Climate Change (Global Warming):

•Earth’s climate fluctuates slowly (geologic time)

•Warming since last ice age (18,000 yr ago)

•Since industrial revolution warming ratehas accelerated

•Result of enhanced greenhouse effect

–Trapping of heat by atmospheric gases

–Without it, Earth’s Avg. temp ~ 0°F (-18°C)

Greenhouse Gases: Carbon dioxide & Nitrogen oxides (fossil fuel burning, wood burning), methane (cows, landfills), CFC’s (coolants, propellants)

Absorb & trap escaping heat

Industrial Revolution:

•Unnatural levels of CO2 added to atmosphere

•We generate CO2

faster than Ocean & plants can absorb it

CO2 = #1 greenhouse gas

Industrial revolution

• Global Temp. ↑5°C (9°F) since last ice age

• Greenhouse gases responsible for ~50% of increase

10 warmest yrs on record all occurred since 1990

2005 hottest yr.

Poles are Warming Faster than Rest of Planet

•Antarctica temps. ↑↑↑↑ 4°F (summer), 9°F (winter) since 1950

•Arctic sea ice has decreased 9% per decade since 1978

–May be no summer sea ice by 2060

•Result of reduced Albedo (reflectivity)

–Ice/snow reflect solar energy, but

–Melted snow/ice expose darker soil & seawater absorb heat

–Results in further melting & warming

Melting Ice

•North section of Antarctica’s Larsen B ice shelf collapsed Jan-Mar 2002

•After existing for many millennia

•Bigger than Rhode Island

31 Jan 2002

7 May 2002

Result: Higher Sea LevelHabitat Loss for Polar species -Seals, polar bears (arctic only)

Rising Sea Level: Many shallow islands would be submerged

Maldives

Sea Level is expected to rise 4 – 35 inches by 2100

100 million people live within 3 ft. of mean sea level

Global Warming Impacts

•Sea level rising (melting ice sheets & caps, glaciers, etc.)

•Loss of low-lying coastal land

•Alter strength of ocean currents (Gulf stream = ice age in N. Atlantic)

•↑↑↑↑ Tropical storms (> # & intensity)

•Warmer ocean:

•↓↓↓↓ phytoplankton

•Extinction of species with limited temperature ranges (coral, polar bears)

Venice, Italy

Retreating Glaciers

Current glacier location

Rhone GlacierValais, Switzerland

Site where it ended in mid-1800s

Result:Less drinking water

Ethiopia

Bangladesh

Farms Destroyed By Climate Change

Drought (hotter & drier) near

equator yields crop failure

Sea level rise floods rice field

Result: Food Shortages

Some Effects of

Global Warming

Loss of coastal land due to rising sea level

Malaria

↑↑↑↑ Air pollution (↑↑↑↑ ozone in troposphere)Species migration

(shift) toward poles

The Role of Industrialized Nations

•Currently use 60% of world's fossil fuels (USA 25%)

•U.S.A. (5% of world's population), 30% of world's global warming pollution (#1)

•U.S. imports more than we export ($836 billion trade deficit – 2006)

•What if everyoneused resources & polluted as much as us?

•Kyoto Protocol

Earth at

Night

As World Population Grows, Resource use & Pollution ↑↑↑↑

12 May 2007:6.59 Billion People

Beginning of industrial & scientific revolutions

What Is Being Done?

•Kyoto Protocol – 122 nations (not USA) ↓↓↓↓emissions, technology, mitigation

•Carbon Trading: Caps emissions

–Companies emitting less CO2 sell unused emission quotas to those not meeting quota

–Financial incentive to use green technology

•Europe. Union, Chicago Climate Exchg., Reg. Greenhouse Gas Initiative (NE states), West. Regional Climate Action Initiative (CA, AZ, WA, OR, NM)

↑ Energy Efficiency

Protecting Forests

Recycle

Fuel-efficient vehicles

Green Building Design

Mass Transit & Smart Growth

Appliances & Electronics

Japan’s Bullet Train

Alternative Energy Sources

Renewable

Public

Wind

Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Solar

Biodiesel

Children's Revolution 2006

Response to Climate Change

Public Education & Initiatives

Denmark’s electricity = 30% wind

What Can Be Done?•Global temp. estimated to ↑↑↑↑ 10.5 °F in next century as energy demands ↑↑↑↑

