Which of these describes a way that new technologies may be used to lessen the impact of climate change quizlet?

Which of the following describes the principal role of photosynthesis in the carbon cycle?

1. Using energy from the sun, plants convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into chemical energy of sugars.

2. Using energy from the sun, plants convert sugars into kinetic energy.
3. Using energy from the sun, plants convert carbon dioxide from the soil into chemical energy of sugars.
4. Using energy from the sun, plants convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into kinetic energy.

- describes an area's long-term atmospheric conditions, including temperature, moisture content, wind, precipitation, barometric pressure, solar radiation, and other characteristics
- climate differs from weather in that weather specifics conditions at localized sites over hours or days, whereas climate describes conditions across broader regions over seasons, years, or centuries

- w/o the sun, earth would be dark and frozen
- w/o atmosphere, earth would be as much as 33 degrees C colder on average, and temperature differences b/w night and day would be far greater than they are
- the sun and the atmosphere keep our planet warm enough to sustain life
- the oceans shape climate by soaring and transporting heat and moisture, and cycles in the ways our planet spins, tilts, and moves through space influence how climate varies over long periods of time
- the sun suppose most of our planet's energy — earth's atmosphere, clouds land, ice, and water together absorb about 70% of incoming solar radiation and reflect the remaining 30% back into space — the 70% that is absorbing power many of Earth's processes, from winds to waves to evaporation to photosynthesis

- as earth's surface absorbs solar radiation, the surface increases in temperature & emits infrared radiation — infrared radiation has longer wavelengths than the visible & ultraviolet light that had arrived from the sun & passes through the atmosphere — atmospheric gases having three or more atoms in their molecules tend to absorb this infrared radiation very effectively — include: water vapor, ozone, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, & methane, as well as halocarbons, a diverse group of mostly human-made gases that includes CFCs — greenhouse gases — after absorbing radiation emitted from the surface, greenhouses gases subsequently re-emit infrared radiation in all directions, some of this energy is lost into space, but some travels back downward, warming the atmosphere & the planet's surface in a phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect
- the greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon & greenhouse gases have been present in our atmosphere for all of Earth's history — w/o the natural greenhouse effect, our planet would be too cold to support life — it is not the natural greenhouse effect that conner scientists today, but rather the anthropogenic intensification of the greenhouse effect — by adding novel greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, & by increasing the concentration of several natural greenhouse gases over the past 250-300 years, we are intensifying our planet's greenhouse effect beyond what our species has ever experienced
- greenhouse gases differ in their ability to warm the troposphere & surface
- global warming potential refers to the relative ability of one molecule of a given greenhouse gas to contribute to warming
- Values are expressed in relation to carbon dioxide, which is assigned a global warming potential of 1 — thus, a molecule of methane is 25 times as potent as a molecule of carbon dioxide, & molecule of nitrous oxide is 298 times as potent as a carbon dioxide molecule

- most carbon is stored for long periods in the upper layers of the lithosphere
- the deposition, partial decay, & compression of organic matter that grew in wetland or marine areas hundreds of millions of years ago led to the formation of coal, oil, & natural gas in buried sediments — in the absence of human activity these carbon reservoirs would remain buried for many millions more years — we have extracted these fossil fuels from the ground & burned them in our homes, factories, & automobiles, transferring large amounts of carbon from one reservoir to another — this sudden flux of carbon from lithospheric reservoirs into the atmosphere is the main reason atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have increased so dramatically
- people have clerked & burned forests to make room for crops, pastures, villages, & cities — forests serve as reservoir for carbon as planets conduct photosynthesis & then store carbon in their tissues — when we clear forests it reduces the biosphere's ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

- whereas GHGs exert a warming effect the atmosphere, aerosols, microscopic droplets & particles, can have tier a warming or cooling effect
- soot particles, or black carbon aerosols, generally cause warming by absorbing solar energy, but most other tropospheric aerosols cool the atmosphere by reflecting the sun's rays
- sulfate aerosols produced by fossil fuel combustion may slow global warming, at least in the short term — when sulfur dioxide enters the atmosphere, it under goes various reactions, some of which lead to acid precipitation — these reactions, along w/ volcanic eruptions, can form a sulfur-rich aerosol haze in the upper atmosphere that reduced the sunlight reaching Earth's surface — aerosols released by major volcanic eruptions can exert cooling effects on Earth's climate for up to several years

- ocean water exchanges tremendous amts of heat w/ the atmosphere, & ocean currents move energy from place to place
- in equatorial regions, the oceans receive more heat from the sun & atmosphere than they emit
- near the poles, the oceans emit more heat than they receive — b/c cooler water is denser than warmer water, the cooling water at the poles tends to sink, & the warmer water from the equator moves to take its place
- the oceans' thermohaline circulation system has influential regional effects — it moves warm tropical water northward toward Europe, providing that continent a far milder climate than it would otherwise have
- El Nino, which involves systematic shifts in atmospheric pressure, sea surface temperature, and ocean circulation in the tropical Pacific Ocean — these shifts overlie longer-term variability from a phenomenon known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation — El Nino and La Nina events alter weather patterns from region to region in diverse ways, often leading to rainstorms and foods in dry areas and drought and fire in moist areas

