Chapter 20 Flashcards
(58 cards)
1
Q
weather
A
short term changes in atmospheric variables (ex: precipitation) during a period
2
Q
climate
A
weather conditions of an area/the world averaged over the last 30 years
3
Q
3 major greenhouse gasses
A
CO2, N2O, CH4
4
Q
greenhouse gas effect
A
- gasses in atmosphere trap some solar heat
- some solar energy absorbed by earths radiates into atmosphere (as infrared radiation- heat)
5
Q
how has climate change been happening naturally for 3.5 billion years?
A
- Big meteors, asteroids, or volcanic eruptions (cools atmosphere with debris)
- Changes in solar input
- Slight changes in earth’s orbit around sun (more elliptical over cycle of 100,000 years)
- Slight changes in tilt of axis over cycle of 41,000 years
- Global air circulation patterns
- Variations in greenhouse gas concentration
- Infrequent changes in ocean currents
- Slights changes in earth’s orbit around sun over 20,000 years
6
Q
interglacial period
A
Warming = rising sea levels + melting ice
7
Q
glacial period
A
Cooling = ice ages
8
Q
when did atmospheric temps start to rise?
A
1975
9
Q
how do we know that climate change is happening now?
A
- Alaskan glaciers + permafrost are melting , sea ice loss + rising sea levels = relocation from receding coastlines
- World sea level average = rising quickly because of melting land-based ice and ocean temperature increases
- Greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere warm the lower atmosphere
- Temp rise = species migration towards pole / high elevation on land OR species extinctions
- Warmest decade since 1861 started 2005
- Since 1979 floating sea ice shrinking
- Ancient glacial melting
- 1906-2016 earths global surface temp rose by 1.7* F (0.94 C)
(OVERALL- ice is melting, sea levels are rising, temp is rising, and animals are adapting)
10
Q
how much CO2 do we emit average daily?
A
110M metric tons
11
Q
what about CO2 levels (PPM)?
A
- For 400,000 years, CO2 stayed at 180-280 PPM
- but in 2016 it was 405 PPM
- Highest ever since 4.5M years ago
12
Q
biggest fossil fuel CO2 emitters
A
- China
- US
- India
13
Q
carbon footprint
A
amount of CO2 made by an entity in a period (China has this nationally highest)
* per capita takes this number/person
14
Q
4 main climate change conclusions (CHAI)
A
- Climate change is happening now
- Human activities play a great role in climate change
- Atmospheric temps are likely to increase > more+faster climate change
- If we do something now and keep doing it we can stop climate change, which helps people, economies, and the environment + affordably
15
Q
what political disagreements + debates arise?
A
- What should be done to deal with climate change?
*. While fossil fuels are important, they cause serious problems such as air pollution, climate change, and ocean acidification
16
Q
what does the ocean do?
A
Oceans absorb co2 from the atmosphere in the carbon cycle
* Helps with climate change and avg surface temp
* Remove 25% of human made CO2
* Stored in marine algae+vegetation, coral reefs, and ocean bottom sediments
Oceans absorb heat from lower atmosphere
* 90% heat in atmosphere from greenhouse gas pollution since 70s has gone to ocean
* Avg ocean temp has risen since 70s
CO2 taking heat and CO2 helps slow atmospheric warming and climate change BUT
More acidification
17
Q
what do clouds do?
A
Warmer temp = more surface water evaporation = more humidity
More clouds to warm (cirrus clouds, thin and lets sun in) / cool atmosphere (cumulus clouds, thick and reflect sun)
18
Q
aerosols vs soot
A
A: suspended solid particles and microscopic droplets
S: black carbon particles that warm lower atmosphere
19
Q
what will the effects of climate change be?
A
- floods in coastal cities
- Severe drought
- Intense + long heat waves
- Destructives storms and flooding
- Forest loss + fires
- Species extinction
- Less food security, more poverty+social conflict
- Poorer countries can’t handle the climate change that other countries have caused
20
Q
climate change tipping point
A
thresholds that natural systems could change for hundreds/thousands of years after
21
Q
albedo
A
measure of how capable a surface (like ice/snow)(soil/desert)(ocean water) is at reflecting sunlight
22
Q
where are climate change effects the worst?
A
polar areas
- side note: more melting ice and snow > Less reflective material > less reflected sun > more melting ice
23
Q
name a climate change tipping point
A
full melting of floating summer arctic sea ice
* may be gone by 2050
24
Q
why are mountain glaciers important?
A
- they store water during winter to melt and be used during summer
- 80% of them in the andes are shrinking
- People rely on them for water power and food
25
why is permafrost thawing important?
* the rotting organic material beneath it will let methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
* Makes more carbon (2-4x) than humans
* only takes 5-10%
26
rising sea levels (why bad? how bad?)
* more heat storage = rising sea levels because they expand and melting land-glaciers add water
* avg global sea level will likely grow 40-60 cm (1.1-1.2 meters / 3-4 ft) by 2100
* most will come from melting Greenland ice
* could make it 2.4 M (8 ft) if continues
10x the rate of 1900s
27
ocean acidity levels
* since 1800, avg acidity of ocean water has increase 30%
* since 1900, has increased by 15%
28
how climate change cause drought?
