climate change

impact on humans

heat stress

• increase in heat strokes, heat-related deaths, and heat-related illnesses

• heat stress: occurs when a body cannot cool itself

• heat stroke: when a body’s cooling mechanism fails

  • can damage the heart, brain, and kidneys; may be lethal

• heat waves mainly affect older adults, infants/children, people with chronic illnesses, low-income people, outdoor workers

increase in infectious diseases

• half of human’s infectious diseases may get worse
• more diseases transmitted by mosquitos and ticks
  • west nile virus
  • malaria
  • lyme disease
• more diseases transmitted by polluted water
  • cholera
  • hepatitis
  • childhood diarrhea
• more diseases transmitted by rodents
  • hantavirus
• more diseases transmitted by other mammals as mammals shift their ranges and humans get in contact with new species
  • eg. bats in southeast asia (COVID)

worsening effects of air pollution

• effects of particulate air pollution and heat extremes are more severe when nighttime temperature and pollution occur together
• hot weather contributes to photochemical smog and the production of ground-level ozone
• it also increases the chances of wildfires which release particulate matter
• plants have more time to produce pollen, resulting in more allergies

destruction of human cultures and settlement

• the Inuit people have lived in the Arctic for millennia, but the climate change is a threat to their lifestyle (hunting, traveling, traditions)
  • early springs
  • slushy ice
  • invasive species
• destruction of homes due to natural disasters
  • increased quantity and intensity of wildfires, floods, mudslides

food and water

exacerbating food insecurity

• warmer temperatures may mean longer growing seasons, but severe rains and droughts threaten crops
• low agricultural lands may end up under water
• coastal fisheries may be disrupted

threats to the water supply

• climate change alters the hydrological cycle, causing more floods and droughts
• many communities have no access to safe drinking water
• this may feed armed conflicts between and within countries (water wars)

fossil fuels

• fossil fuels: a mixture of organic compounds that were formed from the decomposition of living matter over geological time
• three types of fossil fuels
  • coal
  • natural gas
  • oil
• fossil fuel consumption

coal

pros

• most abundant fossil fuel
• US has a lot

cons

• dangerous to mine
  • causes accidents and black lung disease
• produces soil erosion
• can’t be used in cars
• pollutes water
• releases radioactivity and toxic metals when burned
• causes acid deposition
• emits heat-trapping gases when burned

natural gas

• natural gas: a mixture of gases, the most important being methane
• found on top of crude oil reservoirs
  • Russia has many such reserves

pros

• burns cleaner than coal
  • less CO2 emissions, less pollution
• can be liquified
• less damaging to extract

cons

• extraction leaks methane

oil

pros

• cheap
• efficient
• easy to transport
• petrochemicals are made from it
  • eg. plastics, fertilizers, fibers

cons

• needs to be refined to be separated into different components
  • gases, gasoline, heating oil, diesel oil, asphalt)
• not much left
• results in oil spills
  • environmentally destructive
• emits heat-trapping gases and air pollutants
  • acid deposition, photochemical smog

the organization of petroleum-exporting countries (OPEC)

• OPEC: an association of manufacturers or suppliers with the purpose of maintaining prices at a high level and restricting competition
• member countries
  • algeria
  • angola
  • congo
  • equatorial guinea
  • gabon
  • iran
  • iraq
  • kuwait
  • libya
  • nigeria
  • saudi arabia
  • united arab emirates
  • venezuela

unconventional oil sources

• oil shale: fine grained rock that contains a solid, waxy mixture of hydrocarbon compounds called kerogen
  • shale is crushed and heated until kerogen vaporizes
  • reserves in colorado, utah, wyoming
• tar sand, oil sand: fine grained rock that contains a solid, waxy mixture of hydrocarbon compounds called kerogen
  • reserves in Canada

the international community

two strategies: mitigation vs. adaptation

• mitigation: reducing emissions of and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
  • reducing greenhouse gas emissions
  • improving atmospheric CO2 removal
• adaptation: learning to live with climate change but reducing its harmful effects
  • building infrastructure
  • changing behaviors
  • dealing with the environmental refugee crisis

historical international responses

• 1992 — during the UN Earth summit in Rio, the UN decided to address climate change by creating the framework convention on climate change
• 1997 — delegates from 160 nations signed the Kyoto Protocol in Kyoto, Japan and draft a climate change treaty
  • industrialized countries committed to lower their emissions by certain percentages below 1990 levels
• the Paris Agreement
  • result of the UN climate change conference in 2015
  • legally binding international treaty on climate change
  • adopted by 196 parties at COP21 in Paris, 2015
  • goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
  • commits countries to support each other

COP27

• in November 2022, Egypt hosted the 27th conference of the parties of the UNFCCC (COP 27) in the city of Sharm el-Sheikh

the tragedy of the commons

• when a resource is shared by many individuals (common), each individual acts in their own best interest
• as a result, the resource is depleted

LDCs want to develop

things that can be obtained by burning fossil fuels

• better housing
• cars
• computers
• discardable goods
• medical devices
• eating meat

loss and damage

• the most vulnerable countries are the least responsible
• form of reparations

reasons for optimism

• goals are clearer
• reformed financial institutions
  • better borrowing conditions for LDCs
• less greenwashing
• private financing
• new rules for strengthening voluntary carbon markets

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