Samantha Twist
559296
Genv 131 Final exam
Question 2
Dr. Maxwell
1
, After attending the world conference on global warming and climate change I can help our
community do better. Climate change and global warming is something that effects our
community but there are solutions.
Global Warming & Climate Change
Climate change and global warming are sometimes used interchangeably to mean the
same thing. However, in our science textbook, Environment: the Science Behind the Stories by
Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata, climate change is defined as the “Systematic change in
aspects of the Earth’s climate, such as temperature, precipitation, and storm intensity.
Generally refers today to the current warming trend in global temperatures in the many
associated climate changes.” Global warming, in the same textbook, is defined as “an increase
in Earth's average temperature. The term is most frequently used in reference to the
pronounced warming trend of recent decades. Global warming is one aspect of global climate
change and in turn drives other components of climate change” (Withgott, 2020). The main
difference between the two is that global warming is, although a big part, only one aspect of
climate change.
The Science Behind Global Warming and Climate Change
To understand climate change and global warming, one must understand some of the
science behind it first. The atmosphere being layered is the first thing one must understand.
There are four layers. First, and closest to us, there is the troposphere which holds the air we
breath. Then, on top of that, there is the stratosphere which has the majority of the ozone
concentration and also has “little vertical mixing, so once substances (including pollutants)
2
559296
Genv 131 Final exam
Question 2
Dr. Maxwell
1
, After attending the world conference on global warming and climate change I can help our
community do better. Climate change and global warming is something that effects our
community but there are solutions.
Global Warming & Climate Change
Climate change and global warming are sometimes used interchangeably to mean the
same thing. However, in our science textbook, Environment: the Science Behind the Stories by
Jay Withgott and Matthew Laposata, climate change is defined as the “Systematic change in
aspects of the Earth’s climate, such as temperature, precipitation, and storm intensity.
Generally refers today to the current warming trend in global temperatures in the many
associated climate changes.” Global warming, in the same textbook, is defined as “an increase
in Earth's average temperature. The term is most frequently used in reference to the
pronounced warming trend of recent decades. Global warming is one aspect of global climate
change and in turn drives other components of climate change” (Withgott, 2020). The main
difference between the two is that global warming is, although a big part, only one aspect of
climate change.
The Science Behind Global Warming and Climate Change
To understand climate change and global warming, one must understand some of the
science behind it first. The atmosphere being layered is the first thing one must understand.
There are four layers. First, and closest to us, there is the troposphere which holds the air we
breath. Then, on top of that, there is the stratosphere which has the majority of the ozone
concentration and also has “little vertical mixing, so once substances (including pollutants)
2
