India-Power-LED-Fan-Pumps-Narendra ModiMore

The Narendra Modi government is trying to solve Indias electricity problem by pushing
for more efficient appliances.
Just last year, Asias third largest economy faced a 3.6% deficit in peak-hour energy
supply. Such a shortfall not only affects manufacturing and industrial productivity but
also inconveniences millions of Indians, particularly during the torrid summer months.
And this even as over 280 million people are yet to have access to electricity in India.

The scientific way to train white people to stop being racist

Since taking reins in May 2014, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has
focused on fixing this crisis, dabbling with everything from turning to solar power
toproviding financial incentives to power distribution companies.
Now, as Indias power requirement is slated to grow at an average of 5.2%
between2014 and 2024, the Narendra Modi administration is increasingly turning its
focus towards saving more power.
In January 2015, the government had launched the National Programme for light
emitting diode (LED)-based home and street lighting. Under this, conventional lamps,
which typically use more power, will be replaced by LED lamps that consume 80% less
energy.

Almost everyone who is unhappy with life is unhappy for the same reasons

Last week, the government initiated two more similar schemes: one aimed at replacing
inefficient agricultural pumps and the other replacing ceiling fans with more energyefficient ones.
These will be implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint
venture under the union power ministry that is also undertaking the LED project.

Better agriculture pumps and fans

The National Energy Efficient Agriculture Pumps Programme will replace inefficient
pumps with ones that are better-rated, for free. The new ones will feature a smart
control panel and a SIM card, enabling their control from homes. Currently, Indias
outdated agricultural pumps are estimated to consume 170 billion units of energy.
EESL will distribute 200,000 BEE star-rated pump sets to the farmers under this
programme, which will lead to 30% of energy savings by 2019. This translates into
annual savings of approximately Rs20,000 crore ($3 billion) on agricultural subsidies or
a saving of 50 billion units of energy every year, a government statement said.
A new schemethe National Energy Efficient Fan Programmehas also been
launched, under which, energy efficient ceiling fans of 50 watts will be provided at
Rs60 per month or a one-time payment of Rs1,250 ($19). These fans are being
produced by domestic fan-makers such as Usha and Bajaj.
The government estimates that the use of these fans will lead to savings of Rs700
($10.5) a year on their electricity bills. This means, a consumer can recover the cost of
this energy-efficient ceiling fan in less than 2 years, the statement added. The program
has so far been rolled out in Andhra Pradesh in south India and Uttar Pradesh in the
north.
Energy efficient appliances are often expensive, keeping many away from such
products. However, these appliances are crucial to helping India curb the crisis. As a
2013 report (pdf) from the World Resources Institute notes:
Indias residential sector accounts for approximately 39 percent of the countrys final
energy consumption. If all the appliances purchased in India over a three-year period
were energy efficient, India could avoid new capacity requirements of over 25,000 MW
close to an eighth of Indias total installed capacity.

How Narendra Modi is

driving a low-cost lighting
revolution in India
LED there be light. (Reuters/Adnan Abidi)
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WRITTEN BY

Manu Balachandran
November 17, 2015 Quartz India

In January this year, Indian prime minister Narendra

Modi launched an initiative to change the way India is lit up at
night.
The initiativecalled the National Programme for LED-based
Home and Street Lightingsought to increase Indias usage of LED
(light emitting diode) lamps across homes and cities. The goal was
to replace conventional lamps, which typically use more power.
LED lamps consume about 80% less energy than incandescent
bulbs, and conserving power is imperative for the Indian
government given the countrys annual power shortfall of 3.6%.
Under the new scheme, the government also wants to switch all the
street lamps across 100 cities to LED lamps by May 2016. It is far
more economical to save power than to produce it, Modi said

during the launch. His government has allocated a budget of Rs

2,500 crore ($378 million) for this initiative.
Now, 10 months after the launch, the programme is finally showing
results.
According to the Economic Times newspaper, the production
of LED lamps in India has increased 30 times to 30 million units
per month compared to last year. These lamps, the government
believes, can save 100 billion KwH of electricity annually if they
replace some 770 million conventional bulbs that India
purchases annually.
LED bulbs have a better shelf life and last almost 50 times more
than ordinary bulbs and eight to ten times longer than compact
fluorescent lamps. But they are also more expensive.
The programme is led by Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), a
joint venture between state-run firms: NTPC, Power Finance
Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation and Power Grid
Corporation. Through EESL, the government procures LED bulbs
through competitive bidding and then distributes them to
consumers at cheaper rates. That has led to a massive drop in
the market price of LED lamps.
With increased production of LED lamps over the past year, the per
unit cost has also been brought down significantly, with a 7 Watt
LED lamp costing just around Rs100 ($1.5) compared to Rs650
($9.8) a year ago. An ordinary bulb, in comparison, costs only
about Rs20.
The consumer can obtain the bulb in two formatsupfront
payment and on-bill finance scheme. The total cost of the LED bulb

