Politics of Climate Change Midterm

Climate Justice

A term used for framing global warming as an ethical and political issue, rather than one that is purely environmental or physical in nature -addresses the just division, fair sharing, and equitable distribution of the burdens of climate change and its mitigation and responsibilities to deal with climate change. -Climate justice must be pursued hand-in-hand with climate mitigation and adaptation. -Marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change, so we must provide additional relief to them.

Hard Limits Adaptation

A type of limit in climate change where no further adaptation to climate change is possible. -physical changes are so drastic that there is no way to reduce risks. -Rising sea level capable of submerging coastal communities and islands are an example, as we don't have a way to lower the sea level.

Rentier Effect (Ross)

An abundant flow of oil revenues enables incumbents to both reduce taxes and increase patronage and public goods, making it possible for them to buy off a larger set of potential challengers and reduce dissent. -The rentier effect is one of the main reasons the resource curse is prevalent.

The Carbon Bathtub

As long as we pour CO2 into the atmosphere faster than nature drains it out, the planet warms. And the extra carbon takes a long time to drain out of the tub. -Carbon dioxide hangs in the atmosphere for between 300 and 1,000 years.

Sea Level Rise

Causes erosion of shorelines and rainforests, flooding of wetlands that house freshwater ecosystems. -Caused by global climate changes that is melting sea ice and glaciers. -Specifically, Greenland and West Antarctica ice sheets are being melted, which is contributing heavily to sea level rise. -How much the sea level has risen is essentially irreversible. -Warming has meant that a Mexico-Sized chunk of Antarctica failed to refreeze this year. (Mackenzie and Sahay Reading).

Climate Villains (as a concept)

Climate Villains (Fossil Fuel Companies, the Rich), are helpful in creating alliances between groups to fulfill a specific goal against a common enemy. -having a villain and someone to blame something on can produce change and collective action. Coalitions and teaming up among coalitions can develop in order to produce change against a common villain. -Villains/portraying and pinpointing villains can produce coalitions and collective action.

Feedback Loop

Climate change can trigger feedback loops, where the effects of warming contribute to further warming. -For example, as Arctic ice melts, it reduces the Earth's albedo (light or radiation reflected by a surface), causing more heat absorption and further ice melt.

Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)

Considered the original doomer, believed that human population was growing more rapidly than food supply, until famines, war, or disease reduces the population. (Malthusian Catastrophe)

Stock Energy (Malm)

Consists of the relics of solar energy from the distant past, residing outside the landscape, freely transported and stored, but requiring human labor to exploit. -Ex: Fossil Fuels -The Story of the Industrial Revolution is the replacement of flow and animate power with stock energy.

Flow Energy (Malm)

Energy such as air or water accessible for collection and concentrated use by machinery, conditioned by landscape, and weather. -uncaptured by photosynthesis -Ex: Wind Mill, Water Mill

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Gases formed by human activity, including industry, that trap heat in the atmosphere and lead to climate change. -these gases include cardon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. -the level of greenhouse gas emissions has been expanding exponentially, leading to a great increase in global warming and climate change. -coal is the dirtiest of the GHG emissions, and thus must be dealt with first.

IPCC Report

Human influence has been the dominant cause of observed warming since the mid-20th century. -global warming includes impacts such as arctic sea ice loss and acidification of the global surface ocean. -the global water cycle will intensify driving changes to monsoons, and tropical storms and fire weather will intensify. -At this level of global warming many low-elevation and small glaciers around the world will lose most of their mass or disappear and coral reefs will decline by a further 70 - 90%. At 2C, changes in food availability and diet quality could increase nutrition-related diseases and undernourishment for up to hundreds of millions of people. -The magnitude and rate of future losses depends strongly on near-term mitigation and adaptation actions. -We must try to limit global warming to 1.5 C. -Current pledges for how countries will cut emissions by 2030 make it likely that global warming will exceed 1.5C this century and will make it harder to limit temperatures to 2C. -A transition to renewable energy will be critical. -A quick reduction in methane emissions can limit near-term warming, as methane is a very potent GHG that has a much greater warming potential compared to CO2. -Global surface temperatures and the rate of sea level have increased faster since 1970 than in any other 50-year period over at least the last 2000 years. -demonstrated how bad the impacts of 2 C warming would be, proposed to try to keep it below 1.5 C. -Emissions cut in half by 2030, Net Zero by 2050 -we are much less likely to hit 4C than we thought.

