The Blame Game

This section looks at who and what is causing climate change.

• Listent to the following statements
• Are they fact or opinion?

Remember

FACT – A fact is something that can be proved [eg Christmas Day is in December]

OPINION – An opinion can not be proved, no matter how much evidence there is.

• The UK climate has changed, with temperatures in Central England rising by almost 1o over the last century
• BUT detailed records only exist since 1880
• The average sea level is rising by about 1mm per year
• BUT some scientists expect a rise of between 1.5 and 3.5 metres by the end of the century
• Cutting down trees in the Amazon rainforest will add to global warming, through a 25% increase in Carbon dioxide
• BUT the smoke from these fires this may have a slight cooling effect on the climate
• Our climate is warming at a faster rate than ever before: the 10 hottest years ever recorded have all occurred since 1991
• BUT there is disagreement among scientists about how temperature should be measured
• One person flying in an aeroplane for one hour is responsible for the same greenhouse gas emissions as a typical person from Bangladesh in one year
• BUT few people in Bangladesh are typical, and some travel in aeroplanes
• Due to increases in greenhouse gas emissions there will be climate change over the next 30-40 years. The UK climate will become warmer
• The emission of greenhouse gases is causing global warming at a rate that has become alarming [Tony Blair]
• Global warming will result in little more than warmer winters and increased plant growth [NASA Earth Observatory]
• An increase of two or three degrees wouldn't be so bad for a Northern country. We could spend less on fur coats and the grain harvest would go up [Vladimir Putin, Russian President, 2003]
• Every time someone in the West turns on a kettle, he or she is helping to flood Bangladesh. [Guardian Weekly columnist, 2000]

When you have read all the statements above, click here for the next activity.

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