Week 16: Climate Change

Cartoon

This is going to be a difficult week since we have to learn about the impact that climate change is having and will have on our human societies,  the natural world and all the complex interactions between the two.   We will talk about climate solutions, but we also need to get a realistic grasp of the situation and the urgency of the problem.  Please keep in mind that, yes, these impacts are devastating, but that we have the solutions ready to deploy to stop the climate crisis. 

In this cartoon two bears are looking at each other with disbelief and maybe a little irritation. One bear is in a sweltering, bone-dry , sun beaten desolate landscape and the other is sloshing through such heavy rainfalls that a snorkel seems like a good idea.  Explain how this cartoon expresses the impacts of climate change globally. 

Learning Objectives

By the end of the module, students will be able to: 

1. 1. What is the difference between climate and weather? 

• • Define these two terms: What are some of  the components of weather ( temperature, etc)? 
  • Why is it different predicting weather vs climate? 

2. What is the Greenhouse Effect? 

• • What are the different forms of energy that are involved in the greenhouse effect?
  • What are the 3 most important greenhouse gases? 
  • Without these gases, what would happen to the earth's atmosphere? 
  • With increase of these gases, what is happening to the earth's atmosphere? 

3. Is the climate warming?

What is the evidence from global temperature, ocean temperature, ice sheets, glaciers, snow cover, sea level, ocean acidification, extreme events 

1. How are wild plants and animals impacted by changes in climate?

• • • What is phenology? 
    • Why does climate change cause problems for plants and animals? 
    • What are some examples of changing species interactions due to climate change?
    • What are factors that would prevent a species from migrating to avoid climate change?
    • What are factors that would prevent a species from adapting to compensate for climate change? 

2. What impacts are there from rising sea levels?

• • • What are two reasons that climate change cause sea levels to rise?
    • How much could sea level rise in coming decades? By the end of the century? ( There are different numbers in different videos. This is due to the fact that it will rise different amounts in different  locations, so they often use average).
    • What are the different options that are being taken to react to sea level rise? In large wealthy cities, poorer communities, and the most marginalized? 

3. How does climate change affect the risks of hurricanes, floods, and drought

• • • Why is there more rainfall in some areas and less in other areas when climate warms? 
    • Why are there more intense storms, including hurricanes?
    • California impacts
      • What can we expect to happen to the rainfall patterns in California?
      • What is the problem with using average rainfall to describe California's changing ppt? 
      • What is climate whiplash 

4. How is climate change impacting agriculture both worldwide and in California?

• • • What are the 5 key climatic changes that are affecting California's agriculture?
    • What are the impacts of each of these changes? 
    • What are potential solutions?
    • What are the impacts of climate change on Guatemala and its coffee production? 

5. What are the health impacts of global warming and climate change?

• • • What are the impacts of  Air Pollution, Allergens and Pollen, Diseases Carried by Vectors, Food and Waterborne Diarrheal Disease, Food Security, Mental Health Disorders, Floods, Temperature Extremes, Wildfires
    • What are the greatest links for our region? 
    • Which populations are most vulnerable to either these impacts and why? 

6. How does climate change impact violence, both on an individual level and militarily?

• • • What is the connection between extreme heat and interpersonal (crime) violence?
    • What is the impact of climate change on military infrastructure? 
    • What is the connection between climate change and international conflicts, including refugee crises, civil wars, and other acts of war? 
    • What is a threat multiplier?

Study Guide Questions 

1. Someone says to you that the climate isn't warming, and points to the really cold winters and large snowfalls in the East Coast as evidence. Using the information from this course,  what is your explanation of why this is a misconception.? 

Make sure to include:

• • • • Definitions of climate and weather 
      • Explanation of the similarities and differences between weather and climate
      • Summary of trends in extreme weather events 
      • Explanation of the significance of extreme weather events. 

2. What is the greenhouse effect and how does it impact the earth?

Make sure to include

• • • Explanation of greenhouse gases (methane, CO2 and water vapor) 
    • What generates these gases? 
    • Explain how these gases trap heat in the earth's atmosphere (where did the energy come from originally, what would happen to it without these gases?)
    • Is the greenhouse effect a good thing for life on earth or a bad thing? What determines your answer (what happens if there are too little or too much of these gases?)

3. What is the impact of climate change on 

• • P lants and animals
  • Natural disasters
  • Agriculture
  • Human Health. 

4. What is causing the dramatic increase in global temperature?  You can answer the  question by filling in this sentence for volcanoes, orbital changes, solar flare changes, greenhouse gas emissions, ozone, land cover and aerosols. If ____________  was the only force affecting global temperature, then the global temperatures would be ___________. 

 In class, I used the graphic from   Chapter 2 of the 2018 National Climate Assessment Report Links to an external site.  to address the question. You can find the images in the Powerpoint slides from my lecture or go to the Report itself and scroll down until you get to Figure 2.1, Natural Influences on Global Temperature. ( see image to the right). Notice that you can click on the Drivers individually or combined to toggle them on or off.

The black line represents current observed temperature changes.  The other lines indicate the temperature changes caused by different factors. Which factors are the best match for the current temperature increase?