Industrial Capitalism

Industrial capitalism is an economic system characterized by private ownership of the means of production, profit-driven enterprises, wage labor, and the widespread use of industrial technologies and factories to produce goods and services. It emerged during the Industrial Revolution and has been a dominant economic model in many parts of the world. -One reason industrialization had such a big effect was that it was tied to the economic system known as capitalism. -Private ownership allows for profit generation and competition. -The primary driving force in industrial capitalism is the pursuit of profit.

Malthusian Pre-Modern Economies

It has been proved that pre-modern economies were meaningfully "Malthusian". -The Malthusian economy characterized almost all economies before the industrial revolution, as food production could not outpace population growth. -Population growth and urbanization increased in Greek and Roman periods, then declined in the Late-Antiquity Pause with the fall of Rome, decline in population, and worsening of living conditions. -the late antiquity pause can be attributed to population pressures that exceeded the capacity of the economy to sustain it.

Conflicting ideas of Coal between Malm and Mitchell

Malm: Coal is a stock that capitalists can control Mitchell: Coal requires miners, and autonomous miners at that

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

Process of removing carbon dioxide gas from coal-burning power and industrial plants and storing it somewhere (usually underground or under the seabed) so that it is not released into the atmosphere, essentially forever. -According to the IPCC report, to reach net-zero CO2 and GHG emissions, fossil fuel industries must implement Carbon Capture and Storage in their facilities to make sure CO2 isn't releasing into the atmosphere, but it put underground.

Per Capita Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Saudi Arabia and the U.S. tied for first in per capita GHG's. -Canada in third -Australia in fourth -South Korea in 5th. -China very far down the list.

Animate Power (Malm)

Sources of energy embodies in living creatures and conditioned by the imperatives of metabolism. -Human or Animal Power

The Great Derangement

Term coined by Amitav Ghosh Definition: the inability of society to confront the climate crisis adequately. -Contends that the climate crisis is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and yet it has been largely marginalized in culture. -the modern emphasis on individualism, the dominance of market-driven economies, and the colonial legacy have all contributed to this failure to address climate change effectively.

Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is the most significant climate legislation in U.S. history, offering funding, programs, and incentives to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy and will likely drive significant deployment of new clean electricity resources. The Inflation Reduction Act incentives reduce renewable energy costs for organizations like Green Power Partners - businesses, nonprofits, educational institutions, and state, local, and tribal organizations. Taking advantage of Inflation Reduction Act incentives, such as tax credits, is key to lowering GHG emission footprints and accelerating the clean energy transition.

Regulatory State Provision

The U.S. government regulates and oversees monopolies on energy use. -sets national energy policies, funds research and development in the energy sector, and sets and enforces regulations related to emissions, pollution, and environmental impacts.

Hockey Sticks of Prosperity and Doom

The charts in Figure 3 capture the trajectory of the Anthropocene, with a series of blue hockey sticks showing rising economic activity followed by a series of red hockey sticks showing destructive earth systems trends. -As World Population, Real GDP, Urban Population, and Primary Energy Use has increased exponentially since 1950 (blue hockey sticks), so has the rise of Carbon Dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane emissions, ocean acidification, surface temperature, and tropical forest loss increased exponentially (red hockey sticks).

The Great Divergence

The process in which Western Europe and the parts of the New World where its people became the dominant population, overcame pre-modern growth constraints and emerged during the 19th century as the most powerful and wealthy world civilizations. -The Convenience of coal supplies in Britain allowed the country to leap in the 1800s ahead of the rest of the world. -The Industrial Revolution particularly caused the great divergence, with increased productivity and economic growth. -Better energy sources and technological advancement = Divergence in Economic Growth and Wealth produced in a country.

Regulatory Capture

The situation that occurs when a governmental regulatory agency ends up being controlled by the industry that it is supposed to be regulating. -when a regulatory agency that is created to act in the public interest, instead advances the commercial or political concerns of special interest groups that dominate an industry or sector the agency is charged with regulating. -monetary gifts can incentivize the government regulatory agency to help out the industry. -very bad for clean energy transition and climate change

Stock

The total concentration of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. -Climate change and global warming depend on the overall stock of GHG's. -Even if flows are reduced down to 0, stocks will still be high for a very long time (300 to 1,000 years potentially).

