Atmosphere and Climate
Air Pollution Policy
The Clean Air Act
Primary Goals:
reduce outdoor, or ambient, concentrations of air pollutants that cause smog, haze, acid rain, and other problems
reduce emissions of toxic air pollutants that are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects
phase out the production and use of chemicals that destroy the stratospheric ozone.
How it works: regulates emissions from stationary and mobile sources
Regulates:
Sulfur Dioxide - emitted by power plants
Nitrogran Dioxide - burning fuel via vehicles & industries
Carbon Monoxide - released when something is burned
Particulate matter 2.5 - reaction of chemicals emitted by power plants, industries, and automobiles
Ground level Ozone - produced when NO’s and VOC’s react with sunlight and stagnant air
The biggest issue in Williamsburg
Lead - ore, processed, metals, leaded aviation fuel, incinerators, utilities, & lead-acid battery manufacturers
Industry is biggest polluter
Air pollution does not impact everyone equally; marginalized communities often bear the brunt of its effects due to their proximity to industrial sites and higher exposure levels.
Black and hispanic people are exposed to more pollution than they cause, and vice versa for white people.
Air vs water pollution
air doesn’t have runoff problem
most air pollutants are point-source
Ozone and the Montreal Protocol; the ozone layer is necessary to trap heat and protect us from UV rays, a hole in the ozone layer is not good!
Montreal protocol limits ozone depleting gases
1988 James Hansen testimony
brought the issue before congress
1992 Rio Earth Summit
important conference in air quality history
Bill Clinton Economic Plan
B.T.U tax
tax based upon heat units emitted from burning fossil fuels
1995 campaign to create doubt begins
made people doubt that global warming was a thing
sceptics campaign had an impact on congress
1997 Kyoto Protocol
global agreement like Montreal protocol
set targets to reduce CO2 emissions
US one of main drivers in creation of Kyoto Protocol
2000-2001 Bush Era Actions take 1: mandatory Emissions Cuts?
Bush runs on a campaign ticket as a Republican
Mandatory cuts in GHG
Out green the democratic party
2001-2008 Bush Era Actions Take 2: The Suppression of Scientific Data
made it look like scientists had doubt through editing
Clean Air Act and Climate Change
2006: Massachusetts vs Environmental Protection Agency
supreme court declares that “greenhouse gases fit well within the “Clean Air) Acts capacious definition of ‘air pollutant”
2009: “endangerment Finding: EPA declares 6 GHG’s potentially harmful to public health and welfare
2010: EPA begins to regulate GHGs
2011: Increase corporate average fuel economy to 54.5 mpg by 2025 by cars and light duty trucks
2014: clean power plan: reduce CO2 emissions by 32% by 2030
2006: campaign to increase doubt intensifies
success of denial machine
States sue over EPA rule on new power plants
Trump administration unveils plan to relax car pollution rules
New budget deal marks biggest climate investment in US history
Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
aim to solve inflation issue and climate crisis
History of/in the Climate Crisis
1912- people began to realize that burning coal may be warming the atmosphere
422 ppm is the current level of CO2 in the atomosphere
Keeling curve- 350 ppm is the tipping point
most of human civilization developed in a temperate climate of about 280 ppm
represents the measured concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere at the Mauna Loa Observatory since 1958
as concentration of GHG increases, earths mean temp has raised more than half a degree celsius since 1950
human induced global warming
major marker of the Anthropocene
scientists debate when humans began to influence climate
Dr. William Ruddiman hypothesis
Nature would have cooled the climate, our ancestors warmed it due to agriculture
A lot of scientists believe the onset of the Anthropocene takes place during/after the industrial revolution
medieval warm period
more land devoted to agriculture
population increase in Europe by 50%
Economies grew
Vikings able to navigate to Greenland because of less ice in the Atlantic
construction of cathedrals
long term projects
Little ice age
overlapped with late medieval and early modern periods
tied to outbreak of wars, famines, economic depressions, and overall troublesome times
Frost fairs on frozen Thames River in London
last one among the largest and featured a parading elephant
Sunspots/volcanic eruptions/currents?
