SEAI - Climate change

Curriculum Link: 6.4 Resource Management and Home studies

Information on the topic

Energy is essential to our daily lives. It heats our homes, fuels our transport and supplies our electricity. At the moment, most of the energy we use comes from fossil fuels such as oil, gas, coal and peat. Unfortunately there is a limited supply of fossil fuels in the world and we are using them up at a very fast rate. The other downside to fossil fuels is that burning them for energy also produces CO₂, a greenhouse gas, which causes climate change or what is now being called global warming.

Did you know....

The Greenhouse Effect and Climate Change

Over the billions of years that life has been on the planet, the climate has always been changing. In the beginning of time it was really important that gases warmed up the earth, otherwise, it would not be suitable for plants or animals to live here. The ‘Greenhouse Effect’ is a band of gases that surrounds the earth; it regulates the earth’s temperature, and allows human, animal and plants to sustain life on the planet.

In recent decades, however, through human activity, the rate of climate change has been speeded up. Burning fossil fuels for energy is the major world contributor to climate change as it releases vast amounts of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Other sources include emissions from livestock and landfill waste. This thickening of the greenhouse gases is raising the earth’s temperatures.

The raising of the earth’s temperature is having huge effects on weather and climate. Scientists do not yet agree on what will happen in future years, but already they know that the polar ice caps are melting. This has caused sea-levels to rise. It is thought that the overall temperature of the earth will be warmer, leading to more storms, floods, droughts and sudden changes in weather. Ireland, being an island, could be in danger from all of these occurrences.

How can we combat climate change?

Governments all over the world have been working on strategies to try and reduce the impact of climate change. It is really important that all countries reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Using less energy or using energy only from renewable sources, means less greenhouse gases are emitted.

Fossil fuels

Oil, coal and gas are fossil fuels. Fossil fuels were formed in the ground millions of years ago in conditions of intense heat and pressure. All plants contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. When plants die, the oxygen escapes and the carbon and hydrogen, in the correct conditions of heat and pressure, are transformed into gas and oil. We use fossil fuels to meet most of our electricity and heating needs in the developed world.

What is sustainable energy?

Sustainable energy refers to a way we can generate and use energy that is more efficient and less harmful to the environment. Another way of explaining sustainable energy is that it will allow us to meet our present energy needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. We can do this by being more efficient in how we use energy in our daily lives and also by increasing the amount of energy that we get from renewable sources such as the wind, the sun, rivers and oceans.

What are the benefits of sustainable energy?

Save you money on your electricity and heating bills
Your home will be more comfortable
You will be making a vital contribution to reducing climate change

The small actions you take to be more energy efficient in your home can have a very significant impact on improving the environment. The collective efforts of individuals can often be the most powerful of all.

What is energy saving and energy efficiency?

Everyday we waste energy unnecessarily. Small changes to our daily habits can collectively result in huge energy savings e.g turning off lights when leaving a room, switching off appliances at the power button instead of leaving them on standby - this is ‘energy saving’. Energy efficiency means not wasting energy, It refers to human behaviour and also to appliances and buildings e.g. an A rated washing machine is much more energy efficient than a D rated machine, the D rated machine wastes more energy. SEAI provides grants to home owners which help improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Click here for more information.

What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy means energy that is produced from sources that will never run out, such as the sun, the wind and water. Energy that is generated from renewable sources is clean and doesn’t produce harmful greenhouse gases. The development and wider use of renewable energy in Ireland can help to further benefit the environment, in particular reducing the threat of climate change. Ireland's target for 2020 is that 16% of all energy consumed will be from renewable sources. Click here for more information on renewable energy.

Did you know...

- Energy use is responsible for two-thirds of Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions.

- Irish homes use around a quarter of all energy used in the country- that's even more than industry.

- The average home consumes almost 40% more electricity than it did in 1990.

- Renewable energy currently accounts for just 2% of Ireland's energy supply.

Dispelling the myths......the ozone layer

The ozone layer stops most of the sun’s harmful ultra violet rays from reaching us, and so is essential to life on earth. It is part of the greenhouse gases, surrounding the earth. Less ozone means more skin cancers, eye diseases, damaged crops and smog pollution. The destruction of the ozone layer has come about by man–made chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) being released into the atmosphere. CFC's are used in fridges, air conditioning units and spray cans.

Our global footprint can be seen in the destruction of the ozone layer, which has become thinner in places and has actual holes in the Antarctic region. The hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica is thought to be as big as the USA and as deep as Mount Everest. Over Europe the ozone layer is thinning as well. Perhaps as much as 10% of the ozone shield has been destroyed (source: Dirty Planet – Friends of the Earth, Caroline Clayton, 2001). However, since learning this changes have been implemented and CFC’s have been banned in all products. The ozone layer is now believed to be slowly repairing itself.

The ozone layer is not to be mixed up with the greenhouse effect. While it is a part of the greenhouse gases surrounding the earth, it is not part of the greenhouse effect, which regulates the temperature on earth.

Activities

Useful links

www.change.ie
The Irish government's website on climate change with a focus on getting people to make small changes in their live.

www.climate.org

www.realclimate.org

www.actonco2.direct.gov.uk
English government site on climate change. Check out their carbon footprint calculator and some interesting facts on climate change.

www.climatetrust.org

www.epa.ie/researchandeducation/educ/

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