Differentiated Responsibilities

There are different beliefs on who should bear the costs of dealing with climate change globally. These can be differentiated into 3 categories: 1. Casual Responsibility Principle 2. Beneficiary Pays Principle 3. Ability to Pay Principle

"Global Boiling" - Mackenzie and Sahay

This July has been the hottest over the last 120,000 years. Warming has meant that a Mexico-Sized chunk of Antarctica failed to refreeze this year. -Increased amounts of water vapor - itself a powerful greenhouse gas - caused by warming on Planet Ocean are in turn turbocharging the vast atmospheric heat engine, causing more extreme weather (reinforcing feedback loop). -This year has seen record oil consumption and record coal production. -What matters is the accumulated stock of carbon in the atmosphere rather than the annual rate of emissions (flow). As long as our emissions keep flowing faster into the atmosphere faster than they can be drained by rain forests and oceans, the atmospheric stock of carbon will keep rising.

Ability to Pay Principle

Those who are able to should pay. -Recognizes that past emissions may not have yielded present benefits for a given country and places costs on those least harmed by having to bear them. -Cons: Disconnecting responsibility from causation can have perverse incentives that prompts polluters to keep polluting.

Beneficiary Pays Principle

Those who have benefited from excess emissions should pay. -Cons: Because it assumes that strict liability can apply retrospectively and can be inherited, present beneficiaries can complain it is unfair on them. -The Beneficiary Pays Principle and Polluter Pays principle can be linked.

Soft Limit Adaptations

Type of limit in climate change where currently there is no way to adapt to change, but there may be a way in the future, due to cost or technological limitations.

COP (Conference of the Parties)

UNFCCC holds a COP every year to negotiate comprehensive agreement to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. -Paris Agreement established in COP 21. -The next COP, COP 28, is in Dubai which is an oil producing country, and thus members of Congress and the European Parliament are urging the removal of Sultan Al Jaber as president of the next U.N. Climate Change Conference.

Climate Change Physical Climate Impacts (from human influence)

Virtually Certain: 1. Upper ocean acidification 2. Increase in hot temperature extremes Very Likely: 1. Glacier retreat 2. Global sea level rise Likely: 1. increase in heavy precipitation Medium Confidence: 1. Increase in agricultural and ecological drought 2. Increase in fire weather 3. Increase in compound flooding

State Provision

When a nationalized industry is the main provider of a good or service. -rather than subsidizing companies to help with the clean energy transition, the state can also promote and build new energy on its own to help in mitigating climate change. -Companies, through competition should reduce prices of renewables, but public provisions cannot do this. -Governments play a crucial role in developing policies, regulations, and initiatives to combat climate change and its impacts.

Climate Change

a change in global or regional climate patterns -attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.

Tipping Points

a critical threshold when a small change can have potentially drastic effects. -Mostly linked to climate change and pollution and the increase in the emissions of greenhouse gases -Points where a threshold of increase in warming could completely destroy a system of Earth.

The Elephant Curve

a graph that illustrates the unequal distribution of income growth for individuals belonging to different income groups. -Shows that the developed-world middle class experienced a decline in income growth, but the global elite experiences a boom in come growth from 1988 to 2008. -Also shows that the very poorest global individuals are locked out of income growth.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

a greenhouse gas emitted from fossil fuel power plants and from burning biomass. -Main Contributor of climate change -CO2 in the atmosphere traps heat that would be released into space, thus causing warming. -Can stay in the atmosphere for between 300 to 1,000 years

Gini Coefficient

a measure of income inequality between countries using a 100-point scale, in which a Gini index of 0 represents complete equality and 100 represents complete inequality. -On a graph, perfect equality is a linear line (45 degrees angle), while some inequality is represented by a line that appears to have an exponential growth curve. -Anything below this curve indicates extreme inequality. -According to the Gini Coefficient, the highest levels of inequality are in South America and Southern Africa. -U.S. has very high inequality in wealth.

