Geography - Climate Change Assessment

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What time frame do we need to act

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Geography

8th

59 Terms

1

What time frame do we need to act

Next decade

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2

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

20

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3

3 fossil fuels

Coal oil Gas

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4

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

280 parts per mil

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5

How much CO2 is in the atmosphere now?

Over 400 parts per mil

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6

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

1.1 degrees C

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7

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

30 times

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8

What is happening to the frequency of extreme weather events?

Increasing

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9

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

Over 11,000

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10

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

8%

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11

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

Destabilise whole ecosystem

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12

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

$24bn dollars of damage, 106 deaths

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13

Why are rainfall levels increasing in certain areas?

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

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14

How much ice has melted from the Greenland Ice Sheet?

4tn tonnes

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15

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

5 times more ice loss

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16

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

3 times more than 25 yrs ago

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17

What are rising seas causing?

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

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18

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

Football field every 45 mins

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19

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

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20

What are the two reasons sea levels are rising?

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

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21

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

1/3 of world's coral bleached and died

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22

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)

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23

Plants and trees absorb how much of our CO2 emissions?

1/3

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24

What four things are trees removed for?

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

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25

What is the double whammy of deforestation?

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

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26

How much of our CO2 emissions are caused by deforestation?

1/3

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27

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

Food production and safe water access

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28

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

3 and 6 degrees C hotter

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29

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

Over 6 mil

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30

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

800cm-1m

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31

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

Tipping point

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32

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

Methane

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33

How many times more powerful is methane than CO2?

21 times

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34

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

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35

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

Rapid fall in cost

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36

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

Offshore wind

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37

What % of UK electricity comes from renewable sources?

30%

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38

What needs to be developed to improve the transportation emissions?

Battery technology

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39

What could remove excess CO2 from the atmosphere?

Trees, rewilding, reafforestation

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40

What is the average UK carbon footprint?

13 tonnes per year per person

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41

What is the name of technology to remove CO2?

Carbon Capture Storage

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42

How much does food contribute to the UK carbon footprint?

1/4

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43

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

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44

GHG means

Greenhouse Gases

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45

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

F

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46

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

T

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47

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

F

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48

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

T

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49

Climate Change

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

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50

Greenhouse Effect

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

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51

carbon dioxide

A gas that is found in the Earth's atmosphere

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52

global warming

the gradual warming of the Earth's atmosphere

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53

enhanced greenhouse effect

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

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54

Greenhouse effect

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

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55

Mitigation

Action to reduce emissions causing climate change

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56

Adaption

Action to manage the risks of climate change impacts

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57

Mitigation examples

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

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58

Adaption examples

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

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59

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

87%

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