Module H: Impacts – Climate Change

Big idea: The way we exploit natural resources to meet our needs and wants impacts our climate.

Goal: Visitors will understand that climate change is caused by human activities. Visitors will learn how we know that climate change is happening, will see images of impacts of climate change and will have a chance to reflect on these changes.

Core messages: Human activity contributes to climate change. Impacts of climate change can be seen, heard and experienced today. Scientists use climate proxies to learn about climate.

H1. Introduction to climate change

Climate change: Climate change refers to a change that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer in the earth’s climate due to natural variability or as a result of human activity.1

In our exhibition, we refer to climate change as a change of climate which is attributed directly (fossil fuel combustion) or indirectly (deforestation, population growth) to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.

H1-1. Defining important termsClimate variability: Climate variability is used to denote deviations of climatic statistics over a given period of time (e.g. a month, season, or year). Variability may be due to natural internal processes with the climate system (internal variability), or to variations in the natural external factors (external variability).2

Anthropogenic climate change: Refers to the change in the climate, also known as global warming caused by human activity. Anthropogenic caused change has occurred faster than any other climate change recorded by humans.3

Although climate change is affected by natural causes, also known as climate variability, the exhibit tackles the climate changes made my human activity. Sometimes also referred to as global warming, climate change can have significant deleterious effects on the welfare of life on Earth.

Climate Change vs Global Warming Although the two terms are often used interchangeably, they do refer to two different physical phenomena. ‘Global warming’ refers to the long-term trend of rising average global temperature. ‘Climate change’ refers to changes in the global climate, which are a result of the increasing global temperature. ‘Climate change’ can however also refer to the change in precipitation, wind, snowfall, etc. So we could say, human-made greenhouse gases are causing global warming, which in turn, is causing climate change. (Graphic)Although climate change has been technically happening since the beginning of the Earth’s existence, global warming was only coined by geochemist Wallace Broecker of Columbia University in 1975, stating that man-made global warming was causing climate change.4 “The exponential rise in the atmospheric carbon dioxide content will tend to become a significant factor and by early in the next century will have driven the mean planetary temperature beyond the limits experienced during the last 1000 years.” - Broecker (1975)

Nowadays, both terms have increased in use as they both directly represent the increasing temperature of the Earth. Today, they both refer to anthropogenic warming of the planet. Some people however, see the term climate change as less frightening to the general public than global warming.

Terms we need to understand:

Emissions: The release of greenhouse gases and/or their precursors into the atmosphere over a specific area and period.5 Greenhouse gases: Gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and re-emit infrared radiation.6 Greenhouse effect: Greenhouse gases are so-named because they reduce heat loss from the Earth to outer space. In this respect they act in a way that is similar to a greenhouse, creating warmer conditions than there would otherwise be, were these gases not present. (Note that what is staying trapped inside of the Earth’s atmosphere is called infrared radiation.)7

Many human activities cause the emission of large amounts of greenhouse gases, which absorb and re-emit infrared radiation. (Essentially heat from the sun)

Greenhouse effect for kids told by the US Environmental Protection Agency: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYMjSule0Bw

https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/faq-1-3-figure-1.html8

H1-2. Weather symptoms of climate change

Weather vs ClimateThere are two main differences between weather and climate. The first being the time over which they are measured. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time (can change in hours or even minutes), and climate is how the atmosphere “behaves” over relatively long periods of time. The second difference is the scope of which they affect. Weather is generally measured and predicted locally or regionally. Climate on the other hand, often encompasses national or global averages.9

http://www.pacificclimatefutures.net/en/help/climate-projections/understanding-climate-variability-and-change/(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBdxDFpDp_k) Neil deGrasse Tyson video

How climate change affects weatherAlthough climate change is a long-term phenomenon, it can play a role in the change of weather. For instance, it can make hot days hotter, rainfall and flooding heavier, hurricanes stronger and droughts more severe. The intensification of weather is one of the most visible and obvious changes of global warming.

Observed weather trends in Canada10 (since 1950):*Could be done through a collage of images with simple captions

- The frequency of warm days during the summer has increased.- The frequency of cold nights during the winter has decreased.- Canada has generally become wetter (increase in precipitation). - Southern Canada has increased in rainfall and decreased in snowfall.- Annual snowfall has decreased in southern Canada and increased in the north.

