Climate change Part 2 Flashcards
what are heat waves
small changes in mean/variance of temp lead to large chgs in extremes
are single heat waves caused by global warming
no, not directly
caused by sationary high pressure in tropsphere
- downward motion of air, causing clear skies + lack of precipitation
how will climate change affect heat waves
frequency and intensity
what are some impacts associated with extreme heat
heat stress - human health
droughts - crop damage and water supply issues
air quality - poor air quality with heat waves bc temp inversion + lgithw inds trap pollutants
what part of the world is the most vulnerable to human health affects from climate change
under developed world
- malnutrition, deaths, disease, injury from heat waves, floods, storms, fires, droughts
- infections
with rising temps and increasing precicpiation, what disease is expected to increase as well
malaria
what regions is malaria usually restricted to?
tropical and subtropics
what is the Zika virus1
bite of ifected aedes mosquito
passed from pregnant women to fetus
no vaccina / treatment
about 8 million deaths globally per year are attributed to outdoor and indoor…
air pollution
what is lyme disease
spreading in eastern canada because of warming climate
tick bite
Arctic sea ice loss will impact..
inuit way of life
ecosystem stress
warming positive feedback
increased transportation + development
does melting sea ice increase sea level
nope, doesn’t affect it
multi-year ice is thicker and more stable. It’s found only close to Canadian Arctic Islands and Greenland. What does the loss of this ice mean?
icnreases chances of irreversible tipping point
ice free summers
what measures the freeboard height of the sea ice above mean sea level, estimating sea ice thickness?
Cryo-Sat2
What is the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) ?
2 satellites fly in formation
precise measurements of earth’s gravity
measures gravity anomalies
as sea ice removed, greenland’s gravity is reduced
what is the main trend with sea level rise and mass loss of greenland ice sheet?
sea level rising
about 0.77 mm per year
why is the greenland ice albedo becoming darker/lowering?
black carbon deposits
- comes from soot aerosols being transported from the south, deposited on ice sheet
- increases amount of solar E absorbed by ice sheet surface
accelerates melting
when is the black carbon aerosols (from soot, dust) being deposited on the greenland ice sheet
in the summer
why is the west antarctic ice sheet unstable
grounded below sea level, so warmer ocean water can intrude below ice sheet
increases melt
why is the east antarctic ice sheet more stable than the west
east - solidly locked on continent, above sea level mostly
west - below sea level, water can come up and erode it
what is permafrost
permanently frozen ground
what is stored in permafrost
methane
if permafrost melts.. what could cause the huge positive feedback?
methane release
what layer of permafrost is methane released from?
the extra active layer thickness
thicker active layer
what are the different layers of permafrost
active layer - melts in summer
permafrost layer - stay below 0 all year
methane stored here
sea ice extent (greenland), antarctic ice sheets and effects on sea level rise, permafrost… what else is happening in the mountains..
glaciers retreating
what causes sea level to change
chemical changes in wind stress
surface and deep ocean circuation changes, storm surges
exchange of water stored on land by glaciers and ice sheets
gavitational effects of ice sheets
terrestrial water storage extraction of groundwater, reservoirs, runoff
what sea level higher or lower during the last glacial maximum?
lower
sea level goes up and down seasonally.. why
nothern hemisphere snowfall and melt
Global sea level rise projections from the IPCC - the worst case scenario means we need to…
the best case scenario means we need to…
worst case - mitigate
best case - adapt to new sea level
what are thre 3 main contributors to global sea level rise?
melting land ice (greenland, mountaim glaciers, antarctic)
thermal expansion of sea water w temps
groundwater depletion
the change in the earth climate system is gaining heat because of the reduction in …
outgoing IF radiation to space
caused by extra GGs in atmosphere
if more of the wamring goes deeper into the ocean, then the sea surface temp will…
warm less
what is ARGO
global array of free-drifting profiling floats
measure temp + salinity in upper 2000m of ocean
determine density - calculate amount of warming
what is the main difference btw CERES satellites and ARGO
CERES - measure energy imbalance for whole earth
ARGO - measure ocean warming
the Netherlands, New York and Venice are vulnerable to what
coastal deltas
population displacement by sea level
explain how tropical cyclones work
get energy from latent head when water vapour evaporated from warm sea surface condenses in atmosphere - makes clouds and rain
warmer sea surface temp = more water to be condesned = stronger cyclones w global warming, however number of cyclones unsure
the centre of cyclone is called the eye where the air is…
what kind of air surround the eye
sinking
eyewall = highest wind speeds and heaviest rain
what are the 2 sources for strom surge (rise in local sea level)
- wind driven stress on the surface
- pressure effect due to low atmospheric pressure - water rises
wind driven surge and pressure surge
is there a clear trend in the number of hurricanes?
