Geog 414 Exam 2

Front 1

Question

Back 1

Answer

Front 2

A1 Scenario Family

Back 2

Rapid Economic Growth, Population peaks mid century, introduction of cleaner technologies thereafter (EMISSIONS increase, peak, and then decrease)

Front 3

A2 Scenario

Back 3

High growth that does not peak, slower economic growth and slower technological change. (HIGH EMISSIONS) regionally focused

Front 4

B1 Scenario

Back 4

Like A1 in terms of population growth, BUT differs in that technology change (cleaner) will happen more quickly

Front 5

B2 Scenario

Back 5

Continually increasing population (like A2), but local solutions

Front 6

A1F1

Back 6

fossil fuel intensive

Front 7

A1T

Back 7

non-fossil fuel

Front 8

A1B

Back 8

Balance across all energy sources

Front 9

Define: errata

Back 9

Mechanism for admitting an error in published journal

Front 10

Percentage of US and China contributions to GHG

Back 10

80 percent

Front 11

Massachusetts vs. EPA

Back 11

(2005) Supreme Court Decision 5-4: SC reverses Court of Appeals decision ruling that the EPA does have the authority to regulate GHG. Gave AUTHORITY, but did not require the EPA to act. Agreed with the states that they do have standing because of the imminent harm due to climate change (esp. sea level rise). EPA delivers Enangerment Finding in 2009 demonstrating that there is eminent harm from climate change.

Front 12

Adaptation

Back 12

Adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities

Front 13

Mitigation

Back 13

Actions taken by individuals or groups to slow climate change usually be reducing greenhouse emissions

Front 14

Vulnerability

Back 14

The capacity of people, organizations, and societies to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the stressors to which they are exposed.

Front 15

Example of means to regulate GHG from mobile sources?

Back 15

CAFE Standards--Corporate Average Fuel Economy

Front 16

Example of means to regulate GHG from stationary sources?

Back 16

Permitting--New Source Review / Standards -- Performance Standards for exisiting operations

Front 17

Kyoto Protocol

Back 17

1997, Adopted in Kyoto, Japan; Active in 2005 with 141 signatories--Russia was the last signatory. Reductions in GHG, but no penalty for not achieving targets. Many countries are within targets thanks to economic downturn decreasing GHG emissions.

Front 18

COP15

Back 18

Conference of the Parties, December 2009 Denmark, 110 countries responsible for 80% of emissions pledge to reduce, but not enough to meet the 2Degree goal, not legally binding

Front 19

COP16

Back 19

2010 Cancun Mexico, met to finalize details on reductions from COP15, Green Climate Fund by the World Bank to fund adaptation in most affected countries, REDD, 2 degree target perhaps too high, pledges not strong enough.

Front 20

Key Points from Chapter 4 of IPCC

Back 20

"Adaptation can reduce vulnerability both short term and long term" However, adaptation alone is not enough to cope with climate change. There are cross-sector benefits of adaptation (e.g. poverty alleviation) | Adapative Capacity is not equal across the world, and even wealthy nations with high adaptive capacity can still be affected. | There are options with high cost-benefit ratios, and the earlier they are implemented the better. | Barriers: financial, technological, social, political, behavioral, cultural, institutional || Mitigation--there is economic potential, especially according to bottom-up studies. Four key points for evaluating policies: Environmental Effectiveness, Cost Effectiveness, Distributional (equity), and Institutional Feasibility

Front 21

Key Ponints from Stabilization Wedges:

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"Humans can solve the carbon and climate problem in the first half of this century simply by scaling up what we already know how to do" However, intense R&D will be neeed to achieve the reductions necessary to ensure stabilization beyond 50 years, @ 7 GtC/yr currently with projections of up to 14GtC/yr 2054. Some examples of wedges: improved fuel economy, better soil management (not active tilling, but seed drilling), more efficient buildings especially in developing countries, nuclear, synfuels, CCS, biofuels, hydrogen...

Front 22

What is deemed as the CO2 concentration not to exceed in order to prevent catastrophe

Back 22

500 ppm +/- 50 ppm (from Stabilization Wedges)

Front 23

Key Points from NRC Report: Stabilization Targets

Back 23

Carbon dioxide is the highest in 800,000 years, 35% increase from 1750 levels | Persistence--Carbon Dioxide has a longer persistence than other GHGs and so warming would continue on the order of centuries even after emissions are stabilized. | This report advocates for quantifying change by warming in degrees as opposed to changes in concentration because impacts are quantified by warming: 5-10% change in precipitation, 3-10% increase in heavy rain per degree of warming, 5-10% reduction in yields; 2 degree: 1-4m sea-level rise

Front 24

Global Warming Potential: C02

Back 24

1

Front 25

Global Warming Potential: CH4

Back 25

25

Front 26

Atmospheric Lifetime: C02

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100 years

Front 27

Atmospheric Lifetime: CH4

Back 27

12 years

Front 28

Author of Stabilization Wedges

Back 28

Pacala and Socolow

Front 29

Author of Stabilization Targets

Back 29

National Research Council

Front 30

Author of AR4 Chapter 4

Back 30

IPCC

Front 31

Constituents

Back 31

last 150 years: 60% CO2 and 25% CH4

Front 32

Change in Energy Budget

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last 150 years: 2.5 W/m2 increase in energy budget

Front 33

Gaia Hypothesis

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Published 1972 by James Lovelock. States that the biosphere and the global environment are two parts of the same system and that the environment responds to changes in biosphere to maintain optimal conditions.

Front 34

Medieval Climatic Optimum

Back 34

900-1300 CE Evidence mostly from tree ring data

Front 35

Hockey Stick

Back 35

Underestimates Medieval Climate Optimum and Little Ice Age, Alternative Analysis: wavelet analysis using mostly data from tree-ring augmented with lake and ocean sediments (1000 to 2000 years)

Front 36

Little Ice Age

Back 36

1450 to 1850: 0.5 to 1 degree of cooling, Maunder Minimum co-occurred

Front 37

Last Glacial Maximum

Front 38

Polar Amplification

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Increased warming at the pole due to decrease albedo (positive feedback loop)

Front 39

Ozone Hole

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Climate Change impact: warming of the troposphere means cooling of the stratosphere so more depletion of atmosphere

Front 40

Urban Heat Island Contribution

Back 40

0.05*C according to IPCC

Front 41

Cloud Reflectivity

Back 41

Lower dense clouds have higher albedo, whereas higher clouds are more transparent. Higher net radiation for grounds below high clouds

Front 42

Phanerozoic Evidence

Back 42

Ocean, lake sediment, ice cores, tree rings, pack rat mittens, coral reefs

Front 43

Obstacles

Back 43

Cloud Cover and Feedback Loops

Front 44

Forcing Mechanisms

Back 44

Tectonic (1E-5) and Orbital (0.016)

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Desertification

Back 45

Increases albedo and loses latent heat (so decrease temp)

Front 46

Deforestation

Back 46

Releases carbon, destroys carbon sink, changes evaporation, increases albedo

Front 47

Ocean Acidification

Back 47

CO2 absorbed by ocean and converted to HC03-

Front 48

Examples of Tipping Points

Back 48

Siberian permafrost--methane hydrates, thermohaline

Front 49

Seperating Signal from Noise:

Back 49

Underlying Scientific Principles, Paleoclimate Data, Instrumental Data, Physical Evidence, Models

Front 50

Transient

Back 50

1st initial change

Front 51

Equilibrium

Back 51

Total Change due to inertia or pulsing

Front 52

AR4 Main Points

Back 52

1) There is a change 2) Outside natural range 3) Humans are causing change.

Front 53

Markey Waxman

Back 53

Cap and Trade, 25% by 2025