Subsidies

a sum of money granted by the government or a public body to assist an industry or business so that the price of a commodity or service may remain low or competitive. -subsidies are essential in creating the transition to clean energy.

Aerosols

a suspension of particles or droplets in the air that includes airborne dusts, mists, fumes or smoke. -According to the IPCC Report, Aerosols have contributed to a cooling of 0.0C - 0.8C of the earth's surface but they are still bad for air quality. -Most aerosols are cooling, they reflect the sun's energy back out into space.

(Climate Change) Adaptation

altering our behavior, systems, and—in some cases—ways of life to protect our families, our economies, and the environment in which we live from the impacts of climate change. -trying to reduce the damage of the problem but not actually solving or reducing the problem itself. -responding to the effects of climate change.

El Nino

an irregularly occurring and complex series of climatic changes affecting the equatorial Pacific region and beyond every few years, characterized by the appearance of unusually warm, nutrient-poor water off northern Peru and Ecuador, typically in late December. -these changes can have global effects

Geoengineering

an umbrella term for both carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management (or solar geoengineering), when applied at a planetary scale. -Geoengineering schemes that could increase the reflectance of incoming solar radiation include raising ground-level albedo, injecting sulfur particles into the stratosphere, whitening marine clouds, and delivering millions of tiny orbital mirrors or sunshades into space. -can include weather modification

Fire Weather in Climate Change

changes in climate (increases in temperature) create warmer, drier conditions, leading to longer and more active fire seasons. -As global warming increases, fire weather will intensify. -This July has been the hottest over the last 120,000 years (Mackenzie and Sahay Reading).

Anthropogenic Climate Change

human caused climate change -Last 9 years have been warmest on record, compared to 1951 - 1980 average).

Malthusian Catastrophe

occurs when population growth outpaces agricultural production, causing famine or war, resulting in poverty and depopulation. -food production is linear, but population grows exponentially, so eventually there will be a point when population growth exceeds food production. -The way we have escaped this catastrophe is through the industrial revolution, and increases in agricultural productivity. -Increased productivity of machines.

Mitigation

reducing climate change -reducing the size and extent of the problem. -involves reducing the flow of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, either by reducing sources of these gases (for example, the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat, or transport) or enhancing the "sinks" that accumulate and store these gases.

Methane Hydrates

solid, frozen deposits of methane gas found on the ocean floor or in permafrost.

Green Premium

the additional cost of pollution-free production. -In other words, it's how much more you have to pay to do an activity without somehow relying on fossil fuels. -things that are renewable or better for the environment often cost more. -This green premium can make it hard to transition to renewable energy, as it will cost much more.

Negative Externalities (in climate change)

the adverse and unintended consequences of economic activities or decisions that result in environmental harm, specifically contributing to the acceleration of global climate change. consequences that aren't in cost of money: pollution, global warming, etc.

Resource Curse (Ross)

the adverse effects of a country's natural resource wealth on its economic, social, or political well-being.

Industrial Development

the building and growing of industries within an economy by using new technologies which make jobs easier, faster, and better and lead to an increase in a business' output and an increase in profits.

Global Inequality

the concentration of resources in core nations and in the hands of a wealthy minority -the richest 1% of individuals in the world own almost 48% of the World's Wealth.

Ecosystem Services

the direct and indirect contributions ecosystems (known as natural capital) provide for human wellbeing and quality of life. -Ecological Processes that have monetary value to people. -Ex: Tourism - Grand Canyon provides beauty that promotes tourism, and thus produces economic wealth and growth.

UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)

the foundational treaty that has provided a basis for international climate negotiations since it was established in 1992, including landmark agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015). -The Convention has been ratified by 197 states who have committed to act on climate change and regularly report on their progress. -The ultimate goal of the Convention is the "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system"

Peak Oil

the hypothetical point in time when the global production of oil reaches its maximum rate, after which production will gradually decline. -predicted to occur before 2030. -It is unsure if peak oil has been reached, but Oil is a finite natural resource produced over a geological timespan whereas demand continues to climb. Because oil is finite, there will be a point where we will run out of oil in the future. -But, production could reach its maximum rate before we fully run out of oil, such as if the transition to renewables causes a great decline in oil production.