no clear trend with global warming
the small pacific island communities are affected by what
sea level rise
the Amazon Rainforests have two features that impact global climate..
biodiveristy
carbon storage
what caused forest fires in the Amazon in 2005 that released more carbon than all human emissions from Japan and Europe combined
drought
what could cause irreversible damage in the Amazon and the rest of the global climate
deforestation and climate change in this region
what causes coral bleaching
temp rises
can cause permanent damage
what are zooanthellae
algae that provides food for corals through photosynthesis
when do strong bleaching events occur in corals
El nino events
why is coral bleaching correlated with El nino events
warms oceans and atmosphere
what is a concern with the rising acidification of the oceans
shelled phyto and zoo plankton stress
calcifying organism processes distrupted
- corals, echinoderms, coccolithophores, molluscs, plankton
what is the theory behind species extinction as ecosystem change
can species move fast enough to stay in same temp regime
if the niche is small or ifthe species is located on the niche gradient, will it be sensitive to climate change
yes
based on simulated enviro niches for 3 tree species by annual temp and rain
doesn’t account for species interaction
how will the vegetation change in the arctic regions with a warmer climate
more boreal forests
the possible reduction in the land biosphere carbon sink in the future the warming exceeds a certain threshold means the land biota may become a net…
source of atmospheric carbon
what effect does the western pine beetle in canada have
threat to boreal forest, western canada
thrives in warmer climates, winters are no longer cold enough to kill them
kill forests
Tipping point - Collapse of Thermohaline circulation
what is this?
transports heat to northern north Atlantic
Tipping point - Collapse of Thermohaline circulation
if the circulation slows odwn, the heat transport will be reduced resulting in… bu enhanced…
local cooling in Nothern Europe
enhanced warming in subtropics
Tipping point - Collapse of Thermohaline circulation
too much warming or fresh water from ice melting where deep water forms near Greenland may inhibit…. that will ultimately disrupt thermohaline circulation
inhibit sinking
this is a tipping point
Tipping point - Collapse of Thermohaline circulation
global warming will make surface water around greenland warmer and less salty from ice melting - how would this affect the surface water denistyq
reduce it
not dense enough to sink o bottom of Atlantic
cutting thermohaline ciculation
how would the thermohaline circulation be cut off with warming temperatures
surface waters near greenland warmer + less salty
reduce density of surface water
not dense enough to sink to bottom of Atlantic
reduce transport of heat from tropics to poles in Atlantic
what is the tipping point idea for the thermohaline
act like an off/on switch
rising temps and less salty ynear greenland, less dense, less sinking, switch off
what is the tipping point idea for arctic ice open in summer
ice albedo temp positive feedback - accelerate sea ice loss
thinning of ice reach threshold that prevents re-establishment of multi-year ice
it would take thousands of years to melt most of greenland by air contact alone. What are some ways to accelerate this?
increase ice flow + calving into oceans
What is the tipping point idea of melt water ponds on greenland
melt water flowing under the ice sheet allows ice sheet to move fasater towards oceans
**likely take hundreds of year though
what are moulins?
allow water to lubricate the bottom of the greenland ice sheet
What is the tipping point idea with the West Antarctic Ice sheet and its unstable nature?
