global environ study guide 1

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School

Rutgers University *

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Course

102

Subject

Geography

Date

Oct 30, 2023

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pdf

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Uploaded by CaptainPolarBear817

1. The etymology of the word ‘Geography’, the language it derived from and its meaning. - derived from Greek means writing the world - Geo = “earth” (in Greek) / Graphein = “to write”- calligrapy - Geography = “writing earth” 2.The location(s) on the earth where Projections of Global Temperature Increase by 2080 is expected to be greatest. The positive and negative feedbacks that will occur in this region, and which of these are thought to be strongest (see supplementary exam readings on Canvas). - Russia and the arctic - projections & penguins - Positive : longer growing seasons - Negative : - something frost melts affecting some northwestern trade - Global climate change - well duh - New commercial routes - Access to the seafloor (bc shit has melted) - Negative impact on wildlife - well duh 3. The reasons why the current era has been named as the Anthropocene. - Era dominated by human activity and transformation 4. The definitions of Weather and Climate, and the difference between them. - Weather - the daily or weekly occurrence of temperature and rainfall described in events

- Climate - the temperature and rainfall patterns for a given region for a long period of time (>20 years) - The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time , and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time. 5. The time of the year when the sun’s rays hit Earth most directly and focus the greatest solar energy at the Equator, the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. - vernal and autumnal equinox (March 20, September 23) summer solstice (June 21), winter solstice (December 21) 6. The causes of the ITCZ, and the directions it moves throughout the year. - Inter Tropical Convergence Zone - hot air meets and rises, causing cloud formation & precipitation. north during northern hemisphere summer and south during northern hemisphere winter 7. The two countries that produce the most oil currently, and the two countries with the largest reserves of oil - Produce most : US, saudi arabia - Largest reserves: venezuela, saudi arabia

8. The example of silver as a resource, what happened to demand for it, and why did that change. - In 1999, 93,000,000 oz of silver used in photography out of a global total of 267,000,000 oz (USGS figures). Now less than 9% of global market and still dropping. - Able to be replaced due to digitilization - Basically used a shit ton of silver for photos but demand dropped bc of digitalization. 9 . The various means by which both producers and consumers can affect the price of a resource (see Lecture 6 slide) - Consumers : if they recycle, or using resources more efficiently and using substitutes they can reduce the demand for a resource then reduces prices . - Producers : investing in exploration to discover new deposits, utilizing lower-grade resources that were previously uneconomical to extract, reducing the cost of extraction, and lowering the cut-off grades (the minimum quality required for extraction) in existing mines. More resource means lower prices. Perceptions of scarcity improved tech can increase prices. 10. Know the readings regarding the green new deal and what it consists of. - a plan to fight inequity and tackle climate change - It endorses ways of ensuring that vulnerable populations – including the poor, people of color, indigenous populations and communities already facing

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environmental degradation take part in the planning process and benefit from the green economy. - aim to offset any remaining greenhouse gas pollution with forests that absorb carbon dioxide, for example - An international one would help better - Basically helps people while creating a better environment - GOALS: - build resiliency against climate change-related disasters - upgrade infrastructure - meet power demand with “clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources” - expand energy efficiency and access to power - work with farmers to cut emissions - overhaul the transportation sector with electric vehicles, public transportation, and high-speed rail - Remove greenhouse gases w forests - Way it helps ppl: - a guaranteed job with fair pay, family and medical leave, paid vacations, and retirement security - universal high-quality healthcare - free higher education - access to affordable, safe and adequate housing - stronger labor, workplace health and safety, anti-discrimination, and wage and hour standards

- the clean-up of hazardous waste sites - access to clean water and air, health and affordable food, and nature 11.The two different definitions of the word ‘environment’ 1. surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, plant lives & operates 2. the natural world, as a whole or in a particular geographical area, especially as affected by human activity 12.The organization that recently declared that we were officially in the Anthropocene. The epoch that we were in before the Anthropocene. - The International Geological Congress - Holocene came before 13.Some of the geological indicators that mark the coming of the Anthropocene - Population growth - Industrialization - Pollution - Food production - Resource depletion 14.The two different possible future scenarios suggested by the Astronomer Royal of the UK.

- "The darkest prognosis for the next millennium is that bio, cyber or environmental catastrophes could foreclose humanity's immense potential, leaving a depleted biosphere," he said. - Shit view - Basically if no fix climate change, earth will die - But Lord Rees added that there is also cause for optimism. "Human societies could navigate these threats, achieve a sustainable future, and inaugurate eras of post-human evolution even more marvellous than what's led to us. The dawn of the Anthropocene epoch would then mark a one-off transformation from a natural world to one where humans jumpstart the transition to electronic (and potentially immortal) entities, that transcend our limitations and eventually spread their influence far beyond the Earth." - Good view - a future where humans use tech and science to transcend limitations, post-human evolution type shit, the ability to spread their influence and existence beyond Earth. - live forever 15. The drivers of the Earth’s climate system - Earth-Sun Relations - Distance from the equator - The Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) - Continentality - Altitude 16.The broad locations on Earth where you get a tropical wet climate, tropical dry climate, arid climate, and polar climate.

