midterm 1

Question 1

1. While fires set by ranchers have been the most notorious source of fires in the Amazon over the last decade, what other climate-related problem is driving the current wave of fire outbreaks throughout the region?

Answer 1

Droughts, massive decrease in rainfall

Question 2

2. Provide two motivations for Australia to agree to the Singapore solar project?

Answer 2

1. creates more jobs, economic growth
2. green energy, reduce the use of coal

Question 3

3. T/F. China is the second largest builder of coal-fired power stations in the world, behind India.

Answer 3

F

Question 4

6. In a favored phrasing, the IPCC report states that since the last report in 2014 heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and other extreme events have all increased in intensity and frequency “f____ b_______ n________ v_________.”

Answer 4

far beyond natural variability

Question 5

7. The stated aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep global temperature rise “well below” ___ degrees Celsius and to “pursue efforts” to limit it to ____ degrees Celsius.

1 … 2

1.5 … 2

1.5 … 2.5

2 … 2.5

Answer 5

1.5 … 2

Question 6

8. What type of country is considered the ‘canary in the climate coal mine’?

Answer 6

small island countries

Question 7

9. Briefly, define ‘net-zero’.

Answer 7

emission = capture
the balance between carbon emission and carbon taken out

Question 8

10. S__________________ A____________ refers to unburned or unused fossil fuel resources, whose value (if 2 degree C is the limit) would reach trillions of dollars.

Answer 8

stranded assets

Question 9

11. Contributing to their lacking of funding for spending on climate projects, many poor developing countries have what other significant international payments they must make, which reduces their spending power?

Answer 9

many countries have international debt payment

Question 10

12. According to the IPCC, what sector is the most important to decarbonize as fast as possible?

Answer 10

power sector

Question 11

13. T/F. One of the key advantages of renewable energy systems in the US is that while new infrastructures will have to be built for them, those infrastructures can be much smaller than traditional energy infrastructures.

Answer 11

F

Question 12

14. T/F. According to the IPCC, the limiting of temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C will be impossible without some form of carbon removal.

Answer 12

T

Question 13

15. The targeting of lifestyle and behavior changes is an aspect of D_______-S____ mitigation options and will require transformation in the C_________ A_____________ of our consumption patterns.

Answer 13

demand-side, choice architecture

Question 14

16. In order to cut down on methane in the atmosphere, the IPCC suggests targeting “F______________ emissions”, the methane that escapes during extraction and transportation of natural gas or from abandoned oil wells.

Answer 14

Fugitive

Question 15

17. In terms of the IPCC’s goals for green buildings, while there have been an increasing number of zero-carbon buildings constructed around the world, what are the two primary goals that still need considerable focus and investment?

Answer 15

1. green standard for all new buildings
2. retrofit old buildings

Question 16

18. What are the three key policies for cities to pursue reductions in their transport sector emissions levels?

Answer 16

1. high population density
2. non-car travel
3. electrify transportations

Question 17

19. List two of the reasons discussed in lecture for why it is a problem that much of the potential for carbon emission reductions from environmental protection, restoration, and sustainable management exists in developing countries.

Answer 17

1. not enough funding for these types of projects
2. lack of expertise to manage

Question 18

20. The IPCC’s fourth scenario, in which global temperature rises to 3.6 degrees C by 2100, is defined by the collapse of what?

Answer 18

collapse of international cooperation

Question 19

21. T/F. While not the current largest emitter, the US has historically emitted more carbon dioxide than any other country.

Answer 19

T

Question 20

22. If the US wants to “D___________”, it must stop getting its electricity from fossil fuel sources and shift to renewable sources like solar, wind, and geothermal.

Answer 20

decarbonize

Question 21

23. What is the ‘elegant solution’ that Saul Griffith suggest for the US economy to enhance the effect of shifting its electricity grid to renewable energies?

Answer 21

shift everything possible to electric

Question 22

24. In the Vox video, the graph that breaks down the carbon emissions in the US by sector has what percentages for the following? (28, 28, 21, 14, 12)

Electricity ____%

Transportation ____%

Residential ____%

Industrial ____%

Commercial ____%

Answer 22

12
28
14
28
21

Question 23

25. Provide a succinct definition of ‘tipping point’ as it relates to climate change.

Answer 23

threshold crossed/passed, irreversible change, faster destruction

Question 24

26. Ocean heat waves cause mass coral bleaching; and if global average temperature rises by merely 2 degrees C, ___% of tropical corals are projected to be lost.

27% 55% 75% 99%

Answer 24

99%

Question 25

27. What crop boomed in the 1990s and drove higher rates of deforestation? And how was it connected to cattle ranching?

Answer 25

soybean, it is used as feds and red meat is a resource intensive food

Question 26

28. What is the bigger catastrophe that the collapse of the Thwaites glacier could cause?

Answer 26

sea level rise

Question 27

29. In addition to the obvious loss of land due to sea level rise, what two other worries do island nations and dependencies worry about related to sea level rise?