•We all share Earth’s resources & we ALL contribute to its degradation

Individual action

•Recycle, Buy recycled & EnergyStar products

•Conserve resources •Plant trees & gardens

•Don’t idle car •Mass transit, carpool

•Educate others •Proper tire inflation

•Buy fuel efficient vehicles •Fuel alternatives

•Replace incandescent light bulbs for fluorescent

90 billion lbs. of Carbon

Ozone (OOzone (OOzone (OOzone (O3333)))) Depletion•O3333 formed in stratosphere•UV light breaks down•Reform as O3333

2 O2222 = O3 3 3 3 + O

O2222

12-25 mi

20-40 km

Ozone destruction by CFCs

3. Cl atom breaks up ozone

(Cl + O3→Cl+ O + O2)

5. Chlorine atom not used up in reaction:

1 Cl can break up 100,000 O3

molecules

1. Factories & homes spew out CFC’s

2. Sunlight breaks down CFC’s in stratosphere

Ozone Hole (Ozone Hole (Ozone Hole (Ozone Hole (Thinning Ozone Layer)

• Greatest over Antarctica

• From Aug–Dec (Southern spring-summer)

• In warm months, Solar radiation ↑ & breaks up CFCs

Phytoplankton productivity ↓↓↓↓ from Aug-Dec

Effects of ozone depletion

↑ exposure to UV rays:

•Cataracts (UV protective sunglasses)

•Skin cancer:

–1% ↓ in O3333 = 5-8% ↑ in skin cancer

–Sunscreen, hat, avoid sun (10–4 pm)

•DNA mutations = other cancers

•Photosynthesis ↓↓↓↓ (phytoplankton, algae, & plants)

Malignant Melanoma

A (Asymmetry) B (Border)C (color)& Growth

Stratospheric Ozone Replenishment

•1987 Montreal Protocol: phaseout CFCs by 2000 (53 nations)

–US ban 1993

–Developing nations (2010)

•Methyl Bromide (pesticide) 2005 phaseout

–Many nations (U.S. too) ask for exemptions

•CFC’s: 50-100 yrs. to leave atmosphere

–2100 to reach “safe” O3 levels

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed

citizens can change the world.

Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

— Margaret Mead

Ozone (OOzone (OOzone (OOzone (O3333)))) Depletion•O3333 formed in stratosphere•UV light breaks down•Reform as O3333

2 O2222 = O3 3 3 3 + O

O2222

12-25 mi

20-40 km

Ozone destruction by CFCs

3. Cl atom breaks up ozone

(Cl + O3→Cl+ O + O2)

5. Chlorine atom not used up in reaction:

1 Cl can break up 100,000 O3

molecules

1. Factories & homes spew out CFC’s

2. Sunlight breaks down CFC’s in stratosphere

Ozone Hole (Ozone Hole (Ozone Hole (Ozone Hole (Thinning Ozone Layer)

• Greatest over Antarctica

• From Aug–Dec (Southern spring-summer)

• In warm months, Solar radiation ↑ & breaks up CFCs

Phytoplankton productivity ↓↓↓↓ from Aug-Dec

Effects of ozone depletion

↑ exposure to UV rays:

•Cataracts (UV protective sunglasses)

•Skin cancer:

–1% ↓ in O3333 = 5-8% ↑ in skin cancer

–Sunscreen, hat, avoid sun (10–4 pm)

•DNA mutations = other cancers

•Photosynthesis ↓↓↓↓ (phytoplankton, algae, & plants)

Malignant Melanoma

A (Asymmetry) B (Border)C (color)& Growth

Stratospheric Ozone Replenishment

•1987 Montreal Protocol: phaseout CFCs by 2000 (53 nations)

–US ban 1993

–Developing nations (2010)

•Methyl Bromide (pesticide) 2005 phaseout

–Many nations (U.S. too) ask for exemptions

•CFC’s: 50-100 yrs. to leave atmosphere

–2100 to reach “safe” O3 levels

Water!•Total amount of water on Earth is constant

–97.6% Saltwater (Ocean), 2.4% Fresh

•0.0003% is usable Freshwater

•Must conserve (especially in arid zones)

