Global warming consequences

Social values are also global. Impact of global warming, consequences of emissions, and fallout of wars over water or unlimited access to fossil fuel have no national borders. 

Characteristics Example Chemistry of global warming Consequences for context-based chemistry teaching... 

Carbon dioxide has been implicated as a contributing factor in global warming. Increased global warming has been associated with increased release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere attributed in part to an increase in the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels. Carbon dioxide is an inevitable consequence of the complete combustion of hydrocarbons in air. If combustion devices are made more efficient, less fuel is required and less carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. 

Other than longer-term supply issues the main driver for moving away from fossil resources is pollution. Since pre-industrial times the level of atmospheric CO2 has risen from 280 ppm to 360 ppm, and whilst some observers believe this may be a natural cycle in the Earth s history, most believe it is a direct consequence of burning fossil fuels. This additional CO2 is now thought to be the main cause of global warming via the greenhouse effect (see Box 6.1). 

Consequently, the net OLR has increased by 0.006 W m-2 since 1880. This means that about one-third of today s thermal pollution (0.02 W m-2) is emitted from Earth. In the long term our use of non-renewable energy will cause a global temperature increase up to a point where the net OLR balances the net heat generation. Meanwhile, nature has some means of delaying global warming. 

Climate is clearly "global" in both causes and consequences moreover, the emissions of GFIG have effects on global warming independently of their location, and local climatic changes are completely linked with the world climate system. 

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