. The instrument was the first of its kind, and reflected the strong international commitment to promote implementation of sustainable forest management through a new approach that brings all stakeholders together.