Climate change

Human factors

„The human factor in climate deserves special consideration because it has come into competition with the natural control mechanisms with increasing intensity during the industrial age.“ Schönwiese, Christian-Dietrich; Prof. of Meteorological Environmental Research and Climatology, Universität Frankfurt a. M.

In international climate research the consensus is that our climate is changing and that humans are partly responsible. The intensive use of fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution, advanced technology, rapid urbanization, increasing goods and services, and the growing population have increased demand as well as the prosperity of many people. At the same time the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has been increasing continuously since the beginning of the industrialization and in turn affects global average temperatures.

Get to grips with the human climate factor in more detail by completing two exercises.

Sources

Latif, Mojib (2007): Bringen wir das Klima aus dem Takt? Hintergründe und Prognosen. Frankfurt/M.: Fischer Taschenbuch
Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft (2005): Wetterkatastrophen und Klimawandel. Sind wir noch zu retten? Munich: pg Verl., Dow, Kirstin/ Downing, Thomas E. (2007): Weltatlas des Klimawandels. Karten und Fakten zur globalen Erwärmung. Hamburg: Europäische Verlagsanstalt