Chapter 18 APES

Global Climate Change

Global warming refers to the recent and ongoing rise in global average temperature near Earth's surface. It is caused mostly by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Global warming is causing climate patterns to change.

Proxy Indicators

Indirect measure or sign that approximates or represents a phenomenon in the absence of a direct measure or sign.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The IPCC is a scientific body under the auspices of the United Nations (UN). It reviews and assesses the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide relevant to the understanding of climate change

Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions.

Paleoclimate

a climate prevalent at a particular time in the geological past.

Greenhouse Gases

a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation, e.g., carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons.

Global Warming

a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants.

Carbon Sequestration

a natural or artificial process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and held in solid or liquid form.

Aerosols

a substance enclosed under pressure and able to be released as a fine spray, typically by means of a propellant gas.

Carbon Tax

a tax on fossil fuels, especially those used by motor vehicles, intended to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide.

Carbon-Neutrality

also called carbon neutrality is a term used to describe the action of organizations, businesses and individuals taking action to remove as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as each put in to it. The overall goal of carbon neutrality is to achieve a zero carbon footprint.

Climate Models

are systems of differential equations based on the basic laws of physics, fluid motion, and chemistry. To "run" a model, scientists divide the planet into a 3-dimensional grid, apply the basic equations, and evaluate the results.

Carbon offest

is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere.

Fee-and-Dividend

is a revenue-neutral mechanism designed to impose a progressive fee on carbon emissions and return the fee to the public, which has been proposed as an alternative method of reduction in fossil fuel use to cap and trade or carbon tax mechanisms.

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

is an international environmental treaty (currently the only international climate policy venue with broad legitimacy, due in part to its virtually universal membership) negotiated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

Kyoto Protocol

is an international treaty, which extends the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits State Parties to reduce greenhouse gases emissions, based on the premise that (a) global warming exists and (b) man-made CO2 emissions have caused it.

Carbon Foot-Print

is historically defined as "the total sets of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person." The total carbon footprint cannot be calculated because of the large amount of data required and the fact that carbon dioxide can be produced by natural occurrences.

Fourth assessment report

is the fourth in a series of reports intended to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change, its potential effects

Radiative Forcing

is the measurement of the capacity of a gas or other forcing agents to affect that energy balance, thereby contributing to climate change. Put more simply, RF expresses the change in energy in the atmosphere due to GHG emissions.

Carbon Capture

is the process of capturing waste carbon dioxide (CO2) from large point sources, such as fossil fuel power plants, transporting it to a storage site, and depositing it where it will not enter the atmosphere,

Milankovitch Cycle

refer to long term variations in the orbit of the Earth which result in changes in climate over periods hundred of thousands of years and are related to ice age cycles.

Mitigation

the action of reducing the severity, seriousness, or painfulness of something.

Adaptation

the action or process of adapting or being adapted.