Chapter 6 Module 2: CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE ENERGY

CRISIS

Learning Objectives
At the end of this topic, students will be able to:
1. Identify the causes of climate change
2. Assess the various impacts of climate change including economic,
geopolitical, biological, meteorological, etc.
3. Apply STS concepts to the issue of climate change

Pre-Assessment : CONCEPT MAP

You might have already heard of “Climate Change” in some social platforms
as a hot issue and advocacy that calls for biological, economical, sociological
and political concerns. Below is a concept map, with the word climate change
at the center, write something out of what you know and understand about this
issue.

CLIMATE CHANGE
 PRESENTATION OF CONTENTS
“There is no question that climate change is happening; the only arguable point is what part
humans are playing in it.”
-David Attenborough

Climate Change

Emission
of greenhouse gases
Climate change is the range of global phenomena caused by burning fossil
fuels that add heat-trapping gases to the Earth’s atmosphere. Global
warming, used interchangeably with climate change, specifically refers to
Earth’s upward trend of temperature since the 20th century. It is generally
defined as the general warming effect caused by greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. The greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation that enters the
atmosphere and radiate it to the Earth’s surface as heat, thereby warming the
Earth. Some common greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming
include naturally occurring gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane
(CH4), and nitrous oxides (NOx), and man-made gases such as
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons, (HFCs), perfluorocarbons
(PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
Global warming keeps the planet warm and prevents warm air from
leaving the planet. The global warming potential (GWP) of natural greenhouse
gases are small as compared with that of other anthropogenic gases from the
burning of fossil fuels, power plants, transportation vehicles, and other
industrial processes. Man-made greenhouse gasses and cause adverse
global warming.
 Deforestation is also pointed at as a culprit to this adverse phenomenon.
When forest land is destroyed, CO2 is released into the air, thus increasing the
levels of long-wave radiation and trapped heat. Deforestation also affects
biodiversity because damage in the rainforest results in the destruction of
wildlife habitats.
Several effects of climate change are already felt and observed. One
example is the melting of ice caps in the polar regions of the Earth that
causes dilution of salt in the ocean and disruption of natural ocean currents.
Ocean currents control temperatures by bringing warmer currents into cooler
areas and cooler currents into warmer areas. Disruption of this activity can
result in extreme changes in temperature that may affect global or regional
climate patterns. The melting ice caps also affects albedo, the ratio of the light
reflected by any part of Earth’s atmosphere. Snow, with the highest albedo
level, reflects sunlight back into space making the Earth cooler. When snow
melts, the Earth’s temperature rises resulting in climate change.

The
Greenhouse Effect
Changing wildlife adaptations and cycles is another effect of global
warming. For instance, spruce bark beetles in Alaska only appear on warmer
months, but since there is a rise in global temperatures, they started appeared
all year-round, chewing on spruce trees and thus leaving the forest damaged.
Polar bears are also decreasing in number because the melting of the polar
ice caps has caused them to starve and lose habitats. Melting ice caps can
also cause sea levels to rise which may greatly affect low-lying coastal areas
where large populations dwell.
Diseases have also spread due to climate change. Migration distances for
many migratory species greatly increased which can possibly displace
disease-carrying insects, crucial pollinators, and crop pests into new areas.
Greater distances also mean greater lengths to go to in order for animals to
survive.
Stratospheric Ozone Depletion
A thin layer of ozone (O3) is maintained at the stratosphere as protection
from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. Only a thin layer is needed because
when there is higher O3 concentration, meteorological parameters, i.e.,
temperature and wind, brings down O 3 in the troposphere and causes
respiratory problems in human. In this case O 3 becomes a criteria pollutant.
Ozone depletion occurring in the stratosphere therefore is a normal photolytic
process as well as O3 formation. The following reactions occur to maintain a
thin layer of O3.

O2 + UV (˂242 nm) → O + O (Equation 1)

O + O2 + M → O3 + M (Equation 2)

O3 + UV or visible → O + O2 (Equation 3)

Due to the presence of substance X, which are free radical catalysts such
as chlorine radical (Cl●) and bromine radical (Br●) coming from substances
made of chloroforms or bromine-based substances used as aerosols,
refrigerants, fire retardants, and the like, and nitric oxide radical (NO●), and
hydroxyl radical (OH●), which are naturally occurring, the ozone formation
and destruction is now represented as follows

X + O3 → XO + O2 (Equation 4)
XO + O2 → X + O2 (Equation 5)

O3 + O → O2 + O2 (Equation 6)

As an intermediate product, say X is Cl●, ClONO 2 will produced. This

substance is inert and is deposited on both the northern and southern polar
regions due to winds as the Earth rotates. The problem occurs when the
ClONO2 reservoirs are exposed to direct sunlight when a part of the polar
region experiences six straight months of daytime, 24/7. The following
reaction produce the obnoxious Cl radical, which is very reactive to the point
of destroying 100,000 molecules of O3 in the stratosphere:

HOCl + hv → Cl + OH (Equation 7)

Cl + O3 → ClO + O2 (Equation 8)

OH + O3 → HO2 + O2 (Equation 9)

2O → 3O2 (Equation 10)

ClO + HO2 → HOCl + O2 (Equation 11)

