NEW exam prep

Albedo

– The reflectivity of a surface; high (e.g., ice) reflects more solar radiation, lowering warming.

Amplifying effects

– Processes that increase the impact of climate change, such as ice melt reducing albedo.

Arctic

– Polar region in the Northern Hemisphere, highly sensitive to warming and climate feedbacks.

Biodiversity

– The variety of life in ecosystems; threatened by climate change and habitat loss.

Chlorofluorocarbons

– Human-made chemicals once used in refrigeration; destroy ozone and are potent greenhouse gases.

Carbon dioxide and other GHGs

– Gases that trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere, driving climate change.

Collective action problems

– Challenges in managing shared resources; public goods like climate stability are non-excludable and non-rivalrous.

Environmental Protection Agency

– U.S. government agency that regulates and enforces environmental protection.

Feedback loop

– A cycle where changes reinforce themselves (positive) or stabilize the system (negative).

Free riders

– Actors that benefit from public goods without contributing to their provision.

Fossil fuels

– Coal, oil, and gas; main sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gases.

Geoengineering

– Large-scale technological interventions to alter climate, e.g., solar radiation management.

Gerrymander

– Manipulating electoral district boundaries to favor one political group.

Cracking & Packing

– Gerrymandering strategies: splitting groups (___) or concentrating them (___)

Greenhouse effect

– Natural warming process caused by greenhouse gases trapping heat.

Callendar effect

– Early theory (1930s) linking CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels to climate warming.

Holocene

Current geological epoch (~last 11,700 years);

Ice Core Data

– Cylindrical samples from glaciers that record past atmospheric CO₂ and climate conditions.

James Hansen

– NASA scientist who testified in 1988 about human-caused climate change, raising public awareness.

Keeling Curve

– Graph of rising atmospheric CO₂ concentrations measured at Mauna Loa since 1958.

Charles David Keeling

– Scientist who pioneered precise CO₂ measurements

Negative externality

– An unintended harmful effect of economic activity on others (e.g., pollution).

Nuclear winter

– Severe global cooling predicted after widespread firestorms from nuclear war.

Normal distribution

– Statistical pattern with most data clustering around the mean; used in climate variability analysis.

Ocean acidification

– Ocean uptake of CO₂ lowers pH, threatening marine ecosystems.

Ozone layer/hole

– Stratospheric ozone shields Earth from UV radiation; hole caused by CFCs.

Permafrost/methane

– Frozen soils storing carbon; thawing releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Public good

– A resource that is non-excludable and non-rivalrous, like a stable climate.

Realism

– International relations theory emphasizing state power and competition.

Liberalism

– Theory highlighting cooperation, institutions, and interdependence among states.

Constructivism

– Theory stressing the role of ideas, norms, and identities in shaping global politics.

Scientific consensus on climate change

– Overwhelming agreement that human activity drives recent warming.

Sea ice

– Frozen ocean water; its decline reduces albedo and disrupts ecosystems.

Signal and noise

– Distinguishing clear climate trends (signal) from short-term variability (noise).

Target CO2 and 350 ppm

– Safe atmospheric CO₂ threshold proposed by scientists to avoid dangerous climate impacts.

Threat multiplier

– Climate change intensifies existing risks such as conflict, migration, or poverty.

Donald Trump

– U.S. president (2017–NOW) known for withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and rolling back climate policies.

Vicious cycles/circles

– Self-reinforcing negative processes, like warming causing ice melt that leads to more warming.

Wallace-Wells reading

"The Uninhabitable Earth" - larger parts of the Earth will not be livable or profitable. You can still walk there but there will be nothing there.

Greenwashing

– Misleading claims that portray products, companies, or governments as environmentally friendly.

Beef/cattle

– Livestock sector with high greenhouse gas emissions (methane) and land-use impacts.

Anthropocene

Proposed new epoch dominated by human impact.