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climate final Flashcards

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1
Q

how do we know that GHGs are the cause of the rapid warming?

A

basic physics: more GHG=rise in temp. and rise in temp. is in lockstep with rise in carbon, also “fingerprint” of GHG proving it is human caused.

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2
Q

what is a global climate model?

A

a program that shows past climates and predicts future ones

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3
Q

what does CMIP stand for?

A

coupled model intercomparison

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4
Q

what does the CMIP do?

A

it is an entry model that allows IPCC reports to put in their research with a certain criteria

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5
Q

how does the global climate model (GCM) show data?

A

it shows means from all models and deviations from means to predict future temperatures

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6
Q

what is the difference between weather and climate models?

A

weather models are short term, and experience rapid changes. climate models are long term and show decadal averages

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7
Q

what do climate models account for?

A
  1. changes in ocean currents
  2. changes in land use/cover
  3. volume of GHGs
  4. ocean pH
  5. solar cycles
  6. Milankovitch cycles
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8
Q

what are the limitations of GCMs?

A

problematic in mountainous regions and coastal areas, clouds impact the models and small scale impacts must be downscaled

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9
Q

what are GCMs best for?

A

temperature and pressure

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10
Q

how do we project future climates?

A

using SSPs. Shared Socioeconomic Pathways

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11
Q

what are SSPs?

A

different predictions of how society develops in the future

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12
Q

what is the equation for SSPs?

A

I=PxAxT
p=population
a=affluence
t=technology

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13
Q

what is the equation for technology?

A

T=EIxCI
EI= energy intensity (how much energy is used)
CI= carbon intensity

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14
Q

what is related to GHG emissions?

A

technology

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15
Q

what part of the technology equation is declining due to better energy efficiency?

A

EI, energy intensity

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16
Q

what is energy dominance?

A

countries that are reliant on fossil fuels and countries that are reliant on another country that provides the fossil fuels

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17
Q

what will happen to precipitation with increase in temperature?

A

increase in precipitation due to air holding more water vapor, wet places will get wetter and dry places will get drier

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18
Q

why does a small degree of change matter?

A

last ice age was only 5-7 degrees different than today, predictions say it is to be 5-7 degrees warmer in the future. this causes massive impacts and land changes

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19
Q

what percent of all species are at risk of extinction?

A

20-30%

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20
Q

what are the impacts of climate change?

A
  1. increased heat
  2. vector-borne diseases
  3. increased surface ozone
  4. increased allergens
  5. increased pandemics
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21
Q

why is an increase in heat bad?

A

heat waves kill most out of any natural disaster, and this can be worsened in cities due to urban heat island

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22
Q

why does an increase in temp. mean an increase in vector-borne diseases?

A

warmer temps= more disease carrying mosquitoes and ticks
warmer temps= harbor infectious water-borne bacteria

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23
Q

what does inhospitable areas lead to?

A

mass migrations, wars over resources, and the link between heat and violence

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24
Q

how does climate change affect mental health?

A

increase in anxiety and depression from loss of loved ones, possible bad futures, and economic struggles