Compound Causes of Climate Change

the interplay of various factors that contribute to global temperature increases and other climate-related changes. -Greenhouse Gas emissions, deforestation, land use changes (urbanization, agriculture expansion, and infrastructure development), agricultural practices, industrial processes, soot, feedback loop, ocean currents and circulation patterns, and methane hydrates (found in the ocean floor and permafrost), can all cause climate change, and compound causes of climate change often involve the interaction of these multiple factors.

Carbon Footprint

the total carbon dioxide emissions produced by an individual over their lifetime.

Decoupling

where continued economic growth is accompanied by a further contraction in CO2 emissions. -Countries including Germany, Ireland, the U.S., and the United Kingdom have achieved decoupling.

"Carbon Democracy" - Mitchell

-"Fossil fuels helped create both the possibility of twentieth-century democracy and its limits." -the differentiation between coal and oil in the context of fossil fuels either enables or hinders a country's progress toward democratization.

GHG Emissions by Sector

-73.2% of GHG's produced by energy, including energy in buildings, transportation, and energy use in industry. -18.4% in Agriculture, Forestry, and Land Use, including Livestock and manure (5.8%), and deforestation (2.2%). -5.2% in Industry, including chemicals (2.2%) and cement. -3.2% in Waste

$30 per day poverty line

-85% of the world population live on less than $30 per day. -This poverty line is what distinguishes high income countries from low income countries. -High income countries have become rich largely due to their use of fossil fuels.

Causal Responsibility Principle/ Polluter Pays Principle

-Belief that those who have caused the build-up of CO2 in the atmosphere should bear the costs. -Cons: Logical but those who emitted in the past may not have realized they were doing any wrong, and now they are dead anyway. So, while requiring future polluters to pay may be fair, we cannot impose costs on past polluters. -Can be applied to individuals, fossil fuel companies, and countries.

Highest Emission Contributing Countries

-China produces the most global emissions, makes up 30% of the emissions worldwide. -The U.S. is 2nd with 12% of the emissions worldwide. -India is in 3rd with 7% -Russia is in 4th with 5% -Japan is in 5th with 3%

Climate Change Misnomers

-Climate change is not uniform across the planet, it is actually highly nonuniform. -its not just about temperature. -its rapid (instead of gradual) compared to capacities for adjustment. -harmful for most places and times.

Ocean Acidification Impacts

-Creates Habitat Loss -Kills nearly all coral -alter marine food chains and food supply to humans. -Two additional degrees of warming would virtually kill all of the world's living coral reefs, threatening the survival of roughly a quarter of global ocean biodiversity and affecting the protein supply of hundreds of millions of people (Wallace-Wells reading).

Cumulative Historic Emissions

-Cumulative CO2 emissions in the world has exceeded 1.6 trillions tons. -The U.S. has contributed the most cumulative emissions (since 1750), followed by the European Union, then China. -The U.S. has contributed over 400 billion tons of CO2 emissions.

Coal and Democratization (Mitchell)

-During the industrial revolution, dependence on coal in a country was highly associated with the emergence of democracy. -With coal came miners who developed a sense of militancy. Because the miners' jobs were essential to the new industrial life and could not be replaced, they often engaged in political mobilization and striking for better working conditions. -The concentrated structure of coal's distribution networks also made coal industries vulnerable to strikes by dock men and rail waymen. -These groups of workers were able to make claims for increased social rights and had opportunities to have their voices heard, which ultimately led to the establishment of forms of welfare democracy. -meant the government and corporations were more likely to give in to their demands, thus encouraging democratic processes. -Political mobilization of workers = emergence of democracy

"Electrify Everything"

-Electrification is replacing fossil gas (i.e., natural gas) equipment and appliances with electrically powered options. -can be done with renewable energy. -a type of mitigation. -More renewable energy is being put to work while coal plants are being retired. -Weakness: we would have to build a massive grid for electricity to be distributed, which would be costly and time-consuming.

Climate Villains (as individuals)

-Fossil fuel companies can primarily been seen as the "climate villains", as they pursue profits over saving our planet. -Big Oil profits were at record highs in 2022, with $200 Billion profit. (Exxon Mobil leading with $59.1B). -Just 100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions. Fossil fuel companies are the head of these. -Big Oil companies coined the term "Carbon footprint" to blame the general citizenry for greed and causing climate change.