breaking up the Ross Ice Shelf allow ice streams on West Antarctic ice sheet to move faster
also base below sea level, more warming can occur from water underneath
What is ENSO
El Nino Southern Oscillation
- atmos-ocean coupled mode of inter annual variability
creates weather anomalies around the world
changes in El nino affect world
tropical-pacific climate regimes swith between…
El nino and La nina
What can happen in a strong el nino
drought in peru pacific rain fall shift east weaker trade winds sea level higher i neast global air and sea surface temp increases
what is the tipping point idea with a permanent El nino state
warmer world
more heat in ocean surface
regional monsoon failure - whats the tipping point
aerosils from pollution reflect some solar back to space, cooling continent and weaken monsoons
destruction of the amazon rainforest - whats the tipping point
die back in forests
precipiation in this region usually evaporatde locally
loss of vegetation with worsen drying
the boreal forest dieback tipping point
forests stressed beyond recovery is local temp increase by 7 deg
loss of carbon storage
is there more carbon storage in boreal forests or tropical forests
boreal, soils are a big factor for why this is
why are boreal forests better at storing carbon than tropical forests
soils in boreal forest store carbon better
th rapid release of subsurface frozen methane comes from where
permafrost
methane hydrates in ocean floor
methane is stored under high pressure in the ocean floor as methane hydrates. what could happen with warming temps
hydrates could melt
cold enough at 500m belo, 200m in arctic - keeps it frozen
below sea floow - gets warmer because of geothermal gradient
list the type of gas hydrate deposits
permafrost
hydrate stability zone in ocean
trapped under pressure
in mud/seafloor
Expansion of oxygen minimu zones in the oceans, caused by stagnation of water - what are the consequences of this happening
reduce oxygen transport from surface to itnermediate depths
ocean acidification
tipping point for some species
increase in severe weather, like more flooding - is this a tipping point
likely not a true tipping point but increase weather extremes and severity
A weakening of the north-south temperature gradient in the mid-latitudes may increase frequency of blocking patterns. how will this affect droughts and heavy rain perids
lengthen duration
amplification of stationary planetary waves in the westerlies
what are the 4 E’s for Energy Demand
economy
Energy
Emissions
Environment
which type of energy has a greater capacity to do work - low or high entropy
low entropy
All activites require two things
raw materials and energy
what are 4 types of energy
kinetic, potential, electromagnetic, nuclear
what is energy what is power
energy = all entities have it
power = rate of energy use
amount of energy used per time
before industrialization, before machines, before use of animal power, how was energy requirements obtained
humans!!
whats one main sustainability issue with the energy source with use today aka fossil fuels
waste
pre-industrialization, pre-machine - what was the main source of energy for people
coal and biomass
what is primary energy
energy in resources same level as they are in nature
can you use primary energy
no, must convert to secondary energy - electricity and fuels
what is final energy
energy delivered
transported + distributed
individual homes, gas stations, etc
what is suefull energy
use by the appliances
ex. stoves, washing machines, vehicles
energy forms of kinetic energy or heat
provides energy services
explain the conversion of energy from primary through to useful
primary secondary final useful energy services
what are the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions by economic sector
electrcity + heat
agricultre, forestry, land use
industry
what is the trend with CO2 emission and GDP
right now, CO2 increasing with GDP because countries industrializing, increasing emissions
we want to decarbonize the economy - move in direction with less carbon
coal releases about 70% more carbon when compared to natural gas - why is this relevant today
coal is on the rise again!!!!
what are some sustainable energy sources
wind solar hydroelectric waves tides geothermal nuclear (not truly sustainable)
NS power doesnt use J to compute energy they use kWh which means..
charging based on electrical energy use, personal use
in predicting future CO2 emission and other GGs depend on… things that cause uncertainty
rate of human pop growth
average emission chgs per person
global standard of living
efficiency, tech, fuel type, land use chgs
there are uncertainties in estimating the atmospheric concentration of CO@ + GGs that depend on the sinks. what are these two sinks
varying ocean sink
land biosphere sink
what s GDP
Gross Domestic Product
value of all products and services
per capita = per person
what is the kaya identity
way of measuring the total carbon emission or CO2 emissions
takes into account population, affluence, energy intesnity, carbon intensity of energy
what are the 4 factors of the Kaya identity
population
afluence
energy intensity
Carbon intensity of energy
list some social factors that affect population growth
education, religion. culture, health care, women’s rights, standard of living, government policies
what is affluence
per capita GDP
chgs in standard of living
only economic measure of standard of living
as countries become wealthier and more industrialized, standard of living increases. However GDP can rise and the standard of living stays the same… why?
