Download GEOG 101: Day 16

The Spittelau incineration plant in
Vienna, Austria, designed by
Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
GEOG 101: DAY 16
Air Pollution (cont’d); Climate Change
HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS


Consumer diesel vehicles are much cleaner in terms of
particle emissions (PM-10 and PM-2.5), but big freight
trucks and the like are still dirty.
Incinerator technology varies in its effectiveness.
Wikipedia has a good description of the pros and cons
and challenges of waste-to-energy and incineration:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incineration



Mercury is partly introduced into the environment by
humans, but it is also there naturally, leaches out and
bioaccumulates.
LCAs are due today if you did one.
Check out the notes on-line, as I had a rare opportunity
to show you a very interesting video today that pulls a
lot of threads we’ve been discussing together and also
touches on climate change.
ACID DEPOSITION IS ANOTHER TRANSBOUNDARY
POLLUTION PROBLEM

Acidic deposition = the deposition of acid, or acidforming pollutants, from the atmosphere onto
Earth’s surface
Acid rain = precipitation of acid
 Atmospheric deposition = the wet or dry deposition
on land of pollutants


Originates from burning fossil fuels
release sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides
 react with water to form sulfuric and nitric acids

14-3
SOURCES OF ACID DEPOSITION
14-4
ACID DEPOSITION IS ANOTHER TRANSBOUNDARY POLLUTION
PROBLEM (CONT’D)
 Rain
and other forms of precipitation with pH of
less than 5.1 are considered acidified
 Acidic deposition can have wide-ranging,
cumulative detrimental effects on ecosystems and
on our built environment





Acids leach nutrients from the topsoil
Alters soil chemistry harming plants
Mobilizes toxic metal ions
Run-off into surface waters
Erodes and corrodes built structures (Parthenon)
14-5
ACID DEPOSITION HAS NOT BEEN REDUCED AS
MUCH AS SCIENTISTS HAD HOPED
 New
technologies such as scrubbers have helped
 SO2 emissions are lower
 NOx emissions are higher
 Acid deposition’s effects are worse than predicted
14-6
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
14-8
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
 Indoor
air contains higher concentrations of
pollutants than outdoor air

6,000 people in North America die per day from
indoor air pollution
 The
average person in North America is indoors
at least 90% of the time


Exposed to synthetic materials (insecticides,
cleaning fluids, plastics, and chemically treated
wood)
1973-74: ventilation systems were sealed off and
windows put in that did not open, trapping
pollutants inside
14-9
INDOOR AIR POLLUTION IN THE DEVELOPING
WORLD ARISES FROM FUELWOOD BURNING
Burning wood, charcoal, dung, crop wastes for cooking
and eating
 Kills 1.6 million people each year
 Causes pneumonia, bronchitis, allergies, cataracts,
asthma, heart disease, cancer and premature death

14-10
TOBACCO SMOKE AND RADON ARE THE MOST
DANGEROUS INDOOR POLLUTANTS IN THE DEVELOPED
WORLD


Secondhand smoke from cigarettes is especially dangerous
 Containing over 4000 dangerous chemicals
 Causes eye, nose, and throat irritation
 Smoking has declined in developed nations
After cigarette smoke, radon gas is the second-leading cause
of lung cancer in the developed world
 Colourless, odourless gas that can seep into buildings
14-11
MANY VOCS POLLUTE INDOOR AIR
VOCs = volatile organic compounds
 Released by everything from plastics and oils to
perfumes and paints
 Most VOCs are released in very small amounts
 Unclear health implications due to low
concentrations
 Also include pesticides, which are found indoors
more often than outdoors due to seepage
 Formaldehyde, which leaks from pressed wood and
insulation, irritates mucous membranes and induces
skin allergies

14-12
14-13
LIVING ORGANISMS CAN POLLUTE INDOORS
Tiny living organisms can also pollute
 Includes dust mites and animal dander worsen
asthma
 Fungi, mold, mildew, airborne bacteria cause severe
allergies, asthma, and other respiratory ailments
 Sick building syndrome = a sickness produced by
indoor pollution with general and nonspecific
symptoms


Solved by using low-toxicity building materials and good
ventilation
14-14
LIVING ORGANISMS CAN POLLUTE INDOOR SPACES
Dust mites and animal dander
 Fungi, mould, and mildew
 Airborne bacteria (Legionnaire’s disease)
 Microbes that induce allergic responses are thought to be
a major cause of sickness produced by indoor pollution