"Global warming will happen faster than we think" - Yangyang Xu

-Global warming is accelerating (in 2018) because of three trends: rising emissions, declining air pollution such as aerosols that reflect sunlight and keep the planet cooler, and signs that the planet is entering a natural warm phase that could last for a couple of decades. -slashing the emissions of methane, soot and HFC's (Hydrofluorocarbon, an F-gas) could potentially halve the warming trend over the next 25 years, so this would be a good place to focus first.

Oil and Lack of Democratization (Mitchell)

-In countries where there was a dependence on oil, this fossil fuel created an inability for democratization. -Since oil comes from the ground up, it requires a smaller workforce and can be supervised. Additionally, pipelines and pumping stations were able to replace railways as a means of transporting energy, which broke up the concentrated distribution networks that coal had. -These factors made oil less vulnerable to labor movements. Because oil did not offer the same powers to paralyze energy systems and produce strikes, it was unable to help in building a democratic system of government in countries specifically in the Middle East. -When the production of energy shifted to oil from the middle east, it provided opportunities to weaken the forms of carbon-based political mobilization on which the emergence of industrial democracy had depended. -avoid strikes (b/c can easily get new workers) = decrease in democratization

The Nine Climate Tipping Points

-In these tipping points, rising global temperatures could push parts of the Earth system into irreversible change. 1. Greenland Ice Sheet Disintegration: Irreversible retreat of the ice sheet caused by rising temps. 2. Permafrost Loss: Abrupt increase in emissions of CO2 and methane through the thawing of frozen carbon-rich soils. 3. Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Breakdown: Shutdown of the AMOC caused by an increased influx of freshwater into the North Atlantic 4. Boreal Forest Shift: A shift in boreal forests, seeing expansion into tundra to the north and dieback to the south (Biome shift). 5. Amazon Rainforest Dieback: Deforestation and hotter, drier conditions causing dieback of the rainforest and a shift towards savannah. 6. West Antarctic Ice Sheet Disintegration: Collapse of the ice sheet triggered by persistent retreat. 7. West African Monsoon Shift: An abrupt change in Sahel rainfall, caused by a shift northwards (wetter) or southwards (dried) in the West African monsoon. 8. Indian Monsoon Shift: The monsoon system could be weakened by higher aerosol emissions or strengthened by rising CO2 emissions. 9. Coral Reef Die-off: Rising temperatures pushing corals beyond tolerable levels of thermal stress into an alternative state dominated by macroalgae.

F-gases (fluorinated gases)

-Include CF4, C2F6, and SF6. -Called "The Immortals" for their extremely long atmospheric lifetimes. -SF6 lives in the atmosphere for 3,200 years, C2F6 for 10,000 years, and CF4 for 50,000 years. -SF6 has a global warming potential of 25,200, C2F6 with 12,400, and CF4 with 7,380. -primarily used as refrigerants, foam-blowing agents, aerosol propellants, solvents, fire suppressants, and insulating materials (used for chemical processes). -Important to reduce these in solving climate change.

"Fossil Capital" - Malm

-People do not invent new technologies because they are affluent, but because they are poor, and resources are scarce. -Scarcity forces the society to make some alteration in the way it gains living from the environment. The start of the energy transition was brought about by the need to replace natural resources that were becoming scarce in the face of rising demand. -The water wheels were discarded for steam power (coal) because it was limited by the number of streams with suitable sites for mills, whereas coal to fuel the steam engine was plentifully and ecologically favorable. -Malm argues that it is ingrained within human nature to seek progress and greater productivity when scarcity is present -the adoption of coal as the primary energy source was driven by the imperatives of capitalist development. -coal drove the rise of capitalism which drove democracy.

Uncertainty (in Climate Change)

-Predictions of how much temperature will rise in the 21st century are uncertain because the response of the climate to changing greenhouse gas concentrations, the rate of ocean heat uptake and the effects of cloud cover and aerosols are all poorly quantified. -The uncertainties are due to an incomplete understanding of Earth's systems and their interactions; natural variability in the climate system; the limitations of climate models; bias; and measurement errors from imprecise observational instruments.