Columbian Exchange
biological encounter between old world (Europe, Africa, Asia) and new world (Americas)
among resources brought from old to new, disease was also brought
caused population collapse in Mexico- toppled aztec empire
depopulation led to reforestation, dropping atmospheric carbon dioxide and surface temperatures
Sociogenic Global Warming
between 1750 & 1850 industrialization upended biological old regime that previously limited size of human population and the productivity of the global economy
shift from organic to fossil economy
Coalification: When peats are buried, the weight of overlying sediment compacts it and reduces it volume. Heat time and pressure act on peat to turn it into coal.
coal stores solar energy accumulated over hundreds of years
Biological Old Regime
all energy comes from the sun
plants give us chemical energy through photosynthesis
animas eat plants - chemical energy
wind and water also indirect products of solar energy
wood accumulated energy of 100 to 200 years of sunlight
Steam
water power before coal power
pump to remove water from coal mines (rain)
steam energy -trains, steam engine
steam powered spinning expanded British textile industry
increased size of labor force
steam machines could be sped up more efficiently than water wheels
Coal
when coal is burned stored energy is unleashed in the form of heat and gas
The black country
The great acceleration
more recent period of Anthropocene in which the rate of impact of human activity upon the earths geology and ecosystems is increasing significantly
begins after second world war
deforestation
rainforests cut down for palm oil
discovery that CO2 absorbs heat
Eunice Foote
John Tyndall gets credit for saying CO2 absorbs solar radiation
atmospheric science took off due to atomic testing and the space race
air pollution no longer confined to isolated places
Climate Change Policy
Poorer countries will bear the brunt of the material impacts of climate change.
1988- Establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
1990- IPPC report confirms existence of anthropogenically driven global warming
1992- Earth summit in Rio
U.N. framwork convention on climate change agreed to
1995- IPCC issues 2nd report- says serious warming will occur
1997- adoption of Kyoto Protocal
2001- IPPC 3rd assessment says unprecedented global warming, very likely
2007- IPPC 4th assessment says effects of global warming are already evident
The Kyoto Protocol
1995: cop (conference of the parties, international climate summit) 1- need strong commitments from industrialized countries
1997: cop 3 - Kyoto protocol adopted
2001: cop 7 - detailed rules for implementation agreed upon
2005: protocol implemented
2012: agreements extended to 2020
191 signed and ratified
US signed but did not ratify
Canada signed but withdrew from agreement in 2012
Emissions Targets
industrialized and transition countries reduce overall emissions by 5% below 1990 levels by 2012
Flexible mechanisms
emissions trading: countries may buy and sell GHG emissions “units” and “credits”
clean development mechanism (CDM): The protocol provides a system for financing emissions-reducing or emissions-avoiding projects in developing nations
Joint implementation: Industrialized countries are granted “emissions reduction units” for financing projects in other developed countries.
Cop 13 - bali 2007
global turning point? NO
global call for measurable, reportable, and verifiable nationally appropriate mitigation.
Cop 15- Copenhagen 2009
global turning point part 2?
Copenhagen Accord
acknowledges deep cuts in GHG emissions necessary to hold global temp increases below 2 degrees C
Set deadline for countries to submit emissions limitation pledges
called for developing countries to increase frequency of reporting “with provisions for international consultations and analysis
recognizes critical role of reducing emissions from deforestation and analysis
calls for technology development and transfer mechanisms
issues
ecological debt
recognizing individual countries political, cultural, and economic differences
the powerful and powerless in global negotiations
if countries only put forward emissions targets brought to Copenhagen, global temp increases will still go above 2 degrees C
the accord is not legally binding
the negotiation process was not democratic, started with just 28 countries in the room.
Cop 16 - Cancún 2010
Establishment of a green climate fund
advanced countries formally agree to jointly mobilize US$100 billion dollars a year by 2020 for the mitigation and adaptation needs of developing countries
Cop 19 - Warsaw 2013
Global turning point take 3?
