U3L8 Industry and Climate Change

Question 1

What is the definition of anthropogenic climate disruption?

Answer 1

Disturbance of the climate caused by human activities

Question 2

How much of sun’s energy reaches the crust?

Answer 2

About half

Question 3

What percentage of radiated infrared heat from the crust gets absorbed by GHGs (greenhouse gases)?

Answer 3

About 90%

Question 4

How long can different GHGs stay in the atmosphere?

Answer 4

Several years to several thousand years

Question 5

What is the number one cause of global warming?

Answer 5

Burning fossil fuels

Question 6

In the U.S. what activity produces the largest percentage of CHGs per year?

Answer 6

Transportation sector (cars, trucks, planes, etc.)

Question 7

How much GHGs do transportation sectors produce?

Answer 7

About 30% of all GHGs emissions in the U.S.

Question 8

How much GHGs does the production of electricity produce?

Answer 8

About 28% of the GHGs emitted per year in the U.S.

Question 9

What percentage of electricity emitted in the U.S. is produced by fossil fuels?

Answer 9

About 64%

Question 10

Coal accounted for about 31 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S., and it emitted 68 percent of the carbon dioxide produced by generating that electricity.

Answer 10

Idk how to put this into a sentence.

Question 11

_____ accounted for about ___ percent of the electricity generated in the U.S.

Answer 11

Coal; 31

Question 12

_____ emitted __ percent of the carbon dioxide produced by generating that electricity.

Answer 12

Coal; 68

Question 13

What are direct emissions of GHGs?

Answer 13

Emissions that are produced at the factory of other facility.

Question 14

Where do direct emissions come from?

Answer 14

Burning fossil fuels on-site for power or heat, through chemical reactions, and from leaks from equipment or processes.

Question 15

Where do indirect emissions of GHGs come from?

Answer 15

Burning fossil fuels off-site to generate electricity that is used on-site at the factory or other facility.

Question 16

In 2017, direct emissions of GHGs by industry made up about ____ of all GHGs produced that year in the United States. Add in indirect emissions, and industry is responsible for about _____ of GHG emissions.

Answer 16

22%; 30%

Question 17

What are ruminants?

Answer 17

These mammals have four-chambered stomachs that contain methane-producing bacteria.

Question 18

What percentage of GHGs emissions from agriculture are methane from ruminants?

Answer 18

About one-third

Question 19

What are some examples of ruminants!

Answer 19

Cattle and dairy cows

Question 20

What GHGs do livestock manure emit?

Answer 20

Methane and nitrous oxide emissions

Question 21

Gases released by livestock manure represent about ____ of all agriculture GHG emissions.

Answer 21

14%

Question 22

How is the management of soils causing GHGs to be released?

Answer 22

Certain methods of soil management, including the use of both synthetic and organic fertilizers, cause nitrous oxide emissions. Using some irrigation practices and growing crops that fix nitrogen in the soil also release nitrous oxide.

Question 23

GHGs released by soil management caused ____ of all agriculture GHG emissions.

Answer 23

about half

Question 24

What stays in the atmosphere longer? Carbon dioxide or methane.

Answer 24

Carbon dioxide

Question 25

What traps more heat? Carbon dioxide or methane.

Answer 25

Methane

Question 26

How much GHGs emissions do farm animals account for? (World wide)

Answer 26

About 18%

Question 27

Why is deforestation occurring in the rainforests of South America?

Answer 27

Deforestation is occurring because people want to use the land for agriculture, ranching, logging, and mining. Large multinational corporations are responsible for much of the damage.

Question 28

Why are rainforests considered carbon sinks?

Answer 28

Rainforests are considered carbon sinks because they are natural environments that absorb and store carbon for long periods of time.

Question 29

Describe the water vapor feedback loop works.

Answer 29

The warming of the atmosphere causes increased evaporation from the ocean and freshwater sources, so more water vapor is released from Earth’s surface. As the temperature of the atmosphere increases, so does the ability of the atmosphere to hold more water vapor. The increased amount of water vapor in the atmosphere absorbs an increased amount of the infrared heat reflected from Earth’s surface. This further increases the temperature of the atmosphere, which is then able to hold even more water vapor, and the feedback loop continues.

Question 30

How does water vapor decrease temperature?

Answer 30

The increased water vapor condenses into clouds, which reflect the sun’s radiation back into space instead of allowing it to reach Earth’s surface.