Profits

-Profits are what drives businesses and companies. -If solar manufacturing isn't profitable, it will be very difficult to implement even with subsidies and benefits given by the government for using solar manufacturing. -Fossil fuel companies are so driven by profits that they are willing to deterioate the earth to unliveable conditions.

"Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View" -David Wallace-Wells

-Thanks to astonishing declines in the price of renewables, a truly global political mobilization, a clearer picture of the energy future and serious policy focus from world leaders, we have cut expected warming almost in half in just five years. -Many believe that it has become the case that switching rapidly to renewable energy isn't a net cost; it will be a net financial benefit. -cost of solar power falling 85% since 2010, and the cost of wind power declining more than 55%. 90% of the global pop. live in places where new renewable power would be cheaper than new dirty power. -This year, investment in green energy has surpassed that in fossil fuels. -Recently, there has begun a new era of climate action where the vast majority of world leaders feel pressed to make climate action by the force of protest, public anxiety, and voter pressure. -Climate Justice: addresses the just division, fair sharing, and equitable distribution of the burdens of climate change and its mitigation and responsibilities to deal with climate change.

Loaded Climate Dice

-The climate dice is becoming more "loaded" towards hotter weather. -If on a dice, there are sides that are white, meaning average temperature, sides that are blue, meaning colder temperature, and sides that are red, meaning hotter temperature, in recent years the dice is becoming increasingly "loaded" in favor of landing on the red sides. -Over the last decade, the red area is 87.6%, meaning there is a 87.6% chance of warmer temperature, so now five sides of the dice happen to be red, thus the dice is very loaded in favor of the red, warmer temperature.

Weather

-The condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place, including temperature, precipitation, and other factors

Society's Options in Climate Change

-The options are mitigation adaptation, and suffering. We must do all three in solving climate change. -Minimizing the amount of suffering can only be achieved by doing a lot of mitigation and a lot of adaptation. -Mitigation alone won't work because climate change is already occurring and can't be stopped quickly. -And adaptation alone won't work because adaptation gets costlier and less effective as climate change grows. -We need enough mitigation to avoid the unmanageable, enough adaptation to manage the unavoidable.

Global Inequality in Living Conditions

-There is great inequality between the wealthy nations, such as the western nations, the U.S., and Japan and the poor countries such as those in Africa. -Morality rates of children under the age of 5, life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, expected years of schooling, and average income are all extremely low in poor countries and the gap in these conditions with wealthy nations is very high.

Deforestation (in climate change)

-When deforestation occurs, much of the carbon stored by trees is released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, which contributes to climate change. -forests, especially tropical forests/rainforests, are an important carbon sink.

Ocean Acidification

-a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period of time, caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.

Risks (of GHG's)

-cause climate change by trapping heat -contribute to respiratory disease from smog and air pollution. -Extreme weather, food supply disruptions, and increased wildfires are other effects of climate change caused by greenhouse gases.

Net-Zero Emissions

-cutting greenhouse gas emissions to as close to zero as possible CO2 produced - CO2 absorbed = 0 -The hope is that any remaining emissions will be absorbed by oceans and forests.

Manabe's Climate Model

-explored the interaction between radiation balance and the vertical transport of air masses due to convection. -The sun (solar radiation) shines down on the ground of earth. -The ground is then heated, and some the infrared heat radiation from the ground is absorbed in the atmosphere, warming the air and the ground, while the other radiation radiates out into space. -If there is more CO2 in the atmosphere, it will be able to capture more of the infrared solar radiation and less will radiate into space, thus increasing the planet's warming.

"What Have We Learned about the Resource Curse?" - Ross

-high levels of petroleum income lead to more durable authoritarian rulers and regimes. -more petroleum income increases the likelihood of certain types of government corruption -moderately high levels of petroleum wealth, and possibly other types of resource wealth (diamonds) tend to trigger or sustain conflict when they are found in regions dominated by marginalized ethnic groups, particularly in low and middle income countries. -increases in oil wealth help autocratic regimes ward off other autocratic challengers or groups that produce violence and disapproval of the regime by investing more in repression or spend more on the military. -finds that the resource curse is conditional; if a country was well-established before the resource was found in that country, then the government will be able to use the resource to support the state effectively. But, if the country is already in poor conditions or authoritarian rule, and the resource is introduced, it will likely lead to greater corruption and instability. -helps dictators, but doesn't do anything to democracies.

