Global Climate Change Exam #3

Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are greenhouse gases that trap

• heat

• warm the earth

Atmospheric concentrations of CO2 have increased dramatically since

• 1850 (the industrial revolution)

• from burning fossil fuels for energy

Greenhouse gases require how much time to return to baseline?

• decades to centuries

which sectors have produced the most greenhouse gases

• energy

• transportation

The increase in greenhouse gases has produced

• global warming

• sea level rise

• ocean acidification

• extreme weather events

climate change is responsible for?

• species extinctions on land in the water

the longer we wait to begin serious mitifation the

tougher it will be to adapt

Population multiplies ?

• climate change

• energy use

• may hit an inflection point

What greenhouse gases have increases/increasing since the industrial revolution

• carbon dioxide

• methane

• nitrous oxide

global fossil O2 emissions have

• risen steadily over the last decade

Keeling curve

daily record of global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations maintained by scripps

paleoclimatology

• study of earth’s climate history before the widespread use of instrumental record

• current increase is without precedent

global carbon budget

• carbon emissions are partitioned among the atmosphere

• carbon sinks on land and in the ocean

• imbalance between total emissions and total sinks in an active area of research

global air temps has risen how many degrees?

• 1.2 C even though most of the global energy gains is in the oceans

limiting warming to <2C requires

• deep greenhouse gas emission reductions

which countries have the largest total co2 emissions in 2019

• china

• india

• US

top fossil co2 emitters in 2021

• china

• US

• EU27

• india

• russia

• japan

China energy production by source

1. coal

2. hydropower

3. wind

4. oil

all sources increasing

US energy production by source

• gas

• coal- decreasing

• nuclear

• hydropower

• wind

energy production source by category

• china producing the most and primarily coal

• US more diverse but mostly nonrenewable

  • renewables growing

denmark energy production by categories vs china and india

• denmark using clean

• china and india using fossil

US coal fires power plant emissions are

• declining

What is the remaining carbon budget?

• the remaining budget is limit global warming to 1.5C, 1.7C, and 2C

• equivalent to 9, 18, 30 years from 2023 at current rates

Health impacts of climate change

• heat stress and dehydration

• respiratory disease and allergy

• cardiovascular disease

• hepato- and neuro-toxicity

• severe injury, drowning, death

• vector borne infectious disease

• mental health crisis

Pakistan flood 2022

• excessive monsoon rains and extreme health causing melting glaciers

• swollen indus river floods with torrential rains in mountains

• 1729 dead, 900,000 homes destroyed, 33 million affected

• flooded 12% of pakistan

• destroyed roads, bridges, schools, health clinics, electricity, and communications

extreme heat events in europe

• june and july 2019 heat wave in europe

• june 28 national all time record of 46C in france

• july 25 was peak of deadly heat wave in europe

  • most homes and office building lack air conditioning

How much has the amount of US dollars spent on climate disasters

> 1 billion since 1980

total cost = 2.785 trillion

greatest losses in texas, florida, louisiana

what two devastating hurricanes happened 3 weeks from each other

• helene

• milton

which groups are more vulnerable to respond to disasters

• lower socioeconomic

• minority

existing health conditions are ____ by disasters

worsened

hurricane katrina

• 41% of evacuees >1 chronic conditions requiring medication

  • diabetes, hypertension, CVD, lung diease

• 74% of deaths were people 60 years and older

health declines after disasters happen because of

• disruption in food supply and health care

• loss of electrical power- cooling, communications

• lack of access to medications and medical devices

adaptions to improve health

• increases equity in our social systems and health care

• improve public education about climate disasters and a renewable energy future

• build resiliency into the electrical grid as we transition to renewable energy

• improve public health preparedness, enhance evacuation routes

  • heat emergencies, wildfires

  • extreme wind events floods

• harden infrastructure and stage a managed retreat from vulnerable areas

• rebuild cities- smart transportation, water management, urban forestry

• restrict building on the wildland-urban interface

  • building materials, vegetation, access and egress, fire protection, water supply

IRA Electrifying residential and commercial buildings

• electrification upgrades in LMI communities

• home energy retrofits

• heat pump installations

• newly constructed effiicient homes

• square feet of commercial pace retrofitted

Tax credits and rebates for US families

• replace 1 billion fossil fuel powered machines with electric

• efficient electric appliances

• replace furnace and air conditioners with heat pump

• rooftop solar

• purchase an E-vehicle

• install an e-vehicle charging station

Transition to e vehicles

• tighter emission standards for new cars and trucks starting in model year 2027

• these standards will force ~67% of new passenger cars and light trucks to be all electric by 2032

• 25% of heavy trucks will be all-electric by 2032

• by 2032 greenhouse emissions from cars and trucks would be reduced by 56% compared to 2021

transportation accounts for how much of all greenhouse emissions in the US

27.2%

Many policies moving countries to what type of cars

electric vehicles

new CO2 new vehicle emissions projection-

• new limits on emissions will drive down net emissions by shifting the IS to electric vehicles

• the infrastructure act and the IRA will build the charging network and incentivize the shift