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25
how does climate change affect transportation?
roads will soften and breakdown the asphalt, stress on bridge joints, and with increase heat= less construction
26
how might transportation benefit from climate change?
with reduced snowfall, there will be less freeze-thaw and salt costs will go down
27
how does climate change affect planes?
-warm air causes less dense air, less dense air means reduced lift off -increase in turbulence due to wind changes -sea level rise could damage coastal airports
28
what are the positives of shipping transport with warmer climates?
-less sea ice means easier travel -sea level rise causes deeper water for more ships
29
what are the negatives of shipping transport with warmer climates?
-more precip.= deposition buildup in ports - sea level rise affects port infrastructure -higher water level= lower clearance under bridges
30
what is mitigation?
efforts to prevent and eliminate climate change
31
what is adaptation?
efforts to adjust and overcome impacts of climate change
32
what are the 3 pathways for mitigation?
1. prevent GHG emissions 2. remove GHGs by carbon capture 3. Geoengineering
33
how do we prevent GHG emissions?
by switching to more sustainable options on the biggest GHG emitter: energy
34
what is energy efficiency?
using less energy to achieve same results (ex. switch from incandescent to LED)
35
what is energy conservation?
using less energy period. (ex. turning off lights and riding bikes)
36
how much wasted energy is in gas?
70%, only 30% is used
37
what is alternative energy?
energy produced without burning fossil fuels
38
what are the 3 largest sources of alternative energy?
1. wind 2. solar 3. hydro (largest)
39
what are the drawbacks of alternative energy?
the sun and wind aren't out all day long
40
what is good about solar energy?
it is easiest for residential homes, and it is much cheaper
41
what is good about wind energy?
it is the most efficient, it is easier for rural power and accounts for 36% of electricity in the U.S.
42
what are two other types of alternative energy?
1. nuclear 2. biofuels
43
what is good about nuclear energy?
it is clean compared to fossil fuels but is not renewable, nuclear gets a bad rep, new technology makes this option safer
44
what is good about biofuels?
they add no net emissions from release
45
what is decentralized generation
a power system where electricity is produced near consumption, moving away from large power plants
46
what does the latest IPCC report say about alternative energy?
alternative energy is cheaper and saves money in the long run
47
what are two ways of removing GHG emissions?
1. direct air capture (DAC) 2. point source (CCS) carbon direct capture is very expensive
48
what is climate geoengineering
direct, large-scale manipulation of the climate system to change the Earth's energy balance
49
what are some ways to manipulate the Earth's energy balance?
- reforestation - Space mirrors - ocean manipulation - rock cycle manipulation -atmospheric seedling
50
what are space mirrors?
mirrors in space that reflect sunlight back into space
51
how do we manipulate oceans?
adding nutrients that multiples phytoplankton and increases photosynthesis
52
what is atmospheric seeding?
using salt water to brighten clouds making them contain smaller particles to reflect more sunlight
53
what are some detriments to geoengineering?
it may have unknown consequences and avoids the real issues of climate change
54
what is the key to implementation?
must be effective and cost conscious
55
what is the social cost of carbon?
how much damage will a ton of carbon do
56
what is the global cost of carbon per ton in 2024?
40 billion tons of carbon, $190-280/ton of carbon
57
what are the two approaches to implementation?
1. top down 2. bottom up
58
what is top-down approach?
starts from single policy with legal authority over many
59
what is the bottom-up approach?
starts from many small actions and works its way up
60
what are the two types of carbon pricing?
1. carbon tax 2. cap and trade
61
what is the carbon tax?
a tax paid to a governing body for any GHG emission, the goal is to make carbon-based energy expensive
62
what are the drawbacks of the carbon tax?
the word "tax"
63
how can the carbon tax be revenue neutral?
money accumulated from tax will be sent back to the people and those who bought no gas will profit and those who didn't will lose money
64
what is cap and trade?
a system where a limit/cap is set on the number of annual emissions and permits must be purchased to emit each ton of carbon
65
what are the drawbacks of cap and trade?
requires a lot of bureaucracy to implement and enforce
66
what is a mandate?
a requirement by law that a person/business must abide by (negative reinforcement)
67
what are subsidies?
money granted by the government to assist an industry or business (positive reinforcement)
68
what is the more popular carbon pricing choice?
cap and trade
69
what are the steps for adaptation?
-recognition -identify your impacts -planning
70
what two parts consists of the planning step for adaptation?
1. anticipatory- taking action to prevent damage before it happens 2. reactive- taking action to prevent damage as or after it happens
71
payer and polluter relationship with adaptation methods
payers benefit from adaptation while polluters do not all the time, the opposite is true for mitigation tactics
72
what are ancillary benefits
unintentional benefits that protect people/animals regardless (this is only for adaptation methods)
73
what are the disadvantages of adaptation?
"kick the can down the road" mentality and minimal polluter pays
74
what are the advantages of adaptation?
payer benefits fully, ancillary benefits, low need for government intrusion since most projects are local
75
what is vulnerability?
the degree to which a system is susceptible to adverse effects of climate change
76
what 3 factors consist of vulnerability?
1. exposure 2. sensitivity 3. adaptative capacity
77
what is exposure?
type of impact a resource is exposed to and its magnitude
78
what is sensitivity?
how a resource fares when exposed to an impact
79
what is adaptive capacity?
the ability for a resource to adjust with impacts
80
what determines adaptive capacity?
-foresight (forward thinking government) -information (knowledge on impacts) -resources (money/infrastructure) -ability (technology to innovate measures)
81
who has low adaptive capacity?
poor regions or small communities
82
what are RCPs?
representative concentration pathways that are scenarios developed by the IPCC to project future GHG emissions
83
which part of the world had the biggest success from the Kyoto protocol?
EU, and they did this by burden-sharing agreement
84
why did Copenhagen fail?
because of growing climate change skeptics and the climategate issue
85
How have US emissions changed in the last 2 decades? Was this due to climate change related policy or other reasons?
the US emissions have gone done in the last 2 decades due to policy changes and a switch to renewable energy
86
How are the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement different?
paris agreement focuses on a global temp. reduction, while the Kyoto focuses on specific reduction of GHG by 1990. Paris agreement is not legally binding while Kyoto was. Paris agreement also aids developing countries
87
who joined and didn't join the Kyoto protocol?
Russia and Australia joined later, Canada withdrew and US never joined
88
what is the difference between mitigation and adaptation for spatial scale of benefit?
adaptation- local benefit mitigation- global benefit
89
what is the difference between mitigation and adaptation for effectiveness?
mitigation- more certain adaptation- less certain
90
what is the difference between mitigation and adaptation for who monitors progress?
mitigation- easy monitoring adaptation- more difficult
91
what is the difference between mitigation and adaptation for benefitted systems?
mitigation- all systems benefit adaptation- selected systems benefit
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