Download 6.3 How Our Decisions Affect the Earth`s Future PPT

Carbon: Transformations in Matter and Energy
Environmental Literacy Project
Michigan State University
Human Energy Systems Unit
Activity 6.3
How Our Decisions Affect Earth’s Future
In this unit we have examined many large-scale
data sets.
Atmospheric CO2
Change in Sea Level Height
1.0
Global Temperature
Temperature Anomaly (°C)
.8
(meteorological stations)
.6
.4
.2
0.
−.2
Annual Mean
5−year Running Mean
−.4
−.6
1880
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
How are these changes in Earth’s systems related
to each other?
Atmospheric CO2
Change in Sea Level Height
1.0
Global Temperature
Temperature Anomaly (°C)
.8
(meteorological stations)
.6
.4
.2
0.
−.2
Annual Mean
5−year Running Mean
−.4
−.6
1880
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
Atmospheric CO2
If we could do
something about this
trend…
…we could have an
impact on these trends.
Change in Sea Level Height
1.0
Global Temperature
Temperature Anomaly (°C)
.8
(meteorological stations)
.6
.4
.2
0.
−.2
Annual Mean
5−year Running Mean
−.4
−.6
1880
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
Using what you learned form the simple climate model in
Activity 6.2, what would we need to do to stop or reverse
the trend of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations?
What will happen to Earth’s systems if we don’t reduce CO2 emissions?
Atmosphere
Inorganic CO2
Before
theconcentrations
industrial
As carbon
revolution,
the carbon in
in the atmosphere
the
atmosphere
continue
to rise, pool
so will
maintained
a balance
the global temperatures.
between
What are the
the biomass
results ofpool
through
photosynthesis
increasing
temperatures
and
cellularand
respiration.
for people
the planet?
Soil
organic carbon
Biomass
organic carbon
However, the biomass pool can only
sequester a limited amount of
carbon. Today, we are adding too
much carbon to the atmosphere
pool. This causes an imbalance.
Fossil Fuels
organic carbon
If we continue to use fossil
fuels at the rates we are
Whenthem
we burn
fossil
fuelsbe
in
using
now,
it will
cars and buildings,
move
impossible
for thewe
planet
carbon
from the
the fossil
fuel
to
maintain
natural
pool to the atmosphere
balance
between the
pool.
atmosphere and biomass
pool.
Review from Activity 6.2:
How will our decisions about future CO2
emissions affect global temperature?
What do you think the shaded area around each
line represents?
What do the computer models
predict about sea ice extent?
The green line shows how
much scientists predict the
sea ice will decrease if we
lower our emissions by a
lot.
Sea Ice Extent Predictions
The red line
shows how
much
scientists
predict the sea
ice will if we
continue to
increase CO2
emissions.
What do the computer
models predict about sea
level in the future?
The red line is
shows what will
likely happen If
CO2 emissions
continue to
increase (RCP8.5).
The blue line shows what
will likely happen if we
drastically reduce CO2
emissions (RCP2.6).
Atmospheric CO2
Change in Sea Level Height
1.0
Global Temperature
Temperature Anomaly (°C)
.8
The individual and
collective (local, national,
and global) decisions we
make that affect CO2
emissions…
(meteorological stations)
.6
.4
.2
0.
−.2
Annual Mean
5−year Running Mean
−.4
−.6
1880
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
…will determine future
global temperatures,
amount of sea ice, and sea
level.
What impacts would increased
global temperatures and sea level
and decreased sea ice have on
humans and other living things?
How are decisions affect Earth’s future:
Questions for further study
• Climate change mitigation: What can we do to
decrease CO2 emissions and the amount of CO2 already
in the atmosphere?
• Effects of climate change: How will the effects of
climate change affect humans and other living things?
• Climate models: How were the RCP scenarios
developed and how do scientists use them?
• Climate feedbacks: How will changes to one Earth
system affect others?
• Media literacy: Are the arguments about climate
change presented in news stories based on reliable
data?