Republic of the Philippines

Bohol Island State University

Main Campus
Tagbilaran City
VISION: A premier S & T university for the formation of a world class and virtue-laden human
resource for sustainable development of Bohol and the country
MISSION: BISU is committed to provide quality higher education in the arts and sciences, as
well as in the professional and technological fields, undertake research and development and
extension services for the sustainable development of Bohol and the country.

WRITTEN REPORT
in
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND
SOCIETY (GE 7)
Topic:
Climate Change and the Energy Crisis
& Environmental Awareness
Members:
Gallemaso, Nicoleson
Gastanes, Jenny
Lagare, Maria Shaina
Lastimosa, Rolan
Lofranco, Jeralden Mae
Macalos, Jude Vincent

Instructor:
Ms. Clyde M. Bodiongan
 Republic of the Philippines
Bohol Island State University
Main Campus
Tagbilaran City
VISION: A premier S & T university for the formation of a world class and virtue-laden human
resource for sustainable development of Bohol and the country
MISSION: BISU is committed to provide quality higher education in the arts and sciences, as
well as in the professional and technological fields, undertake research and development and
extension services for the sustainable development of Bohol and the country.

Climate Change and the Energy Crisis &

Environmental Awareness
“There is no question that climate change is happening; the only
arguable point is what part humans are playing in it.”

-David Attenborough
Climate Change

Climate change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system that
persists for several decades or longer. Climate change may be due to natural processes,
such as changes in the Sun’s radiation, volcanoes or internal variability in the climate
system, or due to human influences such as changes in the composition of the
atmosphere or land use.

Many lines of evidence demonstrate that human activities, especially emissions of

heat-trapping greenhouse gases from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation, and land-use
change, are primarily responsible for the climate changes observed in the industrial era,
especially over the last six decades. The atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide,
the largest contributor to human-caused warming, has increased by about 40% over the
industrial era. This change has intensified the natural greenhouse effect, driving an
increase in global surface temperatures and other widespread changes in Earth’s climate
that are unprecedented in the history.

Let’s take a look at how interrelated and interconnected the following phenomena
that ultimately leads to climate change.

Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect is a natural process that warms the Earth’s surface. When
the Sun’s energy reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, some of it is reflected back to space
and the rest is absorbed and re-radiated by greenhouse gases. This blanket of
greenhouse gases serves as the Earth’s insulator, of which without it, ours will be a called
dead planet.

Greenhouse gases include water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide,
ozone and some artificial chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Carbon dioxide
and methane in particular, trap the heat radiated by the sun.
The problem we now face is that human activities are increasing the concentrations of
greenhouse gases. From NASA’s observation, the increase and too much concentration
of these greenhouse gases can cause Earth's atmosphere to trap more and more heat
that warms up the planet leading to a phenomenon called global warming.

Global Warming

Global warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average
temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be
permanently changing the Earth’s climate.

The increased volumes of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released
by the burning of fossil fuels, land clearing, agriculture, and other human activities, are
believed to be the primary sources of the global warming that has occurred over the past
50 years. Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate carrying out global
warming research have recently predicted that average global temperatures could
increase between 1.4 and 5.8 °C by the year 2100.

Changes resulting from global warming may include rising sea levels due to the
melting of the polar ice caps, as well as an increase in occurrence and severity of storms
and other severe weather events – all of which are signs of a changing climactic patterns.

Impacts of Climate Change on Society

According to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the aspects of climate
change are having increasingly complex and important impacts on all the nations’
economy and quality of life. Impacts related to climate change are evident across
regions and in many sectors important to society—such as human health, agriculture
and food security, water supply, transportation, energy, ecosystems, and others—and
are expected to become increasingly disruptive throughout this century and beyond.

Climate change affects human health and wellbeing through more extreme
weather events and wildfires, decreased air quality, and diseases transmitted by insects,
food, and water. Climate disruptions to agriculture have been increasing and are
projected to become more severe over this century, a trend that would diminish the
security of the world’s food supply. Surface and groundwater supplies in some regions
are already stressed, and water quality is diminishing in many areas, in part due to
increasing sediment and contaminant concentrations after heavy downpours.
 In some regions, prolonged periods of high temperatures associated with
droughts contribute to conditions that lead to larger wildfires and longer fire seasons. For
coastal communities, sea level rise, combined with coastal storms, has increased the
risk of erosion, storm surge damage, and flooding. Extreme heat, sea level rise, and
heavy downpours are affecting infrastructure like roads, rail lines, airports, and all other
infrastructures.

The capacity of ecosystems like forests, barrier beaches, and wetlands to buffer
the impacts of extreme events like fires, floods, and severe storms is being overwhelmed.
The rising temperature and changing chemistry of ocean water is combining with other
stresses, such as overfishing and pollution, alter marine-based food production and harm
fishing communities.

Some climate changes currently have beneficial effects for specific sectors or
regions. For example, current benefits of warming include longer growing seasons and
longer ice – free period for agriculture.