Great Accelerations Vocab

Carbon Dioxide	GHG that comes from burning fossil fuels. Burning has caused the balance in the atmosphere to be wacky and warm. Solutions include decreasing deforestation and fossil fuel consumption, and increasing renewable energy use
Climate migration	When people are forced to move due to climate change effects (natural disaster, heat waves, desertification, sea level rise, etc.); disproportionately affects impoverished people and those living in the global south
Climate extremes	Changes in circulatory systems (jet streams, ocean currents, wind patterns) have caused more extreme heat and cold in different areas of the planet
Coastal dead zones	Areas in the ocean that have so little oxygen that life cannot be sustained, caused by eutrophication
Extinctions	Rising temperatures, habitat loss, and ocean acidification have made conditions uninhabitable for many species, leading to mass extinctions
Floods	Rain is increasing due to rising global temperatures, causing increased flooding
Heat waves	Number and duration of these have increased due to increased GHGs and thinning ozone, which have contributed to warming overall as well
Methane	GHG that has increased in abundance due to melting permafrost and increased cattle population
Nitrous Oxide	Ghg that comes from agriculture (mostly). Farmers use fertilizer that contains nitrogen and the excess floats back into the atmosphere or goes to lakes where it causes algal blooms and kills everything in the lake. Solution is crop rotation and ammonium-based fertilizer instead.
Ocean acidification	CO2 reacts with ocean water to create carbonic acid, which eats away at shelled animals and coral reefs and disrupts ocean food webs
Ozone	Layer that protects the Earth from excessive radiation, thinning because ODS like CFCs break the molecules apart, Montreal Protocol passed to repair it
Pandemics and zoonoses	Ecosystems have been disrupted causing animals and humans to move closer together, causing the spread of more disease, solutions include decreasing poaching, reducing deforestation, and stricter food regulations
Population	Increased rapidly due to technological and healthcare improvement, causing the rapid increase in resource consumption and thus contributing to climate change
Sea level rise	Increased warming has caused melting glaciers and expanding oceans, causing sea levels to rise
Species changes	Habitat loss, natural disasters, migration, and interbreeding have reduced biodiversity
Storm intensity	Warmer air allows for more precipitation to be held in the atmosphere, which increases storm intensity
Water shortages	Population growth and increased agricultural demand have increased demand for water; coupled with increased drought, water shortages have become more common
Wildfires	Increased temperatures and droughts have created good conditions for wildfires, better forest management is needed to stop them