Ice caps, ice sheets, and glaciers hold clues to climate history — over the ages, these huge expanses of snow and ice have accumulated to great depths, preserving within layers tiny bubbles of the ancient atmosphere — scientists can examines the trapped air bubbles by drilling into the ice and extracting long columns, or cores — the layered ice, accumulating season after seasons over thousands of years, provides a timescale — by studying the chemistry of the ice and the bubbles in each layer in these ice cores, scientists can determine atmospheric composition, GHG concentrations, temperature trends, snowfall, solar activity, and even frequency of forest fires and volcanic eruptions during each time period

- programs that combine what is known about atmospheric circulation, ocean circulation, atmosphere-ocean interactions, & feedback cycles to simulate climate processes — requires manipulating vast amounts of data w/ complex mathematical equations — a task not possible until the advent of modern computers
- climate modelers provide starting information to the model, set up rules for the simulation, & then let it run — researchers strive for accuracy by building in as much information as they can from what is understood about how they climate system functions — they then test the efficacy of model by entering past clime data & running the model toward the preset — if a model accurately reconstructs current climate, based on well-established data from the past, then we have reason to believe that it simulates climate mechanisms realistically & that it may accurately predict future climate
- plenty of challenges remain for climate modelers, b/c the climate systems is so complex & b/c many uncertainties remain in our understanding of feedback processes — yet as scientific knowledge of climate process improves, as computing power intensifies, & as we glean enhanced data from proxy indicators — they are improving in resolution & are beginning to predict climate change region by region for various areas of the world

- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — consists of many hundreds of scientists and government officials — established in 1988 by the United Nations — UNEP & WMO, the IPCC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for its work in forming the world of the trends & impacts of climate change
- IPCC released its Fourth Assessment Report, which represented the current consensus of scientific climate research from around the world — summarized many thousands of scientific studies, & it documented observed trends in surface temperature, precipitation, patterns, snow and ice cover, sea levels, storm intensity, & other factors — it also predicted future changes in these phenomena after considering a range of potential scenarios for future GHG emissions — the report addressed impacts of current & future climate change on wildlife, ecosystems, & society — it discussed possible strategies we might pursue in response to climate change
- the IPCC report deals in uncertainties — its authors therefore took great care to assign statistical probabilities to its conclusions & predictions — in addition, its estimates regarding impacts on scouts are conservative, b/c its scientific conclusions had to be approved by representatives of the world's national governments, some of which are reluctant to move away from a fossil-fuel-based economy
- climate scientists at the WMO & many other institutions, agencies, & universities around the world are continuing to monitor our changing climate

- as the world warms, mountaintop glaciers are disappearing; many glaciers on tropical mountaintops have disappeared already
- mountains accumulate snow in the winter & release meltwater gradually during the summer — over 1/6 of the world's people live in regions that depend on mountain meltwater — as wearing temperatures continue to diminish mountain glaciers, this will reduce summertime waters supplies to millions of people, likely forcing whole communities to look elsewhere for water or to move
- warming temperatures are melting vast amts of ice in the arctic — recent research levels that the immense ice sheet that cover Greenland is melting faster and faster — at the other end of the world, Antarctic, costal ice shelves the size of Rhode Island have disintegrated as a result of contact w/ warmer ocean water, although increased precipitation is suppling the continent's interior w/ extra snow, making its ice sheet thicker even as it loses ice around its edges
- one reason warming is accelerating in the Arctic is that as snow & ice melt, darker, less-reflective surfaces are exposed, & Earth's albedo, or capacity to reflect light, decreases — pools of meltwater are darker than ice or snow, & bare ground is darker still — as a result, more of the sun's rays are absorbed at the surface, fewer reflect back into space, & the surface warms — in a process of positive feedback, this warming causes more ice & snow to melt, which in turn causes more absorption of radiation & more warming
- scientists predict that snow cover & ice sheets will decrease near the poles & that sea ice will continue to shrink in both the Arctic & Antarctic — some emission scenarios show Arctic sea ice disappearing completely by the late 21st century, creating new shipping lanes for commerce & a rush to exploit underrated oil & mineral reserves
- warmer temperatures in the Arctic are also coating permafrost to thaw — as ice crystals within permafrost melt, the thawing soil settles, destabilizing buildings, pipelines, & other infrastructure — when permafrost thaws, it also can release methane that has been stored for thousands of years — b/c methane is a potent GHG, this acts a positive feed mechanics that intensifies climate change — large amt of methane is in permafrost