assume government’s economic growth is benefitting its citizens but sometime its not
corrupt government stealing wealth of citizens
how do you calculate affluence
GDP / Population
many lower income countried are trying to increase economic growth, most through industrialization… what is narrowing of the wealth gap called
economic convergence
what is energy intensity
energy consumed divided by GDP
Energy consumed / GDP
measure how much energy is needed to make GDP
are energy intensities on the incline or decline
declining
why is energy intensity declining?
main 2 reasons
rate of GDP growth higher than rate of energy growth
- becoming more efficient in energy use (conservation)
- most economic growth from sectors w lower energy - financial vs manufacturing)
what is carbon energy intensity
ratio of carbon emitted to energy used
relates carbon emission to total energy made + used
what determine the carbon energy intensity
types of fuels being used
ex. Coal emits more CO2 per energy output than natural gas
what will happen to the carbon energy intensity as we covert to non-fossil fuels
it will decline / fall
why has our carbon energy decline so little over the years
takes time to convert to new non-fossil fuel source
still get about 85% of our energy from fossil fuels
when looking at the kaya identity factors, what has been the trend for each one population affluence energy instensity carbon energy intensity
GDP growing because of population growth
GDP growing because of affluence (per capita growth rate)
little decarbonization - so no real change in carbon energy
energy intensity declining because more efficient in energy use (conservation) and economic growth from low energy sectors
looking at each kaya factor… what will it take to get carbon emissions growth rate to be zero…
population - reduction in childbirth - but with western industrialization this tends to happen
Affluence - can’t ask countries to accept lower economic growth
energy intesity - declining, but limits to how fast this is happening
carbon energy intensity - large reduction in emissions, negative emissions
is order from highest global primary energy consumption to lowest, what are the sources
oil coal natural gas hydro nuclear renewables
in terms of global electricity consumption, what source is dominating
coal natural gas hydro nuclear renewables oil
what 4 things does the sun drive/sun’s energy is needed
hydrological cycles
photosynthesis
human energy use
desert area ofr human needs
what are the 2 mediums that we can extract energy from the sun directly as
heat - thermal solar heating, water, fluids
electricity - solar cell of PV
what drive the hydrological cycle, photosynthesis and winds
sun
what do we extract solar energy indirectly fromq
hydroelectric turbines from falling water
biofuels
wind turbines
what are fossil fuels in terms of solar energy
stored solar energy from photosynthesis that made organic material 100’s of millions of years ago
starts exploded as supernovas and left radioactive elements in what type of energy
nuclear
where are the areas with the greatest potential for solar development?
subtropics
what are the 2 types of solar power
solar thermal power
Solar Cells (PVs)
how does solar thermal power work
uses sun to directly heat something
ex solar cooking stove
hot water pumped through ground
steam to drive turbine
concentrated solar - focus sunlight to get higher temp for steam turbines
steam turbines use concentrated solar.. what is this
focused sunlight to make higher temp so more steam made to drive the turbine
Solar Cells of PVs - how do they use sunlight
directly convert sun into electricity using semiconductive tech
Solar Cells used semiconductor tech - how does this work
electron gains energy in semiconductor when solar photon absorbed
makes a current
what is the main problem with solar cells
need to be able to store energy for when sun isn’t available
what is Concentrated Solar power (CSP) system used for
large scale electricity generation
when do heat engines convert heat into useful workd most efficiently
when there is a large temp difference btw hot and cold thermal resevoirs
where is europe firs tcommerical concentration solar plant
seville, spain
how do wind turbines work
kinetic energy of wind turns blades, rotates magnets in generator, makes current of electricity
what is crucial in maximizing win turbine production of electricity
location to maximize wind exposure
what are 2 things to take into account when planning usuing wind energyq
location + storage/back up energy when winds are light
what type of energy is now competitive with fossil fuels
wind energy
what are the 3 main challenges with renewables
fluctuating power supply
low energy density
transmission grid update
how is the hydrological cycle driven by the sun
makes atmos circulations that lift water vapour from oceans and precipiates it into lakes and resevoirs
increases its potential energy then converts to kinetic in the rain/waterfalls
generates energy in turbines, hydroelectric power plants
where is then largest hydro project located in the world
China
who is the 3rd largest produced of energy in the world
