Lecture 33: Anthropocene Flashcards
What is Mitigation?
Human interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental pollutants, with an aim of slowing and ultimately halting root causes of anthropogenic climate change
What is an example of Mitigation?
Reducing CO2 emissions
What do all energy sources come with?
Some degree of a carbon footprint (even solar and wind)
What can the carbon footprint of renewable energy come from?
The manufacture of renewable energy infrastructure
Which energy source has the lowest CO2 footprint?
Nuclear energy, a non-renewable resource
Which energy source has the largest carbon footprint?
Coal
How does the fabrication of cement for building material produce a lot of carbon?
To make cement, this required mining of material which causes a large carbon footprint
Why is using concrete less sustainable?
Because it is a major source of greenhouse gases
What should concrete be replaced with?
Renewable building materials such as timber
What are the three major vectors that can make transportation more efficient?
- Cleaner fuels
- Greener vehicles
- Smarter transportation infrastructure
What increases sequestration of anthropogenic carbon?
- Carbon capture and storage (CCS)
* Increasing carbon sinks (ex. reforestation)
How does Carbon Capture and Storage work?
You recapture carbon and put it deep underground
What is Adaptation?
A set of actions we can take to handle the coming impacts of global climate change
What are the adaptations to sea level rise?
Construction of seawalls to prevent potentially catastrophic sea level rises in urbanized areas
What will water management be informed by?
Hydrologic models that predict changes in precipitation, overland flow and streamflow in light of various climate change scenarios