H1-3. Natural change vs anthropogenic change

Natural change vs anthropogenic changeOver the course of most of the Earth’s history, natural processes have been responsible for periods of climate change. The Earth's climate has changed throughout its history long before human activity could have played a role. For example, the planet has swung between cold glacial periods or "ice ages", and warm interglacial periods over the last few million years. Changes in the past can be explained by natural factors seen below.

Natural causes for change:- The sun output (external variability)

- Changes in volcanic activity (internal variability)- Orbital change*(external variability)- Oceans (El Nino) (internal variability)- Greenhouse gases

o Water vapour

*Cyclical variations in three of the Earth’s cycles (eccentricity, axial tilt (or obliquity) and precession), known as the Milankovitch cycles, create alterations in the seasonality of solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface. These times of increased or decreased solar radiation directly influence the Earth’s climate system, thus impacting the advance and retreat of Earth’s glaciers. These cycles occur through thousands of years: eccentricity = 100,000 year cycle, axial tilt = 40,000 year cycle, precession = 23,000 year cycle.11 (Potential for neat animation)

According to the government of Canada, the two factors relevant on timescales of contemporary climate change are changes in volcanic activity and changes in solar radiation. These changes are still minor however. Volcanic eruptions are episodic and have short term effects. Changes in solar irradiance have contributed to climate trends over the past century but since the Industrial Revolution, the effect of addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere has been over 50 times that of changes in the Sun’s output.12

Anthropogenic causes for change (increasing the speed and severity of change): Although there are many factors affecting the Earth’s climate, the main cause of global warming is that of human activity.For the past 100,000 years, the Earth’s temperatures have naturally increased at a rate of 0.05 degrees Celsius per 100 years. Due to human induced climate change, temperatures observed over the past 50 years have already increased 0.7 degrees Celsius. (That’s at a rate of 1.4 degrees per 100 years!)13

Here is the list of main anthropogenic causes of climate change14:

- Greenhouse gases:o Carbon dioxideo Methaneo Nitrous oxideo SF6

- Conversion of land for forestry and agriculture

*All anthropogenic causes are increased by the exponential population rise and activity

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change:“Carbon dioxide is the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas. […] The primary source of the increased atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide since the pre-industrial period results in fossil fuel use.”15

There are many different types of greenhouse gases. The following graphs represent in percentage, each type of greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere as a result of human activity.

Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Gas16

Canada’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Gas17

Greenhouse gases are the main contributors to global warming. Here is a breakdown of anthropogenic causes for the releasing of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere18:

- Combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)- Deforestation- Livestock- Agricultural soils- Waste and waste disposal - Cement manufacturing- Use of aerosols

Carbon cycle timeline

The graph below breaks down Canada’s GHG emissions by economic sector.19

Graph info (Environment Canada):Each economic sector includes emissions from energy-related and non-energy related processes. Specifically, the oil and gas sector represents all emissions that are created in the exploration, production, processing, transmission, distribution, storage, refining and upgrading of oil and gas products; the electricity sector represents all emissions from electric utility generation and transmission for residential, industrial and commercial users; the transportation sector represents all emissions arising from the tailpipes of domestic passenger and freight transport; the emissions intensive trade exposed industry sector represents emissions arising from mining activities, smelting and refining, and the production and processing of industrial goods such as paper or cement; the building sector represents emissions arising directly from residential homes and commercial buildings (e.g. heating) ; the waste and other sector represents emissions that arise from solid and liquid waste, waste incineration, and from coal production, light manufacturing, construction and forestry activities; and finally, the agriculture sector represents all emissions arising from farming activities including those related to fuel combustion for farming equipment as well as those related to crop and animal production. In response to your specific questions about Economic Sector estimates:- the Oil and Gas sector includes transportation emissions,- the Transportation sector excludes industrial (off-road) transportation (these are included with the industries in questions),

