Weather and Climate gateway 2 part 2 last part i promise Flashcards
1
Q
How climate change affects people
4
A
- sea level rise
- more frequent extreme weather events
- spread of infectious insect-borne diseases
- lengthening of growing seasons
2
Q
How climate change affects people
sea level rise
-what causes sea level rise and who are affected
A
- higher temperatures causes water to expand and sea levels rise
- higher temperatures causes melting of glaciers in Antarctica. the resultant meltwater causes sea levels tp rise
- more then 600 million people live less than 10m above sea level and are in danger
- low lying areas are threatened. 2/3 of cities live in coastal areas (like singapore so we are all going to drown and die). 33% of coastal land and wetland habitats are likely to be lost in the next 100 years if the sea level continue to rise at the current rate
3
Q
How climate change affects people
more frequent extreme weather events
A
-higher land and sea surface temp creates greater amounts of water vapour and latent heat which causes extreme weather events
-causes economic losses and loss of lives
eg August 2003, England. 70,000 people died of a heatstroke
4
Q
How climate change affects people
spread of infectious insect-borne diseases
A
- increased temp and rainfall in various parts of the world allows insects the thrive and this leads t the spread of insect borne diseases
- mosquitoes grow in numbers in aquatic habitats so heavy rainfall leads to the spread of insect-borne diseases like malaria
- distribution of occurrence is changing. moderate-temperature places (eg north america) are facing diseases that used to only be found in the tropics
5
Q
How climate change affects people
lengthening of growing seasons
A
-higher temperatures lengthens the growing season
+ve
- increase in the type of crops grown like blackberries
- production of fruit, soya beans and potatoes increases
- ve
- In China, production of fruits and nuts are reduced as they require cool weather conditions
- the average wheat grain yield is reduced
6
Q
responses to climate change
2
A
- kyoto protocol
2. sg green mark scheme
7
Q
Kyoto protocol
what it is about
A
- an international convention with the aim to reduce the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
- countries come together and come up with measures to address climate change and put them into practice . They set targets to reduce ghg emissions
- there is a greater responsibility on the 37 developed countries and European countries because of they are mainly responsibly for the more than 150 years of industrial activity
- from 2008-2012, countries had to lower their ghg emission by at least 5% below their 1990 levels. depending on their abilities, some countries had to help other countries (eg help LDCs with funds)
8
Q
Kyoto protocol
successes
A
- many countries met or exceeded their targets (eg Ireland)
- countries had to monitor and report their ghg emissions to ensure that they are on track
- it encouraged sustainable development as countries were given credits when they carried out emission reducing projects in LDCs
- helped DCs to reduce their ghg emission when they took on emission-related projects in LDCs
9
Q
Kyoto protocol
limitations
A
- some countries did not meet their targets (eg Spain)
- not compulsory for countries with low ghg emissions to provide support. they did not have to provide energy-efficient technology and this made it harder for countries with high ghg emissions to reach their targets
- limited global impact on ghg emissions as countries that did not sign contributed significantly to global emissions (eg china and usa did not sign, global ghg emissions increased by 35% since 1997)
Spain without the s because Spain did not reach their goals
10
Q
Green mark scheme
what it is about
A
- constructing green buildings
- buildings are evaluated and certified based on how energy-efficient and environmentally friendly they are. This encouraged more ‘green buildings’ which are more energy efficient.
- eg running on solar energy which promotes energy conservation in the long run and reduces energy consumption
11
Q
Green mark scheme
successes
A
National Library Board
- light sensor allows sunlight to enter the building, reducing the need for atrificial light
- motion sensors for escalators to reduce electricity use
- sun shades to prevent the inside of the building from becoming too hot
- there was energy saving of 15-35% and it helped to cut down ghg emissions by reducing the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity
12
Q
green mark scheme
limitations
A
- developers tend to be conservative about adopting new ideas and materials so they may use different building processes that are less environmentally friendly and resource-efficient
- more costly as ‘green’ materials like bamboo which is non-toxic, reusable, renewable and recyclable is more expensive
