IB ESS Topic 7- Climate Change and Energy Production
Energy consumption LEDCs<MEDCs because...
technology availability and nonreliance on natural resources
climate variables
temperature, rainfall, winds, humidity, cloud cover and pressure
The Kyoto Protocol
Agreement that called for the stabilization of greenhouse gas emissions at safe levels that would avoid serious climate change
Global dimming
Air pollution's cooling effect
advantages and disadvantages in fossil fuels
A: cheap, plentiful, technology already adapted for it D: contribution to climate change, unsustainability, difficult to extract and extraction is dangerous
Advantages and Disadvantages to renewables
A: do not release pollutants and they won't run out D: more $, cultures are leaned more towards non-renewable resources, limited location acces
advantages and disadvantages to nuclear power
A: technology is readily available, does not emit CO2, large amounts of electrical energy is generated in a single plant D: wastes are extremely dangerous and remain forever, energy source is uranium
factors that influence the choice of energy generation
the availability and sustainability of resources, scientific and technological developments, cultural attitudes, and political, economic and environmental factors
ocean circulatory system
transfers heat from the tropics to colder regions
Pressure Variation
-Measured in millibars (mb) and is represented by isobars, lines of equal pressure -decline in pressure indicates wetter weather
UN-REDD Programme
-Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
Increase of greenhouse gases creates:
-an increase in the mean global temperature -increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events -the potential for long-term change in climate and weather patterns -rise in sea level
The Stern Report
-climate change is fundamentally altering the planet -the risks incurred by inaction are high -rime is running out
Fossil fuels
-contribute to the majority of humankind's energy supply -vary widely in the impacts of their production and their emissions -expected to increase to meet global energy demand
National and international methods
-controlling the amount of atmospheric pollution -stopping forest clearance
Non-human related factors that add to global warming
-greenhouse gases produced by volcanic activity, methane released by animals, sunspot activity -volcanic ash and dust blocking out solar radiation -changes in albedo due to position and extent of ice sheet
Individual methods
-grow your own food -turn off lights
nuclear power
-is a low-carbon, low-emission, non-renewable resource that is controversial due to radioactive waste and potential scale of any accident
Solar Energy
-limited to northern countries in the winter
Wastes
-organic waster decomposers and gives off methane gas which can then be burned -readily available and its use does not deplete natural capital adds to global warming gases
Biofuel
-produced by burning plant matter into ethanol which is then used as fuel -produces emissions and requires large amounts of land to grow biofuel crop
Tidal Power
-produces energy by using the ebbing or flooding tide to turn turbines -good tidal range is required and the right shape of coastline to channel water through turbines
Mitigation strategies
-reduction of energy consumption -reduction of emissions of nitrogen oxides and methane from agriculture -use of alternatives to fossil fuels -geo-engineering
Hydro-electric power
-uses turbines which can be switched on whenever energy is needed -leads to habitat loss and displacement of people and restriction in the flow of sediments
Geothermal energy
-water is pumped into pipes beneath the ground and the geothermal heat from the ground heats the water -low impact, doesn't release any form of pollution, can be rearranges in various formations
Wind Power
-wind turns the rotor blades which rotate a metal shaft which transfers the rotational energy into a generator -no wind=no energy, placement is critical
Mean sea level pressure
1013mb and ranges from 940-1060 mb
GWP
A measure of how much more a greenhouse gas contributes to global warming other than carbon dioxide
The Paris Agreement
An agreement to promise reduction of climate change
Bjorn Lomborg
Argues that many global problems (global warming, biodiversity, etc.) are unsupported by statistical analysis
Feedback and global warming
Both negative and positive feedback mechanisms are associated with climate change and may involve very long time lags
Policy changes
Carbon taxes, carbon trading and carbon offset schemes
Atmospheric circulatory systems - Air motion
Caused by the unequal heating of Earth's surface
The effects of global warming:
Changes in water availability, distribution of biomes, and crop-growing areas, loss of biodiversity, and ecosystem services, coastal inundation, ocean acidification and damage to human health
Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CSS)
Collect where gas is produced or in the atmosphere
Global climate models
Complex and there is a degree of uncertainty regarding the accuracy of their predictions
Al Gore
Efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counter act such change
Hadley cell model
Explains the atmospheric circulation to suggest that direct heating of low latitudes forces air to rise by convection, the air then travels towards the poles but sinks at the subtropical anticyclone
Adaption examples
Food defenses, vaccination programmes, desalinization plants, and planting of crops in previously unsuitable plants
Politics of CO2 mitigation and adaption
International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), National Adaption Programmes of Action (NAPA's), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
IPCC
International body assessing the science related to climate change
Pollution management strategies
Involve mitigation and adaption
Mitigation
Involves reduction and/or stabilization of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and their removal from the atmosphere
The quantity of greenhouse gases emitted by an individual country depends on:
Its economy, level of development, and societal expectations
Geo-engineering
Radical and some are unworkable ideas -place giant mirrors in space in order to deflect some incoming solar radiation
Decarbonization
Refers to a large reduction of carbon dioxide per value of gross world product
CO2 removal techniques
UN-REDD Programme, biomass, carbon capture and sequestration (CSS) and enhancing CO2 absorption
specific heat capacity
amount of energy it takes to raise the temp of 1 g of substance to 1 degree Celsius
climate and weather are affected by
atmospheric circulation, ocean circulation, latitude, altitude, distance from the sea, prevailing winds and human activities
surface ocean currents
caused by the influence of prevailing winds blowing across the sea
climate and weather
climate describes how the atmosphere behaves over relatively long periods of time whereas weather describes the conditions in the atmosphere over a short period of time
nuclear power process
fissionable material is brought together and the process initiated, a chain reaction that splits atoms releasing a tremendous amount of energy
non-renewable
fossil fuels
disadvantages of shales
hydraulic fracturing may pollute groundwater and soil, release methane and trigger earthquakes
renewable example
hydro-electric and solar
energy conservation
improvements in energy efficiencies and energy conservation can limit growth in energy demand and contribute to energy security
radioactivity
nuclear changes in which unstable isotopes emit particles and energy continuously until the original isotope is changes into a stable one -causes mutations, cancers, miscarriages and burns
energy security
refers to a country's ability to secure all its energy needs
energy insecurity
refers to a lack of security over energy sources
Adaption
refers to the efforts to live with the consequences of climate change
Range of energy resources
renewable ad non-renewable
What are sources of energy with lower carbon dioxide emission than fossil fuels?
renewable sources and nuclear power
Shale gas
shales are one of the most common forms of sedimentary rocks on Earth and has the potential to change domestic economies
How are fossil fuels formed?
when dead animals and plants decompose in anoxic (no oxygen) conditions, covered in silt and mud, subject to heat and pressure over a long period of time