132 poorest countries walk out of talks
Cop 21 - Paris 2015
objective is to achieve a binding and universal agreement on climate from all nations of the world
Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC’s)
each country makes a contribution based upon its own needs and abilities
By 2017 every country signed the Paris Agreement, 184 countries ratified it, 180 parties submitted INDC submissions
cop 26 - Glasgow
goals
net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and keep global temps below 1.5 degrees C
protect and restore ecosystems
Mobilize $100 b in climate finance per year for poorer nations to tackle climate change
collaborate to finalize paris rulebook ( rules of paris agreement)
criticized - too weak
cop 29
climate vulnerable nations walk out of overtime talks
climate scientists say net zero is a dangerous trap and net zero is not real zero
Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs)
SSP1: sustainability - taking the green road
low challenges to mitigation and adaptation
SSP2: middle of the road
medium challenges to mitigation and adaptation
SSP3: Regional Rivalry - a rocky road
high challenges to mitigation and adaptation
SSP4: Inequality - divided road
low challenges to mitigation, high challenges to adaptation
SSP5: Fossil-fueled Development
high challenges to mitigation and adaptation
Atmospheric Sciences and Pollution
Layers of the Earths Atmosphere (from farthest away from earth to closest)
Exosphere
thermosphere
mesosphere
stratosphere
*ozone layer*
troposphere
The air is densest in the troposhpere
contains 75% of the mass of the entire atmosphere
78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen
1% argon, water vapor, CO2
first bacteria
cyanobacteria
stromatolites
fossilized remains of microbial mats
scale trees
successful at converting CO2 to O2
contributed to ice age at end of carboniferous period even tho they were extinct
earths atmosphere has changed over geological periods through “natural” processes
Humans have added other sources of atmosphere change
industrialization
hollywood movies
war
US has cleaned up it’s air pollution significantly
heavy metals
The earth naturally sequesters some toxic metals in sulfide minerals that are associated with volcanic systems and coal
Lead contamination of the environment began thousands of years ago
Mercury is used to concentrate fine gold flakes into more valuable nuggets, heat is then used to evaporate the mercury
Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification
contamination of our food supply
global variation in where tuna are caught and the pollution they have consumed
acids
coal typically contains 1-2% nitrogen and 2-6% sulfur
wet and dry deposition
in some cases rocks can neutralize atmospheric acidity
emissions standards
capture the sulfur before it leaves the power plant: sulfur scrubber
radioactive fallout
chernobyl nuclear accident of 1986
after WWII the US tested over 67 nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands
Hydrosphere & geosphere polluted
atmospheric microplastics are emerging contaminants
forever chemicals
perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
group of synthetic chemicals that are resistant to heat, grease. water, and oil
Climate Science & Sea Level Rise
GHG’s get trapped in the troposphere
in the past century temp has climbed roughly ten times faster than the average rate of ice-age-recovery warming
Since 1850
warmest may on record - 2020
warmest june on record - 2023
warmest july on recored - 2023
warmest august on record - 2023
warmest september on record - 2023
warmest october on record - 2023
warmest YEAR on record - 2023
2024 on track to be warmer than 2023
2014-2024 will be warmest 10 yrs on record
global GHG emissions are back above pre-pandemic levels, with emissions rising across all sectors again in 2021
why temp does’t increase reflect relentless rise in CO2?
earths temp doesn’t react instantly to each years new record high CO2 levels
high heat capacity of water and the huge volume of global oceans
earths surface temp resists rapid changes
natural factors like volcanic eruptions, ocean currents, and variations in solar radiation can temporarily influence temp
melting of sea-ice doesn’t directly contribute to sea level rise
plays an important role in the warming of near-polar air masses
glaciers, thermal expansion, ice sheets, and ice loss from greenland contribute to sea level rise
in some parts of Antartica, the ice sheet is melting rapidly
in other areas the ice sheet is growing due to unusually large snowfalls caused by disruptions in the climate
losing about 150 billion tons of ice per year on average between 2002 and 2023
anticipated rise in the next 30 years
east coast: 10-14 in
west coast: 4-8 in
Gulf coast: 14-18 in
projections depend on assumptions of what we will do and if it will have an impact
by 2100: mean sea level rise projected 0.63-1.60 m (2-5 ft)
by 2150: total sea level rise would be a range of 0.98-4.82 m (3-16 ft)
If all of the glaciers and ice caps were to melt, global sea level would rise ~ 70 meaters (230 ft), flooding every coastal city on the planet
Flawed flooding infrastructure
sea level can appear to “go down” in some places due to local factors like land movement
isostatic rebound, land rises after the weight of glaciers from the last ice age is removed
loss of top predators in arctic
Krill
significant to biosphere bc they act as a crucial base of the food chain in the southern ocean
play a vital role in the carbon cycle by consuming phytoplankton and excreting carbon-rich fecal pellets that sink to the ocean floor, removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the deep sea
ocean acidification
forams, corals, shellfish etc. at risk
coral bleachig
zooxanthellae leave the coral tissue disrupting the mutualistic relationship
we need to get below 350 ppm CO2 in the atmosphere
primary focus on drastically reducing fossil fuel emissions by transitioning to renewable energy (reducing CO2)
large scale reforestation, improved land management practices, direct air capture with carbon storage (DACCS) (actively removing CO2)
DACCS not widely used due to high cost and energy requirements
produces more carbon than it would remove
The world is still powerd by fossil fuels