Learning Objectives
How does climate system work?
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
- Understand the characteristics of the Earth’s climate system;
- Understand how the greenhouse effect occurs;
- Understand the role of human activity in the greenhouse effect.
Introduction and Overview
In Unit One we open the discussion about climate change. What is it? How is it occurring? Do we have any control over it? Here we try to provide you with the scientific foundation to answer these questions.
As this unit will explain further, our climate system is driven by energy received from the sun together with complex interactions between the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and land. The greenhouse effect that we always hear about occurs naturally within the climate system and is responsible for temperatures on Earth that are conducive to a healthy life. Increased concentrations of greenhouse gases caused by human activities, such as energy production, land clearance and agriculture, results in an “enhanced” greenhouse effect. This causes climate change.
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