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Related Flashcards
Cards In This Set
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What 4 major phenomena attribute to global climate change?
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1) Solar radiation 2) Plate tectonics 3) Milankovich Cycles 4) Greenhouse gases
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Which nation is the #1 contributor to greenhouse gases? (of human generated fossil fuels)
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The United Kingdom (the United States is catching up and so is China)
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What does a Greenhouse do?
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High energy going into earth and low energy going out of earth. That excess energy which does not leave the earth goes no where, it just sits.
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What three things attribute to Milankovich cycles?
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1) Tilting of Earth on Axis (changes approx. every 40,000 years) 2) Orbit (sometimes earth’s orbit around sun circular, and then other times more elliptical --- consequence of this? amount of solar radiation received)
(changes approx. every 100,000 years) 3) Precession (wobbling) - axis changes orientation
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What's a great way to get rid of excess carbon in the atmosphere due to the greenhouse effect?
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Grow more plants, as plants take in carbon and release O2.
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How many tons of fossil fuel combust in a year? How many from forest fires, terrestrial ecosystems, oceans?
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7-8 billion tons of carbon released every year (from everyone driving vehicles)
-1-2 billion tons from forest fires, cement plants, etc. -Terrestrial ecosystems incorporate 3 billion tons/year -Oceans will take in 2 billion tons/year |
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At that time (1980's), what year was recorded to be the hottest year?
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1988
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What did in the IPCC conclude in the 1980's after the hottest recorded year in that decade?
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60-80% of emissions would have to be reduced by 2100 in order to refrain from global climate change due to green house gases
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What did in the IPCC conclude in the mid 1990's during the Clinton/Gore presidency?
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“The balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate”
(it's not a hysterical statement, its a simple statement with some reason to accommodate errors). |
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What happened to the conclusions the IPCC concluded in the mid 1990's in America? What did other nations do in response to this?
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Nothing (due to a majority of Republicans in congress)
These nations reduced their emissions by using the following energy sources...Great Britain = natural gasFrance = nuclearGermany = The Berlin Wall (Western Germany had clean coal plants and Eastern Germany had polluting coal plants...when the wall came down, they shut down the polluting coal plants and up'd the production in the clean coal plants) |
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When did the United States signed the Kyoto treaty?
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We never did
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Hypothetical....how long would it take to restore the atmosphere free of excess carbon if cars, coal plants, energy plants were illegal immediately?
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Decades
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When did America hit peak oil? When we will hit global peak oil?
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In the 1970s. Thats when we started importing oil from the MIddle East mainly due to the fact that we couldn't keep up with productivity.
Global peak oil will hit probably in the next decade. |
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What are the names of Professor Scott's cats?
How many cats does Professor Scott own? |
Sacagawea, Morson, Nefertiti, Elfman, Car Alarm
6 |
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True of False: Global warming means all parts of the planet will warm up all at the same time?
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False
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