Water, Carbon and Climate Flashcards
What does photosynthesis both require?
It requires both the input of both water and carbon.
What do positive feedbacks do to a system?
They amplify the changes.
What do negative feedbacks do to a system?
The changes are dampened or cancelled out.
What do water vapour and carbon dioxide and methane do in the atmosphere?
They cause a natural greenhouse effect that prevents some energy from escaping into space and reflects it back to earth.
What does the greenhouse effect cause?
It causes temperatures on Earth to be higher than they otherwise be - without the natural greenhouse effect the Earth would be frozen and uninhabitable.
What is human activity doing?
Increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, this is causing an enhanced greenhouse effect. This is where the additional greenhouse gases reflect more energy back to Earth than in the natural greenhouse effect, so temperature increases even further. This is thought to be causing global warming.
How are people trying to mitigate the impacts of climate change?
People are trying to mitigate the impacts of climate change by reducing transfers of carbon to the atmosphere
What is the IPCC and what does it state?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an international organisation set up by the UN to share knowledge about climate change. The IPCC states that countries need to reduce the amount of CO2 emitted by human activities in order to prevent large temperature rises.
What are individuals doing to mitigate climate change?
People can choose to use their cars less and buy more fuel efficient cars.
They can also make their homes more energy efficient, e.g. with double glazing, insulation and more efficient appliances.
How is climate change being mitigated on a global and national scale?
- Governments can reduce reliance on fossil fuels for heating and powering homes by increasing the availability and reducing the cost of renewable energy sources such as wind, tidal and solar.
- Afforestation and restoring degraded forests can increase carbon uptake by the biosphere.
- Planners can increase the sustainability of developments by improving public transport and creating more green spaces.
- Government can invest in carbon capture and storage (CCS). CO2 emitted from burning fossil fuels is captured and stored underground, e.g. in depleted oil and gas reservoirs.
How is climate change being mitigated on a global scale?
- Countries can work together to reduce emissions. For example, the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015) are international treaties to control the total amount of greenhouse gases released. Participating countries agree to keep their emissions within set limits.
- There are also international carbon trading schemes. Countries and businesses are given a limit on the emissions they can produce – if they produce less they can sell the extra credits, if they produce more they need to buy more credits.