under the DELP (Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme) is

between Rs100 and Rs105. If a consumer wishes to purchase the
bulb through the on-bill financing option, they are required to pay
only Rs10 for each bulb and the remaining Rs95 will be added to
his/her electricity bill, spread over a duration of 10 months, a
spokesperson for EESL told the Business Line newspaper.
EESL did not respond to an emailed questionnaire from Quartz.
Indias power shortfall

These energy saving schemes will likely have an impact, albeit a

small one initially, on Indias power crisis.
With an annual power shortfall of 3.6%, Asias third largest
economy is in dire need of additional power to fuel its growth
ambitions. And nobody knows that better than Modi. After all, his
government had stormed to power in 2014, promising faster
economic recovery and better infrastructure, especially in the
power sector.
The dream of my government is to provide electricity all seven days
a week, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day to every village, Modi said
in August last year. To do that, the Indian prime minister has
also banked heavily on renewable energy, especially solar power and
has even set an ambitious target of generating 100 gigawatt of solar
power by 2022.

Press Information Bureau

Government of India
Ministry of Power
07-April-2016 15:16 IST

After Energy Efficient Bulbs, Government Launches

National Programmes for Smart Pumps for Farmers and
Energy Efficient Fans
-

Vijayawada to be the first city to implement the National

Energy Efficient Fan Programme

EESL will distribute 2 lakh Smart SIM-enabled Agricultural Pumps sets free
of cost to the farmers in AP

In order to make country more energy efficient, the Union Government today
launched two schemes namely National Energy Efficient Agriculture Pumps
Programme and National Energy Efficient Fan Programme in Vijayawada,
Andhra Pradesh. The programme was launched by the Chief Minister of Andhra
Pradesh, Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu during the inaugural session of the two-day
International workshop on energy efficient lighting. These Schemes will be
implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a JV of PSUs
under Ministry of Power.

Under
the National
Energy
Efficient Agriculture
Pumps
Programme, farmers can replace their inefficient pumps free of cost with the
new BEE star rated energy efficient agricultural pump-sets. These pumps will
come enabled with smart control panel and a SIM card, giving farmers the
flexibility to remotely control these pumps from their mobile phones and from
the comfort of their homes. EESL will distribute 200,000 BEE star rated pumpsets to the farmers under this programme, which will lead to 30% of energy
savings by 2019. This translates into an annual savings of approximately Rs
20,000 crore on agricultural subsidies or a saving of 50 billion units of energy
every year.

FEATURES OF NATIONAL ENERGY EFFICIENT AGRICULTURE PUMPS

PROGRAMME

Smart BEE star rated Energy Efficient Agricultural Pump sets be distributed to
farmers.
Farmers can replace their inefficient agricultural pump sets free of cost.
Pumps to come with Smart Control Panes that has a SIM card and a Smart Meter.
Smart Control Panel will enable a farmer to switch on or switch off these pumps

through his mobile and sitting at the comfort of his home.

Smart meters to ensure the farmers to monitor consumption on real time basis.
EESL to distribute 200,000 BEE star rated pump-sets to the farmers under this programme,
which will lead to 30% of energy savings by 2019.This translates into an annual savings of
approx Rs20,000 crore on agricultural subsidies or a saving of 50 billon units of energy per
year.

With the usage of these 50 Watts BEE 5 Star rated ceiling fans, to be distributed
under the National Energy Efficient Fan Programme, it is estimated that
consumers electricity bills will reduce by about Rs. 700-730 per year. Therefore,
the cost recovery of purchasing these fans is less than 2 years. These fans
are30% more energy efficient as compared to conventional fans, which range
from 75-80 Watts. At present, two energy efficient fans will be provided to each
consumer at Rs 60 a month per fan on EMI basis. The EMI amount will be added
to the consumers electricity bills for two years. This scheme will be available to
the consumer on providing a copy of latest electricity bill along with a copy of
residence proof at the designated distribution centre. The consumer can also
purchase the fan by paying Rs. 1250/- upfront.

