Download Notes 19.4

19.4 What Can We Do to Slow Projected Climate Disruption?
Solving climate disruption is difficult:
- Several tipping points we should be worried about:
1.) Atmospheric carbon levels exceeding 450 ppm
2.) Melting of ALL arctic summer sea ice
3.) Catastrophic ocean acidification leading to
• Decrease in phytoplankton (carbon sink)
• Decrease in ocean to therefore absorb CO2
4.) Methane released from permafrost
5.) Collapse and melting of most of the western Antarctic ice sheet
6.) Severe shrinkage or collapse of Amazon rain forest
- Difficulty to address to public because:
1.) Global problem
-Requires unprecedented and prolonged international cooperation
2.) Long-lasting political issue
- Voters usually respond better to short-term problems compared to long-term
3.) Projected harmful and beneficial impacts of climate change are not spread evenly:
- certain areas will suffer first and have more devastating outcomes then others
4.) Solutions are controversial
- Phasing out fossil fuels could disrupt economies and lifestyles
5.) Hard to convince public to long-term threats
- Almost a “not in my backyard” mentality. Will be more of an issue for future
generations for the choices that we make today
Top four ways to control/prevent greenhouse gas emissions:
1.) Improve energy efficiency to reduce fossil fuel use
2.) Increased use of low-carbon renewable energy resources
3.) Stop cutting down tropical forests (ancient forests)
4.) Shift to more sustainable agricultural practices
Problems with soot:
- Accumulating atop mountain glaciers (ice caps) and arctic ice fields that helps contribute to the
melting of ice and overall (indirectly) contributes to global warming
• Should focus on the following:
1.) Reducing black carbon emissions
2.) Methane
3.) HFC’s
• Main reason is all the substances above have a short-lived time in the atmosphere
compared to CO2 and have several technological upgrades to reduce them with little
cost to implement
Top six ways to clean up greenhouse gas emissions:
1.) Massive global tree planting (filters out CO2)
2.) Restore wetlands that have been drained for farming
3.) Plant fast-growing perennials on degraded land
4.) Promote biochar
• Biochar = burning of biomass (wood, chicken waste) makes no smoke and orderless
fertilizer Biochar
5.) Preserve and restore natural forests
6.) Capture/store carbon from coal-burning plants
Other solutions:
If all else fails, can resort to geoengineering schemes:
- Injection of sulfate particles into stratosphere
• Could reflect UV light
• Not enough research on all effects to atmosphere (could be too risky)
- Seed oceans with iron
• Promotes growth of more marine algae and phytoplankton = absorbs more CO2
• Once again, not enough research known for all effects
Making CO2 as a regulated pollutant:
- CO2 is classified as a pollutant
• Concentration in the atmosphere must be at a certain level
- 2009 EPA classified several greenhouse gases as regulated pollutants
• Ex’s: CO2, CH4, N2O
Price on carbon emissions through carbon/energy taxes:
- Purpose: Phase in carbon taxes and fees on each unit of greenhouse gases (specifically carbon
dioxide and methane) emitted
• Use pollution tax to stimulate economy
- In short: Tax pollution and not payrolls and profits
Price on carbon emissions through cap-and-trade policies:
-Purpose: Place a cap on total human-generated carbon dioxide and methane emissions in a
country or region, issue permits to emit such pollutants, and then let polluters (companies)
trade their permits in a marketplace
Use of government subsidies:
- Subsidies can be used to:
• Encourage energy-efficient technologies, low-carbon renewable energy sources, more
sustainable food production methods
• Phase out old subsidies to companies that use fossil fuels
- Switch government funding of research and development to clean industries instead of fossil
fuel industries
Governments can cooperate internationally:
- Kyoto Protocol
• 1997 international treaty to slow atmospheric warming and its projected climate
disruption (US not involved)
- First Phase: Cut emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O gases to certain levels by 2012
- Second Phase: Keep the Kyoto Protocol in effect until 2015 to reduce
greenhouse gases even further
- Technology transfer
• Developed countries helping less developed by sharing latest green technology
- Protection of large forests
• Especially tropical rain forests that help maintain carbon cycle
Countries and states taking initiatives:
- Costa Rica’s goal to be carbon neutral (cut carbon emissions to zero) by 2030
• Generates most electricity by hydroelectric power, wind and geothermal energy
- China, India, and the US must change energy habits (mainly large companies)
Companies are reducing their carbon footprints:
- U.S. Climate Action Partnership
• Consists of companies like IBM, Toyota, GE, and Wal-Mart
• Reducing their own carbon footprints and making profits with using recycled materials
How you can personally reduce your CO2 emissions:
19.5 How Can We Adapt to Climate Change?
- All countries can contribute by doing the following preparations:
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible
• Move people from low-lying coastal areas
•Take measures against storm surges at coast
• Prepare for more intense wildfires
• Conserve water
- Diagram below illustrates other practices that can be followed prepare for climate disruption: