As more of the Sun’s radiation becomes trapped on Earth by the build-up of Greenhouse Gases, the global temperature increases. This increase in temperature is referred to as Global Warming. Much like Climate Change, this occurred through a natural cycle by Greenhouse Gases building up in the atmosphere by volcanic activity. Today, this warming trend is caused mainly through the burning of fossil fuels that emit these gases into the atmosphere.

Global Warming has become more noticeable in recent years. This change has not only been seen in the steady climb of the Earth’s temperature, but also in the melting of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic polar ice caps. Normally, ice breaks from the Arctic and travels south to the Equator, steadily melting and leaving a small amount of fresh water in the ocean.

Global Warming has not only increased the amount of ice that breaks away but also has caused this ice to melt faster as it travels, upsetting ecosystems in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This is also felt on land, especially in regions that have lakes and rivers that rely on the routine cycle of ice and snow melting from mountainous areas. Just like in the melting of icebergs, more ice is melting than being replaced, leading to lakes and streams decreasing in size over time.

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Other Sources

David Suzuki Foundation. “The Impact of Climate Change.” http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/climate-change/science/impacts/impacts-of-climate-change/. Accessed May 2, 2016.

Government of Canada. “About Climate Change.” http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=F2DB1FBE-1. Accessed May 2, 2016.

The Global Carbon Budget is an effort by carbon scientists and the Global Carbon Project to measure carbon levels. This is set up by experts by looking at the exchange of carbon between the atmosphere and the biosphere in the carbon cycle while also factoring changes in land and ocean carbon sinks given the increase of carbon from human activities.

The use of the Global Carbon Budget allows for us to understand the seriousness of carbon emissions. The 2011 budget laid out an amount of 400 billion tonnes of carbon to keep global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius. In 2016, this was reduced to 205 billion metric tons, according to research the use of fossil fuels have reduced this and setting a limited time of approximately five years before the new allotment will be used up.

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Other Sources

Carbon Brief. “Analysis: Only five years left before 1.5C Carbon Budget is blown.” https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-only-five-years-left-before-one-point-five-c-budget-is-blown. Accessed August 8, 2016.

United States Department of Energy. “Global Carbon Budget.” Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre. http://cdiac.ornl.gov/GCP/. Accessed August 8, 2016.

Since it was introduced in 1975 at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, the Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS) is a global operation that collects information to better understand and protect the Earth’s environment. This effort is made with the cooperation of other countries, who contribute data to the GEMS.

One of the many projects that the GEMS has been studying has been water quality. Since 1978, the GEMS has examined the quality of surface and ground water to find trends that will shape water quality policy. With the cooperation of environment research programs from member nations all over the world such as the National Water Research Institute in Canada, GEMS can provide information of resources like water to ensure resources are used sustainably.

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Other Sources

Government of Canada. “GEMS Water.” Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change. http://www.ec.gc.ca/qualitedeleau-waterquality/. Accessed August 5, 2016.

United Nations Environment Programme. “The Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS Water).” United Nations Environment Programme. http://www.unep.org/gemswater/. Accessed August 5, 2016.

Green Chemistry is an aspect of modern science that looks into researching and designing of chemicals used in production that will have minimal environmental harm. This field of science differs from cleaning up pollution as it aims to prevent pollutants at the beginning of a product’s life rather than removing refuse at the product’s end life. It is intended to eliminate pollution from a molecular level while finding ways to reduce pollution and hazards from conventional chemicals through source reduction.

Green chemistry can trace its roots to 1990 when the United States government introduced the Pollution Prevention Act, a law that made stopping pollution from the beginning a part of American policy. Green Chemistry came out of this as a way to find how to reduce pollutants from their source and creating chemicals that will not harm humans, and the environment when released.

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Other Sources

Green Centre Canada. “Green Chemistry.” Green Centre Canada. https://www.greencentrecanada.com/green-chemistry/. Accessed August 8, 2016.

United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Basics of Green Chemistry.” EPA. https://www.epa.gov/greenchemistry/basics-green-chemistry#definition. Accessed August 5, 2016.

Green roofs are literally as the name implies, roofs that are green with plant life that is planted on top of buildings. This practice allows for more vegetation to be installed while not interrupting urban infrastructure.

The plants have several uses on top of buildings. Environmentally, these plants will act as a carbon sink and also reduce the amount of runoff from rainwater. Also, the installation of green roofs will help to reduce urban temperatures while also acting as an insulator, preventing heat or coolness from leaving buildings.

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Other Sources

David Suzuki Foundation. “Green Roofing Options.” David Suzuki Foundation. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/queen-of-green/faqs/recycling/green-roofing-options/?gclid=Cj0KEQjw8pC9BRCqrq37zZil4a0BEiQAZO_zrG4MVD44euPaqRoUpWdMr-P-E6A81HEiwJUbnwMRR58aAuTL8P8HAQ. Accessed August 5, 2016.

Dowdey, Sarah. “What is a Green Roof?” How Stuff Works?. http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/green-rooftop.htm. Accessed August 5, 2016.

The Greenhouse Effect is an atmospheric occurrence that plays a significant role in sustaining life on Earth. When radiation from the Sun enters the Earth, gases known as greenhouse gases trap some of this radiation as it reflects from the surface of the Earth. The contained solar energy helps to control the Earth’s global temperature at a reasonable level that will allow life for all organisms.

On occasion, greenhouse gases can build-up and lead to climate change and global warming. This is naturally caused by the eruption of volcanoes and decay of organisms, which release carbon dioxide and methane, the most notorious greenhouse gases, into the atmosphere. The increased gases trap more solar radiation on the earth, causing the global temperature to rise and weather patterns to become more irregular. This pattern is historically marked by the warm periods and cold (or Ice Ages) and creates a natural cycle where temperatures rise and fall periodically over millions of years. Since the Industrial Revolution, the burning of fossil fuels has allowed for greenhouse gases to build up and trap more solar radiation, causing global temperatures to increase at a faster rate than historically seen.

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Other Sources

David Suzuki Foundation. “Greenhouse Gases.” http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/climate-change/science/climate-change-basics/greenhouse-gases/. Accessed August 8, 2016.

David Suzuki Foundation. “What is Climate Change?” http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/climate-change/science/climate-change-basics/climate-change-101-1/. Accessed August 8, 2016.

What’s your impact?. “What is Global Warming?” http://whatsyourimpact.org/greenhouse-gases. Accessed August 5, 2016.