- the Transportation sector does include domestic use of passenger and freight transportation (international marine and aviation emissions are reported but not included in national totals)- the Electricity sector includes the use of electricity to produce Oil and Gas, except where the electricity has been produced on-site by an Oil and Gas producer.- the Electricity sector includes industry, however cogeneration of electricity has been allocated to the industry in question

H1-4. History of climate change

H1-4-1. The history of climate change as a scientific concept1824 – French physicist Joseph Fourier describes the Earth’s natural “greenhouse effect” by stating that the temperature of the Earth can be augmented by the interposition of the atmosphere, because heat in the state of light finds less resistance in penetrating the air, than in repassing into the air when converted into non-luminous heat. 1861 – Irish physicist John Tyndall shows that water vapour and certain gases create the greenhouse effect. 1896 – Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius concludes that industrial-age coal burning will enhance the natural greenhouse effect. He already uses the concept of “man-made greenhouse”. 1938 – Using records from 147 weather stations around the world, British engineer Guy Callendar shows that temperatures had risen over the previous century. He also highlights that CO2 concentrations had increased over that same period, suggesting that this caused the warming. 1955 – US researcher Gilbert Plass analyses in detail the infrared absorption of various gases. He concludes that doubling CO2 concentrations would increase temperatures by 3 to 4 degrees (Celsius).1957 – “Human beings are now carrying out a large scale geophysical experiment…” stated by US oceanographer Roger Revelle and chemist Hans Suess after proving that seawater is not able to absorb all of the additional CO2 entering the atmosphere, as many had assumed. 1958 – Charles David Keeling designs systematic measurements of atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa in Hawaii and in Antarctica. Within four years, the project – which continues today – provides the first unequivocal proof that CO2 concentrations are rising. 1965 – A US President’s Advisory Committee panel warns that the greenhouse effect is a matter of “real concern”.1972 – First UN environment conference. Climate change is hardly mentioned. 1975 – US scientist Wallace Broecker puts the term “global warming” into public domain in the title of a scientific paper. 1987 – Montreal Protocol agreed, restricting chemicals that damage the ozone layer. Although not established in mind, it has had a greater impact on greenhouse gas emissions than the Kyoto Protocol. 1989 – UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher calls for a global treaty on climate change during a UN speech. 1990 – IPCC produces First Assessment Report. It concludes that temperatures have risen by 0.3-0.6C over the last century, that humanity’s emissions are adding to the atmosphere’s natural complement of greenhouse gases, and that the addition would be expected to result in warming. 1992 – At the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, governments agree the United Framework Convention on Climate Change. The key objective is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Developed countries agree to return their emissions to 1990 standards. 1995 – IPCC Second Assessment Report concludes that the balance of evidence suggests “a discernible human influence” on the Earth’s climate. This had been called the first definitive statement that humans are responsible for climate change. 1997 – Kyoto Protocol agreed. Developed nations pledge to reduce emissions by an average of 5% by the period 2008-12, with wide variations on targets for individual countries. US Senate immediately

declares it will not ratify the treaty. Canada would become the first signatory to announce its withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol in 2011. 2001 – IPCC Third Assessment Report finds new and stronger evidence of man-made climate change. 2005 – The Kyoto Protocol becomes international law for those countries still inside it. 2006 – The Stern Review concludes that climate change could damage global GDP by up to 20% if left unchecked – but curbing it would cost about 1% of global GDP. 2007 – The IPCC and former US vice-president Al Gore receive the Nobel Peace Prize for spreading knowledge about climate change and for laying the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change. 2011 – A new analysis of the Earth’s temperature record by scientists proves the planet’s land surface really has warmed over the last century. 2013 – The first part of the IPCC’s fifth assessment report summarizes that humans are the dominant cause of global warming since the 1950s. 2015 – COP21 in Paris where 195 countries agreed to keep global warming to well below 2 degrees C. 2016 – COP22 in Marrakesh

