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1
Q

1 environmental topic

A

Climate Change

2
Q

Carbon footprint

A

the amount of carbon we are responsible for emitting

3
Q

Though many factors influence Earth’s climate, ___ ____ play a major role.

A

Human activities

4
Q

Climate change is well underway by

A

further greenhouse gas emissions causing severe impacts.

5
Q

Reducing ___ and ____ and ____ to a changing climate are the foremost challenges for our society.

A

Greenhouse gas emissions; mitigating; adapting

6
Q

Geoengineering

A

Drastic assertive steps to change the Earth’s climate; sucks carbon out of the air by planting trees, etc.

7
Q

Emissions trading programs

A

seek to harness the economic efficiency of the free market to achieve public policy control pollution; businesses have flexibility in how they meet these goals.

8
Q

Polluters choose how to cut their emissions by

A

being given financial incentives to reduce them.

9
Q

Clean coal

A

burning coal in a manner that doesn’t release CO2

10
Q

California’s Global Warming Solutions Act

A

Seeks to cut emissions by 25% by 2020

11
Q

The US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement

A

will meet or beat Kyoto’s guidelines

12
Q

The US federal government is not acting so

A

State and local governments are

13
Q

The Kyoto Protocol took affect in ___ after ____

A

2005; After Russia became the 127th nation to ratify it

14
Q

Signatory nations have increased omissions by __%

A

3.2%

15
Q

Kyoto Protocol

A

(1997) Signatory nations must reduce omissions of six greenhouse gases two levels below those of 1990 2008-2012

16
Q

Because federal Govt is not following K.Protocol,

A

Local governments are doing this

17
Q

The __ will not ratify the Kyoto Protocol

A

United States

18
Q

The Kyoto Protocol Requires what type of Nations to reduce emissions

A

Industrialized nations

19
Q

The Kyoto Protocol doesn’t require ___ to reduce emissions (China and India)

A

industrializing nations

20
Q

What nations feel reducing emissions will hurt the economy?

A

The US senate, China, and India

21
Q

Economic vitality does not need higher emissions because

A

Germany, England, and France cut emissions while keeping a high standard of living

22
Q

Industrialized nations ___ from developing and marketing new technologies

A

gain

23
Q

The future belongs to ___ willing to act now

A

nations

24
Q

In ____, Obama announced he would take steps to address climate change through

A

his ‘climate action plan’ which urged the EPA to speed its regulation power of newer power plants and to begin regulating existing ones

25
Q

The Climate Action Plan, created by Obama aimed to

A

Jump-start renewable energy development, modernize the electric grid, finance clean coal and carbon storage efforts, improve automotive fuel economy, protect and restore forests, and encourage energy efficiency

26
Q

Paris treaty aimed to

A

reduce CO2 levels (US removed from treaty)

27
Q

Many businesses and politicians have opposed all government action because

A

they fear it will cost the industry and consumers

28
Q

In __, the US Supreme Court ruled that the EPA

A

could regulate CO2 as a polluatant

29
Q

Electrical generation

A

the largest source of CO2 emissions

30
Q

Carbon Capture

A

Removes CO2 from power plant emissions

31
Q

Carbon Storage (sequestration)(for extra co2)

A

Storage of carbon underground (old oil deposits, salt mines, etc)

32
Q

Can we store enough Co2 underground to make a difference?

A

No

33
Q

Carbon capture and storage

A

Puts Co2 underground

34
Q

Problem with storing co2 underground is

A

it can push water out of aquifers to create sinkholes

35
Q

Adaptation

A

(preparation) pursue strategies to minimize its impacts on us (seawalls, coping w drought and less water, etc.)

36
Q

Should we pursue mitigation or adaptation?

A

Both

37
Q

2nd largest greenhouse gas emitter

A

cars

38
Q

What percentage of gas in your car moves it forward

A

14%

39
Q

Mitigation

A

Pursue actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions to lessen the severity of climate change (energy efficiency, renewable energy, protecting soil, preventing deforestation

40
Q

Most people accept that we are changing earth so

A

they are searching for solutions

41
Q

Influential people have concluded that what is happening and that we should respond.

