Notesale: Turn your study into money

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Human influences on ecosystems- endangered species
A lot of ecosystems are threatened by animals being killed and losing their habitats such as Rhinos
and tigers because of poaching to be sold at high prices
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Each country has a government body
responsible for issuing licences for the import and export of species or products listed on a large
agreed database
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038% by volume/0
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Carbon dioxide is a waste product of
respiration, released by combustion and the decomposition of dead matter
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The mechanism of the greenhouse effect
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Earth radiates infrared back towards space when its heated
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Examples
of greenhouse gases are water vapour and methane as well as carbon dioxide
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An enhanced greenhouse effect leading to global warming?
An increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will enhance the greenhouse effect
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The best piece of evidence to use is ice cores drilling into Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets as
water freezes and bubbles from the air from surrounding atmosphere become trapped in the ice
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Global temperatures have fluctuated and
so has the existence of ice ages, but about 8000 years ago cities and agriculture were introduced,
the earths conditions have been reasonably stable which can be correlated as years compared to
carbon dioxide and methane
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The fossil fuel consumption
happened in around the Carboniferous Period which is releasing carbon that has been stored for
millions of years
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The evidence for global warming- Environmental change
Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of 2007 estimated that global
warming would range from 2
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4 degrees Celsius by 2100 which would be the warmest period o

earth for the last 100,000 years which will inevitably have disastrous and irreversible consequences
if not fixed now
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The Antarctic Peninsula has warmed and
13,000km² of ice has been lost over 50 years
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Interior ice may become cooler and thicker because of circular winds around land preventing
warmer air reaching the interior parts of the ice, so warmer seas can erode ice from underneath
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Water supply will be affected for local people due to the impact melting has
on rivers below the mountains
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Between 1960-2003 global average sea levels rose by
an average of 1
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This
means low-lying islands and countries such as New York, London or Shanghai which are world cities
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For example, in Mexico hurricanes are more frequent and severe
because of the extra energy from warm water
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The most vulnerable areas are less wealthy
countries such as Luxemburg or parts of Africa and the least warming is expected in the northern
hemisphere, for example Ireland and Britain
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They lose colour (expelled) when
under environmental stress (thermal stress)
Other bio-indicators
e
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- fossilised pollen grains of the once dominant vegetation
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The evidence for global warming- the debate continues
Trends show long-term effects from average temperatures and ice caps/glaciers evidence, but some
say it could be a climatic variation
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There are problems with correlation and causation despite the correlation being significant, so you
cannot say that increases in carbon dioxide levels are the main cause of global warming so you need

to know how accurate the measurements are or other secondary causes
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Actions to limit carbon dioxide emissions- the need for international cooperation
The atmosphere has no national boundaries and the activities of one country affect all but are not
agreed by all countries
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The Kyoto
Protocol is an international treaty signed by 180 countries to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
between 2008 and 2010
Timeline
1992- UN conference on the environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro to result in the
Framework Convention on Climate Change
1995- Parties of the UNFCCC meet in Berlin to outline specific targets on emissions
1997- December was when the parties conclude the Kyoto Protocol in Japan and agreed to the
broad outlines of emissions targets
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Poorer countries felt these targets would be unfair as richer countries had developed
industries/economies without reducing carbon dioxide emissions
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Poorer countries were never going to reach this limit
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Three of the worlds largest countries (China, India and the USA) have said they will not enter
into any legally binding agreement but are open to voluntary reduction measures and there is some
positive outcome
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They are
available to scientists all over the world to read others work and look at the latest developments in
their field
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This is a
strict process to ensure only reliable data is published
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The process involves the individual sharing their ideas, discussing common problems and argue their
case if different models or ideas are proposed which can become very heated

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