IPCC Timelinehttps://www.ipcc.ch/news_and_events/docs/factsheets/FS_timeline.pdf

H1-4-2. Climate change through history Late 1700s to first half of 1800s – The industrial revolution: the mechanization of production, high increase in use of coal (railways, factories and heating), iron and chemicals. 1800 – World population reaches one billion. 1886 – Karl Benz unveils the Motorwagen, regarded as the first internal combustion automobile. 1908 – Henry Ford develops the first automobile that can be mass manufactured and used by many middle class citizens. 1927 – Carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning and industry reach one billion tonnes per year.1930 – Human population reaches two billion.1960 – Human population reaches three billion.1975 – Human population reaches four billion.1987 – Human population reaches five billion.1989 – Carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning and industry reach six billion tonnes per year.1990 – Warmest year on record due to strong El Nino and global warming. (To soon be beaten)1999 – Human population reaches six billion.2003 – Numerous observations raise concern that collapse of ice sheets (West Antarctica, Greenland) can raise sea levels faster than most had believed. 2006 – Carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning and industry reach eight billion tonnes per year. 2011 – Human population reaches seven billion.2012 – Arctic sea ice reaches a minimum extent of 3.41 million sq km, a record for the lowest summer cover since satellite measurements began in 1979. 2015 – Mean global temperature is 14.7C, the warmest in thousands of years. Level of CO2 in the atmosphere reaches 400 ppm, the highest in millions of years. (NASA and NOAA)

World population counter:http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

H2. Immersive glacier experience

This immersive glacier experience will have very little content. It will be a space to contemplate, all while listening to atmospheric soundscapes of melting, displacing glaciers, etc. Visitors will also be able to hear voices from various people (Inuit and Coastal) who have been experiencing climate change.

Quotes from Sheila Watt-Cloutier, The Right to Be Cold : “And while the health of families in the South needed to be protected too, it was becoming clear that what was happening in the Arctic would eventually happen to everyone else. As I often say, there may be only 160,000 Inuit in the entire world, but the Arctic is the barometer of the health of the planet. If the Arctic is poisoned, so are we all.” p.141-142“In my own region of Nunavik, in the community of Salluit, houses had been relocated because of buckling buildings, the result of the permafrost melt.” p.186“But now, what looked like solid ice might actually be thin or unstable. It was often impossible to say what lay beneath the surface. For a people who spend much of their life moving across snow and ice, this was profoundly troubling – and dangerous.” P.186“Some winters, there wasn’t as much snowfall, and when the snow did come, the warmer temperatures produced a softer, stickier snow. The lack of crisp, dry snow made the running of sleds and snow machines much slower. And the inadequate snow coverage on the ground damaged sled and snowmobile runners, and hurt dogs’ feet. Even walking through the softer snow was more difficult.” P.188“Many in our community were also noticing the changes in the animals we depended on. While many of the marine mammals were now much farther north than they used to be, making hunting them difficult, we noted that the animals also seemed less plentiful and less healthy. Breaking ice and storm surges could wipe out litters of seal pups or separate offspring from their mothers. The seals often appeared to have less fat, which meant they sank deeper in the water, making them tougher to catch. Polar bears, hare and ptarmigan also seemed thinner. Some caribou seemed thinner, too.” P.189.“Once again the changing Arctic weather shows just how interconnected nature is and how humans, plants and wildlife are all dependent on a stable climate to survive and thrive.” P.190. “Not far below the surface of the Arctic tundra is permafrost, a mixture of gravel, soil and ice that never melts, even in the summer. At least that’s the way it used to be. As our Arctic temperatures have edged upward, the top layers of permafrost have begun to melt (or put another way, the permafrost starts much farther below the soil surface than it used to). As a result, what was once terra firma is now unstable, slumping terrain. This soft, loose earth is vulnerable to erosion. […] More and more communities were watching their roads buckle, their airstrips heave and split, and their rail lines twist and sink. Fissures and breaches were appearing in oil and gas pipelines.” P.191.“The thinning of the ozone and the increased ultraviolet (UV) radiation of the poles were affecting our people’s health. Reports of skin cancer, cataracts and rashes were on the rise. For the first time in our lives, many of us Inuit had to wear sunscreen and sunglasses when outdoors. And some found the warmer summer temperatures uncomfortable.” P.193. “Unsettled and unusual weather patterns meant that elders were unable to teach the next generation how to predict coming storms. The changing appearance and condition of shore and sea ice, snowdrifts and the landscape meant that navigational skills were no longer as effective. Many hunters told us that with the absence of dense snow, they couldn’t teach young people how to build snow houses.” p.202.“To Arctic Indigenous peoples, therefore, climate change is emphatically a cultural issue.” p.202.