A

climate change

42
Q

People ___ climate change

A

deny

43
Q

Temperature increases would be smaller if emissions are ___

A

lowered

44
Q

Where we live determines how we experience the impacts of

A

climate change

45
Q

______ has borne the brunt of climate change

A

The Arctic

46
Q

In the US GLobal Change Research Program’s 2014 National Climate Assessment, scientists reported and predicted

A

Temperature increases(1.7-5.6 C); Worse droughts and flooding; decreased crop yields; water shortages; health problems and diseases; higher sea levels, beach erosion, destroyed wetlands; changes to forests as a result of drought, fire, and pests; more grasslands and deserts, fewer forests; undermining of Alaskan buildings and roads

47
Q

Scientists agree that increased greenhouse gases are causing global warming due to

A

burning fossil fuels and loss of carbon absorbing vegetation due to deforestation

48
Q

Despite overwhelming evidence for climate change

A

many deny what is happening; people debate whether it is real and whether humans are to blame; think tanks and a few scientists question it; the news media presents both sides, despite the evidence of climate change

49
Q

Biologists are recording ___ in organisms

A

Spatial shifts

50
Q

Spatial shifts in organisms examples

A

plants and animals are moving toward the poles and upward in elevation

51
Q

Societies are already feeling the impacts of

A

climate change

52
Q

Climate change affects agriculture

A

shortened growing seasons, decreased production, crops more susceptible to droughts; hunger increasing in many nations

53
Q

Climate change affects forestry

A

increased fires and invasive species; insect and disease outbreaks

54
Q

Climate change affects health

A

heat waves and stress can cause death; respiratory ailments, expansion of tropical diseases; drowning, disease, and sanitation problems (flooding)

55
Q

Climate change affects economics

A

costs will outweigh benefits of climate change; gap between rich and poor will widen;

56
Q

Gap between rich and poor will widen

A

People with less wealth and technology will suffer most; investing now could prevent larger costs in the future

57
Q

____ are hit hard with natural diseases

A

The poor

58
Q

Droughts, fires, and disease will decrease plant growth which

A

fewer plants means more CO2 in the atmosphere

59
Q

More CO2 may increase plant growth but

A

Droughts, fires, and disease will decrease plant growth

60
Q

Global warming modifies temperature-dependent phenomena

A

(timing of migration, breeding, etc.) species will move toward poles or in upward direction

61
Q

Species moving in an upward or towards pole could have what affects

A

20-30% of species will be threatened with extinction; rare species will be pushed out of preserves

62
Q

Organisms are adapted to their environment but are

A

affected when those environments change

63
Q

Ocean acidification

A

caused by increased CO2; organisms cant build exoskeletons

64
Q

Oceans have decreased by ___pH per unit

A

0.1 pH

65
Q

Oceans will decrease to ___ to ___ pH more units (enough to kill coral reefs which would be catastrophic

A

0.15 to 0.35 pH

66
Q

____ contributes to coral bleaching

A

warmer waters

67
Q

Coral reefs are

A

a habitat for marine species, tourism destinations, and protect coastlines

68
Q

The global temperature is in an ___ trend

A

upward

69
Q

The three factors that influence the earth’s climate

A

the sun, the atmosphere, the oceans

70
Q

the sun

A

without it the earth would be dark and frozen

71
Q

the atmosphere

A

without it, earth’s temperature would be much colder

72
Q

Clouds, land, ice, and water absorb __% of incoming solar radiation

A

70%

73
Q

What percentage of UV radiation is reflected back into space

A

30%

74
Q

the oceans

A

shape climate by storing and transporting heat and moisture; absorbs heat and CO2; takes up some, not all, of CO2

75
Q

Earth receives about ___ watts of electricity per sq meter from the sun and naturally emits ___

A

340; the same amount

76
Q

What man-made products help protect us from heat/sun

A

Sunblock, clothing, and air conditioning

77
Q

Atmosphere is a

A

thin layer that protects us from UV rays

78
Q

As the earth’s surface absorbs solar radiation,

A

the surface temp increases and emits infrared radiation

79
Q

greenhouse gases

A

atmospheric gases that absorb infrared radiation; water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, nitrus oxide, methane, halocarbons (CFC’s chlorofluorocarbons)

80
Q

because greenhouse gases re-emit infrared energy,

A

some energy is lost to space; greenhouse effect

81
Q

greenhouse effect

A

the energy that travels downward warms the atmosphere and the planets surface; heat is trapped

82
Q

methane is released from

A

animal (livestock), melting glaciers, and through soil

83
Q

permafrost is released from

A

glaciers

84
Q

storm surge

A

temporary, localized rise in sea level; caused by high tides and winds of storms

85
Q

What percentage of people live in coastal areas

A

53% (concern w flooding)

86
Q

Vulnerability to storm surge increases because

A

rising seas eliminate marsh grasses, dams stop sediment from replenishing deltas

87
Q

In ___ Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines

A

2013

88
Q

Runoff from glaciers causes

A

sea levels to rise

89
Q

As oceans warm, they ___ leading to

A

expand; beach erosion, coastal floods, intrusion of salt water into aquifers, and storm surges

