EESA10H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Habitat Fragmentation, Paclitaxel, Primary Production
2 Jul 2018
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EESA10 Lecture 12 – Global Climate Change, Ozone Depletion, Biodiversity
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE & HUMAN HEALTH
- Climate – trends in weather patterns over an extended period of time (years)
o Climate System - interactive system of five compartments
Atmosphere
Land surface:
Hydrosphere
Biosphere
Cryosphere (snow and ice)
- Earth’s Natural Greenhouse Effect – energy from the Sun warms the Earth’s surface (water
vapor, CO2, CH4, N2O)
oEnergy radiates back toward space
oWater vapor (clouds), CO2 and other gasses are heated
oThey radiate heat (longer-wavelength) in all directions (space or warms the air and the
Earth’s surface)
oProcesses affecting increase of greenhouse gases:
Fossil fuels
Electricity generated by coal 42%
Transportation 24%
Industrial process 20%
Residential and commercial uses 14%
Clearing and burning forests and grasslands
Raising large numbers of livestock (methane)
Planting of rice
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Inorganic fertilizers
CURRENT PROBLEMS:
20th C = hottest century in past 1000 yrs
Since 1861, avrg global temp of troposphere has rise 0.7C
20 warmest yrs occurred since 1980
Glaciers + floating sea ice are melting + shrinking
During last century, avrg sea lvl rose by 0.1-0.2 m
Global Climate Change:
- Environmental impacts of global climate change
oInterconnected changes
oPredicted magnitude of changes
oHuman health impacts of global climate change
Higher temp increased range of disease vectors
Coastal flooding impacts on food supplies; refugees
Extreme weather events crop failure, injuries, famine, infectious disease
The Kyoto Protocol on global climate change
International agreement (2005) to reduce emissions of greenhouse
gases
Industrialized nations agreed to reduce collective emissions for 2008-
2012 to level 5.2% below 1990 levels
US declined to sign agreement
Population growth - 1994 UN International Conference on Population
and Development realized the vital importance of women as a factor in
family planning in developing countries
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