Quotes from Unikkaaqatigiit, Putting the Human Face on Climate Change , ITK

Hunters, Elders and community residents alike have noticed a change in the quality and type of snow that falls in their regions. Residents in Nunatsiavut and Nunavut today more frequently see snow that

has a top layer of ice – commonly referred to as “glitter” by Nunatsiavumiut – as a result of freeze-thaw events in the winter. Quotes from Bren Smith, owner of Thimble Island Ocean Farm and executive director of GreenWave:“I was born and raised in Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, a little fishing village with 14 salt-box houses painted in greens, blues and reds so that fishermen could find their way home in the fog. At age 14, I left school and headed out to sea. I fished the George Banks and the Grand Banks for tuna and lobster, then headed to the Bering Sea, where I fished cod and crab.”“The captains of the industry, who wanted to fish the last fish, were thinking 10 years down the road, but there was a younger generation of us thinking 50 years out. We wanted to make our living on the ocean. I want to die on my boat one day – that’s my measure of success.”“I re-made myself as an oysterman (in New York State). I did this for seven years. Then the storms hit. Hurricane Irene and Hurricane Sandy thrashed the East Coast. Two years in a row the storms buried 90 percent of my crops in three feet of mud, and 40 percent of my gear was washed away in a sea of death.”“Lobster were being driven northward by warming waters, and acidification was increasing faster than at any other time in 300 million years, killing billions of oyster seed up and down the American coast.” “For a long time I’d seen climate change only as an environmental issue because environmentalists were always framing it in terms of birds, bears, and bees, but I’m a fisherman. I kill things for a living. I grew up shooting moose out of my kitchen window. I never thought climate change had anything to do with my life. But it does. From my vantage point, climate change is not an environmental issue at all – it’s an economic issue.”“In the same years my [oyster] farm was wiped out by hurricanes, 83,000 people lost their jobs in New York City because of flooding, many of those in manufacturing. Unemployment claims doubled in Vermont along the storm’s path, and 80 percent of U.S. farmland was shriveled by drought, driving up food prices for middle and working class families. It turns out there will be no jobs on a dead planet.”

Sources: Nickels, S. Furgal, C. Buell, M. Moquin, H. 2006. Unikkaaqatigiit - Putting the Human Face on Climate Change: Perspectives from Inuit in Canada. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Unikkaaqatigiit, Putting the Human Face on Climate Change, Perspectives From Inuit in Canada, Université Laval

Watt-Cloutier, Sheila. 2015. The Right to Be Cold: One woman’s story of protecting her culture, the arctic and the whole planet. Allen Lane.

Great first-person article by Bren Smith on how climate change has affected his life as a fisherman from the East Coast. https://medium.com/invironment/an-army-of-ocean-farmers-on-the-frontlines-of-the-blue-green-economic-revolution-d5ae171285a3?mc_cid=c85ed38710&mc_eid=db6ddbae90#.ndychwb1k

***About ten quotes from Inuit peoples

Sources: Nickels, S. Furgal, C. Buell, M. Moquin, H. 2006. Unikkaaqatigiit - Putting the Human Face on Climate Change: Perspectives from Inuit in Canada. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

Watt-Cloutier, Sheila. 2015. The Right to Be Cold: One woman’s story of protecting her culture, the arctic and the whole planet. Allen Lane.

