Week 9 Flashcards
MAR 20
What can we do about CC
Option1 : Do nothing & wait to see what happens
Option 2: We can adapt to the impacts of CC
Option 3: we can choose to mitigate
Adaptation =
Can
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-
There are…
= involves “adjustments” made by humans or ecosystems
- Can reduce damage from impacts that cannot be avoided
- Can sometimes increase GHG emissions (maladaptation) - ex: increasing air con
- There are… limits on adaptation
Adaptive Capacity
→ Of what/to what?
Natural Systems
Human species -
Insects…
-
NS - ability of species to shift ranges
HS - adaptive capacity of agri to increase drought (income, resources avail, knowledge, infrastructure)
…have a higher adaptive capacity than polar bears
= strategies decrease the amount of CC that occurs
- Generally by decreasing GHG emissions
- Also by cooling the planet
How can humans can help the natural world adapt?
1, 2, 3
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-
-
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EXAMPLES:
1 Protecting ecosystems
→ EX: Refugia
-
-
-
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EX: Yukon’s Peel River Watershed
2 Managed Adaptation
→ Using…
Protection, restoration, management
- Vulnerable species or ecosystems
- Translocation (assisted migration)
- Human made infrastructure
- Genetic modification (make orgs more tolerant)
- Identify climatically stable geographical areas
- Substantial adaptive capacity and ability to absorb the disturbances created by CC due to
(immense scale, relative intactness, still-functional ecosystems) - Protect those areas and areas that connect to it to ensure species survival
- Translocate species threatened by CC into Refugias
–> … riparian woodlands to shade temperature streams
Protect stream organisms from rising temperatures
(Riparian buffer strips - shade streams - cool temp for organisms)
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Animals
- researchers transported 2 types of butterflies
- moved them…
4 Migration corridors
5 Human Made Infrastructure
→ Australian Albatross:
- Artificial reforestation common in forestry
(Trials in BC to allow seeds to be planted further North) - Most successful if species well adapted to environment
A
- moved them farther north & monitored them - both pop grew and expanded their range
4
(helping animals shift ranges)
Providing animals a pathway to move - moving over highways
5
: Reduced breeding success due, in part, to extreme rainfall and rising sea level washing away nests
Scientist built artificial nests
6 Genetic Modification
→ Corals
How can humans adapt to CC?
-
Solar Reflective Index?
-
Black, Metal, White?
→ Additional benefits:
6
C
Cross-breeding corals to create heat tolerant varieties
Rapidly evolve hardier strains of coral and algae by rearing them for generations in overheated lab conditions
Genetic engineering (gene-editing tools)
Cool Roofs = Roofs that reflect a lot of solar radiation
- Reflectivity (albedo of roof)
- Emittance
Solar Reflectance Index = measure of both emissivity and reflectance
(higher numbers are “best”)
e.g. Black asphalt shingles = 1; White concrete tile = 90
- Black roof (high emittance) ~90% but low reflectance 5%
- Metal roof is ~60%
- White roof is ~90% but reflectance is 75% [can reduce the heat gain by the building]
Painting human surfaces white - like concrete
Green Roofs
- Act as insulation (cooling and heating effect)
: reduce air pollution, filter rainwater reduce stormwater runoff, provide habitat
[cool and green roofs also reduce energy consumption or MITIGATE climate change]
Sedum does well on roofs as it is drought resistant
Maybe lettuce, kale and radish as produce
Adapting to floods
→ Store important documents above potential flood zones
→ Have sandbags ready
→ Re locate hospitals, fire stations, power plants to areas without flooding risk
→ Build new roads inland
Floodplain restoration
→ Natural floodplains buffer floods
→ Many projects to restore or create floodplains and wetlands
→ In addition, provide important habitat for species and clean retain freshwater
Coastal Erosion
→ PEI very vulnerable to erosion and might eventually disappear
Hard techniques (rock walls)
Soft techniques (grasses that stabilize dunes)
Heat Wave adaptations
→ TO ex:
Agricultural Adaptation Strategies:
- x6
Better forecast methods
→ Early warning systems
: Recommendations for every residential building to have cooling centres
HARS (Harmonized heat alert and response system
Cooling centres throughout TO
Educate people to check on the vulnerable
:
- Irrigation (drip irrigation)
- No tilling
- Diversification of crops
- Grow indoors (might be maladaptation - cause energy overconsumption)
- Adjusting of planting dates and crop varieties
The potential of GMO
- Water use efficiency (rainwater harvesting, desalination, mulching)
MAR 22
Adaptation vs Mitigation CON’d
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MITIGATION
Slowing or reversing CC
- Decreasing GHG in the atmosphere
–> Bathtub analogy =
-
—> … decrease the amount of climate change that occurs R
- Reduce CC impacts
- Primarily by decreasing GHG emissions
Bathtub
= Sources of carbon = faucet & Sinks of Carbon = drain*
= As global temp increased, size of “drain” decreases (oceans specifically - as they warm take up less CO2) Options: decrease faucet or increase drain
:
- Demand-side mitigation (consuming less energy - so GHG emissions decrease)
- Supply-side mitigation
Demand-Side Mitigation Strategies
–> How can we demand/consume less energy?
