What is Cap and Trade? The government wants to limit the amount of CO2 emissions that factories can produce. Companies can sell their pollution to other companies if they don’t pollute. PROBLEMS: Big Tax on companies – higher prices. Is pollution really being reduced? (shell game?) Are the gasses really adding to climate change?
What about China, Russia, and Iran? Do these countries care about the environment?
Atmosphere and Ocean - 7
There are three ways that heat travels on earth.
conduction: heat moves from direct contact between two or
more objects; things touching
radiation: heat moves with no contact between objects; pure
energy; sunlight to earth
convection: heat is carried between objects by a medium - liquid
or gas; heater/fan; boiling water, wind, magma
Most energy on earth travels in convection currents. A convection current is a moving wave of liquid (water) or gas (air) caused by heat spreading molecules apart. Heat energy causes a liquid or gas to rise because it gets lighter.
As the heat is slowly lost, the molecules get cooler and heavier and sink. This movement causes currents.
All winds on earth are convection currents. They move vertically (up and down) when warm low pressure (lighter/less dense) air rises and cooler high pressure (heavier/more dense) air sinks. Winds move horizontally (side to side) because of the earth’s rotation. Winds are always described by the direction they come from.
Convection cells are large bodies of moving air. They are global wind patterns that are named for the direction they come from.