Geography - Climate Change Assessment

What time frame do we need to act

Next decade

\___ of the warmest years on record have occurred in the last 22 years

20

3 fossil fuels

Coal oil Gas

How much CO2 was in the atmosphere before coal was burnt on a large scale?

280 parts per mil

How much CO2 is in the atmosphere now?

Over 400 parts per mil

How much hotter is the Earth now compared to pre-industrial times?

1.1 degrees C

How much more likely is it to have heatwaves in the UK?

30 times

What is happening to the frequency of extreme weather events?

Increasing

How many flying foxes died during the November 2018 heatwave in Cairns?

Over 11,000

What % of species are threatened with extinction solely due to climate change?

8%

Specific loss of species/biodiversity can cause what wider impacts?

Destabilise whole ecosystem

How much damage did the 2018 California wild fires cause? What about loss of life?

$24bn dollars of damage, 106 deaths

Why are rainfall levels increasing in certain areas?

Higher temperature means more moisture in air, more evaporation means more rainfall

How much ice has melted from the Greenland Ice Sheet?

4tn tonnes

What has happened to the rate of ice loss in Greenland over the last 50 years?

5 times more ice loss

What has happened to the rate of ice loss in Antarctica?

3 times more than 25 yrs ago

What are rising seas causing?

Melting ice sheets causes sea levels to rise, people being displaced

What rate is Louisiana losing land due to rising sea levels and subsidence?

Football field every 45 mins

What has happened to the residents of Isle de Jean Charles in Louisiana?

Had to be relocated, first government resettlement program due to climate change

What are the two reasons sea levels are rising?

Melting ice caps, glaciers and thermal expansion of oceans (warm things expand)

What impact has heat stress had on the world's coral?

1/3 of world's coral bleached and died

What was the initial response from the fossil fuel industries in the late 1980s and 1990s?

Undertook a campaign to confuse the science and message, and discredited the science. Adaptation not reduction. (You can either adapt to climate change, or you can reduce it, they wanted adaptation)

Plants and trees absorb how much of our CO2 emissions?

1/3

What four things are trees removed for?

Pasture for cows (cattle ranching), palm oil, rubber, soy beans

What is the double whammy of deforestation?

Habitats are disappearing, carbon sink removed and CO2 added to atmosphere

How much of our CO2 emissions are caused by deforestation?

1/3

A 2°C warming would cause problems with which two resources?

Food production and safe water access

What is the temperature prediction for the end of the century?

3 and 6 degrees C hotter

How many people live in coastal areas that are less than 10 metres above sea level?

Over 6 mil

How much sea level rise will occur with no defensive action?

800cm-1m

What is the name for the critical threshold beyond which rapid climate changes occur that are difficult to reverse?

Tipping point

What is the name for the Greenhouse gas trapped in the permafrost of the Arctic?

Methane

How many times more powerful is methane than CO2?

21 times

What do we have to do to keep global warming at a 1.5°C increase?

Half our carbon emissions by 2030, and hit zero by 2050

What has happened to the cost of renewable energy in recent years?

Rapid fall in cost

What renewable source of energy is being pursued in the UK?

Offshore wind

What % of UK electricity comes from renewable sources?

30%

What needs to be developed to improve the transportation emissions?

Battery technology

What could remove excess CO2 from the atmosphere?

Trees, rewilding, reafforestation

What is the average UK carbon footprint?

13 tonnes per year per person

What is the name of technology to remove CO2?

Carbon Capture Storage

How much does food contribute to the UK carbon footprint?

1/4

What are the 3 steps to reduce food carbon footprint?

Eat everything we buy, avoid air freighted food, reduce meat and dairy consumption - beef and lamb

GHG means

Greenhouse Gases

T or f - The sun sends gases like carbon dioxide to earth

F

T/F - The greenhouse effect is needed for us to survive and not freeze to death.

T

T/F - The enhanced greenhouse effect is needed for us to survive and not freeze to death.

F

Fossil fuels are coal, oil and gas. They are made of dead plants and animals and take millions of years to form

T

Climate Change

any change in global temperatures and precipitation (rainfall) over time, due to natural or human activity

Greenhouse Effect

The process whereby gases trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere, causing the world to warm up

carbon dioxide

A gas that is found in the Earth's atmosphere

global warming

the gradual warming of the Earth's atmosphere

enhanced greenhouse effect

Rising global temperatures due to greenhouse gases being put into the atmosphere because of human activities

Greenhouse effect

warming that results when solar radiation is trapped by the atmosphere. This happens naturally.

Mitigation

Action to reduce emissions causing climate change

Adaption

Action to manage the risks of climate change impacts

Mitigation examples

Increasing renewable energy, reduce energy use in buildings, increase carbon free vehicle use

Adaption examples

Flood proof roadways/critical infrastructure, community wildlife protection plan, increas tree canopy

How much does burning fossil fuels to produce electricity, fuel vehicles and power industry contributed to human produced CO2

87%