Chapter 14 Flashcards
(142 cards)
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
The Climate Action Plan, created by Obama aimed to
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
Paris treaty aimed to
reduce CO2 levels (US removed from treaty)
27
Many businesses and politicians have opposed all government action because
they fear it will cost the industry and consumers
28
In __, the US Supreme Court ruled that the EPA
could regulate CO2 as a polluatant
29
Electrical generation
the largest source of CO2 emissions
30
Carbon Capture
Removes CO2 from power plant emissions
31
Carbon Storage (sequestration)(for extra co2)
Storage of carbon underground (old oil deposits, salt mines, etc)
32
Can we store enough Co2 underground to make a difference?
No
33
Carbon capture and storage
Puts Co2 underground
34
Problem with storing co2 underground is
it can push water out of aquifers to create sinkholes
35
Adaptation
(preparation) pursue strategies to minimize its impacts on us (seawalls, coping w drought and less water, etc.)
36
Should we pursue mitigation or adaptation?
Both
37
2nd largest greenhouse gas emitter
cars
38
What percentage of gas in your car moves it forward
14%
39
Mitigation
Pursue actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions to lessen the severity of climate change (energy efficiency, renewable energy, protecting soil, preventing deforestation
40
Most people accept that we are changing earth so
they are searching for solutions
41
Influential people have concluded that what is happening and that we should respond.
climate change
42
People ___ climate change
deny
43
Temperature increases would be smaller if emissions are ___
lowered
44
Where we live determines how we experience the impacts of
climate change
45
______ has borne the brunt of climate change
The Arctic
46
In the US GLobal Change Research Program's 2014 National Climate Assessment, scientists reported and predicted
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
Scientists agree that increased greenhouse gases are causing global warming due to
burning fossil fuels and loss of carbon absorbing vegetation due to deforestation
48
Despite overwhelming evidence for climate change
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
Biologists are recording ___ in organisms
Spatial shifts
50
Spatial shifts in organisms examples
plants and animals are moving toward the poles and upward in elevation
51
Societies are already feeling the impacts of
climate change
52
Climate change affects agriculture
shortened growing seasons, decreased production, crops more susceptible to droughts; hunger increasing in many nations
53
Climate change affects forestry
increased fires and invasive species; insect and disease outbreaks
54
Climate change affects health
heat waves and stress can cause death; respiratory ailments, expansion of tropical diseases; drowning, disease, and sanitation problems (flooding)
55
Climate change affects economics
costs will outweigh benefits of climate change; gap between rich and poor will widen;
56
Gap between rich and poor will widen
People with less wealth and technology will suffer most; investing now could prevent larger costs in the future
57
____ are hit hard with natural diseases
The poor
58
Droughts, fires, and disease will decrease plant growth which
fewer plants means more CO2 in the atmosphere
59
More CO2 may increase plant growth but
Droughts, fires, and disease will decrease plant growth
60
Global warming modifies temperature-dependent phenomena
(timing of migration, breeding, etc.) species will move toward poles or in upward direction
61
Species moving in an upward or towards pole could have what affects
20-30% of species will be threatened with extinction; rare species will be pushed out of preserves
62
Organisms are adapted to their environment but are
affected when those environments change
63
Ocean acidification
caused by increased CO2; organisms cant build exoskeletons
64
Oceans have decreased by ___pH per unit
0.1 pH
65
Oceans will decrease to ___ to ___ pH more units (enough to kill coral reefs which would be catastrophic
0.15 to 0.35 pH
66
____ contributes to coral bleaching
warmer waters
67
Coral reefs are
a habitat for marine species, tourism destinations, and protect coastlines
68
The global temperature is in an ___ trend
upward
69
The three factors that influence the earth's climate
the sun, the atmosphere, the oceans
70
the sun
without it the earth would be dark and frozen
71
the atmosphere
without it, earth's temperature would be much colder
72
Clouds, land, ice, and water absorb __% of incoming solar radiation
70%
73
What percentage of UV radiation is reflected back into space
30%
74
the oceans
shape climate by storing and transporting heat and moisture; absorbs heat and CO2; takes up some, not all, of CO2
75
Earth receives about ___ watts of electricity per sq meter from the sun and naturally emits ___
340; the same amount
76
What man-made products help protect us from heat/sun
Sunblock, clothing, and air conditioning
77
Atmosphere is a
thin layer that protects us from UV rays
78
As the earth's surface absorbs solar radiation,
