ch 19 quiz

NASA climate scientist James Hansen predicts we need to bring CO2 levels down to the level we had in 1990 in order to maintain a climate similar to what we have had over the last 10,000 years. What is that 1990 CO2 level?

350 ppm

climate scientists, how much of an increase in temperature will threaten human civilization as we know it?

4 degrees C

prevent CO2 levels from reaching an irreversible tipping point of _____ ppm, which could set into motion large-scale, long-term changes.

450 ppm

Without changing what we are doing to the environment, the projected amount of warming by the year 2100 is

5 degrees C

United States is responsible for 25% of the cumulative emissions of CO2. China is responsible for what percentage of the same emissions?

5%

If current rates of CO2 emissions continue, the CO2 level will be at what level by 2050?

560 ppm

atmosphere primarily?

78% nitrogen/ 21% oxygen

Major climate models predict all of the following, except

falling global sea levels

9. Changes in the energy output of the sun are responsible for the majority of the rise in earth's temperature.

false

By 2009, less than 5 U.S. states had set goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions?-

false

It is possible to tell if the earth's climate is changing based on a few years, or a decade or two

false

Rising sea levels, increasing cloud cover, and air pollution will decrease climate change.

false

Scientists accept there is nothing we can do to change the coming climate disaster

false

Scientific debate over whether the warming of the ocean would or would not result in more frequent and stronger tropical storms and hurricanes, was settled by consensus. The consensus stated there would be

fewer and stronger

NASA Scientist James Hansen used the eruption of the volcano Mount Pinatubo to test his computer models about which of the following?

global climate change

One key component to a successful strategy to reduce the threat of projected climate disruption must be which of the following

global energy efficiency revolution

how make a photovoltaic cell?

refine silica, add other elements

40. California requested that the EPA allow it to set tough new standards for CO2 emissions. The response of EPA was to

refuse request

rise in sea level is least likely to

save coral reefs

1906 and 2005, mean global temperature had risen _____ degree(s) Centigrade.

.6-.8

top (3) greenhouse gases

1) carbon dioxide 2) methane 3) CFC

top (5) wind energy

1) germany 2) US 3) denmark 4) spain 5) china

future of energy (3)

1) reduce energy waste 2) renewable energy 3) include environmental costs in market prices

Greenland's glaciers contain what percentage of the world's freshwater?

10%

CFCs take _____ years to reach the stratosphere.

10-20

If all of the ozone-depleting substances were banned tomorrow, it would take about ____ years for earth to recover to pre-1950 levels

100 years

concentration of carbon dioxide in the troposphere at the start of the Industrial Revolution was approximately

280 ppm

The minimum period of time for measuring climate, rather than weather, is which of the following?

30 years

the beginning of the industrial revolution, the acidity of the ocean surface has increased by what percentage?

30%

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) techniques have all of the following problems, except

CCS requires stored CO2 to remain sealed away from the atmosphere forever

1987, 36 nations meeting in Montreal, Canada, developed the Montreal Protocol to reduce production of

CFC

Researchers Rowland and Molina, in 1974, came to all of the following conclusions about CFCs except

CFCs combine with water vapor and are responsible for acid rain

Following is a list of possible climate change tipping points, except for one. Choose the one that is not a tipping point.

amazon rainforest

of the following are examples of reducing carbon dioxide levels in the troposphere through carbon sequestration, except

bringing more cropland into production

which are greenhouse gases?

carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor

The greenhouse effect is best described as

consensus science

Which of the following is not a strategy for reducing the threat of climate change?

continue with current practices

There are six major methods governments can use to promote solutions to climate disruption, including all of the following, except

curb population growth

oceans absorb between 25-30% of the CO2 in the lower atmosphere. As the oceans heat up, this absorption

decreases

most serious threat from ozone depletion is that increased UV radiation

destroys phytoplankton

Which of the following companies has cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 72% and saved $3 billion while increasing its business by almost a third?-

dupont

1% of the earth's lower atmosphere is composed of all the following greenhouse gases, except

hydrogen

2005 study indicates the area of the earth's land experiencing severe drought between 1979 and 2002, what %s?

increased form 15% to 30%

The effects of ozone depletion on humans includes all of the following, except

more brain cancers

warmer world is least likely to result in

more moderate weather

which of the following statements about the greenhouse effect is false?

new concept responsible for climate change

primary cause of a 20% increase in nitrous oxide emissions over the past 275 years.

nitrogen fertilizers

Increased rain in the north Atlantic, along with melting of land-based glaciers may alter the oceans by irreversibly disrupting

ocean current conveyor belts

Carbon capture and storage techniques have all of the following problems, except

operates on precautionary principle

taking carbon dioxide out of the air

photosynthesis

climate models predict that global warming will be most severe in which regions?

polar

expected as global warming causes drought to get worse that the growth of trees and plants will slow, reducing CO2 removal from the atmosphere and intensifying global warming. An effect such as this is called

positive feedback

Which of the following best describes the earth's average surface temperature for the past 900,000 years

prolonged periods of cooling and warming

overnments can use four of the following methods to promote solutions to the climate change crisis. Which of the following is not one of those methods?

shift production of electricity to developing countries

which renewable energy sources has the largest long term potential?

solar phototvoltaics

what kind of wind needed?

steady, strong, proximity of people

people believe the sun has become hotter and is responsible for global warming. Data about which of the following disputes that claim?

stratosphere cooler then troposphere

It has been suggested that the threat of global warming can be addressed by all of the following geoengineering strategies, except-

styrofoam

2-degree Celsius warming is apparently inevitable because we have waited too long to prevent it.

true

A 2007 study by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies predicts 45% of the world's land area could be experiencing extreme drought by 2059?

true

A layer of ozone in the lower stratosphere reduces the sun's harmful UV radiation by 95%?

true

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, is on record saying that climate change is the most important challenge we face

true

China and the United States together are the source of nearly half of the world's annual greenhouse gas emissions

true

Climate change affects the entire planet and will be long-term.

true

Environmental economists agree that the most critical goal is to put a price on carbon emissions to get all emitters to pay all of the estimated harmful environmental and health costs of their carbon emissions

true

Human use of renewable energy will lessen the effect of human activities on climate change

true

If Greenland's ice were to melt completely the global sea level would rise by 23 feet

true

Methane emissions over the past 275 years are the result of extracting fossil fuels, raising cattle and sheep, and constructing reservoirs behind large dams.

true

Methane locked in the permafrost soils of the tundra contains 50 to 60 times the amount of carbon dioxide released from burning fossil fuels each year

true

Nitrous oxide (N20) molecules have an approximate 300 times stronger warming potential than carbon dioxide molecules?

true

past 50 years, Arctic temperatures have risen almost twice as fast as average temperatures in the rest of the world.

true

we believe that rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are contributing to global warming, but do not know to what extent and with what impact.

true

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol went into effect in 2005 with only seven of the world's 194 nations not ratifying the agreement. Which of the following countries did not ratify it?

united states

During the past 275 years human activities have been responsible for 70% of methane emissions. Those activities included all of the following, except

use modern fertilizers