HOCl + hv → Cl + OH (Equation 12)

 The worst case will occur if the available X is Br, which is 100 times more
reactive than Cl (Rownland,2006).
Although a direct relationship exists between global warming and
stratospheric ozone depletion, the correlation on the greenhouse gases as
they contribute to creating the cooling conditions in the atmosphere may lead
to ozone depletion.
Acid Deposition
When SO2x and NO2x react with particulate matters (dry) or with water
vapor (wet), acid deposition occurs which causes surface water acidification
and affects soil chemistry. At pH levels lower than 5, acid deposition may
affect the fertilization of fish eggs, and can kill adult fishes. As lakes and rivers
become highly acidic, biodiversity is reduced. Many soil organisms cannot
survive if the pH level of soil is below 6. Death of microorganisms because of
acid deposition can inhibit decomposition and nutrient recycling because of
the enzymes of these microbes are denatured by the acid or are changed in
shape so they no longer function. Deposition of sulfur and nitrogen oxides
affects the ability of leaves to reaction water under stress. The low pH level of
soil also allows the rapid mobility of heavy metals present in the soil,.i.e., Pb² +,
Cu²+, and Al3+, and thus, contaminates growing plants, which may then
bioaccumulate the heavy metal concentration as it is passed from a higher
trophic level to another. As these impacts affect aquatic and terrestrial
ecosystems, it is also imperative to examine the connection between acid
deposition and climate change (Mihelcis, 2014).
Thermal Inversion
The major component of photochemical smog, peroxylacetyl nitrate
(PAN), is a combination of different criteria pollutants, PAN is a transporter of
NOx intro rural regions and causes ozone formation in the global troposphere,
which can decrease visibility especially in elevated places. The pollutants that
come from sources (i.e., industrial chimney or stack) mix with air. The mixed
air normally rises to the atmosphere. In a normal cycle of thermal inversion,
an unstable air mass and air constantly flow between warm and cool areas.
This allows fumigation of the mixed air on a higher elevation. Due to
increased concentrations of pollutants during an inversion episode,
temperatures increase with increasing altitude and this disrupts the movement
of the mixed air to a higher level since the warm inversion layer then acts as a
cap or a layer that forms stable air masses. Thermal inversion is also affected
by weather conditions, or it may also occur in some coastal areas because of
the upwelling of cold water that lowers surface air temperature. Topography or
man-made barriers like high-rise buildings can also create a temperature
inversion. The cold air may be blocked by these barriers and then pushed
under the warmer air rising from the source, thus creating the inversion.
Freezing rain or ice storms develop in some areas with a temperature
inversion in a cold area because snow melts as it moves through the warm
inversion layer. The rain continues to fall and passes through the cold layer of
air near the ground. As it moves through this final cold air mass, it becomes
“super-cooled” drops, cooled below freezing point without becoming solid.
Intense thunderstorms and tornadoes are also associated with inversions
because of the intense energy released after an inversion blocks the normal
convection patterns of a region. (ThoughtCo.). Thermal inversion profiles lead
sea surface temperature to decrease on the seasonal time scale via heat
exchange at the bottom of the mixed layer, which balances climatological
atmospheric cooling in fall and winter (Nagura et al., 2015).
El Niño is a normal climate pattern that describes the unusual warming of
surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean also known as the “warm
phase”. The opposite of it is La Niña the “cool phase” which is a pattern that
describes the unusual cooling of the surface waters of the region. These
phenomena are supposed to occur perennial and globally, on one end of the
equator and on the other. However, abnormalities in the occurrences of these
phenomena cause widespread and severe changes in the climate. Rainfall
increases drastically in Ecuador and Northern Peru, contributing to coastal
flooding and erosion due to the convection above warm surface waters.
Increased rains bring floods that may destroy properties. On the other side of
the world, El Niño brings drought that threaten the supply of water and
destruction of crops affecting agriculture. Stronger El Niño and La Niña event
also disrupt global atmospheric circulation bringing cold winters, unusually
heavy rains and flooding in desert areas, and other weather abnormalities
(New/Floods, 2016).
Aside from the physical damages caused by disasters, they also come
with mental and emotional damage. Victims of disasters may suffer from
trauma, depression, or anxiety because of experiencing loss caused by
disasters. This is why climate change should not be perceived as an isolated
issue—it affects may aspects of human life.

APPLICATION

After learning about climate change, what natural processes and human
activities causes it and the possible consequences brought about this
phenomenon, the question that comes next is, as a concerned citizen and a
student, what can you do about it? What ways can you think of to mitigate the
hazards caused by climate change?
And so here are some amazing activities prepared for you. Have fun!
Activity 6 Module 2: Climate Change and the Filipino Students
Instructions: Watch the video entitled PANAHON NA! Ang Hamon sa Pinoy
at Climate change on YouTube (https://www.youtbe.com/watch?
v=iOJYCHA_PeA). Then create an explainer video about what an ordinary
Filipino student like you can do or contribute to battle against climate change.

Assignment 6 Module 2:
Retaining your group in activity, create an advocacy campaign by making a
poster and a slogan that tells how community will help mitigate the effects of
climate change. Upload your work in social media, and try to elicit comments
from the viewers.