UNIT 10: GLOBAL ISSUES

1. climate change (1)

Why are coral reefs sometimes called the "rainforests of the sea"?

They are home to a quarter of all oceanic fish species

Why are some gases considered greenhouse gases (select all that apply; there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-Because they trap solar radiation in the atmosphere

-Because of their effect on the warming of the atmosphere

Which of the following provides evidence that a warming planet is related to human behavior (select all that apply; there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-Scientific research showing that temperatures have risen along with carbon dioxide emissions from the nineteenth century

-Scientific discoveries that burning coal changes the climate by increasing the levels of carbon in the atmosphere

What does a glaciologist study (select all that apply; there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-How glaciers in Antarctica and elsewhere move and how they have changed over time

-The relationship between ice flow over time and the earth systems that depend on it

Which of the following are greenhouse gases (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-Water vapor

-Ozone

-Nitrous oxide

The hypothetical example used to explain why groups of individuals might overexploit shared environmental resources even when they know that it could be against their long-term interests is known as:

The Tragedy of the Commons

Where are the two largest remaining ice sheets on earth?

Greenland and Antarctica

What name is sometimes used to refer to coral reefs?

Rainforests of the sea

2. climate change (2)

Which of the following were contributing factors to the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2011 (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-The loss of up to 85% of livestock in some areas

-The years preceding the civil war had seen a devastating drought

-Large numbers of people had to move into already crowded cities

What is a carbon sink?

An area that absorbs carbon, such as oceans

Which of the following are examples of how climate change impacts agriculture (select all that apply; there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-Levels of essential vitamins in crops like wheat, rice, soybeans, and other staple grains are reduced by increased carbon in the atmosphere

-Increased concentration fo carbon dioxide in the atmosphere decreases the nutrient yield of important crops

-While some crops may see increases in crop yields, many geographic regions will see yield decreases

As of May 2020, carbon dioxide levels have reached 417 parts per million. What level should they be at to have the world in a climate similar to that in which civilization first developed?

About 350 parts per million

By how much has the Earth's average surface temperature risen between 1880 and 2019?

By 1 degree Celsius

Which of the following are empirically observable changes showing that climate change is impacting our biosphere (select all that apply; there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-Areas prone to drought are at a greater risk for more intense and frequent drought periods

-Risk of flooding and landslides due to heavy rainfall has greatly increased

-Global sea levels rose by about 8-9 inches in the past century

-Oceans have increased in acidity by 30% since the industrial revolution

What can be done about species extinction (select all that apply; there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-Consume less meat

-Fly less

Which of the following are ways in which climate change is affecting the oceans and ocean life (select all that apply; there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-Heat and carbon absorption has led to changes in the chemistry of oceans

-Shells and skeletons of organisms as well as coral reefs are being dissolved by ocean acidification

What do we know about species extinction (select all that apply; there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-When a single event leads to a lot of species going extinct at the same time, this is called mass extinction

-There have been five events leading to mass extinction in the history of the earth

-We're now losing species at the fastest rate for millions of years

What are the main drivers of today's species extinction (select all that apply; there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-Pollution

-Climate Change

-Habitat transformation

3. climate change (3)

Match the continents to their current (2018) share in (percentage of global) total carbon emissions.

North America 18%

Africa 3.7%

Asia 53%

Oceana 1.3%

South America 3.2%

Europe 17%

By when does China want to achieve carbon neutrality?

By 2060

Match the following to their current (2018) share in (percentage of global) total carbon emissions.

china 27.5%

european union 9.8%

us 14.8%

As noted in your reading, which of the following had the highest 2018 total carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy?

china

As noted in your reading, which of the following had the highest 2018 per capita carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy?

Qatar

Order the following from most to least in terms of their cumulative emissions over the time period 1751-2017.

1- United States

2- European Union

3- china

What did U.S. President Biden pledge at the 2021 global climate summit?

To cut the US's greenhouse gas emissions in half from 2005 levels by 2030

Order the following economic sectors in terms of their greenhouse gas contributions (from 1 = highest to 5 = lowest).

1- electricity generation

2- transportation

3- manufacturing and the construction industry

4- agriculture

5- land use and forestry

4.. a look at international climate agreement

When did the world's nations come together for the first time in history to address global environmental challenges?

1972, in Stockholm

What were the concerns raised with the Kyoto Protocol (select all that apply; there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-The fact that key developing countries (i.e., China and India) did not participate meaningfully (i.e., didn't face binding emissions targets)

-The U.S. did not participate

What are the reasons why small island states are particularly concerned with reducing carbon dioxide emissions (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-A rise of just a few feet in sea level could flood small island states

-Rising sea levels could make small island states uninhabitable

The Paris Agreement was successful in as much as it built on commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by, amongst others, both the United States and China. However, it has been criticized for (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers):

-Lacking mandatory cuts in emissions

-Having cuts that don't go deep enough

The 1997 agreement that contains legally binding emission targets for industrialized countries with respect to key greenhouse gases is:

The Kyoto Protocol

When was the Kyoto Protocol set to expire?

2012

Even though it represented important progress, what was a potential problem of the Copenhagen Accord (2009)?

It was not legally binding

5. solutions: from the alternative energy to alternative consumption

Which of the following countries has six of the ten biggest wind farms in the world?

U.S.

What do we call the process when governments tax carbon dioxide in order to reduce fossil fuel energy consumption?

carbon pricing

By 2018, how much of the GLOBAL electricity supply was coming from renewable energy sources?

26%

Which of the following countries has the biggest onshore wind farm?

china

Which of the following are reasons for why many environmentalists do not see nuclear energy as a clean alternative energy source (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-Indigenous communities have suffered disproportionately as uranium mining and extraction has historically been done on indigenous lands

-Uranium mining and extraction, processes necessary for fueling nuclear energy reactors, leave behind contaminated groundwater

-Nuclear energy generation produces radioactive waste

Which of the following are examples of regenerative agricultural practices (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-Use of cover crops

-Use of methods to encourage the soil to store carbon in the ground

-Rotational grazing

Which of the following are alternative energy sources (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-Biomass

-Ocean or tidal power

-Geothermal

Which of the following can be social and environmental problems associated with the building of big dam projects generating hydropower (select all that apply, there are one to four possible correct answers)?

-Causing environmental damage such as landslides

-Flooding cities

-Loss of access to water for downstream communities

6. covid 19 and climate change

Which of the following are examples that should inspire hope in our efforts to curb climate change?

-Iceland's move from fossil fuel dependency to generating almost 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources

-Costa Rica's ability to generate over 98% of its electricity from renewable energy sources

How much of the world's food is generally wasted?

30%

What Swedish teenager started striking outside the Swedish parliament in 2018, inspiring others to push for climate action?

greta Thunberg

What was the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on climate change activism (select all that apply; there may be one to four possible correct answers)?

-Stay-at-home orders meant that protest marches had to be called off

-In cooperation with several organizations, climate activists created online toolkits for organizing around climate change

-The upward trend of impacting public opinion through school strikes in support of climate action was disrupted