GEC Elect 21.2 People and the Earth's Ecosystem PDF

www.foreignpolicy.org GEC Elect 21.2 PEOPLE AND THE EARTH’S ECOSYSTEM PEOPLE, RESOURCES, AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Air and Climate Change 3 3.1 Sources & Effects of Ai...

www.foreignpolicy.org GEC Elect 21.2 PEOPLE AND THE EARTH’S ECOSYSTEM PEOPLE, RESOURCES, AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Air and Climate Change 3 3.1 Sources & Effects of Air Pollution Causes & Effects of Climate Change Dealing with Air Pollution & Global CC  Nobody on this planet is going to be untouched by climate change. ― Rajendra K. Pachauri 3.1.1 Sources and Effects of Air Pollution The Atmosphere The thin blanket of gases surrounding the earth. 3.1.1 Sources and Effects of Air Pollution Air Pollution The presence of various chemicals (gases, liquids, or solids) in the atmosphere at high levels enough to harm humans, other organisms, or materials, or to alter climate. Primary air pollutants Harmful chemicals that enter directly into the atmosphere due to either human activities (mobile and stationary) or natural processes. Secondary air pollutants Harmful chemicals that form in the atmosphere when primary air pollutants react chemically with one another or with natural components of the atmosphere. 3.1.1 Sources and Effects of Air Pollution Sources of Outdoor Air Pollutants 3.1.1 Sources and Effects of Air Pollution Major Air Pollution Problems (Outdoor) industrial smog caused mostly by the burning of coal consisting mostly of an unhealthy mix of sulfur dioxide, suspended droplets of sulfuric acid, and a variety of suspended solid particles in outside air photochemical smog industrial smog caused by motor vehicle and industrial emissions a mixture of primary and secondary pollutants formed under the influence of UV radiation from the sun acid deposition (or acid rain) caused mainly by coal-burning power plants, metal ore smelters, oil refineries, & other industrial facilities SO2 and NOx pollutants forming secondary pollutants such as droplets of sulfuric acid (H2SO4), nitric acid vapor (HNO3), and particles of acid- forming sulfate (SO42−) and nitrate (NO3−) salts photochemical smog 3.1.1 Sources and Effects of Air Pollution Major Air Pollution Problems (Outdoor) Acid Deposition 3.1.1 Sources and Effects of Air Pollution Types and Health Effects of Air Pollutants 3.1.1 Sources and Effects of Air Pollution Indoor Air Pollution 3.1.2 Causes and Effects of Climate Change Weather, Climate and Climate Change Weather refers to the conditions in the atmosphere at a given place and time; it includes temperature, atmospheric pressure, precipitation, cloudiness, humidity, and wind. Weather changes from one hour to the next and from one day to the next. Climate is the typical weather pattern that occurs in a place over a period of years (at least three decades). The two most important factors that determine an area’s overall climate are temperature — both average temperature and temperature variability — and both average and seasonal precipitation. Climate change is the long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, but since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels (like coal, oil, and gas), which produces heat-trapping gases. 3.1.2 Causes and Effects of Climate Change Solar Radiation The solar energy that reaches Earth warms the planet’s surface, drives the hydrologic and other biogeochemical cycles, produces our climate, and powers almost all life through photosynthesis. 3.1.2 Causes and Effects of Climate Change The Milankovitch Cycles (a) the earth’s elliptical orbit stretches and shortens in a 100,000-year cycle (b) the earth’s axis changes its angle of tilt in a 41,000-year cycle (c) over a 26,000-year period, the axis wobbles like an out-of-balance spinning top 3.1.2 Causes and Effects of Climate Change The Milankovitch Cycles 3.1.2 Causes and Effects of Climate Change The Greenhouse Effect Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are molecules in the atmosphere that block long-wave energy from escaping to space. Major GHGs: ▪ water vapor (H2O) ▪ carbon dioxide (CO2) ▪ methane (CH4) ▪ nitrous oxide (N2O) ▪ halocarbons 3.1.2 Causes and Effects of Climate Change The Greenhouse Effect 3.1.2 Causes and Effects of Climate Change Temperature Over the Years 3.1.2 Causes and Effects of Climate Change Enhanced Greenhouse Effect Additional atmospheric warming produced as human activities increase atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. 3.1.2 Causes and Effects of Climate Change Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body that evaluates climate change science, concludes the following: (i) world's climate has changed significantly over the past century (ii) the significant change has human influence (iii) if the trend continues, the global mean surface temperature will increase between 1°C and 3.5°C by 2100 3.1.2 Causes and Effects of Climate Change Effects of Climate Change Disappearing ice: Arctic ice, which helps stabilize climate, has declined by nearly half in summer. Mountain glaciers and snow, which provide water to about 75 percent of the western United States and over 1 billion people in Asia, are disappearing worldwide. Wildfire and pests, early springs: Increased fire frequency and severity, aided by expanding parasites, is causing ecosystem change and even human mortality. Early onset of warm weather has led to early flowering, migrations, and hotter summers. Rising sea level: We are committed to about 0.5 m rise. Without rapid CO2 reductions, we may soon be committed to 2 m or more. More severe weather (drought, storms) and cumulative costs of climate change: More energetic atmospheric circulation is likely to bring more, heavier storms. 3.1.3 Dealing with Air Pollution Controlling Outdoor Air Pollution Laws and Regulations In the Philippines, we have Republic Act 8749 otherwise known as the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999. Use of Marketplace One approach to reducing pollutant emissions has been to allow producers of air pollutants to buy and sell government air pollution allotments in the marketplace. 3.1.3 Dealing with Air Pollution Controlling Outdoor Air Pollution 3.1.3 Dealing with Air Pollution Controlling Indoor Air Pollution 3.1.4 Dealing with Global Climate Change SDG No. 13 and the Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement on Climate Change The historic Paris Agreement provides an opportunity for countries to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 1. The Global Climate 2015-2019 - YouTube 2. Ever wondered: What is the 'Paris Agreement', and how does it work? - YouTube 3.1.4 Dealing with Global Climate Change Ways of Addressing Climate Change MITIGATION (slowing down the rate of global climate change) - includes developing alternatives to fossil fuels; increasing energy efficiency of automobiles and appliances; planting and maintaining forests; and instigating carbon management, by finding ways to separate and capture the CO2 produced during the combustion of fossil fuels and then sequester it ADAPTATION (making adjustments to live with climate change) - includes strategies to help various regions and sectors of society prepare for warmer temperatures, higher sea level, and altered precipitation patterns 3.1.4 Dealing with Global Climate Change Ways of Addressing Climate Change Geoengineering  www.foreignpolicy.org GEC Elect 21.2 PEOPLE AND THE EARTH’S ECOSYSTEM END OF THE LESSON. GOD BLESS YOU! Jhunell A. Regala AFFILIATE FACULTY Department of Biology, College of Science [email protected]