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NURS 290 > Climate Change/Planetary Health > Flashcards

Climate Change/Planetary Health Flashcards

1
Q

define weather

A

state of the atmosphere over a short time frame

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2
Q

define climate

A
  • long-term average weather patterns for specific or even global regions
  • occur over seasons, years, or decades
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3
Q

what is climate change?

A
  • any significant change in the measure of climate lasting for an extended period
    • changes in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns that occur over several decades or longer
  • involves changes in average conditions + changes in variability (i.e. extreme events
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4
Q

what is global warming? what is it caused by?

A
  • global warming is an aspect of climate change
  • recent and ongoing rise in global average temperature near Earth’s surface
    • due to rising concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere
  • can only be stopped by reducing global emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels burning
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5
Q

what are the different parts of the climate system?

A
  1. Earth’s atmosphere
  2. land surfaces
  3. oceans
  4. snow and ice
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6
Q

how does the climate system impact weather and climate?

A

interactions with each other and certain aspects of the Earth’s biosphere help determine weather and climate

  • difference between weather at the poles and equator is decreasing
  • this disrupts wind and rain patterns and severity
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7
Q

what are the natural causes of climate change?

A
  • change of Earth’s orbit
    • is very slow and very slight, happens over thousands of years
  • change in volcanic activity
  • solar output, how much solar energy comes in and out
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8
Q

what are the human causes of climate change?

A
  • because of our interference with natural systems
  • land deforestation for agriculture and for urban areas
  • burning fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions
  • trapped and increasing carbon in the atmosphere
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9
Q

what are the most prominent features of climate change?

A
  • global temperature rise
  • warming and acidification of ocean, oceans cover maximum surface on earth and absorb more carbon
  • decrease of ice sheet mass, retreating glaciers
  • early snow melt, contributing to sea level rice
  • accelerated extreme events
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10
Q

how has the climate changed in the past and how is it predicted to change?

A
  • human activities caused 1.0°C (0.8°C to 1.2°C) of global warming above pre-industrial levels
  • global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate
  • each successive decade since the 1990s has been warmer than all previous decades
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11
Q

what are fossil fuels?

A
  • coal, natural gas, and oil
  • the world’s primary energy sources
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12
Q

what is the most common greenhouse gases?

A
  • carbon dioxide (CO2) makes up the vast majority of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel and biomass burning
  • there are 417 parts per million carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere
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13
Q

what are some other greenhouse gases?

A
  • methane
  • nitrous oxide
  • chlorofluorocarbons
  • water vapor
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14
Q

how does the greenhouse gas effect work?

A
  • Sun sends energy to Earth in the form of light
  • Earth absorbs some of this energy and warms up
  • Earth’s surface releases this energy as heat (infrared radiation)
  • greenhouse gases (like CO2, methane, water vapor) trap some of this heat in the atmosphere
  • this trapped heat keeps the Earth warmer than it would be without these gases
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15
Q

in what way is the greenhouse effect beneficial?

A
  • we need the greenhouse effect to keep the Earth’s temperature from being too low
  • Earth’s temperature would be -18 degrees celsius
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16
Q

what are climate tipping points?

A
  • climate tipping points (CTPs) refer to critical thresholds in the climate system
  • when crossed, parts of the system (like ice sheets or forests) start changing on their own
  • these changes continue even if global warming slows down or stops.
  • once we reach the tipping point, there is no reversing
17
Q

what are cascades?

A

chains of extreme events that follow a tipping point

18
Q

what are environmental footprints?

A
  • also referred to as “Ecological Footprints”
  • measures how fast we consume resources and generate waste compared to how fast nature can absorb our waste and generate resources
  • similar to carbon footprint
19
Q

what is planetary health? how has is changed over time according to technology?

A
  • the health of human civilization and the natural systems on which it depends
  • the human population is healthier than ever before because of our new technology and innovations
  • innovations/technology come at a cost for CO2 emission, ocean acidification, forest lost, water use, fertilizer used
  • we have been putting more pressure on the planet because the population is increasing

NURS 290 (8 decks)

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