Environment Flashcards
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol, signed on 11 December 1997, was an international treaty that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
USA did not ratify and in 2001, US President Bush abandoned the protocol claiming that ratifying the treaty would create economic setbacks in the U.S.
Paris climate agreement
The landmark 2015 Paris climate agreement saw more than 150 countries coming together to discuss and negotiate on the actions to be taken as a nation and to decide on their individual goals to combat climate change.
US withdraw from Paris Agreement in 2017.
Many countries such as Taiwan and Kenya have since implemented laws that aim to eliminate single-use plastics by 2030.
Paris Climate agreement obliges other countries to set limits to carbon emissions and to limit global temparature 1.5C above pre industrial levels. However, most countries set low targets and some did not even hit the already low targets. As a result, 2019 was the hottest year on record (1.2C above pre-industrial levels) after 2016
Germany
Germany’s famous Energiewende, or energy transformation, has led to a 50% reduction in its territorial greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2014.
Donald Trump
presidential campaign in 2016 was built on election promises that included protecting the jobs of coal miners against the rise of renewable energy.
Greta Thunberg
On 15 March 2019, over a million students worldwide skipped school to protest climate inaction, united by social media. This climate protest was inspired by Greta Thunberg, a 15 year old climate activist who has become a worldwide phenomenon after staging a protest in August 2018 outside the Swedish parliament, and subsequently giving chilling speeches to world leaders, blaming them for climate inaction.
Greta Thunberg sailed to North America to avoid energy intensive flying and attended the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit to give a speech.
Carbon tax
While over 70% of Americans believe in global warming and more than half believe that such warming is man-made, only 29% of these believers support a carbon tax and most neither support nor oppose one.
Hydraulic Fracturing
Hydraulic fracturing enables petroleum companies to recover gas and oil from shale rock by subjecting it to immense pressure.
Increased oil production by 1200% in a week
Not until 2011 that it was found that fracking sites released a stew of toxic particles that caused asthma, birth defects and cardiovascular problems. It also caused air and water pollution, contributing to global warming
It was also linked to increased earthquakes in Texas and Oklahama in 2018 and 2019.
Industrial Revolution
Since the start of the Industrial revolutions in 1750s, global annual CO2 concentration has increased steadily.
For the last 800000 years, studies of ice cores has shown that CO2 concentrations stayed between 180 and 290 ppm.
In 2019, The Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, detected 415ppm, highest ever in a few million years.
Planned obsolescence
According to UN-habitat, 99 percent of the items we purchase are thrown away in the first 6 months.
Producers make good disposable rather than durable so consumers must continue to purchase the good.
Electronic products can also be engineered to be slower, signalling to users to get it replaced.
Apple was found throttling performance of older iphones, leading to 500m settlements.
Australian wildfires
Global warming and climate change contributed to ferocity of the Australian wildfires in 2019-2020 with hotter and drier conditions.
2019 was Australia’s driest year ever since 1900 with rainfall 40% below average.
At least 33 people killed, about 2000 homes destroyed and has forced thousands to seek shelter elsewhere.
Over 1.25 billion animals have died in the 2019-2020 Australian wildfire season.
Red Cross collected over 200 million in donation while high profile personalities like Chris Hemsworth and Elton John contributed 1 million each.
Climate change refugees
Climate change has driven more than 20 million people out of their homes over the last decade.
Zika and dengue more prevalent at higher temperatures, usually near equatorial regions, but now the region has increased due to global increase in temperature.
Microplastics
In 2020, Chinese researchers found that microplastics can be found in many places - salt, water, air. They have also been found in Artic ice, the most remote place water body.
Physiology and Psychology
Cost of the health burden caused by transport pollution, which has been linked to lung and heart diseases, stroke and even diabetes, added up to US 1 trillion in 2015.
High levels of pollution in England and Wales have been linked with psychotic experiences in teenagers, such as hearing voices and intense paranoia, according to researchers at King’s College London.
Overfishing
Overfishing causes tuna and sea turtle population decrease.
They are predators of jellyfish. Jellyfish increase.
More jellyfish eat more fishes, competing with humans for fishes.
Even less fish in the end.
Sustainable is expensive
While sustainable oil rigging methods have existed for a long time, the Royal Dutch Shell company remained oblivious to their presence.
Instead, they chose low-cost productions in Ogoniland in Nigeria. Between 1976 to 1991, over two million barrels of oil polluted Ogoniland in 2976 separate oil spills. In at least 10 Ogoni communities, drinking water is contaminated.
UNEP scientists found 8cm of refined oil floating on the goundwater which serves the wells.
