Download Global Warming-Possible Courses of Action

Global Warming-Possible
Courses of Individual Action
What is a Greenhouse?
• A greenhouse is a building that gardeners
use so that they can grow plants during all
seasons of the year.
• The key to a greenhouse is that is allows
sunlight in but then traps that energy
inside of the building. The glass windows
are designed so that the excess heat and
light from the sun can’t escape.
• The planet Earth is like a giant greenhouse
and the atmosphere around our Earth is
like the windows on a traditional
greenhouse. This is great because it keeps
our planet warm but it also has the
potential to be very bad if to much heat is
capture by the atmosphere around our
planet.
Global Warming Review
Global Warming 101 Video
The Planet Venus
• The planet Venus has an
atmosphere just like we have
here on Earth. The only
difference is they have a lot
more greenhouse gases in
their atmosphere because of
the large amount of volcanic
activity they have on the
planet.
• The average temperature on
Venus is 864 degrees
Fahrenheit.
• So where do greenhouse
gasses come from?
The Source
The Key Contributors
The Pattern
The Pattern Continued….
…..Carbon Dioxide Patterns
Hottest Years on Record

2010
 2005
 1998
 2003
 2002
 2006
 2009
 2007
 2004
 2012
 These are the hottest years in
the last 200 years.
(National Weather Services,
2009)
Global Warming
Humans are the Cause
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2,500 scientists from 130 countries filed a
collective report on climate change at its
core was the idea that humans were the
cause of climate change.
“Industrialization, deforestation, and
pollution have greatly increased
atmospheric concentrations of water vapor,
carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous
oxide, all greenhouse gases that help trap
heat near Earth's surface.”
“Humans are pouring carbon dioxide into
the atmosphere much faster than plants and
oceans can absorb it.”
“These gases persist in the atmosphere for
years, meaning that even if such emissions
were eliminated today, it would not
immediately stop global warming.”
Ocean Levels on the Rise

From 1900-2000 the temperature of
the Earth went up by an average of
1-1.5 degrees. This caused oceans
to rise by a half of a foot. This
doesn’t sound to bad.
 Here’s the problem the rate of
temperature increase is going up
faster. Most of the hottest years on
records where in the late 90’s.
What happens if the temperature
goes up by 7-10 degrees as
scientists estimate it might?
 At this current rate most of New
York City would be covered by 2-3
feet of water by the year 2100
 Population of New York City 8.5
Million People
The Future
“The Good”-Benefits of Global
Warming
The “Bring on the
Heat” Attitude
 Harsh Utah Winters
could use a little heat
 Global Warming and
Cooling are natural
cyclical events.

Vegetation Influx

Increasing greenhouse
levels may boost
production of wheat,
fruits, rice, and
soybeans. Producing
up to a 25% increase
in overall seed weight.
(Curtis, 2002 National
Geographic News)
Rainforest Vegetation
Increase

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“Owing to the added sunshine,
photosynthesis has been
rampant, the Amazons
increased growth rate has
accounted for 42% of the global
vegetation in recent years.”
(Schimel, 2003 National
Geographic News)
“Australia, India, and southern
Africa have experienced
increased plant production over
the past several decades.”
(Schimel, 2003 National
Geographic News)
Economic Downfall

Economically speaking a
serious address of global
warming would require
billions of dollars.
 Global warming solutions
would likely cause an
increase in
unemployment, so by not
accepting global warming
as a viable threat it saves
tax payers money.
Messing with the Environment


Tinkering with the Earth’s
climate could have unforeseen
problems. (Example of the
cheese loving king and the mice)
(Weaver, 2006 Climate Scientist)
In the book, a cheese-loving
king’s castle is infested with
mice. So the king brings in cats
to get rid of the mice. Then the
castle’s overrun with cats, so he
brings in dogs to get rid of them,
then lions to get rid of the dogs,
elephants to get rid of the lions,
and finally, mice to get rid of the
elephants
Unknown Effects of Possible
Solutions

“Mankind has already harmed Earth’s climate
inadvertently, so it’s foolish to think that people
can now fix it with a few drastic measures.”
(Trenberth, 2006 National Center for Atmospheric
Research)
“The Bad”-Detriments of
Global Warming
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“Alaska, western Canada, and
eastern Russia, average
temperatures have increased as
much as 3 to 4 degrees
(Celsius) in the past 50 years,
nearly twice the global average.
Temperatures are projected to
rise 5 to 7 degrees (Celsius) in
the next 100 years. The rising
temperatures are likely to cause
the melting of the Greenland
Ice Sheet which could raise the
worldwide sea level by 23 feet
as early as 2099. (Artic
Climate Impact Assessment,
2004)
Sea Turtles Effected by Global
Warming
Land Based Ice Melting
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If half of Greenland and half of the
West Antarctica ice sheet broke up
and melted then the water globally
would be raised by 20 feet or more.
Imagine the world-wide impact that
having millions of refugees
displaced would have. (Hurricane
Katrina displaced hundreds of
thousands)
“The polar ice sheets in Greenland
and Antarctica are melting 3 times
faster then they were in 1990.”
(USA Today 2012)
“Arctic Ice is rapidly disappearing
an the Arctic could have its first ice
free summer by the year 2040.”
(National Geographic)
Greenland Melting
Tony Blair’s scientific
advisor has stated “The
recent melting of
Greenland’s Ice Sheet is
so severe that the maps of
the world will have to be
re-drawn.”
 If Greenhouse gas
emissions go unchecked
the areas of New Orleans,
New York, San Francisco,
Shanghai, Belgium,
Calcutta, Netherlands,
Beijing and Miami (just to
name a few) could easily
go the way of the fabled
City of Atlantis.

European-Ice Age
“Thermo-Haline circulation is
driven by differences in density of
sea water. Historically this
circulation brings warm, salty
water to the North Atlantic, where
it is cooled and sinks. This newly
formed cooler sea water is then
exported southward.
 This ocean circulation pattern
which brings warm water
northward and ships cold water
south is thought to be responsible
for the warming of Northern
Europe by several degrees. If you
stop this process by the addition of
melting fresh water you stop the
conveyor that brings warm water
north and subsequently there would
be a cooling of Northern Europe.
(Peterson, 2004 University of
Colorado)

On the left is a photograph of Muir Glacier taken on August 13th,
1941. On the right, a photograph from the same vantage point
taken on August 31st, 2004.
Between 1941 and 2004 the glacier has retreated 7 miles and
thinned by more then 800 meters. Ocean water has now filled the
valley where Muir Glacier was once located.
Gigantic Species Decline
Possible
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“By 2050, rising
temperatures exacerbated
by human-induced belches
of carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases
could send more then a
million of Earth’s landdwelling plants and
animals down the road to
extinction.” (Roach, 2004
National Geographic
News)
Climate Change Endangers
Common Species
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“About 50 percent of plants and 1/3 of
animals are likely to vanish from half
of the places they are now found by
2080.” This would lead to local
extinctions of species.
“In many cases these shifts are likely
to cause extinctions as warming
temperatures force animals and plants
to move to points beyond which they
cannot go.”
“The losses are likely to be
particularly severe in Central and
South America, Australia, North
Africa, and Southeast Asia.”
(Rachel Warren-Climate Change
Researcher 2013)
“The Bad”-Detriments of
Global Warming Review
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Increased Melting of land
based ice causing entire
cities to be flooded
European Ice Age
Plant and Animal Extinction
up to 1 million species.
Increasing Ocean
Temperatures produce larger
and more destructive
hurricanes.
Obviously most of these
detriments are based upon
scientific conjecture and
based upon a worse case
scenario but the data should
be alarming.
“The Ugly”-The Publicized and
Political View of Global
Warming
Media’s Influence


Peer Reviewed Scientific
Articles Reviewed-928
Percent of those articles
which questioned the
source of global warming
and conjectured that it was
not caused by human
activity 0%
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Articles in the Popular
Press regarding global
warming-636
Percent of those articles
which questioned the
source of global warming
and conjectured that it was
not caused by human
activity 53% (Science
Magazine, 2006)
Changes in Global Warming
could effect Global Economics

Policy changes and switching to renewable
resources could cause un-employment rates
to rise
 “It is difficult to get a man to understand
something when his salary depends upon
his not understanding it.”
-Upton Sinclair
Political Quotes on Global
Warming
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“Global Warming is too serious for the world any longer to ignore its
danger or split into opposing factions on it.” (Tony Blair, 2005)
Some of the scientists, I believe, haven’t they been changing their
opinion a little bit on global warming? There’s a lot of differing
opinions and before we react I think it’s best to have the full
accounting, full understanding of what’s taking place. (George W.
Bush, 2000)
Two thousand scientists, in a hundred countries, engaged in the most
elaborate, well organized scientific collaboration in the history of
humankind, have produced long-since a consensus that we will face a
string of terrible catastrophes unless we act to prepare ourselves and
deal with the underlying causes of global warming. (Al Gore, 2005)
Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement made under
the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change. Countries that ratify this
protocol commit to reduce their emissions of
carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases.
 The Kyoto Protocol now covers more than 160
countries globally
 The protocol outlined that countries that ratified it
would reduce their greenhouse emissions by an
average of 5.2% below their 1990 levels
 The objective of the protocol is the stabilization of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level that
would prevent dangerous anthropogenic
interference with the climate system.
To Ratify, or not to Ratify?
United States after Kyoto
Rejection

Much of the responsibility for controlling
greenhouse emissions has fallen upon
communities and states rather then a national
policy.
 Hundreds of towns, cities, and communities in the
United States have at the local level committed to
uphold the Kyoto Protocol.
 Global warming it’s causes and effects are sure to
be a controversial, yet important topic for the
upcoming presidential election.
Energy Source and Emissions
are Important Topics Locally
as Well
Logan City-No More Coal
Logan City Mayor Randy Watt’s reaction after
council members rejected a bill that would
authorize the use of more coal power plants.
“Now it’s a crapshoot. We don’t even have the
cards. We’re waiting for someone to hand us the
dice and roll them. The council doesn’t have to sit
through the rigors of running a city. I think it’s
irresponsible to fully move into the realm of the
unknown.”
 Possible sources of power discussed were
geothermal, wind, solar, and hydroelectric.

Logan’s Current Sources for
Power

52.5 % Coal (Most of Utah gets as much as
eighty four percent of their energy from
coal)
 5.2 % Natural Gas
 .8% Wind
 21.9 % Hydro-electricity
 19.7% Other (Pool power purchased
through contracts)
 (Herald Journal, 2007)
Scientific Consensus
“The future is by in large in our hands we can
choose between a modest warming and a radical
warming.” (Michael Oppenheimer, 2006 Princeton
University Instructor)
 “I think that the greatest tragedy in the world
would be to realize that we have enough intellect
and enough technology to save ourselves from a
killer asteroid but not enough intellect to save
ourselves from ourselves. (Neil Tyson, 2006
American Museum of Natural History)

……..Scientific Consensus

“Humanity already possesses the
fundamental scientific, technical, and
industrial know-how to solve the carbon
and climate problems……”
-Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow
(Science August 2004)
What can we do individually?
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Change a light: Replacing one regular light bulb with a
compact fluorescent light will save 150 pounds of carbon
dioxide per year.
Drive Less: Walk, bike, carpool or take metro transit more
often. You’ll save one pound of carbon dioxide for every
mile you don’t drive.
Recycle More: You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon
dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household
waste.
Check Your Tires: Keeping your tires inflated properly can
improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Every gallon of
gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of
the atmosphere.
Use Less Hot Water: It takes a lot of energy to heat water.
Use less hot water by installing a low-flow showerhead
(350 pounds of CO2 saved per year and washing your
clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year)
What can we do individually?
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Avoid Products with a lot of Packaging: You can save
1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your
garbage by 10%
Adjust your thermostat: Moving your thermostat down just
2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer could save
2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year
Plant a Tree: A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon
dioxide over it’s lifetime
Turn off Electronic Devices: Simply turning off your
television, DVD player, stereo, and computer when you’re
not using them will save thousands of pounds of carbon
dioxide per year.
Be part of the Solution: Learn more about global warming
and help educate your friends and family. (Solutions
provided in part by http://www.climatecrisis.net)
Stephen Hawking’s View

“We have to reverse
global warming urgently if
we still can. The earth is
in much more danger from
human action then from
natural disasters. This is
not a prediction of doom
but a wake up call. We
have to recognize the
dangers and control them.
I am an optimist and I
believe we can.”
Dilemma Question:
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What course of action if any should the
United States now take with regards to
global warming? Furthermore should this
course of action be handled at the national
or state level?
Carbon Footprint
 Global Warming “What’s the Worst that
could Happen?”