- changes in earth's physical systems often have direct consequences for living things — organisms adapted to their environments, so they are affected when the environments are altered — as global warming proceeds, it is modifying all manner of biological phenomena that are regulated by temperature — altering shifts can create mismatches in seasonal timing
- biologists also record spatial shifts in the ranges of organisms, w/ plants & animals moving towards the piles or upward in elevation as temperatures warm — as these trends continue, some organisms will not be able to cope, & the IPCC estimates that as many as 20-30% of all plant & animal species could be threatened w/ extinction
- trees many not be able to shift their distributions fast enough — rare species may be forced out of preserves into developed areas, undercutting the effectiveness of refuges as tools for conservation — animal & plants adapted to montane environments may be forced uphill until there is nowhere left to go
- effects on plant communities comprise an important component of climate change, b/c by drawing carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, plants air as reservoirs for carbon — if higher carbon dioxide concentrations enhance vegetative growth, this could hep mitigate carbon emissions in a process of negative feedback — however, if climate change decreases plant growth, then positive feedback could increase carbon flux to the atmosphere
- Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) experiments are revealing complex answers, showing that extra carbon dioxide can bring both positive & negative results for plant growth
- in regions where precipitation & stream flow increase, erosion & flooding will pollute & alter aquatic systems — in regions where precipitation decreases, lakes, ponds, wetlands, & streams will shrink, affecting aquatic organisms, as well as human health & well-being — will diminish the ecosystems goods & services we receive from nature & that our societies depend on, from food to clean air to drinking water

- future impacts of climate change will be subject to regional variation, so the way each of us experience these impacts over the decades will vary depending on where we live
- temperature changes have been greatest in the Arctic, & scientists are still debating why
- here, ice sheets are melting, sea ice is thinning, storms are increasing, & altered conditions are posing challenges for people & wildlife — as sea ice melts earlier, freezes later, & recedes from shore, it becomes harder for Inuit people & for polar bears alike of hunt the seals they each rely on for food
- thin sea ice is dangerous for people to travel and hunt upon, & in recent years, polar bears have been dying of exhausting & starvation as they try to swim long distance b/w ice flows
- permafrost is thawing in the Arctic, destabilizing countless building — the strong Arctic warming is melting ice caps & ice sheets, contributing to sea level rise
- in the U.S., potential impacts are analyzed & summarized by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which Congress created in 1990 to coordinate federal climate research — in 2009, scientists for this program reviewed current research & issued a comprehensive report to highlighting the effects of climate change on the U.S. & issuing predictions of future impacts
- the report predicted that some impacts would be felt across the nations — average temps in most of the U.S. have already increased since the 1960s-70s & they will rise by another by the end of this century
- plant communities will likely change in all areas of the country, in generally shifting northward & upward in elevation
- other impacts will likely vary by region, w/ each region of the U.S. facing its own challenges — winter & spring precipitate is projected to decrease across the South but increase across the North — Drought may strike in some regions & flooding in others — Sea level rise may affect the East Coast more than the West Coast — Agriculture may experience a wise array of effects that will vary from one regions to another — as climate models improve, scientists become able to present graphical change on particular geographic areas
- all these impacts of climate change are projects consequences of the warming effect of our GHG emissions — we are bound to experience further consequences, but by addressing the roost causes of anthropogenic climate change now, we may still be able to prevent the most severe future impacts

- scientists agree that most or all of today's global warming is due to the well-documented recent increase in GHG concentrations in our atmosphere — also agree that his rise in GHGs results from our combustion of fossil fuels for energy & secondarily from land use changes, including deforestation & agriculture
- by the time of IPCC's fourth assessment report came out, many scientists had already become concerned enough about the consequences of climate change to put themselves on record urging governments to address the issue
- yet despite the overwhelming evidence for climate change & its impacts, many people, especially in the U.S., long tried to deny that is was happening — may of these naysayers now admit that the climate is hanging but doubt that we are the cause — will most of the mold's nations moved forward to confront climate change through international dialogue, in the U.S. public discussion of climate change remained mired in outdated debated over whether the phenomenon was real & whether humans were to blame — these debates were fanned by spokespeople from conservative think tanks & a handful of scientists, many funded by corporations in the fossil fuel industries — these people aimed to cast doubt on the scientific consensus, & their views were amplified by the American news media, which seeks to present two sides to every issue, even when the sides argument are not equally supported by evidence
- awareness of climate change grew as the 2007 IPCC report was made publicly available on the Internet & was widely covered in the media, & later as Gore and the IPCC were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
- most of the world's people accept that our fossil duel consumption is altering the planet that our children will inherit -- as youth & grassroots activities spread this message, & as political leaders begin to respond, everyday people are searching for solutions — as a result of this shift in public perception, & in response to demand from their shareholders, many corporations & industries are looking for ways to reduce their GHGs emissions & are supporting policies to reduce them