•Home uses: Toilet (38%), Bathing (35%), Laundry & Dishes (20%)

–Low flow plumbing, & appliances

•Xeric (drought tolerant landscaping)

–Saves 3-8,000 gallons/mo., hundreds $/yr. over grass & “thirsty” plants

Types of Water Pollution

•Point source: Clear origin

–Sewage outfall, oil tanker spills, industrial plant, utilities

•Non-point-source: Many diffuse sources

–Urban runoff, boats (harbors & marinas), agriculture, trash & debris, construction, air pollution……

Sewage Treatment & Outfalls

•Primary Tr. - large solids, grease removed

•Secondary Tr. – Good bacteria eats organic solids, chlorine kills bacteria,

•chlorine removed (via chemicals)

•22% of biosolids used by farmers or compost centers

•Many chemical toxins, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals not removed & enter ocean

Orange County Sanitation District outfall: 4 miles off coast of Huntington Beach (200 ft. deep)

chlorine removed (via chemicals)

•22% of biosolids sent to farmers or compost centers

Many chemical toxins, heavy

metals, pharmaceuticals not removed & enter ocean

Coastal Water PollutionMost ocean pollution is urban runoff from land

We all contribute, Can Help Decrease

Solid Waste & the Ocean

•Cigarette #1 (beach), 10% plastic, fish line

•Biodegrades SLOWLY (6-pk holder =400 yr)

•U.S.A.: 1,100 lbs plastic waste/person/yr.

•Animals eat, entangled

Albatross

Fishing Line

Fertilizers & Eutrophication

•Nutrients (animal waste) & Fertilizer enter ocean as runoff

–Sewage, farms, ranches, homes, golf courses

•↑↑↑↑ Growth of marine autotrophs

Eutrophication:

↑↑↑↑ Nutrients = ↑↑↑↑ algae & phytoplankton =

↑↑↑↑ bacteria (use oxygen to decompose

“plants”) = ↓↓↓↓ oxygen = ↓ animals (fish kills)

Gulf of Mexico’s Anoxic (Low Oxygen) “Dead Zone”

•1999 “Dead zone” = 20,000 km2 (7,700 mi2)

•Cause: Eutrophication - Fertilizer flowing into Gulf from farms in Mississippi River Basin

2000 ↓↓↓↓ flow (Drought)

•Synthetic Organic Chemicals

•Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962):

•Misuse of pesticides brought to public

•Chlorinated hydrocarbons (DDT, PCB): accumulate in higher trophic levels (top carnivores)

•Biological Amplification

Biological Amplification

Oceanic Oil Spills

•Oil released in sea will eventually float to & rest in intertidal

•Most oil in marine environment enters via urban runoff, dumping

•Effects of spilled oil depends on type:

•Light refined petroleum (diesel & gas) –mixes in H2O column, more toxic, but evaporates quickly (doesn’t persist in environment)

•Crude – less toxic, but remains on water surface or shoreline much longer, sinks

Oil Tanker Spills

•Small portion of total marine spills

•Locally devastating, major cleanup

•U.S. Oil Pollution Act 1990 (response to Exxon Valdez): all oil-carrying vessels must have double-hull

•Exxon still appealing $5 billion fine (17 yrs)Selendang Ayu: Aleutian Islands, AK (Dec. 2004)

~335,732 gallons

Prestige (2002) Polluted 1000

beaches in Spain & France

Oil Spills & Marine Life

•Clogs gills of fish & benthic species

•Damages digestivesystem

•Mammals & birds (fur, feathers) losebouyancy & insulation

Exx. Valdez killed 2,000 otters361 rescued (197 survived)

Washing oiled birds

Oil Spill Cleanup

•Scrubbing w/ high pressure,hot water ↑↑↑↑ damage

•Leave it alone, rely on natural processes

•Shovels, buckets,absorbent materials, booms

•Bioremediation by oil digestingbacteria

Exxon Valdez

1989

Prestige (Spain) 2002

Containment Boom

(Galapagos 2001)

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed

citizens can change the world.

Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

— Margaret Mead