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Year 7 & 8 TOC

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Managing our future

LO: How can we help manage our resources

The green house 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 (like water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane etc). 

As human activities increase, like burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas), agriculture and land clearing more greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere. This is the enhanced greenhouse effect, which is contributing to the warming of the Earth. This warming is called ‘global warming’.

An increase in CO2 production can lead to warmer temperatures, loss of sea ice,  coral bleaching, accelerated sea-level rise and longer, more intense heat waves and more frequent bush fires.

Increases in greenhouse emissions has lead to an increase in global warming and climate change. Some scientists say that global warming has boosted the risk of bushfires by at least 30%.

For more information click here.

How can we help?

Cars

In Australia, cars are the major cause of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. To help the environment many companies have created low-emissions vehicles. 

Hybrid vehicles use a combination of electrical and petrol engines. In these cars, like the Toyota Prius, the electric motor works with the petrol engine to decrease the amount of fuel consumption and emissions. 

Some cars however are trying for zero emissions. Electrical cars like Tesla and the i-MiEV Mitsubishi use only use power stored in a battery to drive the motor in the car. You need to recharge these batteries somewhere though.  

Electricity

You’re probably thinking, how can we get electricity without creating additional greenhouse gasses?

 

As we’ve discussed in the earlier sections, there are renewable energy sources that can produce energy with low carbon emissions, such as solar, wind and hydro. 

You can install solar panels to your roof to generate power for your house and intern use less energy from the main system. In fact, some companies will give you a rebate for installing solar panels to your roof. 

Making your house more efficient

We’ve seen above how you can use solar panels to decrease your energy emissions, but there are plenty of other things you can do also to help the environment.  

Here are some ways we can help:

  • Installing rainwater tanks, to collect water for gardening can help save water.
  • Switching the lights off when the sun is out or no ones home. This isn’t a foreign concept, as some houses now can turn their lights on and off based on a timer. 
  • Using smart plugs to monitor your overall energy use, can help you stay aware of your energy consumption. 

Test your knowledge

Click the ‘question mark’ icon to test your knowledge with some questions.

WHERE NEXT?

Discover more about this topic or go back to the year 7&8 topics.

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