FEATURES OF NATIONAL ENERGY EFFICIENT FAN PROGRAMME

Energy-Efficient, 50 Watts and 5-Star Rated Ceiling Fans.
These fans are 30% more energy efficient as compared to conventional
fans, which range from 75- 80 Watts.
Fans being procured form leading companies.
At present, two energy efficient fans will be provided to each consumer at
Rs 60 a month per fan on EMI basis.
Scheme will be available to the consumer on providing a copy of latest
electricity bill along with a copy of residence proof at the designated
distribution centre.
Consumers can also purchase the fan by making UPFRONT payment of Rs.
1,250 for 50 watts fan
It is estimated that consumers electricity bill will reduce by about Rs 700730 per year- which means that the cost of this fan can be recovered in less
than 2 years.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Shri N

Chandrababu Naidu
called upon the people to feel responsibility of saving
energy which is a big challenge the nation is facing. He said that the State
government is moving ahead with innovative ideas in saving energy. Shri
Chandrababu Naidu also said that when Visakhapatnam was hit by Hudhud
cyclone last year, the government replaced all the incandescent bulbs with LED
which saved 21,000 mw of power and also saved money of the State exchequer.

Stating he was the harbinger in bringing reforms in Electricity Board

functioning, Shri Naidu said Andhra Pradesh is the first state in India to adopt
more than 1.8 crore LED bulbs under the UJALA scheme which has helped the
state government to save Rs 2.6 crore daily. Andhra Pradesh has always been a
pioneer in adopting Energy efficiency programmes. To add to the success of
UJALA in the state we will now implement energy efficient fan programme and
the energy efficient agriculture pumps programme. This will help us to manage
our peak demand and in-turn help the state become energy sufficient.

Earlier Shri N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated the International workshop on

Energy Efficient Lighting by unveiling the Energy Efficient Fan and by switching
on Energy Efficient Agriculture Pump installed in Rajamundry, 150 km from
Vijayawada, through remote control.

Shri Chandrababu Naidu distributed first lot of LED bulbs and fans to the
consumers at the function.

Andhra Pradesh Principal Secretary, Energy, Shri Ajay Jain, welcomed the
gathering. Dr Ashok Sarkar, World Bank Group, Zhinguiang Xu, Dy Director
General National Energy Conservation Cetre, China, TERI D G Shri Ajay Mathur,
Chairman EESL Shri Rajeev Sharma and Shri Saurabh Kumar, Managing Director,
EESL others attended the meeting. In all representatives of 15 countries across
the globe and from representatives of State governments in country are
attending the conference

Press Information Bureau

Government of India
Ministry of Power
06-April-2016 14:51 IST

Shri Piyush Goyal to Launch Schemes for Distribution of

Energy Efficient Smart Agriculture Pumps & Fans
Tomorrow in Andhra Pradesh
-Scheme to Empower Farmers with Smart SIM-enabled
Agricultural Pumps that Can Be Operated By Farmers from
Mobiles and In the Comfort of Their Homes

-Energy Efficient Fan Scheme to Reduce Power Bills by Rs

700 per Year

In order to make country more energy efficient, Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister
of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy along with Shri N.
Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister Andhra Pradesh will launch two schemes
namely National Energy Efficient Agriculture Pumps Programme and
National Energy Efficient Fan Programme in Vijayawada , Andhra
Pradesh tomorrow. These Schemes will be implemented by Energy Efficiency
Services Limited ( EESL) , a JV of PSUs under Ministry of Power .
National Energy Efficient Agriculture Pumps Programme will help
farmers in replacing energy guzzlers age-old agricultural pumps across the
country with the new-age energy efficient agricultural pumps, with a 5-Star
Rating. These pumps will come enabled with smart control panel and a SIM card,
giving farmers the flexibility to switch-on and switch-off these pumps from their
mobile phones and from the comfort of their homes.
Through these new-age energy efficient SIM-enabled agricultural pumps,
Union Power Ministry is looking at a 30% savings in energy by 2019. This will
then boil down to an annual savings of approx Rs 20,000 crore on agricultural
subsidies or a saving of 50 billion units of energy every year.
Along with the announcement of the new-age agricultural pumps, Shri
Piyush Goyal through its state owned entityEESL will also launch National
Energy Efficient Fan Programme for Indian households and businesses ,
wherein Energy Efficient Ceiling Fans of 5-star rating 50 Watts (from
leading companies such as Usha and Bajaj) will be provided at Rs 60 a month on
EMI basis and Rs. 1250/- on upfront basis.
With the usage of these energy efficient fans, consumers will also stand to
save on their electricity bills by Rs 700 a year. This means, a consumer can
recover the cost of this energy-efficient ceiling fan in less than 2 years. While
these energy-efficient ceiling fans will cost Rs 1440/- to a consumer who uses the
installment route, for those who can pay upfront can buy this fan for Rs 1250. A
total of two ceiling fans can be bought on one electricity bill from domestic
category consumers only.
ABOUT EESL:

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) is implementing UJALA an acronym

for Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All for the LED based Domestic
Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP), which is currently running successfully in
over 120 cities across India. EESL has already distributed over 9 crore LED
bulbs across the country during 2015-16.

The National LED programme was launched by the Honble Prime Minister on
January 2015 to convert all conventional street lights with LED street lights
and Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP) to provide LED bulbs to
domestic households. DELP renamed as UJALA recently , is successfully
running across 22 States & UTs in India .
The Government of India is committed to achieving its target of
replacing all the 77 crore inefficient bulbs in India with LEDs. This will
result in reduction of 20,000 MW load, energy savings of 100 billion kWh and
Green House Gas (GHG) reduction of 80 million tonnes every year. It is estimated
that this is equivalent to establishment of roughly 5 large format thermal
generation plants in the country. The country also stands to save Rs. 40,000
crore in electricity bills of consumers.
Consumers can visit www.delp.in to locate the closest distribution kiosk
to their place

Home
Curriculum
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About
Introduction to Units
Unit 1:Carbon

& Climate in the Past

1.1 Carbon Fizz
1.2 Carbon from the Past
1.3 Carbon Forcing
1.4 Global Connections
1.5 Core Connections
Unit 2:Carbon

Unit 3:Carbon

Now

in the Future & You

Download Adobe Flash Player

Unit 1: Carbon & Climate in the Past

1.3: Carbon Forcing

A.

A Forcing Brainstorm

B.

Forcings in Systems

C.

Greenhouse Gases

D.

Climate Models

E.

Reflect and Connect

FOCUS QUESTION:

What gases in the atmosphere connect to Earth's temperature and

climate?

Introduction

In Lesson 1.2, you saw the relationship between changes in CO 2 levels in Earth's atmosphere and
temperature variations at Antarctica. The two variables increased and decreased together. You saw
that the timing of those changes matched some other changes on Earth, such as the growth and
decay of large ice sheets.

But from these changes, can you tell what factor actually caused the change in the system?
Understanding the cause of changes in systems is part of answering basic scientific questions.
However, those causes are not always obvious. In this lesson, you will start to see how scientists
combine measurements with models to better understand factors that may affect Earth's climate.
In particular, you will learn that:

Forcings lead to responses or changes in systems.

Forcings in the Earth system can cause Earth's climate to change.

Greenhouse gases affect the temperature of Earth's atmosphere.

Models and simulations can help you understand forcings in Earth's climate system.

Use the focus question to guide your thinking throughout this lesson.

back to top

A. A Forcing Brainstorm
You've probably been "forced" to do a task by your parent or older sister: maybe it was homework,
chores, practicing sports, or riding in the middle seat of the car. When you are forced to do
something, it causes a certain outcome, or response, even if it is not right away.

For step 1, get together with two partners for 2 to 3 minutes. Think creatively about examples
from your home, school, or community to include in the Force/Response table. Get ready to share
your best ideas with the class. The table has an example to get you started.

1.

Review the three important words in the header of the table. Copy the table into your
science notebook. Add your own examples to the table that you and your partners think of.

Forcing: A forcing is any event or thing that causes or leads to change.

Response: The response is the result or change from the forcing.
Lag: The lag is how long after the forcing that the response starts to occur.
Forcing

Mom tells me, "Clean your room!"

Response

I clean my room.

Lag

I do it 3 days later.

Add your own examples here...

back to top

B. Forcings in Systems
Earth's climate also responds to forcings. As you just saw, a forcing is an input that causes a
change in a system. From the forcing, the system has a response, or an output. Think of heating a
kettle of water on the stove, as in the figure. The input, or forcing, is thermal energy from the
stove. The top graph shows when the stove is on or off. The response, or output, is the
temperature changes in the water in the kettle. The lag is the time it takes for the response to
occur. For this system, the response builds over time. Thus, the lag is not the time for the total
response to occur. Here, the full response would be a kettle with boiling water.