Great first-person article on how climate change has affected the life of a fisherman from the East Coast. https://medium.com/invironment/an-army-of-ocean-farmers-on-the-frontlines-of-the-blue-green-economic-revolution-d5ae171285a3?mc_cid=c85ed38710&mc_eid=db6ddbae90#.ndychwb1k

H3. Evidence and impacts of climate change

H3-1. Evidence(See timelines above)

“Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree: Climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities. In addition, most of the leading scientific organizations worldwide have issued public statements endorsing this position.”20

21

Here is the list of physical evidence: - Rising temperature

“The globally averaged combined land and ocean surface temperature data as calculated by a linear trend, show a warming of 0.85C, over the period 1880 to 2012, when multiple independently produced datasets exist.”22 (Calculated by compiling mean global temperatures while taking into account substantial decadal and interannual variability. Due to natural variability, trends can very from decade to decade.) “Over the period 1948 to 2013, the average annual temperature in Canada has warmed by 1.6C, a higher rate of warming than in most other regions of the world.”23

- Increase in GHG

https://www.ec.gc.ca/indicateurs-indicators/default.asp?lang=en&n=54C061B5-1

- Increase in extreme weather

http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights/report-findings/extreme-weather#intro-section-2

- Ice core measurement (geology) “Antarctic ice cores show us that the concentration of CO2 was stable over the last millennium until the early 19th century. It then started to rise, and its concentration is now nearly 40% higher than it was before the industrial revolution. Other measurements, such as isotopic data, confirm that the increase must be due to emissions of Co2 from fossil fuel usage and deforestation.”24

https://www.bas.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/002.jpg

- Animal migration patterns and increasing endangered species. “… A rate of 100 to 1000 species lost per million per year, mostly due to human-caused habitat destruction and climate change.”25

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140529-conservation-science-animals-species-endangered-extinction/

H3-2. Impacts: Climate change is affecting communities all over the world. Climate change is projected to lead to both changes in average conditions and in extreme weather events. Increases in droughts, heavy rains, floods, and severe storms, where these occur, can be very disruptive for society and are among the potential impacts of most concern. As well, rising sea levels will affect coastal areas, along which, in many regions, human communities are concentrated. Changes in temperature and precipitation will affect natural habitats and managed ones, with impacts on agriculture and food supplies of particular concern to a growing human population. There will be opportunities as well as risks associated with climate change, but in balance, impacts are expected to become increasingly challenging as global average surface temperature becomes increasingly warmer.26

List of effects compiled by NASA`s Earth Sciences Communication Team27 and Climatechange.ca28

- Temperatures will continue to rise- Frost-free season (and growing season) will lengthen - Animal migration changes, stress on many animal habitats- Changes in precipitation patterns

- Higher risk of extreme weather events such as heat waves, heavy rainfalls and related flooding, dry spells/droughts, and forest fires

- Hurricanes will become stronger and more intense- As a maritime nation, Canada will be affected by changing ocean environments such as extreme

sea level, wave regimes, and ice conditions. - Dramatic reductions in Artic sea ice cover, particularly during the summer season- Sea lever rise (1-4 feet by 2100)

Importance of glaciers29:Many rivers are fed by the melting ice of glaciers. The Ganges River for example is mainly fed by the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayan Mountains. This river is the most important source of freshwater and electricity in India and Bangladesh. Glacier water is often associated with cleanliness and purity. Many believe that water from glaciers is the cleanest, freshest kind of drinkable water because it has not been exposed to pollutants or tampered with. Through time, glaciers have been responsible for creating much of the Earth’s topography, mainly lakes and mountains. Yosemite in California is a great example of landscape having been sculpted by glaciers (during the last Ice Age). Although glaciers are entirely made of frozen water (H20), they accumulate small concentrations of elements in the ice/snow. Due mainly to marine aerosols, traces of Na, Cl, Mg, K, Ca, Fe and Al can be found in the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica.30 Glaciers are important indicators of global warming and climate change in several ways:

- Melting ice sheets contribute to rising sea levels. As ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland melt, they raise the level of the ocean. Tons of fresh water are added to the ocean each day. Large icebergs such as the 160-quare-mile piece of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in Antarctica can create hazards for shipping.

- The loss of glacial ice reduces the amount of fresh water available for plants, animals and humans.

- The loss of glaciers can also affect tourism and activities such as alpine skiing or ice climbing. The Chacaltaya Glacier for instance was the world’s highest ski resort. In 2009, the glacier melted entirely.

- The polar ice caps act as the planet’s air conditioner and can impact weather and climate dynamics such as the jet stream.