canada
what are the 4 downsides with large hydroelectric projectsq
loss of land to floods
population moving
sediment and leaching probs
destroy habitats
What project is taking place in NFLD right now with hydroelectric power
Lower Churchill project
in muskrat falls
1/3 of this power will go to S
why is using biomass as fuel considered renewable
carbon released in burning organic material is fixed into plants by photosynthesis (as long as you re grow plants)
what are the major problems with converting crops into fiel
crops for fuel compete w crops for food
large amount of E needed for fertilizer production
use a lot of water
the developing world relies heavily on …
traditional biomass
wood, dung, rice husks, etc
what are some drawbacks for the biomass that developping world rely on… remember that this supplies 1/3 of global energy so it’s everyone’s issue because it affects everyone
inefficient, slow, dirty methods
poor air quality
loss of trees and plants locally
what plant can ethanol be made from
corn
the corn-ethanol effect
what the biggest difference between using gasoline compared to using a corn-ethanol method of extraction
super inefficient when compared to gas
what a better type of fuel crop than corn-ethanol
sugar cane
what is ERoRI
Ratio of Energy Returned to Energy Invested for fuels
is ERoEI is low.. is the energy more or less expensive
more expensive
does nucelar energy make greenhouse gas emission during operations
nope
what are some issues with nuclear power
high cost
danger of radioactive waste + storage
teribble consequences in case of accidents, terrorism, natural disasters
weapons
the global nuclear electrcity production - the capacity for this type of energy.. what is the trend in last 20 years
starting to level off
what is the difference btw fission and fusion
fission - split of nucleus, energy released
fusion - bringing 2 nuclei together, energy needed
what is 3x more abundant in the earth’s crust than uranium + what are the difference between these two types of nuclear power
thorium
- completely used up in reactors, whereas only a small portion of uranium is used
doesn’t need to be isotopically separated, less radioactive waste than uranium
its more expensive than uranium
how does geothermal power work
use hot water from geologically active areas, or underground geothermal gradient, for heat pumps
how can you use underground geothermal rocks to make electricity
use hot rocks to convert cold water into hot steam to drive turbine
or you can pipe the hot steam/water directly to heat building and stuff
in stream tidal turbines - why do they have lower costs usually
avoid building causways, dams, sleuth gates, resevoirs
what is fuel cell technology
energy storage system only
- requires an energy source but also stores it
how does fuel cell tech work
use electrolysis to separate hydrogen from water
needs energy
hydrogen is stored and is portable
energy made when Hydrogen recombines with oxygen in fuel cell to make water - releasing energy
very expensive
what is the current drawback with fuel cell tech
expensive
what type of energy converts chemical energy of water/of a fuel directly into elextricity without burning it
fuel cell tech
what is the cleanest way to use fuel cell tech (what energy sources should supply the energy needed for hydrolysis of water)
wind power or PVs
what are 3 types of carbon removal technologies being made today
carbon capture + storage
direct air capture + storage
Bioenergy w carbon capture + storage
what are the 3 basic steps of CCS
capture
transport
storage
Where do you capture carbon using CCS
where Fossil fuels are being burned, large power plants
removal is more efficient because of higher concentration source
what 3 carbon capture technologies are being studied for CCS tech
pre combustion
post combustion
oxy-fuel combustion
explain the pre-combustion tech being studied for CCs
fuel converted to gas before combustion
CO2 removed, remaining H2 used for fuel
explain the post combustion tech being developped for CCS
after combustion
CO@ removed using absorption, cryogenics or membrane tech
separate Nitrogen gas from cO2 in the exhaust
explain oxy-fuel combustion
burn fuel in nearly pure oxygen
make almost pure CO2
condensed and transported
don’t need to separate N2 from CO2 but you need pure oxygen to do this
how is the captured carbon transported in CCS
pipelines
CO2 compressed into liquid
where can you store CO2 in CCS
geological
- depleted oil and natural gas field
ocean mineralization
- convert CO2 into carbonate - needs a lot of Energy to do this though
how does CO2 behave under high pressure but low temperature
it liquifies - making an icy hydrate phase
- need to be around 500m down in ocean
what an ideal situation for the CCS method
to have capture and storage sites close together so it makes the transport part minimal
the first major demonstration plant in the world with full scale CCS in a power plant was where…
Boundary Dam Project in Saskatchewan
capture 90% of emissions
retrofit cost $1.25 billion - current solar PV price is $2 per watt so for $1.25 you could buy 600 MW!!