Answer the following questions about the forcings, responses, and lags in systems.

2.

Compare the shape of the two Response graphs. How does the change in the setting of the
knob for the stove compare with the change in water temperature?

3.

Imagine a rock in the desert sitting all day in the summer sun. After sunset, how long do
you think it might take to cool to the temperature of the night air? Use the example of the tea
kettle to draw your answer with two graphs that show:

1.

The amount of sunlight on the rock (y-axis) as the sun sets and it becomes night
(x-axis)

2.

The relative temperature of the rock (y-axis) as the sun sets and it becomes night
(x-axis)

c.

Look at an example of a forcing and the response in a seasonal climate. The Solar Radiation graph
shows solar radiation coming to Denver, Colorado (green curve). The graph also shows the average
temperatures by day. Answer the following questions to understand the relationship between solar
radiation and temperature in Denver.

1.

What variable is on the x-axis? How long is the period shown?

2.

What variable is on the left y-axis? What is the range of values for this variable?

3.

What variable is on the right y-axis? What is the range of values for this variable?

4.

Complete these sentences about the graph:

The forcing in the system is __________________.

The peaks and valleys for the forcing are in the months _______ and _______.

The response of the system is __________________.

The peaks and valleys for the response are in the months _______ and _______.
5.

Does the response occur right away, or after a lag? Use specific examples of dates
and time in your answer.

Explore More: Correlations and Causes

back to top

C. Greenhouse Gases

Maybe you have heard of the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is the warming of Earth's
atmosphere from the absorption of energy given off by Earth. That energy initially comes from
heat from the Sun. The effect is similar to the warming in a greenhouse with a glass ceiling. Here
is how this model works.

Sunlight shines in and warms the ground and plants in the greenhouse. The warmed ground and
plants in turn warm the air immediately around them. Because the air is trapped in the
greenhouse, the air is warmer than the air outside the greenhouse. The greenhouse is a pretty
good model if you compare the warmed, trapped air in the greenhouse with all the warmed air of
Earth's atmosphere. Without a ceiling, the warmed air in the greenhouse would rise and move
away from the plants. Then you would not notice a difference compared with the air temperature
outside. So, a limitation of the greenhouse model is that it does not quite work without a ceiling to
hold in the warmed air.

The greenhouse effect is vital for Earth, as represented in the diagram. Without a natural
greenhouse effect, Earth's atmosphere would be about 33C (60F) colder and most of earth's
water would be ice. Earth would be too cold for most plants and animals.

The greenhouse effect is caused by certain molecules in the atmosphere, called greenhouse gases,
or GHGs for short. A greenhouse gas is a molecule that absorbs the energy given off by Earth's
surface or by the atmosphere itself. That energy originally comes from solar radiation that enters
the Earth system. The greenhouse gases cause the atmosphere to "trap" energy that would
otherwise leave Earth and escape into space. Thus, greenhouse gases in the air are a forcing that
leads to warming of the atmosphere and of the surface of Earth.

Greenhouse gases include water (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O),
and ozone (O3). Look at the atomic diagrams for these gases. They have a central atom about
which the other atoms vibrate and rotate. In contrast, most of the atmosphere is nitrogen (N 2) and
oxygen (O2) gas. These gases do not have a central atom. They do not absorb energy given off by
the Earth's surface or the atmosphere, so they do not contribute significantly to additional
warming of the atmosphere.

Water (H2O) contributes the most of any greenhouse gas toward the greenhouse effect on Earth. It
is found in the atmosphere as water vapor and as fine droplets in clouds. Scientists estimate that

water as vapor and clouds lead to about 75 percent of greenhouse warming on Earth. Water vapor
is part of the water cycle. When the water vapor in the air increases beyond 2 to 4 percent, the
H2O condenses and leaves the air as precipitation. Thus, the H 2O content of air does not increase
beyond certain limits.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the second-most abundant greenhouse gas. Overall, CO 2contributes to
about 20 percent of the total greenhouse warming on Earth. Yet, unlike H 2O, humans are adding
CO2 to air largely from the use of fossil fuels (such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas). Fossil
fuels are the remains of plants and animals that existed millions of years ago. The carbon from

these organisms was trapped in the Earth and, over time, became fossil fuels. Unlike H 2O vapor,
CO2 cannot just "rain" out of the sky when it gets to a certain level. The main way that CO 2 can be
removed from the atmosphere is through the carbon cycle. Currently, however, the carbon cycle
can only remove about half of the CO2 added by humans. The result is that CO2 levels are
increasing. You will investigate this further in Unit 2.