Sick-building syndrome
14-15
weighing
the issues
HOW SAFE IS YOUR
INDOOR ENVIRONMENT?
Think about the amount of time you spend
indoors. Name the potential indoor air
quality hazards in your home, work, or school
environment.
What
could you do to make the indoor
spaces you use safer?
14-16
WE CAN REDUCE INDOOR AIR POLLUTION
In developed countries:
 Use low-toxicity materials (there
are stores and brands that
specialize in this now)
 Monitor air quality
 Keep rooms clean
 Limit exposure to chemicals
 In developing countries:
 Dry wood before burning
 Cook outside (including with solar
cookers)
 Use less-polluting fuels (natural
gas)

14-17
CONCLUSION
Indoor air pollution is a potentially serious health
threat
 Outdoor air pollution has been addressed by
government legislation and regulation in developed
countries, but is still a problem
 Improvement is required in reducing acidic
deposition, photochemical smog
 Avoiding unhealthy pollutants in developing world
will pose a challenge as less-wealthy nations
industrialize; indeed air pollution is getting worse

14-18
15
Global Climate Change
Final exam will be
Thursday, December 4th
in the Gym
PowerPoint® Slides prepared by Stephen Turnbull
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Canada Inc.
© 2010 Pearson Education Canada
15-19
HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS
A
couple of links on Vancouver Island’s
ocean acidification problem:
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Acidic+wa
ter+blamed+West+Coast+scallop/9550861/st
ory.html and
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britishcolumbia/acidic-ocean-deadly-for-vancouverisland-scallop-industry-1.2551662.
 Check out the following film:
www.filmsforaction.org/watch/wake_up_f
reak_out_then_get_a_grip/.
UPON SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING THIS
CHAPTER, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO
Describe Earth’s climate system and explain the many
factors influencing global climate change
 Characterize human influences on the atmosphere and
global climate
 Summarize modern methods of climate research
 Outline current and future trends and impacts of global
climate change
 Suggest ways we can respond to climate change

15-21
CENTRAL CASE: THE RETREAT OF THE
ATHABASCA
“We’re in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and
everyone’s arguing over where they’re going to sit.”
– David Suzuki
The Athabasca Glacier has been retreating since 1844
 Since then, it has lost half of its volume
 Currently retreating at a rate of 2-3 metres per year
 Is it retreating due to climate change or is it just a
natural continuation of the retreat of glacial ice that
began 12,000 years ago?
 The Rockies may be ice-free by the end of this century

15-22
OUR DYNAMIC CLIMATE
15-23
OUR DYNAMIC CLIMATE


Climate influences everything around us
The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made it clear that:



Climate is changing, we are the cause, and this change is
already exerting impacts that will become increasingly severe
if we do not take action
The Fifth is now out.
Climate change is the fastest-moving area of
environmental science today, and the Fifth Report is
now out and is even more urgent in its assessment and
recommendations. Scientists, normally mere observers,
are saying action has to happen now!
15-24
WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?




Climate = an area’s long-term atmospheric conditions
 Temperature, moisture content, wind, precipitation, etc.
Weather = conditions at localized sites over hours or days
Global climate change = describes trends and variations
in Earth’s climate
 Temperature, precipitation, storm frequency
Global warming = an increase in Earth’s average
temperature
 Earth’s climate has varied naturally through time
 The rapid climatic changes taking place now are due to
human activity: fossil fuels, combustion, and
deforestation
15-25
THE SUN AND ATMOSPHERE KEEP EARTH WARM

Four factors exert more influence on climate than all
others:
The Sun (supplies planet’s energy)
 The atmosphere (absorbs 70% of incoming solar radiation)
 The oceans (shape climate by storing and transporting
heat and moisture)
 Albedo = reflectivity of a surface (positive feedback cycle
of melting polar ice caps and ice sheets)

15-26
OUR PLANET ABSORBS SOLAR RADIATION (SOLAR BUDGET)
15-27
GREENHOUSE GASES WARM THE LOWER
ATMOSPHERE
As Earth’s surface absorbs solar radiation, the surface
increases in temperature and emits infrared radiation
(for a good description overall, see NASA’s site:
http://missionscience.nasa.gov/ems/13_radiationbudget.ht
ml.)
 Greenhouse gases = atmospheric gases that absorb
infrared radiation (radiatively active gases)

Water vapor, ozone, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane,
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
 Greenhouse gases differ in their ability to warm the
troposphere and surface

15-28
GREENHOUSE GASES WARM THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE
(CONT’D)

After absorbing radiation, greenhouse gases re-emit
infrared energy
Some energy is lost to space
 Greenhouse effect = some energy travels back
downward, warming the troposphere and the planet’s
surface


Global warming potential = the relative ability of
one molecule of a given greenhouse gas to contribute
to warming
Expressed in relation to carbon dioxide (potential = 1)
 Nitrous oxide is 296 times as potent as carbon dioxide

15-29
CARBON DIOXIDE IS THE ANTHROPOGENIC
GREENHOUSE GAS OF PRIMARY CONCERN

Not the most potent greenhouse
gas, but it is extremely abundant


The major contributor to global
warming
Human activities have boosted
atmospheric concentrations from
280 parts per million (ppm) to 389
ppm in 2010 (and now over 400)
15-30
HUMAN ACTIVITY HAS RELEASED CARBON FROM
SEQUESTRATION IN LONG-TERM RESERVOIRS

Human activities accelerate the fluxes of material
from one reservoir to another in biogeochemical cycles
Burning fossil fuels transfers CO2 from lithospheric
reservoirs into the atmosphere
 Deforestation transfers CO2 from terrestrial reservoirs into
the atmosphere
 Sinks = reservoirs that accept more of the material than
they release


Ocean
15-31
OTHER GREENHOUSE GASES CONTRIBUTE TO
WARMING
Methane from fossil fuel deposits, livestock, landfills,
and crops such as rice
 Nitrous oxide from feedlots, chemical manufacturing
plants, auto emissions, and synthetic nitrogen
fertilizers
 Ozone from photochemical smog
 Halocarbons (CFCs and HFCs)
 Water vapor = the most abundant greenhouse gas and
contributes most to the greenhouse effect

15-32
THERE ARE MANY FEEDBACK CYCLES IN THE
CLIMATE SYSTEM

Positive feedback cycle


Negative feedback cycle


Warming leads to water vapour which leads to further
warming causing still more evaporation, and so on
Warming leads to evaporation which leads to water vapour
causing increased cloudiness slowing global warming
Aerosols = microscopic droplets and particles that have
either a warming or cooling effect
15-33
RADIATIVE FORCING EXPRESSES CHANGE IN
ENERGY INPUT OVER TIME


Radiative forcing = the
amount of change in energy
that a given factor causes
 Positive forcing warms the
surface; negative forcing
cools it
Compared with the preindustrial Earth, Earth is
experiencing radiative forcing
of 1.6 watts/m2
 Enough to alter the climate
15-34
THE ATMOSPHERE IS NOT THE ONLY FACTOR
THAT INFLUENCES CLIMATE
Milankovitch cycles = periodic changes in Earth’s
rotation and orbit around the Sun
 Solar output = drives temperature change on Earth’s
surface
 Ocean absorption = the ocean holds 50 times more
carbon than the atmosphere and absorbs it from the
atmosphere (acts as a sink)
 Ocean circulation = ocean water exchanges
tremendous amounts of heat with the atmosphere,
and ocean currents move energy from place to place


Thermohaline circulation
15-35
IN ATLANTIC, WARMER SURFACE WATER FLOWS NORTH (E.G. THE GULF CURRENT),
COOLS AND SINKS, FORMING THE NORTH ATLANTIC DEEP WATER (NADW)
15-36
THE SCIENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE
15-37
Proxy indicators tell us about the past
• Proxy indicators = types of indirect evidence that
serve as substitutes for direct measurements
- Ice caps, ice sheets, and glaciers hold clues to past
climate
- Trapped bubbles in ice cores show atmospheric
composition, greenhouse gas concentration,
temperature trends, snowfall, solar activity, and
frequency of fires
15-38
DIRECT ATMOSPHERIC SAMPLING TELLS US
ABOUT THE PRESENT
Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have
increased from 315 ppm in 1958 to 401 ppm in 2013
 There are seasonal variations in levels due to
photosynthetic uptake


More carbon dioxide absorbed during northern summer
15-39
MODELS HELP US UNDERSTAND CLIMATE


Climate models
simulate climate
processes
Use information
about:
 atmospheric
circulation
 ocean
circulation
 interactions
 feedback
mechanisms
15-40
MODELS HELP US UNDERSTAND CLIMATE (CONT’D)
•
Effectiveness of models
are tested by entering
data from the past and
running the model
toward the present
15-41
CURRENT AND FUTURE TRENDS AND IMPACTS
15-42
CURRENT AND FUTURE TRENDS AND IMPACTS
 Evidence
that climate conditions have changed
since industrialization is now overwhelming and
indisputable
 The way each of us experiences these impacts will
vary tremendously
 The impacts on Canada could be particularly
severe, depending on where we live, though it
should be pointed out that other nations have
already been harder hit – the Maldives,
Bangladesh, Australia, even parts of the U.S.
15-43
THE IPCC SUMMARIZES EVIDENCE OF CLIMATE
CHANGE AND PREDICTS FUTURE IMPACTS
 Trend
= a pattern that persists within a data set, even
after short-term fluctuations and anomalies have been
accounted for
 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

2013: Fifth Assessment Report
Consensus of scientific climate research from around the
world
 Trends in surface temperature, precipitation patterns,
snow and ice cover, sea levels, storm intensity, and other
factors

15-44
TEMPERATURE INCREASES WILL CONTINUE
 The
IPCC report concludes that average surface
temperatures on earth have been rising since 1906,
with most of the increase occurring in the last few
decades (0.74 ̊ C)
 Fifteen years from 1997-2011 among the 20
warmest years on record
 Permafrost = perennially frozen ground
 Thawing in the Arctic
 Potentially releasing methane
15-45
PROJECTED INCREASES IN SURFACE TEMPERATURE
More frequent heat waves
 Temperature change will vary by
region
 Stronger storms

15-47
Kyoto successes (blue) and failures
(red) – including the effects of land use
– see The Guardian: (this was the web
site I was looking for)
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/bl
og/2012/nov/26/kyoto-protocol-carbonemissions
weighing
issues
the
CLIMATE CHANGE AND
HUMAN RIGHTS
In December 2005, a group representing North America’s
Inuit sent a legal petition to the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights, demanding that the United
States restrict its greenhouse gas emissions, which the
Inuit maintained were destroying their way of life in the
Arctic. After a year, the commission dismissed the petition
with a terse three-sentence letter.
 Do you think Arctic-living people deserve compensation
from industrialized nations whose emissions have caused
climate change that has disproportionately affected the
Arctic?
 Do you think climate change can be viewed as a human
rights issue?
 What ethical issues, if any, do you think climate change
presents? How could these best be resolved?
15-50
CHANGES IN PRECIPITATION WILL VARY BY REGION
Some regions are receiving more precipitation than
usual, and others are receiving less
 Droughts have become more frequent and severe (e.g.
California and Australia)



Harming agriculture, promoting soil erosion, reducing
drinking water supplies, and encouraging forest fires
Heavy rains have contributed to flooding (UK and
Bangladesh)
15-51
PROJECTED CHANGES IN JUNE-AUGUST PRECIPITATION, 2090-2099
15-52
MELTING ICE AND SNOW HAVE FAR-REACHING
EFFECTS

Mountaintop glaciers are disappearing (“Glacier Park”
may soon become a misnomer)
Have lost an average of 14 m since 1980
 Risks of sudden floods as ice dams burst
 Reducing summertime water supplies

As ice melts, darker, less-reflective surfaces are exposed
and absorb more sunlight, causing more melting
 Melting permafrost makes slopes unstable and could
release soil gases leading to further warming

15-53
THE ARCTIC IS CHANGING DRAMATICALLY
Less snow cover
 Melting immense ice sheets (Greenland ice sheet):
http://earthsky.org/earth/video-largest-glacier-calvingever-caught-on-film
 Canada’s ice shelves have shrunk by 90% over the past
100 years (Ayles Ice Shelf)
 Warming is accelerating

as snow and ice melt, darker, less-reflective surfaces are
exposed
 Earth’s capacity to reflect light decreases

15-54
RISING SEA LEVELS WILL AFFECT HUNDREDS OF
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AND COASTAL ZONES
As glaciers and ice
melt, increased
water will flow into
the oceans
 As oceans warm,
they expand
 See “Island
President” (film)

15-55
weighing
issues
the
AN ICE-FREE NORTHWEST PASSAGE
AND CANADA’S ARCTIC SOVEREIGNTY
Now that the Northwest Passage – the long-coveted sea route
from the Atlantic to the Pacific via the Arctic Ocean – may
soon be ice-free, northern nations are anxious to confirm its
sovereignty over Arctic waters at an international conference
held in Greenland recently, and Prime Minister Stephen
Harper pledged to spend billions of dollars defending Canada’s
interests in the Arctic if necessary. In addition to the sea route,
the Arctic subsurface may hold as much as 25% of the world’s
undiscovered oil and gas reserves.
The U.S. argues that the High Arctic does not belong to
Canada, or to anyone else. What do you think?
 Who should control Arctic Ocean waters, and for what
purposes?
 How much of Canadian taxpayers’ money should be spent to
assert and maintain Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic?

15-56
CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECTS ORGANISMS AND
ECOSYSTEMS
Global warming modifies temperature-dependent
phenomena
 Timing of migration, breeding
 Spatial shifts in the range of organisms
 Animals and plants will move towards the poles or
upward in elevation
 20-30% of all species will be threatened with
extinction
 Plants act as carbon sinks; fewer plants means more
CO2 in the atmosphere

15-57
weighing
issues
the
ENVIRONMENTAL REFUGEES?
The Pacific island nation of Tuvalu has been losing 9 cm of
elevation per decade to rising seas. Appeals from Tuvalu’s 11,000
citizens were heard by New Zealand, which began accepting them
in small numbers as of 2003, although the government has not
officially categorized them as environmental refugees – people
driven from their homelands as a result of environmental change
or natural disaster. Tuvaluans have been particularly vocal about
global warming, but several other small Pacific island nations
have joined in voicing their concerns.
Will there come a time when neighbouring countries should
begin to treat people who leave small island nations as
environmental refugees?
 Should they be doing it now?
 What will happen to these people after relocation – do you think
a national culture can survive if its entire population is relocated?

15-58
CLIMATE CHANGE EXERTS SOCIETAL IMPACTS –
AND VICE VERSA

Agriculture:


growing seasons shortened, crops more susceptible; crop
production will decrease, worsening hunger
Forestry:

increased insect and disease outbreaks, increased chance of
forest fires (pine beetle larvae used to be killed by colder
winter temperatures)
15-59
CLIMATE CHANGE EXERTS SOCIETAL IMPACTS –
AND VICE VERSA (CONT’D)

Health:


heat waves can cause death, respiratory ailments, expansion
of tropical diseases, increased chance of drowning if storms
become intense, hunger-related ailments
Economics:

some costs and some benefits; costs will outweigh the benefits,
widen the gap between rich and poor, will cost roughly 5-20%
of world GDP
15-60
ARE WE RESPONSIBLE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE?
 The

IPCC concluded:
It is more than 90% likely that most of the
global warming recorded over the past 50 years
is due to the well-documented increase in
greenhouse gas concentrations in our
atmosphere
 Today
the debate concerning the human role in
climate change is largely over
 Shift
in public perception
 Role of Al Gore’s 2006 “An Inconvenient Truth”
15-61
RESPONDING TO CLIMATE CHANGE
15-62
RESPONDING TO CLIMATE CHANGE



We will likely either keeping on pursuing economic
growth at all costs, which will require more and more
resources to fix the damage (what ecological economists
call ‘dis-economies of scale’), and will eventually lead to
social, economic, and population crash, or
We will make sustainability our first priority, aim for a
‘soft landing’ and create a steady-state economy.
Is this even possible? It’s like going from believing the
Earth is flat to believing that it is round.
15-63
SHALL WE PURSUE MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION,
OR INTERVENTION?

Mitigation = pursue actions that reduce greenhouse
gas emissions, in order to lessen severity of future
climate change


Adaptation = accept climate change is happening and
pursue strategies to minimize its impacts on us


Renewable energy sources, farm practices to protect soil
integrity, preventing deforestation
Criticized as sidestepping
Both are necessary
15-64
SHALL WE PURSUE MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION, OR
INTERVENTION?
Intervention = set of possible large-scale technological
modifications to the global climate system
 Causes of concern:
 Interfering with global-scale Earth’s systems
 Abandon mitigation efforts
 Geo-engineering – grand scale intervention (for more
information, see
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/geoengineering
-to-save-the-world-from-global-warming/ and other
sources in Google
 Increase fluxes of greenhouse gases
 Reduce incoming solar radiation

15-65
WE CAN LOOK MORE CLOSELY AT OUR LIFESTYLE


Conservation and efficiency

High-efficiency light bulbs and appliances

Reduce electricity consumption

Life-style choices
Sources of electricity

Alter types of energy we use

Natural gas cleaner than oil; oil cleaner than coal
Carbon capture and storage = remove CO2 from
power plant emissions
 Other?