the boundary dam prohect capture 1 million tonnes of CO2 annually from power station’s chimney but still has a number of other stations without carbon capture tech…
just cool to keep in mind. carry on.
why is it not economically favourable to pursue CCS
because emitters do not have to pay for emitting CO2
EOR - what is it? How is CCS tech helping Canada with this?
Enhance oil recovery - EOR
- Canada currently using CCS to help with EOR
- this is a loss in the captured carbon though..
What are some criticisms by greenpeace of CCS
cannot deliver in time
CCS wastes energy - erase efficiency gains + increase resource consumption
risk with storing carbon underground
cost is expensive
liability risk - health, ecosystems, climate
with all the risks that come with CCS, what is reccomended we focus one
ramping up renewables but we can’t forget CCs and its potential
what is the buisness case for CCS as laid out by the global CCS institute
can't reach paris targets without it only clean tech capable of decarbonizing industry new energy tech make new jobs abundant storage capacity cost effective been working safely for last 45 years compliment renewables need public confidence to sustain investment
to prevent more than 2 deg warming we need to cut emission by how much by 2050
50%
If we want a maximum of 1.5 deg warming, 50% of our emissions have to be cut by when…
2030
what level does the CO2 concentration need to stabilize at for our target goal of 1.5 deg warming
450ppm
currently, we are at 412 ppm
let’s say global warming exceeds that 2 degrees.. what do we do then
well that would suck but there’s geo-engineering proposals to mitigate global warming
what are the two geo-engineering proposals being put forward
solar radiation management
carbon dioxide removal
what are geo-engineering projects
global scale projects to mitigate global warming by either solar radiation management or CO2 removal
What the Solar Radiation management (SRM) proposal
relfect more solar back to space
offsetting cooling effect that leaves GGs intact
what the CO2 removal (CDR) proposal
extract CO2 from atmos
address root problem of global warming
if it is determined that an eenvironmental disaster is imminent then it may be necessary to consider using geo-engineering.. however what things to make this untenable
human idiocy
jk
but huge costs, governance issues could be huge cock blocks for saving the planet/ourselve from human extinction
what is the general idea behind CDR and SRM proposals
CDR = fix by removing GGs causing larger downward terrestrial IF radiation
SRM = fic by reucing incoming solar IF at surface by increasing planetary albedo - make planet brighter
what are four factors to take into account when evaluating gen-engineering proposals
effectiveness
time
safety
cost
what are some SRM techniques being proposed
Relfect sun away from earth with mirror in space - this is very expensive
increase planetary albedo
SRM - increase planetary albedo how
add aerosols to stratosphere (best option)
make clouds brihgter w aerosols
make surface brighter - not really realistic
how will adding aerosols into the stratosphere help cool the climate / increasing planetary albedo
scatters sunlight, reflects it back to space
how will they increase the amount of aerosols in the stratosphere
volcanoes cause cooling effect, need to mimic this
use high altitude aircraft or balloons to inject sulphu dioxide gas
what are the problems with the proposals of adding more aerosols to strato
need to have constant fleet of airplanes releasing SO2
reduced hydrological cyc;e + photosynthesis
negative effect on ozone
more acid rain - likely a minor global issue
CDR addressesthe real reaspn global warming is happening by removing CO2 from atmosphere. What are the 2 issues with the method
slow and needs a lot of energy
what are some suggestions for the CDR proposal
increase land biomass to enhance bio storage of carbon
biochar to remove carbon from photosynthetic cycle
chemically remove and store CO2
- Direct air capture, geochemical removal of CO2
why can’t we solely rely on reforestation
it takes a long time to regrow new forest, and you’d need about 100 million new hectares per year to offset human emissions
we don’t have space to keep doing that every year
what are the 4 major strategies to mitigate carbon emissions through forestry
increase amount of forested land - reforestation
increase carbon density of existing forests
expand use of forest products to sustainably replace Fossil fuel emissions
reduce emissions caused by deforestation + degradation
Slash and burn agriculture increases CO2 emission. another option is Biochar… what is this
carbon rich product
biomass heated in closed container w/o oxygen
similar to charcoal, promotes healthier soil without burning
new way to store carbon from plants in the ground
what is the best cost option to mitigate global warming..