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- Tropical Wet-climate : Equatorial Latitudes - Tropical dry climate : Sub-tropical high - Arid climate : Midlatitudes - Polar climate : polar latitudes 17.Study the readings from Lecture 4-5 carefully. Pay particular attention to the attributed causes of climate change, the role of human activity in this, the mitigation options to keep warming below 2 degrees celsius, future climate risks and impacts. Also understand the reasons why the military is taking an increased interest in climate change. - ??? - Economic and population growth. - A decrease in cold temperature extremes, an increase in warm temperature extremes, an increase in extreme high sea levels and an increase in the number of heavy precipitation events in a number of regions. - If governments are to meet their own stated goal of limiting the warming of the planet to no more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 2 degrees Celsius, above the preindustrial level, they must restrict emissions from additional fossil-fuel burning to about 1 trillion tons of carbon dioxide - There are multiple mitigation pathways that are likely to limit warming to below 2°C relative to pre-industrial levels. These pathways would require substantial emissions reductions over the next few decades and near zero emissions of carbon dioxide and other long-lived greenhouse gases by the end of the century. Implementing such reductions poses substantial technological, economic, social, and institutional challenges, which increase with delays in

additional mitigation and if key technologies are not available. Limiting warming to lower or higher levels involves similar challenges, but on different timescales. - The new report, however, calls on the military to incorporate climate change into broader strategic thinking about high-risk regions — for example, the ways in which drought and food shortages might set off political unrest in the Middle East and Africa. The report lays out a road map to show how the military will adapt to rising sea levels, more violent storms and widespread droughts. The Defense Department will begin by integrating plans for climate change risks across all of its operations, from war games and strategic military planning situations to a rethinking of the movement of supplies. It is very likely that heat waves will occur more often and last longer, and that extreme precipitation events will become more intense and frequent in many regions. The ocean will continue to warm and acidify, and global mean sea level to rise. 18. Temperature trends based on distance from equator - Warm, moist air rising at the Equator : generally hot and wet. - Dry air moving up or down at 30° latitude: generally hot and dry . - Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) : where hot air meets and rises , causing cloud formation and precipitation. IT MOVES THROUGH THE YEAR! 19.The rate at which sea levels are rising in Atlantic City, NJ. The two New Jersey counties most vulnerable to future sea level rise (in terms of number pf people expected to be affected by it). The amount of days with flood events in Atlantic City, in the 1970s and the present day.

- Sea levels are rising in Atlantic City : 8 inches . - The 2 Jersey counties most vulnerable to future sea level rises : Atlantic and Ocean counties - 5 days in the 1970s and almost 30 in the present day 20.The total amount spilled (in barrels) from the Deepwater Horizon explosion. Know the events surrounding it well (Assignment and reading) - 4.7 million. Nearly $40 billion . - bp spilled oil in the Gulf of Mexico and tried to fix it w dispersants - but bad. 21.The country in West Africa with a quarter of global aluminum resources. The concept of the 'Resource curse' - Guinea - Dating back to Adam Smith, this is the notion that countries with abundant natural resources do not perform as well economically as those without. In an influential study by Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Warner, covering 97 countries between 1971-89, it was found that natural resource exporters grew at appreciably lower rates than other countries. - so having resources curses you and rich countries do worse than poor 22.The economist who said that, “resources are not…”. What this implies for the supposedly 'fixed' finite nature of physical resources - EW Zimmerman - finite

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23. The concept of decoupling - the example country in Europe that has achieved a degree of decoupling in the past 25 years - decouple is like breaking up a couple - economic growth and using resources - decoupling resource use from economic growth; reducing the dependency of economic growth on the consumption of natural resources. - two aspects of decoupling 1. Reducing the impact of resource use (impact decoupling), reducing impact of oil spills, adding safety regulations, paying to funds when mining, etc. 2. Resource decoupling from economic activity - typically as economic activity increases, resource use increases (and so does well-being) - need to decouple resource use from economic activity and well-being - Sweden has achieved a degree of decoupling CO2 emissions from GDP over the past 25 years (23% reduction in carbon dioxide usage and a 50% increase in GDP) - this success shows how we can adjust to make a more sustainable world and renewable future 24. The example of silver and its importance in explaining why quantities of natural resources are not permanently fixed, and declining. - a successful decoupling, because stopped using for photos since we have phones - declining demand for silver due to advanced technology

- BUT was not permanent fix bc its risen again for solar power/panels 25. Study the reading on geoengineering carefully. Especially projects to remove carbon from the atmosphere, and for increasing solar reflectance. Know these different proposals well. (Reading in lecture 4&5 pdf) - all proposals listed here - Geoengineering - refers to deliberate, large-scale interventions in the Earth's climate system to counteract the effects of climate change. - big projects to fix climate change - solar radiation management/carbon dioxide removal - increasing solar reflectance to reduce heating effect of sun on earth - Remove carbon from the air and store it in areas where i can’t interact with earth’s atmosphere - this could also address problem of ocean acidification