* More high temp than precipitation (rain + snow) = severe drought
* important because make less trees > less natural CO2 removal and wildfires
29
threat to biodiversity
* 85% of it in Amazon rainforest could be lost and made tropical savanna if worse case scenario happens
* by 2100, 17% species may face extinction most often from habitat loss
* especially limited-range, limited-tolerance of temp, cold-climate, and high elevation
* wildfires > more deforestation
* more harmful insects and fungi
* dying coral reefs
30
how will farmer suffer
* drought, hotter temp, floods, lack of irrigation, and more pest populations will lower crop yield
* could cause impoverished and vulnerable populations to suffer from malnutrition and starvation
31
threats to human health, national security, and economies
human health:
* prolonged heat waves = more illness and death (esp. old/at-risk people)
* warmer and CO2-rich atmosphere = multiplying insects, especially vectors which carry illnesses and disease
* other pathogens such as microbes and toxic molds will also thrive
* high temp + water vapor levels - more photochemical smog
= more pollution-related deaths+illnesses from heart and lung problems
security:
* Less food security
* Poverty
* Env. degradation
* Unemployment
* Social unrest
* Weakened govs
32
why is solution difficult? (GLCS- glucose)
* is global (needs international cooperation)
* is a long term political issue (many don't see it as urgent problem)
* proposed solutions are controversial (need to consider economic disruption, lifestyle, and powerful companies)
* expected effects and temp changes aren't for sure (wide range: could be terrible or moderate) (how fast and how much should we slow climate change?)
33
CO2 tipping point
450 PPM
34
2 ways to deal with climate change
* Mitigation: slowing climate change to avoid harmful effects
* Adaptation: some things are too late to change- learn to adapt
35
how do we stop the effect
* lower global avg temp to 2 degrees C above PREindustrial global avg temp
36
how can we lessen CO2 emissions
* lessening fossil fuel use
* greater energy efficiency
* more on clean/low-carbon resources
37
reserves
* nations and energy companies have fossil fuel reserves that (if we burn them) emit 5x more CO2 then we can safely emit
* to avoid going over tipping point we need to leave 82% coal and 50% arctic oil + natural gas
38
other CO2 reduction stuff
* dealing with it = job creation and profitable businesses
* business leaders think its a global investment opportunity
* could shift to electric or (plug-in) hybrid cars
* shifting rapidly to renewable energy because clean energy prices lower
39
sequestering
* storing
* remove CO2 > make a liquid > store it in the environment
40
carbon capture and storage
* would improve smokestack emissions of coal-burning + industrial plants
* make liquid and store underground
41
five big problems with carbon capture and storage
* big cost little removal+storage of smokestack emissions
* need more energy > more fossil fuel use and CO2 emissions
* don't help CO2 from vehicle exhaust, food production, and forest burning for crop growth
* CO2 stored stays away from atmosphere forever
* Leaks from storage = more rapid warming and climate change
42
how else can we lessen CO2
* planting LOTS of trees
* restore wetlands and mangrove forests
* planting LOTS of trees
* fertilizing ocean with iron to help make phytoplankton
* using biochar: burning biomass like chicken waste or wood in a low-oxygen environment instead of charcoal (helps keep carbon in the soil)
43
geoengineering
manipulating natural conditions to help go against greenhouse effects
44
what is the IPCC
* stands for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
* made by World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Environmental Programme (NEP)
* documents past and future climate changes
45
why is CCS and geoengineering bad
* depend on complex machinery that run forever and move something somewhere else
* if we rely on them and continue trends and they fail one day, severe climate disruption may happen
46
6 ways the gov can help
1. Regulate CO2 and CH4
2. get rid of most polluting coal-burning plants over 50 years + replace with cleaner and renewable energy sources
3. agreements to monitor + finance + promote efforts to lessen deforestation (12-17% emissions)
4. get rid of gov subsidies + tax breaks for fossil fuel industries BUT give them to renewable low-carbon ones
5. Cap-and-trade systems: use marketplace to reduce methane and carbon emissions (helps lessen impact and benefit economy)
6. Put taxes on units of methane and carbon emissions + putting energy taxes on units of fossil fuel burned (would lessen other taxes)
47
international climate change treaties
* Govs enter international climate negotiations
* Ex: Kyoto Protocol that involved 187/194 countries
* Even those more-developed countries who committed to cut emissions failed
* Less-developed = excused bc need economic growth
48
necessary view shift
not political issue but economic+financial issue
49
what is the US doing
* California is relying on 33% low-carbon renewable energy to get electricity by 2030
* 32 states have emission reduction or multi-state programs
* in 650 cities (450+ of them being in the US) since 1990 have made greenhouse gas reduction programs
50
how can individuals make a difference
* ⅔ of avg american’s carbon footprint is embodied carbon: made from consumer products and services
* Carbon footprint also impacted by diet (production = greenhouse gases)
* Meat vs grain
* Fresh vs packaged food
* Political involvement can help spread a message
* Use a carbon footprint calculator
51
how to stabilize greenhouse gas emission concentrations
lessen emissions by 50-85% by 2050
52
because of politics we should work towards these goals but prepare for the bad effects anyway
yippeeeeee :WODJE@KSJKEINWNOWLAOOOOO
53
why should we take these steps anyway
* Cut energy bills
* Cut air-pollution-related deaths
* Less land disruption form less surface mining for coal
* Countries can depend less on importing fossil fuels
* Can invest it elsewhere to benefit the people, economy, and general country
* Less deforestation = more biodiversity = more natural capital
54
core case study
* Greenland = world's largest island
* Ice as thick as 2 miles covers the island
* If it melts, the global sea level can raise as much as 23 feet or 7 meters tall
* over the past 20 years it contributed to ⅙ of sea level rise
* melting quickly during the summer and not well replaced in the winter
55
that one graph
keeling curve
56
difference between CO2 and CH4
1 molecule of CH4= 32x molecule of CO2
57
bicarbonate equation
CO2 + H2O = H2CO3
58
cirrus clouds purpose
insulate