put aerosols in the strato
what are some general problems with reducing solar energy proposals, beside cost and logistics..
oceans still getting more acidic as CO2 rises
effect on zone w aerosols, non-uniform cooling
hydro cycle weak
unpredictable biological feedbacks
local effects, legal, public, ogvernnance issues
not a proven method
control and predictions are a huge problem here
what are some fears with CDR
time it will take, will it be effective
can it remove enough??
ocershooting the total remaining emissions budget means we will have to…
actively remove CO@ from atmos
negative emissions
negative CO2 emissions is what
active antrhopogenic removal of CO2 from atmos
how can we actively remove anthropogenic carbon dioxide from atmos
afforestation - new forest reforestation direct air capture + storage mineralization BECCS - Bio-energy + Carbon capture w storage
traditional FF burning is a positive adding of carbon
FF burning w CCS is neutral
Bioenergy plant is neutral
how do get negative emission
bioenergy w CCS
synthetic liquid fuels (hydrocarbons) are made of 3 things…
CO2
hydrogen
electricity
high carbon intesnity synthetic fuel is made of
CO2 from CCS FF plant
Hydrogen from steam of natural gas
electricity from FF plant
low carbon intensity synthetic fuel is made of…
CO2 from DAC
hydrogen from solar PV
electricity from renewables
Bio-energy w Carbon capture + storage = BECCS… what is this
organic material grown to make biofuels
used in power stations for electricity and capture carbon emissions using CCS tech
what a big advantage of BECCS
growing additional biomass will help remove CO2
explain how BECCS works
grow new biomass and use CCS to capture carbon when biomass is burned at power station to achieve net sink of atmos CO2
negative emissions
WWS Stanford project sets out to do what
eliminate all energy from FFs, nuclear, biomass, carbon capture + storage by 2050 and electrify all energy with no new hydro projects
wind, water and solar
what barriers are set against the WWS plan
mostly political and social issue, not technological and economic
what are some cost benefits of the plan
prevent premature deaths
health care savings
less energy consumption because better work and energy ratios , savings on FFs
new jobs
air pollution savings
climate change damage costs reduced
limit global warming to less than 1.5 deg
stabilize energy prices
increase security in energy supplies + reduce international conflict
what are the 5 reasons end use power demand reductions occur
1 - efficiency of moving low temp building heat w heat pumps instead of combustion
2 - electricity more efficient than combustion
3 - efficiency in battery electric
4 - eliminate energy in mine, transport and process of FFs
5 - reducing energy use + increase efficency
The goal is affordable rapid, large scale deployment of renewable energy. What’s the assumption by the WWS that all energy conumption will be…
electrified
how will transportion be eletrified
battery electric vehicles for long distance, light0duty transport
hydrogen fuel cell cehicles for heavy duty ground transport, long distance ocean shipping, air transport
how will air heating be powered is energy consuming processed become electrified
heat pumps
ground, ir or water source of heat pumps
electric resistant heating
Much of the onshore wind area required alows for spacing btw turbines and can also be used for agriculture.. what’s an advantage to land owners putting a wind turbine on their property
derive income from both leasing the land for wind turbines and farming around the turbines
majority of energy consumption will be powered by what in the WWS plan
solar - 57%
second - wind - 37%
last 4-5%
- hydro, geothermal, wave/tidal
whats one suggestion by the WWS to increase solar powered energy source
PVs on roofs, buildings,parking lots
the WWS study is estimating that the consumer, globally, will save in what areas
energy costs
health care cost
climate change damage costs
the WWS plan estimates that the system for 139 countries that were considered in this study, will cost $125 trillion for 49.9 TW of installed capacity or about $2.5 million per MV. Is this more expensive than what we are doing now with costs of coal, natural gas, wind power…
nope, WWS plan is cheaper than what we are doing now
besides the cost saving with the WWS plan, whats another great avantage..