Answer 27

1. water supply pollution, salination 2. loss of tourism, loss of tourism areas

Question 28

30. Globally, ___ out of the world’s 10 largest cities are near a coast.

Answer 28

8

Question 29

31. T/F. Researchers expect intense tropical cyclones to become more frequent globally, but for there to be significant regional variation and for there to be possibly less tropical cyclones overall.

Answer 29

T

Question 30

32. Which of the following factors did the lecture list as contributing to rising intensities of hurricanes? (mark all that apply) Warmer ocean temperatures from increased energy absorption create conditions for hurricane development Warm air holds more water vapor than cold air Less cold, subsurface ocean water that normally acts as natural breaking mechanism Destruction of coral reefs that normally act as break on storms surges along coasts

Answer 30

all

Question 31

33. Briefly explain why vulnerable communities have most to fear from polluting industries during bad storms.

Answer 31

class and rare bias, they are the ones that live near to the polluting industries

Question 32

34. T/F. Since so much of the US farmland is in the interior of the country, the ‘breadbasket’ of the US is likely to be spared significant destruction from climate-change related flooding.

Answer 32

F

Question 33

35. Besides death, name two other ways flooding causes health problems.

Answer 33

1. mental health 2. bacterial and mold causing infections

Question 34

36. The effects of drought on ecosystems and people are sometimes referred to as H________________ S____________.

Answer 34

hydrological stress

Question 35

37. What is the primary way that droughts can affect energy systems?

Answer 35

hydroelectric dams, increase in demand for energy

Question 36

38. (a) What is the rare ‘weather double whammy’ (that is, what are the two interrelated problems intensifying each other?)? (b) And what kind of events do they increase the changes of? (a) i. ii. (b) M______________________

Answer 36

ai. prolong heatwave , aii. prolong drought b. megadrought

Question 37

39. Which of the following were listed in lecture as key causes of increased fires due to climate change? (mark all that apply) Rising temperatures dry soils and make vegetation more flammable Larger and longer melting winter snowpacks Shifting rain patterns moving away from fire prone regions Insect outbreaks weaken trees and make them more vulnerable to fire

Answer 37

Rising temperatures dry soils and make vegetation more flammable Shifting rain patterns moving away from fire prone regions Insect outbreaks weaken trees and make them more vulnerable to fire

Question 38

40. List three of the negative impacts of fires discussed in lecture.

Answer 38

1. public health, smoke inhalation 2. destructive to animals, humans and infrastructures 3. diseases caused by pushing animals in contact with humans

Question 39

41. What two factors are expected to cause a 50% increase in the food needed to feed Earth’s people between 2010 and 2050?

Answer 39

1. increase in population 2. increase in demand for meat, people move from poor to middle class, resulting in a more resource intensive diet

Question 40

42. What two features of Africa’s agricultural production make it especially vulnerable to climate change’s effects on food production?

Answer 40

1. rain-fed agriculture 2. small pots, small land owners

Question 41

43. The biggest fear many analysts now concerns the predominance of a few basic crops in the global diet, their geographical concentration of production, and the growing possibility of simultaneous M_______________ B____________ F____________ .

Answer 41

multiple breadbasket failure

Question 42

44. What is the difference between direct and indirect economics costs of a country’s disease burden? Direct: Indirect:

Answer 42

direct: biomedical, cost of medical Indirect: economic, loss of labor productivity

Question 43

45. Briefly explain how deforestation and wildfires are causing more disease problems in human populations. [hint: same explanation for both]

Answer 43

it pushes animal in contact with humans

Question 44

46. What are three key threats to trees due to climate change?

Answer 44

1. pest outbreak 2. drought conditions 3. heatwaves and higher temperature

Question 45

47. With estimates rising, how many people does air pollution kill each year, according to recent research?

Answer 45

10 million

Question 46

48. What percentage of global air pollution-related deaths occur in developing countries? 25% 55% 75% 95%

Answer 46

95%

Question 47

49. What two principles are ‘balanced’ in the Principle 21?

Answer 47

1. every state has the sovereight right to exploit their natural resources 2. every state has responsibility for their environmental actions to not harm other states

Question 48

50. T/F. Due to pressure from rich countries, the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’ is not a part of the Montreal Protocols, which many observers credit as being a key reason for its success.

Answer 48

F

Question 49

51. How did the Kigali Amendment divide up the world’s countries, and what key difference does it make between them?

Answer 49

developed vs developing difference: the rates and level of reduction

Question 50

52. What (i) regular set of meetings and what (ii) regular climate report have come out of the creation of the UNFCCC?

Answer 50

1. COP 2. IPCC report

Question 51

53. T/F. Despite significant support for the proposal, technology transfers from rich to poor countries were not included in the final version of the Kyoto Protocol, which was a significant mistake said critics then and now.

Answer 51

F

Question 52

54. What was at the center of the key environmental/trade case at the WTO between the US and India, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Thailand? That is, (i) what was the US policy? And (ii) how did the other countries say this violated WTO rules?

Answer 52

1. ban shrimps being caught without turtle safe nets 2. non-discriminatory bans, backed by science