social science: the anthropocene

Question 1

what are the cycles that refer to patterns of the earth’s movement in relation to the sun?

Answer 1

milankovitch cycles

Question 2

according to existing natural factors, the earth would currently be heading toward a ________ period, but anthropogenic causes have set the earth’s climate in the direction of rapid warming instead.

Answer 2

cooling

Question 3

what does the root word “kainos”mean?

Answer 3

new

Question 4

traces of plutonium-239 can be found in soil as a result of what?

Answer 4

nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s

Question 5

who were the first two people to use the term “anthropocene” in 2000?

Answer 5

Paul J. Crutzen and Eugene F. Stoermer

Question 6

What did Paul J. Crutzen and Eugene F. Stoermer propose as the start of the antropocene (hint: it coincided with the popularization of the steam engine)?

Answer 6

late 18th century

Question 7

what year did the anthropocene working group vote in favor of treating the anthropocene as a formal geological epoch?

Answer 7

2019

Question 8

When did the “Great Acceleration” start?

Answer 8

1950

Question 9

What year did the AWG propose as the start of the Anthropocene?

Answer 9

1950

Question 10

the holocene is described as a ___________ period.

Answer 10

interglacial

Question 11

What is global synchrony that’s used to describe a characteristic of today’s warming?

Answer 11

global warming today is happening more
evenly around the globe than past climate change

Question 12

From what year to what year did the LIA last?

Answer 12

1300 -1850

Question 13

The LIA was caused by what two forcings?

Answer 13

solar forcings and volanic forcings

Question 14

Who is the author of A Christmas Carol (1843)
and Oliver Twist (1837−39)?

Answer 14

Charles Dickens

Question 15

who coined the term the “great acceleration”?

Answer 15

J. R. McNeill

Question 16

The human population around 1780 was about what?

Answer 16

one billion

Question 17

By 1930, what was the human population?

Answer 17

more than doubled from 1780, to two billion

Question 18

Who was the scientist that first argued atmospheric
water vapor and carbon dioxide could interact
with solar rays to raise the Earth’s temperature?

Answer 18

Eunice Newton Foote

Question 19

Who was the top producer and top consumer of oil in the early 2020s?

Answer 19

the United States

Question 20

In what Iraqi city was oil discovered in 1927?

Answer 20

Kirkuk

Question 21

The UN reports that fossil fuels comprise over what percent of global GHG emissions?

Answer 21

75%

Question 22

The UN reports that fossil fuels comprise over what percent of global CO2 emissions?

Answer 22

90%

Question 23

Why is wealth concentrated in Western countries?

Answer 23

lots of reasons, but a big part is that they benefitted from industrialization for centuries, and from colonization of other countries

Question 24

Who is the world’s leading emitter in carbon dioxide?

Answer 24

China

Question 25

Who is the world's fourth leading emitter in CO2?

Answer 25

India

Question 26

Per person, China emits how much less compared to the US?

Answer 26

half as much as the US

Question 27

India emits less than how much per person compared to the US?

Answer 27

less than one seventh

Question 28

What are the three components of the triple planetary crisis?

Answer 28

1) climate change 2) biodiversity loss 3) air pollution

Question 29

In the summer of 2023, the heat in Iran pushed the boundaries of human capacities reaching how high?

Answer 29

158 degrees fahrenheit

Question 30

What kind of abnormally severe weather raged through Greece, Australia, California, Canada, and Hawaii in recent years?

Answer 30

fires :(

Question 31

Sea level rise also accelerates __________ ___________, increasing the vulnerability of communities further inland to storm surge flooding.

Answer 31

coastal erosion

Question 32

What hurricane struck Florida in 2022 causing 156 fatalities and $112 B in damages?

Answer 32

hurricane Ian

Question 33

in 2022 the western US suffered a drought that was said to be the worst drought in the region in how many years>

Answer 33

1,200 years

Question 34

The horn of Africa is how many more times more likely to suffer drought?

Answer 34

100x

Question 35

What were the five important insights related to health risks associated with climate change reported by the UN in 2017?

Answer 35

1) Certain groups have higher susceptibility to climate-sensitive health impacts 2) Many infectious diseases, including water- borne ones, are highly sensitive to climate conditions; 3) Climate change lengthens the transmission season and expands the geographical range of many diseases; 4) Climate change will bring new and emerging health issues, including heatwaves and other extreme events; 5) Malnutrition and undernutrition influenced by floods and drought

Question 36

The US estimated that almost how many people move their homes due to extreme weather events every year?

Answer 36

30 million

Question 37

What organization was established after World War II?

Answer 37

the United Nations

Question 38

What year was the UN established?

Answer 38

1946

Question 39

What is a chief aim of the United Nations, as stated in the Charter of the UN?

Answer 39

preventing the use of force in international relations

Question 40

What year did the USSR launch Sputnik into orbit?

Answer 40

1957

Question 41

What year did the US land humans on the moon?

Answer 41

1969

Question 42

What year was NASA founded?

Answer 42

1958

Question 43

What is a defining characteristic