Climate Literacy
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Material Information

Title:
Climate Literacy The Essential Principles of Climate Sciences
Creator:
Climate Change Science Program
Publisher:
United States Global Change Research Program
Publication Date:
Language:
English

Notes

Summary:
Throughout its history, Earth’s climate has varied, reflecting the complex interactions and dependencies of the solar, oceanic, terrestrial, atmospheric, and living components that make up planet Earth’s systems. For at least the last million years, our world has experienced cycles of warming and cooling that take approximately 100,000 years to complete. Over the course of each cycle, global average temperatures have fallen and then risen again by about 9°F (5°C), each time taking Earth into an ice age and then warming it again. This cycle is believed associated with regular changes in Earth’s orbit that alter the intensity of solar energy the planet receives. Earth’s climate has also been influenced on very long timescales by changes in ocean circulation that result from plate tectonic movements. Earth’s climate has changed abruptly at times, sometimes as a result of slower natural processes such as shifts in ocean circulation, sometimes due to sudden events such as massive volcanic eruptions. Species and ecosystems have either adapted to these past climate variations or perished. While global climate has been relatively stable over the last 10,000 years—the span of human civilization—regional variations in climate patterns have influenced human history in profound ways, playing an integral role in whether societies thrived or failed. We now know that the opposite is also true: human activities—burning fossil fuels and deforesting large areas of land, for instance—have had a profound influence on Earth’s climate. In its 2007 Fourth Assessment, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated that it had “very high confidence that the global average net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming.” The IPCC attributes humanity’s global warming influence primarily to the increase in three key heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere: carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The U.S. Climate Change Science Program published findings in agreement with the IPCC report, stating that “studies to detect climate change and attribute its causes using patterns of observed temperature change in space and time show clear evidence of human influences on the climate system (due to changes in greenhouse gases, aerosols, and stratospheric ozone).”1 To protect fragile ecosystems and to build sustainable communities that are resilient to climate change—including extreme weather and climate events—a climate-literate citizenry is essential. This climate science literacy guide identifies the essential principles and fundamental concepts that individuals and communities should understand about Earth’s climate system. Such understanding improves our ability to make decisions about activities that increase vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and to take precautionary steps in our lives and livelihoods that would reduce those vulnerabilities.

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
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