90
Q

What is melting Antarctica’s coastal ice shelves

A

warmer water

91
Q

Melting ice exposes _____, causing more melting

A

darker, less-reflective (lower albedo) surfaces

92
Q

Antartica’s melting ice is an example of

A

positive feedback

93
Q

Perfafrost

A

permanently frozen ground

94
Q

Melting glaciers open new

A

water ways and unexplored areas

95
Q

Is the greenhouse effect natural

A

yes

96
Q

Temperature increases as

A

CO2 increases

97
Q

Has CO2 gone up or down

A

up

98
Q

CO2 has increased from ___ppm (1700s) to ___ppm

A

280; 399

99
Q

In 20 million years, CO2 levels will be ___ppm

A

800,000

100
Q

Per sq mile

A

there are 116 ppl, 21 cows, 16 pigs, 16 dogs and cats, 16 cars and trucks

101
Q

Anthropogenic

A

human-induced/caused

102
Q

Have greenhouse gases always been in the atmosphere

A

yes

103
Q

We are concerned with ___ intensification of the greenhouse effect

A

anthropogenic

104
Q

What has increased the concentration of greenhouse gases beyond what has ever been experienced

A

Humans

105
Q

What contributes most to the greenhouse effect

A

carbon dioxide

106
Q

carbon dioxide is

A

less potent potent, but more abundant than other gases; major type of human caused emission

107
Q

Ocean absorbtion

A

As oceans warm, they absorb less CO2 accelerating warming; oceans hold 50 times more carbon than the atmosphere; slows global warming but doesn’t prevent it

108
Q

EPICA stands for

A

European Project for Ice Core in Antartica

109
Q

Data from EPICA ice core reveals changes across ___yrs

A

800,000

110
Q

EPICA involves

A

freezing and analyzing ice

111
Q

Climate models

A

combine data from atmospheric and ocean circulation and interactions; simulates climate processes (current and future climate)

112
Q

proxy indicators

A

indirect evidence that serve as substitutes for direct measurements of past climate; big tubes of ice and analyze bubbles

113
Q

Ice caps, sheets and glaciers hold clues to

A

earth’s climate history

114
Q

Trapped bubbles in ice cores provide a timescale of

A

atmospheric composition, greenhouse gas concentrations, temp, snowfall, solar activity; frequency of fires and volcanic eruptions

115
Q

Proxy indicators tell us of

A

the past

116
Q

We document daily conditions of weather

A

temp, rainfall, wind speed, airpressure

117
Q

Ocean and atmospheric chemistry were first measured in what year in Hawaii

A

1958

118
Q

Atmospheric CO2 increased from 315 ppm to 399 ppm since ___

A

1958

119
Q

Where is methane naturally found

A

in the ground

120
Q

Burning fossil fuels transfers ___ from ___ and deposits it into the atmosphere

A

CO2; underground

121
Q

Main reason why CO2 levels have increased

A

burning of fossil fuels

122
Q

Deforestation contributes to rising CO2 because

A

carbon is stored in plants tissues and there are less plants to absorb CO2

123
Q

Deforestation releases

A

CO2

124
Q

Largest sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gas in US

A
#1-electricity production/generation/coal burning;
#2-transportation/gas burning
125
Q

Climate models work by

A

looking at current trends and extrapolate

126
Q

Extreme events in the US have been rising since

A

the 1970s

127
Q

(IPCC) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is made up of

A

(1988) composed of international scientists and government representatives

128
Q

The remaining __ of 125 glaciers in Glacier National Park will be gone by ___

A

25; 2030

129
Q

Once soil is exposed

A

methane is released

130
Q

Some areas are having more rain and snow, while in the southwest of US

A

there are more frequent and severe droughts

131
Q

In dry humid regions,

A

heavy rains cause flooding and mudslides (Bangladesh)

132
Q

In the next 20 years, temp will rise

A

0.4 C

133
Q

At the end of the 21st century, temp will be ___ higher than todays

A

1.8 to 4.0 C

134
Q

___ areas will have most intense warming

A

Polar

135
Q

____ will rise in temp

A

sea surfaces

136
Q

Global climate change

A

Describes modifications in earths climate; changes in temp, precipitation, storm frequency

137
Q

Climate

A

Long term trend in atmospheric conditions

138
Q

Weather

A

Short term trend in atmospheric conditions

139
Q

Are global warming and climate change the same

A

No

140
Q

Global warming

A

General increase overtime of avg earth temp; only one aspect of climate change

141
Q

Earths ___ has varied overtime

A

Climate

142
Q

Coastal areas will face challenges from

A

Rising sea levels