1. Climate Change Debate Issues for Canada
Why We Care
Climate Change Debate
Issues for Canada

2. NASA’s Evidence of Climate Change
Sea level rise
Global sea level rose about 17 centimeters in the last century. The rate in the last decade, however, is nearly double that of the last century.
Warming oceans
ocean showing warming of degrees Fahrenheit since 1969.
Global temperature rise
Earth has warmed since Most of this warming has occurred since the 1970s

3. NASA’s Evidence of Climate Change
Extreme events and natural disasters
Ocean acidification
Since the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30%
Declining Arctic sea ice
Shrinking ice sheets, Glacial retreat, and Decreased snow cover
Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska and Africa.

4. Climate Change Deniers
A small number of critics continue to deny that climate change exists or that humans are causing it.
These individuals are generally not climate scientists and do not debate the science with the climate scientists directly
Not surprisingly, the deniers have received significant funding from coal and oil companies, including ExxonMobil.

5. Arguments of Climate Change Deniers
Climate change is not occurring
The global climate is actually getting colder
The global climate is getting warmer, but this is a natural process that has occurred before in Earths cycle of development
The global climate is getting warmer, in part because of human activities, but this will create greater benefits than costs.
Too expensive and too late to combat

6. Fighting Ignorance
While global warming is a natural occurrence due to greenhouse gases, human activity has greatly increased the speed of warming which has led to serious and irreversible changes in the Earth’s ecosystems
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is one of the largest bodies of international scientists ever assembled to study a scientific issue, involving more than 2,500 scientists from more than 130 countries.
concluded that most of the warming observed during the past 50 years is attributable to human activities.

7. The Canadian Arctic
Canada’s arctic regions show some of the most dramatic signs of climate change
Sea ice is shrinking and the seasonal melt is happening earlier
Polar bears are in danger of extinction due to decreasing habitat
Arctic communities face shrinking shorelines and transport problems due to the melting permafrost

9. Climate Change Optimists
Some people in Canada are looking at the good side of climate change- WHAT?!
Argue that the shrinking arctic snow pack will create new agricultural opportunities in Canada’s north
Argue that there will be easier access to oil and natural gas deposits in the arctic sea bed