GLOBAL

WARMING???
The increase in the average
temperature of the Earth's atmosphere,
caused by the increased levels of
certain gases,
e.g. carbon dioxide, CFC
 What is happening
worldwide?
 Rising Sea Levels
 Small island nations such as Tuvalu and Kiribati, where the
highest land is only a few meters above sea level could literally
cease to exist as the rise in sea level continues, and their
governments are negotiating with other nations to transplant
their populations

 Melting of Icecaps and Glaciers

 Glaciers on Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, have lost
82 percent of their ice since 1912 and are estimated to be gone
completely by 2020.
 Montana's Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers,
versus 150 in 1910
 Significant Worldwide Climatic Changes
 Arctic temperatures have increased almost twice as much as the
global average over the past 100 years
 Coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to small changes in water
temperature, suffered the worst bleaching or die-off in response
to stress

 Disasters
 5th Feb 2008, at least 55 people were killed and hundreds injured
by dozens of tornadoes that plowed across Mississippi,
Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama - the nation's
deadliest barrage of twisters in almost 23 years
 Boise, Idaho — A mandatory evacuation was ordered for
residents of more than 1,000 homes south of Ketchum, where a
massive wildfire raged and high winds grounded firefighting air
tankers
 23 July 2007, Britain faced the worst flooding in 60 years
What do the scientists
say?
Procrastination is
not an option.
Scientists agree that
if we wait 10, 20, or
50 years, the
problem will be
much more difficult
to address and the
consequences for us
will be that much
 Scientists believe Earth is currently facing a period of
rapid warming brought on by rising levels of heat-
trapping gases, known as greenhouse gases, in the
atmosphere
For example, levels of carbon dioxide, have risen
by 35% since 1750, largely from the burning of fossil fuels
e.g. coal, oil, and natural gas.
With more greenhouse gases in the mix,
the atmosphere acts like a thickening blanket
and traps more heat

 Melting polar ice and glaciers, as well as warming of the

oceans, expands ocean volume and raises sea level,
which will eventually flood some coastal regions and
even entire islands
 Patterns of rainfall are expected to change

 higher latitudes (closer to the poles) projected to receive more

rainfall
 subtropical areas (such as the Mediterranean and southern
Africa) projected to receive considerably less

 Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns may

damage food crops, disrupting food production in some
parts of the world.
 Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
also leads to increased ocean acidity, damaging ocean
ecosystems

 Plant and animal species will shift their ranges toward

the poles or to higher elevations seeking cooler
temperatures, and species that cannot do so may
become extinct.
 How is it being tackled
at an international level?
The Montréal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987)

 Phased out the production of CFCs

 CFCs were mostly banned in industrialized nations
beginning in 1996 and will be phased out in developing
countries after 2010
 The Establishment of Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)(1988)

 Releases a report every six years describing the

state of scientific knowledge on global warming.
 IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report (2007) : The
panel concluded that it is…
“very likely” (more than 90 percent probability) that
human activities are responsible for most of the warming
since the mid-20th century;
that it is “extremely unlikely” (less than 5 percent probability) that
the warming is due to natural variability
 Carbon Capture

 Since1996, the Carbon Capture process has

been used at a natural gas drilling platform off
the coast of Norway.

 Carbon dioxide brought to the surface with the

natural gas is captured, compressed, and then
injected into an aquifer deep below the seabed
from which it cannot escape
 Kyōto Protocol (1997)
 Set mandatory targets for the reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions.
 Industrialized nations that ratify the treaty are
required to cut their emissions by an average of 5
percent below 1990 levels.
 This reduction is to be achieved no later than 2012,
and commitments to start achieving the targets are
to begin in 2008
Under the Kyōto rules,
industrialized nations are expected to take the first steps
because they are responsible for most emissions to date
and have more resources
to devote to emissions-reduction efforts.
 ‘Green Summit’ (2007)
 The 27 nations of the EU reached a landmark accord that
went above and beyond the Kyōto Protocol in setting
targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
 agreed to reduce emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels by
2020 or by as much as 30 percent if nations outside the EU
joined in the commitments.
 agreed that renewable sources of energy, such as solar and
wind power, would make up 20 percent of overall EU energy
consumption by 2020 (an increase of about 14 percent).
 the accord also called for a 10 percent increase in the use of
plant-derived fuels, such as bio diesel and ethanol.
 agreed to work out a plan to promote energy-saving fluorescent
light bulbs, following the example of countries such as Australia
and Chile that are officially phasing out less-efficient
incandescent light bulbs.
 How does it affect us in
Malaysia?
 May lose some of its land to the sea
 Leading to the extinction of some
indigenous species (turtle)
 Proliferation of diseases known and
unknown (malaria, dengue)
 Displacement of our coastal infrastructures,
investments and community
 Disasters : Flood, drought, thunderstorm
 What are possible
solutions at the
international level?
Energy Sources

 Generate new technologies for cleaner coal-burning power

plants
 Switch away from fossil-fuel energy sources to cleaner and
renewable energy
 Nuclear, solar, wind, hydrogen fuel, plant-based fuel (bio
diesel, ethanol)
 Encourage the usage of Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV),
which uses both an electric motor and a gasoline or diesel
engine
 International Agreements

 Imposeenvironmental standards not only to the

developed nations but also to the undeveloped
and developing countries

 Compel the world’s largest contributor to

greenhouse gases to sign a treaty to cut down
the emission of the gases
 What can we do
individually?
i. Buy the next car with the best fuel
economy in its class and look for new
technologies like hybrid engines
ii. Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
iii. Choose clean power / renewable energy
iv. Plant more trees
v. Unplug the extra refrigerator or freezer
you rarely use
 Our opinions about the
issue?
 The issue of global warming is not taken
seriously into consideration by the
government of Malaysia (no offence)
 To be frank,many of us take this issue for
granted and do not bother to contribute
personally.
 We as Malaysians should take the
initiative to reduce and to combat the
issue.