Climate Impacts

-the extent to which current and future generations will experience a hotter and different world depends on choices now and in the near term. -vulnerable/poor communities are disproportionately affected by climate change. High Confidence of Adverse Impacts: -inland flooding -flood/storm induced damages in coastal areas -heat malnutrition and harm from wildfires -mental health impacts -displacement -increase in infectious diseases -damages to infrastructure -damages to key economic sectors -damage to terrestrial, freshwater, and ocean ecosystems -decrease in agriculture/crop production. -decrease in fisheries yield and aquaculture production

Flows

-the rate at which additional greenhouse gases are emitted = emissions -Humans can control and reduce the "flow" of greenhouse gases and emissions.

Greenhouse Gas Proportions of Harm

1. CO2: 74.4% 2. Methane: 17.3% 3. Nitrous Oxide: 6.2% 4. F-Gases (Fluorinated Gases): 2.1%

Paris Agreement (2015)

196 countries agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit the rise in Earth's temperature to no more than 2 degrees centigrade. -pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. -The U.S. exited from the Paris Agreement in 2020. -Requires all countries to set emissions-reduction pledges, but each country decided their own way to reduce emissions. -marks the beginning of a shift towards a net-zero emissions world. -Expectation that rich countries would take on the bulk on working to reduce climate change.

Why did steam win in the industrial revolution? (Malm)

2 Factors: 1. The management of water power required cooperation between competing millowners. 2. Steam freed millowners from settlements in upper river valleys and allowed production to be concentrated in towns with large supplies of labor. -Basically, the preferences of owners made steam more popular than water power. -There was neither a shortage of water nor was it more expensive than steam or less technologically advanced. It was simply based on the 2 factors above.

La Nina

A cooling of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America, occurring periodically every 4 to 12 years and affecting Pacific and other weather patterns. -The pattern of El Nino and La Nina shifts back and forth irregularly every two to seven years, bringing predictable shifts in ocean surface temperature and disrupting the wind and rainfall patterns across the tropics.

Attribution Science

A field of research that examines whether - and by how much - climate change may be responsible for specific extreme weather events -understanding the role of climate change versus natural weather patterns and climate variability -Ex: the Hurricane Harvey research that found climate change caused the storm to drop significantly more rain than it would have before atmospheric carbon dioxide levels spiked due to fossil fuel use.

Nitrous Oxide

A greenhouse gas emitted from fertilizers and animal wastes and produced from burning fossil fuels. -Has a global warming potential 273 times higher than carbon dioxide within 100 years. -Has a atmospheric lifetime of around 114 years. -Its potency and relatively long life make N2O a dangerous contributor to climate change.

Methane

A greenhouse gas produced by coal, natural gas, and oil. -Methane emissions also result from livestock and other agricultural practices, land use, and by the decay of organic waste in municipal solid waste landfills. -Disperses/breaks down in the atmosphere in around only 10 to 20 years (around 12 years). But, absorbs much more energy while it exists in the atmosphere. -Methane has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after it reaches the atmosphere. -For both these reasons above, methane is the target for reducing in the near term.

Fossil Fuels

A hydrocarbon-containing material such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. -gasoline is a specific type of fuel derived from crude oil, not oil itself.

Carbon Sink

A natural environment, such as a forest or the ocean, that absorbs and stores more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases, which offsets greenhouse gas emissions. -anything that absorbs (accumulates and stores) more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases -According to the IPCC Report, as CO2 emissions increase, the land and ocean carbon sinks will be less effective at slowing the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Industrial Revolution

A series of improvements in industrial technology that transformed the process of manufacturing goods. -It marked the transition from agrarian and craft-based economies to industrial and manufacturing-based economies, characterized by the widespread use of machinery, factories, and mass production techniques. -led to urbanization -new agricultural innovations created an agricultural revolution that significantly increased agricultural productivity, allowing the majority of the population to move to living into cities instead of being farmers. -industrial revolution occurred as coal became the primary source of energy. : Coal was a readily available and efficient source of energy for powering the steam engines that drove machinery in factories, textile mills, and other industrial settings.