Carbon EQ3 Flashcards
Why is there a decline in ocean health and what is this causing?
- Ocean acidification
- Fish and crustacean stocks are declining and changing distributions
What are a few examples of impacts being felt due to declining ocean health?
- Fishing supports 500 million people- 90% living in developing countries
- Also depend on it for food- developing
- Seafood is dietary preference- developed
- Aquaculture on the rise
- Tourism- like Caribbean, where coral reefs showing signs of degradation- rising sea levels exacerbates
What are a few uncertainties about the future?
- Level of GHG emissions- continue to rise ?
- Resilience of other carbon sinks and stores- capacities?
- Degree of climate warming- How much warmer?
- How will feedback mechanisms be affected?- peatlands and permafrost- CO2 volumes to be released
- Harnessing of alternative energy sources- fossil fuels to be replaced?
- Possible passing of tipping points- forest dieback and thermohaline circulation - will disaster follow?
- Rate of population growth- will it level off
- Nature of economic growth- Will it always be carbon based?
Just need to know a few not all
What is adaptation strategy to do with water and what are advantages and disadvantages?
- Water conservation and management
- Fewer resources used- less groundwater extraction
- Efficiency cannot meet demand for water
What is adaptation strategy to do with agriculture and what are advantages and disadvantages?
- Resilient Agriculture systems
- Healthier soils, drought tolerant species help protect against climate change
- High energy and technology costs
What is adaptation strategy to do with land and what are advantages and disadvantages?
- Land use planning
- soft management- restrictions in building in vulnerable flood plains and low-lying coasts
- Often unfeasible many megacities in these types of locations
What is adaptation strategy to do with flood and what are advantages and disadvantages?
- Flood risk management
- Hard management- flood defenses/ river dredging- less deforestation more afforestation
- Constant maintenance needed, land owners want compensation
What is adaptation strategy to do with radiation and what are advantages and disadvantages?
- Solar radiation management
- Reflect radiation using satellites back into space
- Untried/ Untested and could be expensive
Why are some adaptation strategies better for different types of countries?
- Some low in tech and upfront costs- good for developing
- High inputs of capital and tech- developed countries
What is the meaning of mitigation and adaptation?
- Adaptation- changing our ways of living- living with a problem and not solving it.
Mitigation- Reducing/preventing GHG emissions with new tech- tacking root cause of problem
What is mitigation strategy to do with carbon and explain it?
- Carbon taxation
- Minimum price companies have to pay to emit carbon dioxide- unpopular in the UK and eventually scrapped
What is mitigation strategy to do with renweables and explain it?
- Renewable switching
- Switching away from fossil fuels to renewables and nuclear power
What is mitigation strategy to do with energy and explain it?
- Energy efficiency
- Encourages energy-saving improvements to homes- efficient boilers and insulation
What is mitigation strategy to do with trees and explain it?
- Afforestation
- Increase tree planting to sequester more carbon- increased in the UK
What is mitigation strategy to do with capture and explain it?
- Carbon capture and storage
- Store CO2 produced from burning fossil fuels, few exist globally despite high potential