the surface temp increases and emits infrared radiation
79
greenhouse gases
atmospheric gases that absorb infrared radiation; water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, nitrus oxide, methane, halocarbons (CFC's chlorofluorocarbons)
80
because greenhouse gases re-emit infrared energy,
some energy is lost to space; greenhouse effect
81
greenhouse effect
the energy that travels downward warms the atmosphere and the planets surface; heat is trapped
82
methane is released from
animal (livestock), melting glaciers, and through soil
83
permafrost is released from
glaciers
84
storm surge
temporary, localized rise in sea level; caused by high tides and winds of storms
85
What percentage of people live in coastal areas
53% (concern w flooding)
86
Vulnerability to storm surge increases because
rising seas eliminate marsh grasses, dams stop sediment from replenishing deltas
87
In ___ Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines
2013
88
Runoff from glaciers causes
sea levels to rise
89
As oceans warm, they ___ leading to
expand; beach erosion, coastal floods, intrusion of salt water into aquifers, and storm surges
90
What is melting Antarctica's coastal ice shelves
warmer water
91
Melting ice exposes _____, causing more melting
darker, less-reflective (lower albedo) surfaces
92
Antartica's melting ice is an example of
positive feedback
93
Perfafrost
permanently frozen ground
94
Melting glaciers open new
water ways and unexplored areas
95
Is the greenhouse effect natural
yes
96
Temperature increases as
CO2 increases
97
Has CO2 gone up or down
up
98
CO2 has increased from ___ppm (1700s) to ___ppm
280; 399
99
In 20 million years, CO2 levels will be ___ppm
800,000
100
Per sq mile
there are 116 ppl, 21 cows, 16 pigs, 16 dogs and cats, 16 cars and trucks
101
Anthropogenic
human-induced/caused
102
Have greenhouse gases always been in the atmosphere
yes
103
We are concerned with ___ intensification of the greenhouse effect
anthropogenic
104
What has increased the concentration of greenhouse gases beyond what has ever been experienced
Humans
105
What contributes most to the greenhouse effect
carbon dioxide
106
carbon dioxide is
less potent potent, but more abundant than other gases; major type of human caused emission
107
Ocean absorbtion
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
EPICA stands for
European Project for Ice Core in Antartica
109
Data from EPICA ice core reveals changes across ___yrs
800,000
110
EPICA involves
freezing and analyzing ice
111
Climate models
combine data from atmospheric and ocean circulation and interactions; simulates climate processes (current and future climate)
112
proxy indicators
indirect evidence that serve as substitutes for direct measurements of past climate; big tubes of ice and analyze bubbles
113
Ice caps, sheets and glaciers hold clues to
earth's climate history
114
Trapped bubbles in ice cores provide a timescale of
atmospheric composition, greenhouse gas concentrations, temp, snowfall, solar activity; frequency of fires and volcanic eruptions
115
Proxy indicators tell us of
the past
116
We document daily conditions of weather
temp, rainfall, wind speed, airpressure
117
Ocean and atmospheric chemistry were first measured in what year in Hawaii
1958
118
Atmospheric CO2 increased from 315 ppm to 399 ppm since ___
1958
119
Where is methane naturally found
in the ground
120
Burning fossil fuels transfers ___ from ___ and deposits it into the atmosphere
CO2; underground
121
Main reason why CO2 levels have increased
burning of fossil fuels
122
Deforestation contributes to rising CO2 because
carbon is stored in plants tissues and there are less plants to absorb CO2
123
Deforestation releases
CO2
124
Largest sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gas in US
```
#1-electricity production/generation/coal burning;
#2-transportation/gas burning
```
125
Climate models work by
looking at current trends and extrapolate
126
Extreme events in the US have been rising since
the 1970s
127
(IPCC) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is made up of
(1988) composed of international scientists and government representatives
128
The remaining __ of 125 glaciers in Glacier National Park will be gone by ___
25; 2030
129
Once soil is exposed
methane is released
130
Some areas are having more rain and snow, while in the southwest of US
there are more frequent and severe droughts
131
In dry humid regions,
heavy rains cause flooding and mudslides (Bangladesh)
132
In the next 20 years, temp will rise
0.4 C
133
At the end of the 21st century, temp will be ___ higher than todays
1.8 to 4.0 C
134
___ areas will have most intense warming
Polar
135
____ will rise in temp
sea surfaces
136
Global climate change
Describes modifications in earths climate; changes in temp, precipitation, storm frequency
137
Climate
Long term trend in atmospheric conditions
138
Weather
Short term trend in atmospheric conditions
139
Are global warming and climate change the same
No
140
Global warming
General increase overtime of avg earth temp; only one aspect of climate change
141
Earths ___ has varied overtime
Climate
142
Coastal areas will face challenges from
Rising sea levels