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SHE organized them as:
→ Improve energy efficiency
Focus on technology (lightbulbs, cars)
→ Energy Conservation
Focus on human behaviour/choices -End consumerism?
Energy Efficiency =
→ Improving energy efficiency:
Energy efficient cars, buildings (LEED buildings), appliances (Energy star)
[LEED = leadership in energy and environmental design - green building certification program]
We are advancing tech yet (for ex - fridges) used to last 25 years but now MAX 10 years
We live in a world ALL about growth - selling and buying more
–>
Public transport
Consuming more plant based proteins
Energy saving/efficient appliances
Thrifting
Electric cars/ hybrid
Picky in the companies you support
EE = Service provided (want large number)/ energy used (want small number)
Green Buildings - EXAMPLES
Edith Green - Wendell Wyatt Federal Building in Portland, OR
Uses 60-65% less energy than a regular office building
Solar thermal panels for hot water
Solar roof for electricity
Elevators generate power when descending
Shading devices
Energy efficient lighting system
Rainwater collection for toilets
Guelph EX
Galt District energy System
Uses less energy than if each building had its own boiler and chillers
Problem with improving efficiency:
:
ppl think they can then buy bigger and more
Energy efficiency “Dilemma”
Richer countries use less energy per unit of GDP (on left side graph)
(on right side) CO2 emissions per capita per GDP - richer countries produce more emissions (more meat, more trips, more driving)
Energy Conservation:
Shifting behaviours:
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26% of all global GHG emissions from all of the agri food system
(local food) - ~6% from transport of food emissions
Also food miles are only partial indicator of environmental impacts
Food choice limitations (seasonally)
Ignores how food is transported (plane vs ship is very different)
:
- Walking, biking instead of drive
- Flying less often - or not at all [wealth issue again - private jets etc & affording to fly]
- Turning off lights and turning down thermostat
– Food related changes
- purchasing local food
- food waste
- agri improvements
- eating less meat
[John Saffron Foyer - vegan on weekdays and vege on weekend]
DIAGRAM:
How can we reduce global GHG emissions from food?
From the Lancet
Grey line is comparative “business as usual”
1 High yields: getting more out of the land we are farming
2 Half food waste:
What can we do?
Food waste pyramid
3 Healthy calories:
4 Best farm practices:
[Best management practices to reduce GHG emissions]
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→ Livestock and manure management
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→ Soil conservation and carbon sequestration
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→ Nutrient management
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1 (intensifying farming) - GMO better answer here [14% reduction]
2 27% reduction - ~6% of global GHG emissions come from food wastes and losses (consumers & storage (in LMIC))
3 30% reduction - “everyone eats a diet that would maintain an avg BMI”
4 40% reduction - agri management practices that can reduce GHG emissions
- No tillage
- Pesticides and fertilizers are energy demanding materials
–>
- Feed and feed additives to reduce methane from enteric fermentation
- Cover manure storage or capture methane from manure
Soil –>
- Reduced tillage
- Agroforestry
–>
Precision agriculture → satellite farming (GPS units on tractors - analyze plants to see if they require N or other nutrients and soil for moisture content)
