Climate Crisis Lecture 1 Flashcards
Power Point Slides
IPCC (2018)
report 12 years till be we a climate crisis
Concerns if no action taken on climate
worsening food shortages, wildfires, mass die-off of coral reefs
Possible outcome of irreversible climate change: overshoots target of 2.0C, bring temperature back down, but coral reefs would die off, sea ice will disappear
UN climate chief
UN climate chief we lack strong leadership on a global scale to make decisions on these actions
e.g. Hurricane Florence, New Burn, NC September 27th 2018
Scottish Heritage under threat due to rising sea levels Orkney Archipelago Scotland 3,000 archaeological sites since 1970 beaches have eroded twice as fast
Arctic ice melting in north UK gov defence arctic strategy 800 arctic commandos to Norway 2019 to establish new military base to prevent Russian expansion rush for regions oil as polar ice melts
A new condition
Possibility of civilizational death- how do we develop a politics on how to approach this not pessimistically
Over last 40 years- warmest years on record- huge heat waves, 20,000 premature deaths Russia 2010- 55,000 deaths
Drought
Powerful winds London October 1987 15 million trees down
Hurricanes Bangladesh 1970 250,000 drowned
Rising sea level island under threat
Warming in sub-arctic and equator
What is Global Warming
Co2 gas emitted into atmosphere in increasing amounts over the past 200 years
Co2 good absorber of heat radiation coming from the earth’s surface
-keeps earth warmer
-increase temp-increase water vapour in atmosphere etc positive feedback loop
Every year 8000+ million tonnes carbon in atmosphere
The Greenhouse effect
Energy from sun earth surface absorb energy stored in surface and reflected back in atmosphere or emitted by earth’s surface. Reradiating heat from sun. Becomes important as infrared radiation escapes straight to space however other energy might be absorbed which makes it heat up and this reemission of energy back down to earth helps to maintain temps to above 0. if we alter amount of energy absorbed we change the amount of heat emitted back to earth. Due to this and human activity we have enhanced the natural greenhouse effect
1950’s
emergence of scientific techniques
1960’s
ability for scientists to say with near certainty how these processes work social rise in environmental movements
Scientists more publicly involved military funding dwindles research councils step in science/policy collaboration
Silent Spring- gives rise to modern environmental movement
Blue marble Apollo 17 December 1972- first time photo of earth in its entirety
Created a lot of anxiety- Martin Heidegger- no longer can we have a connection to the earth- ‘the uprooting of man has already taken place’
Birth of term globalisation
Birth of modern environmental movement
‘one world’ technoscience can unite nations- image of entire planet connected through technology, connected beyond railway tracks and borders
‘whole earth’ concern for shared environment can unite all peoples on the fragile planet, must be attended to
1970’s
Major world conferences
1972 UN conference on human environment first high profile intergovernmental event
Conclusion of world dynamics model
Finite planet could not sustain exponential growth rates exhibited by important trends in; natural resource, consumption pollution, population growth
Concluded by 2050 natural resources exhausted, pollution increased to life threatening levels, catastrophic collapse (famine)
1980’s
Global governments began to take measures to combat climate change
1986 Wigley and jones compiled 134 years of gmt data which showed unprecedented global warming trend starting 1980
1988 thatcher set up Hadley centre at British meteorological office
1988 global conferences leading to set up of IPCC
Social ozone layer hole Chernobyl nuclear disaster
IPCC 1988 purpose to evaluate state of climate science
1990’s
United nations framework convention on climate change UNFCCC Rio earth summit
1997 third conference of parties in Kyoto
Both lead to first commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to pre-industrial levels
1990’s emergences hat scientists have a political agender