gain of 24 million workers globally
so 25 million in construction
27 million in operation
compare that to -28 million loss in Fossil fuels expected over a 30 year period…
with the change proposed by the WWS, what will need to happen to the transmission grid…
upgraded and expanded to handle increase in electricity use
power delivery needs to be reliable and stable
better ability to store power for the grid to be smart
where will we see some savings with the WWS
air pollution
- reduce mortality costs
savings from global warming damages
what are some timeline required to achieve the energy tranformation goal by 2050
super grids + smart grids
no more coal, nuclear, natural gas, biomass, hydro
all heating, drying, cooking converted to electric
water freight converted to electric
all rail, bus, aircraft, road - electris/hydrogen by 2025-2040
what are some government policies that need to be adopted and implemented
promote efficiency measure in homes promote energy supply measures utility planning and incentives transportation industry - financial incentives
cumulative anthropogenic CO2 emissions is a good predictor for what
amount of global warming
when talking about culmulative emissions, its important to take into account…
historical culmulative emissions and present-day emissions
important when apportioning responsibility for reductions
what are NDCs
Nationally Determined Contributions
- countried unable to agree on enforceable emissions quota allocation
- NDCs are voluntary emission reduction rargets submitted by individual countried for the Paris Climate Conference in 2015
what is the NDCs term used under.. what agreement
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
What unfortunate about NDCs under the UNFCCC
countries can freely select their own mitigation target type… which isn’t helpful because they’re not doing enough
not agressive in their approach and if one person is lacking, it could really mess up the work that need to be done
NDC mitigation target types
base year target
specify % emissions reduction in some future year compared to actual emissions in chosen past base year
try and reduce by this much % in this year
NDC mitigation target type
fixed level target
specify absolute amount of emissions to be reduced or reaching carbon neutrality by some year
- most honest approach
NDCs mitigation target type
Baseline scenario target
specify % emissions reduction compared to a buisness-as-usual baseline scenario for some future year
not a good target type - manipulate baseline scenario by making baseline emission unrealistically high so reductions look larger
NDCs mitigation target type
intensity target
% emission intensity redution in some future year compared to actual emission instensity in past base year
no a target type bc emission intensityies are normalized emission by country GDP
what are the two NDCs mitigation target types that are not good models
baseline scenario target - they can manipulate the unrealistic goals
intensity target - based on normalized emission w GDP- which GDP always rises faster than emissions, so emissions intensity will decrease even though actual emissions continue to rise
what is the emissions gap
defined as some future year as the difference between global total projected emissions and the emissions required to achieve a final global warming below some target
what are some negative emission tech/natural/combines systems being developped
accelerated weathering direct air apture ocean alkaline enhancement CO2 durable carbon BECCS (natural + tech) nautral: new forest, recovery old forest, soil carbon sequestering, biochard, other land use/wetlands
what are some consequences of delaying strong emission reduction
much steeper rates of global emission reduction need
dependence on using new tech for mitigation
greater mitigation costs
greater economic disruption
greater reliance on negative emissions
risk of failing to meet 2 degrees target
what things need to be considered when assessing new renewable energy projects
capital cost operating cost capacity factor levelled cost of energy marginal cost
what are capital cost
upfront cost to construct power plant + maintenance work needed to run plant
are renewables looking to be more expensive in operating costs
nope they’ll likely be cheaper
the capacity factor is…
ratio of average output to peak power that the station could deliver
why is the capacity factor never 100%
because of maintenance cost, equiment, fluctuation in availliability to primary energy source
what are capacity factor of solar plants like
typically low
sun is only available during the day
what are levelized cost of energy
price for generated electricity that makes net present value of installation zero
cost of ownership of the plant
marginal cost is…
dollar amount that needs tobe spent to generate kWh, over cost of investement and operation
the marginalized cost of solar plants is …
usually small w=because no fuel requirements and very little maintenance needed
coupling an economic model with a climate model is called…
integrated assessment model (IAM)
what do IAM predict
economic growth, climate damages, statement costs
what is the main goal of IAMs
couple economic theory to carbon emissions to predict future GGs concentrations + temp chgs
help develop policies that will minimize sum of costs while maintaining economic growth
