W&C: Water, Carbon and Climate Flashcards
What forms the base of most food chains?
Plants
What does photosynthesis require inputs of?
Both water and carbon
What does the natural greenhouse effect prevent?
Prevents some energy from escaping into space and reflects it back to earth.
Without the natural greenhouse effect, what would happen to earth?
It would be frozen and uninhabitable.
Enhanced greenhouse effect.
Additional greenhouse gases reflect more energy back to the Earth than in the natural greenhouse effect, so temperature increases even further.
Give an example of positive feedback in the water cycle:
Give an example of positive feedback in the carbon cycle:
Give an example of negative feedback in the carbon cycle:
Give an example of negative feedback in the water cycle:
Give 3 examples of how the water + carbon cycle interact:
- Carbon + water in atmosphere allows chemical weathering
- Water needed for photosynthesis, which removes carbon from atmosphere
- Atmospheric CO2 levels affect global temperatures = affects evaporation = affects precipitation
IPCC
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
What is the IPCC?
Set up by the UN and states that countries need to reduce CO2 emitted by human activities.
On an individual scale how can people mitigate the impacts of climate change?
- Reduce car usage / buy more fuel efficient cars
- Make homes more energy efficient
On a regional and national scale how can people mitigate the impacts of climate change?
- Reduce reliance on fossil fuels by increasing renewable resource accessibility
- Afforestation + restoring degraded forests
- Improve public transport + green spaces
- Invest in carbon capture and storage
On a global scale how can people mitigate the impacts of climate change?
- International treaties, eg. Paris Agreement
- Carbon trading schemes - limit emissions
