Climate Change pt.2

Question 1

agriculture could face an overall decline

Answer 1

1. crop productivity is projected to increase slightly at middle to high latitudes with moderate atmospheric warming but decreases if warming goes too far
2. climate change models predict a decline in agricultural productivity in tropical regions
3. flooding of river deltas due to rising sea levels could reduce crop production and fish production in nearby coastal aquaculture ponds

Question 2

a warmer world is likely to threaten the health of many people

Answer 2

1. more frequent heat waves will increase the numbers of death and illnesses, especially among older people, those in poor health, and in urban poor areas
2. hunger and malnutrition will increase because agricultural production drops
3. a warmer, c02-rich world will favor rapidly multiplying insects, microbes, and toxic molds that make us sick and plants that produce pollens will cause allergies

Question 3

number of provinces in the Philippines that will likely experience drought

Answer 3

30

Question 4

adaptation: is this related or connected to Darwin’s theory of evolution?

Answer 4

adaptation is inevitable, adaptation cannot be a substitute for mitigation, extra costs of weather-related impacts

Question 5

adaptation is inevitable

Answer 5

climate change is with us and more is on the way, the adaptation mainly driven by actions in private sector but public policy has crucial role

Question 6

adaptation cannot be a substitute for mitigation

Answer 6

it can only reduce the costs of climate change for severe impacts there are limits to what adaptation can achieve

Question 7

extra costs of weather-related impacts

Answer 7

associated with climate change are rising rapidly. investment is required to reduce damage

Question 8

adaptation in developing countries

Answer 8

impacts will be felt earliest and strongest by the most vulnerable; development itself enhances capacity and flexibility; adaptation will put strong pressure on developing country budgets

Question 9

international action has a key role in supporting

Answer 9

disaster response, crop varieties and technology, and forecasting climate and weather

Question 10

scientists have come up with this list of possible climate change tipping points

Answer 10

1. atmospheric carbon level of 450 ppm
2. melting of all arctic sea ice
3. collapse and melting of the Greenland ice sheet
4. severe ocean acidification, the collapse of phytoplankton populations
5. massive release of methane from thawing arctic permafrost
6. collapse and melting of most of the western antarctic Ice sheet
7. severe shrinkage or collapse of the amazon rain forest

Question 11

preventing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (4)

Answer 11

1. improve energy efficiency to reduce fossil fuel use especially the use of coal
2. shift from nonrenewable carbon-based fossil fuels to a mix of low-carbon renewable energy resources based on local availability
3. stop cutting down tropical forests and plant trees to help remove more co2 from the atmosphere
4. shift to more sustainable and climate-friendlty agriculture

Question 12

slowing climate disruption (PREVENTION) - 9

Answer 12

cut fossil use, shift from coal to natural gas, improve energy efficiency, shift to renewable energy resources, transfer energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies to developing countries, reduce deforestation, use more sustainable agriculture and forestry, put a price om greenhouse emissions, reduce poverty, slow population growth

Question 13

slowing climate disruption (CLEANUP) - 7

Answer 13

remove c02 from smokestacks and vehicle emissions, store c02 by planting trees, sequester co2 in soil by using no-till cultivation and taking cropland out of production, sequester co2 deep underground, sequester co2 in the deep ocean with no leaks, repair leaky natural gas pipelines and facilities, and use animal feeds that reduce CH4 emission from cows

Question 14

Preventing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions

Answer 14

Output, or clean up, strategies focus on dealing with CO2 after it has been produced. - EX: carbon capture and storage

Question 15

Carbon capture and storage, or CCS,

Answer 15

involves removing CO2 from the smokestacks of coal-burning power and industrial plants and storing it deep underground in abandoned coal beds and oil and gas fields or under the sea floor.

Question 16

Preventing and reducing greenhouse gas emissions
pt. 2

Answer 16

Methane (CH4) is 25 times more effective in warming the atmosphere than CO2.
Soot is accumulating on glaciers and ice fields and contributing to the melting of this ice and to atmospheric warming

Question 17

Governments can help to reduce the threat of climate disruption (1 & 2)

Answer 17

1. Strictly regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4).
2. Phase out the most inefficient polluting coal-burning power plants and replace them with more efficient, cleaner natural gas and renewable energy such as wind power.

Question 18

Governments can help to reduce the threat of climate disruption (3.1.2. 3)

Answer 18

3.1.Tax each unit of CO2 or CH4 emitted or burned by fossil fuel use, and offset these tax increases by reducing taxes on income, wages, and profits.
3.2. Use a cap-and-trade system. Ask Mr. Google about this scheme. Do we have this kind of economic practice in the Philippines?
3.3.Replace government subsidies and tax breaks for the fossil fuels industry and industrialized food production with energy efficiency technologies, low-carbon renewable energy sources, and more sustainable agriculture.

Question 19

Governments can help to reduce the threat of climate disruption (4-6)

Answer 19

4. Focus research and development efforts on innovations that lower the cost of clean energy alternatives, so that they can compete more favorably with fossil fuels.
5. Finance and monitor efforts to reduce deforestation—which accounts for 12% to 17% of global greenhouse gas emissions—and to promote global tree-planting efforts.
6. Encourage more-developed countries to help fund the transfer of the latest energy-efficiency and cleaner energy technologies to less-developed countries so that they can bypass older, energy-wasting and polluting technologies.

Question 20

carbon and energy taxes - advantages

Answer 20

simple to administer, clear price on carbon, covers all emitters, predictable revenues

Question 21

carbon and energy taxes - disadvantages

Answer 21

tax laws can get complex, vulnerable to loopholes, doesn’t guarantee lower emissions, politically unpopular

Question 22

cap and trade policies - advantages

Answer 22

clear legal limit on emissions, rewards cuts in emissions, record of success, low expense for consumers

Question 23

cap and trade policies - disadvantages

Answer 23

revenues not predictable, vulnerable to cheating, rich polluters on keep polluting, puts variable price on carbon

Question 24

what you can do to combat climate change

Answer 24

grow a tree, switch off and unplug, goodbye plastic, segregate, reduce-reuse-recycle, no to burning of wastes, promote renewable energy, bring your own tumbler, use energy-efficient appliances, walk bike or carpool, recycle electronics and batteries, environmental and energy awareness, save water, think before you print, and support earth products (15)

Question 25

We can prepare for climate change

Answer 25

The world needs to make a 50–85% cut in emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 to stabilize concentrations of these gases in the atmosphere