Other greenhouse gases lead to a small amount of warming, about 5 percent of the total. The
graph above is a good way to show the total effect of greenhouse warming. Imagine a change that
equals a temperature rise of about 1C. Scientists have shown that the initial, direct warming from
CO2 is about 0.2C, with other minor GHGs contributing about 0.05C. That total is about 0.25C,
or 25 percent, of the 1C of warming. Water and clouds provide an additional warming of about
0.75C, or about 75 percent of the 1C.

To summarize, note a few things that are represented in the Greenhouse Effect diagrams:

The natural greenhouse effect leads to an atmosphere that is warmer than it would be
otherwise (left).

The human-enhanced greenhouse effect results from the additional CO 2 and other
greenhouse gases added by humans (right).

The same amount of solar energy enters the Earth system from the Sun, yet the extra
greenhouse gases slow the transfer of energy from Earth back to space.

It can be difficult to understand how some gases in the atmosphere absorb energy, while other
gases do not. To help you, your teacher will do a demonstration. The energy you will use is from a
microwave. Microwaves produce radiation that you cannot see. This is similar to the type of energy
that is radiated from Earth to the atmosphere.

5.

Your teacher will have two beakers (#1 and #2) with fluid at room temperature. Your
teacher will put both beakers in the microwave, and turn it on for 20 seconds.

1.

Describe what happens in each beaker. Does the temperature of the beakers feel
the same or different?

2.

For each beaker, which molecules in the atmosphere could it represent?

back to top

D. Climate Models
When scientists work to answer important questions, they like to gather different types of
evidence. The different types of evidence are like different clues that a detective might use to
solve a mystery. In a similar way, different approaches and lines of evidence have helped scientists
understand the relationship between greenhouse gases and Earth's temperature. For example, one
approach is to look at the geologic past and analyze the relationship between GHGs and
temperatures. You did this in Unit 1 with CO2 and temperature from the Antarctica ice core. A
second approach is to compare measurements of GHGs and temperature over decades. You will do
this in Unit 3. Third, they can study other planets with greenhouse gas levels very different from
Earth; for example, Venus is sweltering hot beneath thick layers of GHGs.

A fourth approach is to use computer models to test forcings and responses in systems. You will do
this with a real climate model in this lesson. NASA scientists developed the CO 2 Spike
Experiment model to explore forcings and responses of Earth's climate. Models like this let you
study real situations, or test what could happen if the system got pushed more than normal.

In particular, the CO2 Spike Experiment shows a "spike" of a sudden forcing. For example, what if
the CO2 levels in the atmosphere suddenly increased from the low values of an ice age, to the high
values of an interglacial period? This would be a spike in CO 2 of the air from about 180 to 280
ppm. The Climate Model lets you model spikes that are more or less than this.

Spike Experiment

LAUNCH
6.

View the results of the simulation with a partner and answer the following questions.

1.

What are the units for the x-axis?

2.

What year does the CO2 spike occur? For how many years does the simulation
run?

3.

One responding curve is Earth's temperature. What color is it?

4.

Compared with the spike, describe the shape of the temperature response.
Hint: A way to describe it would be to estimate how long it takes to stop changing.

g.

Two other response curves are shown for ice cover of oceans and water vapor in the
atmosphere.

1.

What color are these responding curves?

2.

After the CO2 spike, does ice cover increase or decrease? Does this match the
result you observed from temperature?

3.
g.

After the CO2 spike, does water vapor in the atmosphere increase or decrease?
Scientists can also run simulations with negative spikes. Imagine a simulation with a spike from
280 to 180 ppm CO2. What do you think would happen to temperature, ice cover of oceans,
and water vapor in the atmosphere?

E. Reflect and Connect

Summarize some ideas from this lesson with the following questions:

9.

In the Earth system, some events are a strong forcing, like the "spike" simulation. For
example, imagine a volcanic eruption that fills the air around it with ash and gas. Do you think that
this might result in cooling or warming of the atmosphere?

You are not expected to know this answer, but it may help you think about forcings in systems.
You'll learn more about this forcing in Unit 3.
10.

In the simulation, you saw that it took a while for temperature, water vapor, and ice cover
to "catch up" after the CO2 spike. The total response took about 80 years. What is the significance
of this for factors that could change the CO2 levels of Earth's atmosphere?

back to top

Next: 1.4 Global Connections

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