- we can also reduce GHG emissions by switching to clean energy sources
- alternatives to fossil fuels include nuclear power, biomass energy, hydroelectric power, geothermal power, photovoltaic cells, wind power, & ocean sources — these energy sources give off no net emissions during their use
- b/c our society is not ready to transition fully to these alternatives, we also need to consider the ways we use fossil fuels — switching from coal to natural gas is a step in the right direction, b/c natural gas produces the same amt of energy as coal, w/ roughly 1/2 of emissions
- currently, interest in carbon capture & storage is intensifying. Carbon capture refers to technologies or approaches that remove carbon dioxide from power plant emissions — successful carbon capture would allow facilities to continued using fossil fuels while cutting GHG pollution
- the next step is carbon sequestration or carbon storage, in which the carbon is sequestered, or stored, underground under pressure in rock formations where it will not seep out — depleted oil & gas deposits & deep salt mines are examples of the kinds of underground reservoirs being considered — however, we are still a long way from developing adequate technology & secure storage space to accomplish this w/o leakage

- since climate change is a global climate — global commitment is needed to forge effective solutions — why the world's policymakers have tried to tackle climate change by means of international treaties
- in 1992 @ the U.N. Conference on Environmental & Development Earth Summit in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, most of the world's nations signed the U.N Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) — this agreement outlined a plan for reducing GHG emissions to 1990 levels by the 2000 through a voluntary, nation-by-nation approach
- by the late 90s, it was clear that a voluntary approach was not succeeding — nations of the developing world helped create a biding international treaty that would require emissions reductions — an outgrowth of the FCCC drafted in '97 in Kyoto, Japan, the Kyoto Protocol mandates signatory nations, by the period 2008-2012, to reduce missions of six GHGs to levels below those of 1990
- the U.S. refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol & remains the only developed nation not to join this international effort — U.S. leaders who oppose the Kyoto Protocol call the treaty unfair b/c it requires industrialized nations to reduced emissions but does not require the same of rapidly industrializing nations such as China & India, whose GHGs emissions have risen over 50% in the past 15 years — the U.S. emits 1/5 of the world's GHGs, so its refusal has generated widespread resentment & has undercut the effectiveness of global efforts

- permit trading programs aim to harness the economic efficiency of the free market to achieve public policy goals while allowing business, industry, & utilities flexibility in how they meet those goals — supports of this argue that they produce the fairest, least expensive, & most effective method of reducing emissions — polluters choose how to cut their emissions & are given financial incentives for reducing emissions below the legally required amt
- once used, it is hoped that the system will be self-sustaining — the price of the permit is meant to fluctuate freely in the market, creating the same kinds of financial incentives as any other commodity that is bought & sold in our capitalist system
- first — Chicago Climate Exchange — voluntary, but legally binding trading system has imposed a 6% reduction on overall emissions by 2010
- largest — European Union Emissions Trading Scheme — got off to a successful start in '05, but once investors discovered that national governments has allocated too many emissions permits to their industries, the price of carbon fell — the overallocation gave companies little incentive to reduce emissions, so permits lost their value, & prices in the market tanked to 1/100th of their high value — in '08, Europeans tried to correct these problems by making emitters pay for permits & setting emissions caps across the entire European Union while expanding the program to include more GHGs, more emissions sources, & additional members — in '09, it expanded, but prices fell — the long run, permits will be valuable & the market will work only if government policies are in place to limits emissions

- emissions trading programs generally allow participants to buy carbon offsets, voluntary payments intended to enable another entity to rescue emissions that one is unable to reduce oneself — the payment just offsets one's own emissions
- carbon offsets have fast become popular among utilities businesses, universities, governments, & individuals trying to achieve carbon-neutrality, a state in which no net carbon is emitted — for busy people w/ enough wealth, offsets represent a simple & convenient way to reduce one's emissions w/o investing in efforts to change one's habits
- in principle, carbon offsets seem a great idea, but w/o rigorous oversight to make sure that the offset money actually accomplishes what it is intended for, carbon offset risk being little more than a way for wealthy consumers to assuage a quality conscience — offsets are effective only if they find emissions reductions that would not occur otherwise — & b/c trees can sock up only so much carbon dioxide, at some point our ability to reduce emissions by funding reforestation could each its limit — efforts to create a transparent & enforceable system for verifying the effectiveness of offsets are ongoing — if these offsets succeed, then carbon offsets could become an important means of mitigating climate change

In what way is new technologies beneficial as we work to mitigate climate change quizlet?

What solutions can be implemented to reduce the impact of climate change?

What can you do to reduce the negative effects of climate change quizlet?

What are 5 ways in which we can use our technology smarter to mitigate climate change?