Climate Change Test Flashcards
(22 cards)
How many metric tons of CO2 leave the environment naturally every year?
5 billion metric tons
What percent of the earth’s CO2 do the oceans absorb?
25-30%
What percent of CO2 is absorbed by plants and soils?
30%
10 ways to slow climate change
cut fossil fuel use, shift from coal to natural gas, improve energy efficiency, shift to renewable energy sources, transfer energy efficiency and renewbale energy technology to developing countries, reduce deforestation, use more sustainable agriculture and forestry, put a price on greenhouse gas emissions, reduce poverty, slow population growth
Name 4 ways the government can help reduce climate change
Phase in carbon taxes or fees. Place a cap on total human-generated CO2 in certain regions. Increasing subsidies to greener companies. Help developing countries with technology advances.
How many metric tons of CO2 are added to the atmosphere every year?
9.1 billion metric tons
What does permafrost melting have to do with climate change?
It is a primary feedback loop because 50-60 times the amount of CO2 and methane than is on earth is locked up in the soil in the arctic.
Contrails
AKA vapor trails, are condensation trails and artificial clouds made by exhaust of aircraft engines.
Where are CFCs or “freons” found?
Coolants in air conditioners and refrigerators
Propellants in aerosol cans
Cleaner for electronics
Bubbles in plastic foam
What are anthropogenic causes of climate change? What does anthropogenic mean?
It means human caused. They include greenhouse gases, ozone, aerosols, contrails, etc.
Equations for the formation of ozone
CFCl3 + UV –> Cl + CFCl2
Cl + O3 –> ClO + O2
Cl + O –> Cl + O2
Radiative forcing
Change in the energy balance of the earth from pre-indutrial times to the present
How many climate experts out of 100 say that humans are affecting climate change?
97
How long until CFCs move into stratosphere?
11-20 years
Montreal Protocol - What was it and why did it work?
Cut CFCS. 177 countries. Convincing evidence, produced by only small companies and there was an alternate available.
What does insolation mean?
It is the incoming solar radiation.
Aerosols
Airborne particles that come from both natural (dust, storms, forest fires, etc) and man-made sources such as burning fossil fuels.
What is a significant aerosol that affects climate change?
Sulfur Dioxide
Long-lived greenhouse gases
Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and halo carbons
Surface Albedo
The reflectivity of the earth’s surface; a lighter surface such as snow cover reflects more solar radiation than a darker surface does
What is the one natural cause of climate change?
Solar radiation
How long until CFC molecules die out?
65-385 years