15-66
TRANSPORTATION IS A SIGNIFICANT SOURCE OF
GREENHOUSE GASES; LIKEWISE BUILDINGS

Automotive technology
•

make vehicles more fuel-efficient, hybrid cars
Driving less and using public transportation
Public transportation is the most effective way to
conserve energy, reduce pollution
 Live nearer your workplace, so you can bike or walk
(http://www.walkscore.com/)

15-67
CONVENTIONAL CARS ARE EXTREMELY INEFFICIENT
15-68
WE CAN REDUCE EMISSIONS IN OTHER WAYS AS
WELL

Use advances in agriculture, forestry, and waste
management
Grow renewable biofuels (or produce from waste vegetable
oil)
 Rapid reforestation of deforested areas
 Recovering methane from landfills
 Recycling, composting, and reduction or reuse of materials

15-69
WE WILL NEED TO FOLLOW MULTIPLE
STRATEGIES TO REDUCE EMISSIONS
There is no single ‘magic bullet’ for mitigating climate
change
 Most reductions can be achieved using current
technology so we can begin right away
 How quickly and successfully we translate science
and technology into practical solutions for reducing
emissions depends on policies and the market
economy or, one might argue, taming the market
economy and the corporations that dominate it –
especially the oil companies

15-70
WE BEGAN TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE BY
INTERNATIONAL TREATY
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(FCCC) = outlines a plan for reducing greenhouse gas
emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000 through a
voluntary, nation-by-nation approach
 By the late 1990s, it was clear that the voluntary
approach would not succeed (few met their targets)
 Developing nations created a binding international
treaty that would require all signatory nations to
reduce their emissions
 However, subsequent rounds of talks have proven
relatively fruitless (“prisoner’s dilemma”)

15-71
It’s curious the
Danes would be
amongst the failing
nations – they lead
the world in wind
energy, and they
ride more bicycles
per capita than
anyone else!?
WE BEGAN TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE BY INTERNATIONAL
TREATY (CONT’D)

The Kyoto Protocol
by 2012 nations were to reduce emissions of six greenhouse
gases to levels below those of 1990
 took effect in 2005, after Russia became the 127th nation to
ratify it; Canada withdrew in 2011


The United States will not ratify the Kyoto Protocol


Did not require same of countries of China and India
Businesses in industrialized nations feel they have more
to lose economically from restrictions
15-73
Market mechanisms are being used to
address climate change
Carbon taxes (e.g., B.C. – since weakened)
 Permit trading programs

harness the economic efficiency of the free market to achieve
policy goals
 The Chicago Climate Exchange is the world’s first emissions
trading program for greenhouse gas reduction


Cap-and-trade programs

European Union Emission Trading Scheme
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CARBON OFFSETS ARE IN VOGUE
 Carbon
offset = a voluntary payment to another
entity intended to enable that entity to reduce the
greenhouse emissions that one is unable or
unwilling to reduce oneself
 Popular among utilities, businesses, universities,
governments, and individuals trying to achieve
carbon neutrality
 Carbon-neutrality
= no net carbon is emitted, as
with certain housings, buildings, and developments
 Carbon

offsets fall short
A lack of oversight to make sure that the offset
money accomplishes what it is intended for
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YOU CAN REDUCE YOUR OWN CARBON FOOTPRINT
Carbon footprint = expresses the amount of carbon
we are responsible for emitting (see How Bad Are
Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything by Mike
Berners-Lee). To calculate yours, see
http://cotap.org/carbon-footprint-calculator/.
 What do you think you can do to make a difference?
 What about in relation to politicians and corporations?
 Global climate change may be the biggest challenge
facing us and our children
 Taking immediate action is the most important thing
we can do

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CONCLUSION
 Many

factors influence Earth’s climate
Human activities play a major role
 Climate

change is well underway
Further emissions will cause severe and diverse
impacts
 More
and more scientists are urging immediate
action


Reducing emissions
Mitigating and adapting to a changing climate
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