- The world’s glaciers also act as the Earth’s mirrors, reflecting the sun’s heat back into space. The loss of white, reflective surface area causes the sun’s heat to be absorbed rather than reflected. This results in the further warming of the planet’s temperature (land and ocean).

If the ice melted (video):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbiRNT_gWUQ

Images of impacts:- Receding glacier - Deforestation- Agriculture- Erosion and sea-level rise- GHG emissions (automobiles, industry)- Flooding

- Drought- Animals - Urban growth/sprawl- Trash

H3-3. Call to actionMitigation and adaptation

This section should encourage and educate visitors on how to play a part in reducing emissions. It also highlights the federal government’s stance on climate change and how they (the country) can mitigate it. It could also encourage visitors to get more involved. (Policy change, volunteering, change in lifestyle etc. at a municipal, provincial or national level)

Canada’s priorities for COP21http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?Lang=En&xml=EF6CE373-41AA-4EFA-A97B-1EDFB25E6C83

Fun article on climate changehttp://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/11/28/science/what-is-climate-change.html?_r=0

Adapting to climate changeEven after introducing significant measures to reduce GHG emissions, some additional degree of climate change is unavoidable and will have significant economic, social and environmental impacts on Canadian communities. To reduce the negative impacts of this change and to take advantage of new opportunities presented, Canadians need to adapt. Climate change adaptation refers to actions that reduce the negative impact of climate change, while taking advantage of potential new opportunities. Adaptation can be reactive, occurring in response to climate impacts, or anticipatory, occurring before impacts of climate change are observed. In most circumstances, anticipatory adaptations will result in lower long-term costs and be more effective than reactive adaptations.

Adaptation and mitigation strategies (moving forward):

What can I do?http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=D27052CE-1

- More fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrid/electric vehicles, non-motorized transport- Efficient use of daylight for lighting and heating in homes- Eat less/no meat- Adapt old homes or build new homes matching or exceeding climate thresholds. (Ex: Installation

of backwater valve, better insulation)- Walk or bike whenever possible, take public transit, carpool- Recycle- Repurpose- Use energy efficient appliances

Larger scale adaptation- Relocation of populations in costal zones, relocation of crops, relying more on irrigation

- Diversification of tourism attractions, ex. skiing at higher altitudes. - Reduce dependence on single sources of energy, switch to green power, renewables- Rainwater storage to adapt to longer and more frequent dry spells- Solar radiation management: reflecting sunlight with stratospheric sulfate aerosols, painting all

roofs white, reflective sheeting in desert, etc. - Carbon capture

21 day habit challenge, send in email address, competition, leaderboard

Climate change apps We could encourage the public to get more involved or simply learning more by downloading certain apps that explain, update and educate about climate change. (Potential outreach opportunity)http://climate.nasa.gov/earth-apps/NASA also has a time machine webpage which would be a great way to allow visitors to see climate change.

Publications

http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/sites/www.nrcan.gc.ca/files/earthsciences/pdf/mun/pdf/mun_e.pdf

https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/spms4.html

Artifacts

From Climate Scientist Ken Devine:

“The atmosphere is driven by the input of energy from above and retention of that energy with temperature being a measure of the resulting total energy. This energy also drives both the vertical and horizontal motion of the atmosphere assisted by the earth's rotation. The resulting hydrological cycle delivers both clouds and precipitation. Hence as this engine is affected from above, nearly every meteorological parameter changes. Thus climate change starts with the input/retention of radiation (pyrhelometer) which results in temperature change. Horizontal motion of the atmosphere or wind is measured with an anemometer. Cloudiness is measured by a sunshine recorder and precipitation by a precipitation gauge. But these are not the only parameters which could be affected. Snow depth (a very old measurement) is determined mainly by precipitation. Temperature affects ice thickness. The changes in the patterns of atmospheric motion also affect humidity. Even the upper atmosphere (radiosonde) is affected by climate change. The constituents of the atmosphere are another part of the science of climate change. Pressure changes do not appear to be significant despite the precision of those measurements. Human reports of the time of breakup and freezup of lakes and rivers tell the same story. In the nineteenth century the dates that certain bird species returned was also recorded. But these types of observations have almost dissappeared with the introduction of incomplete automation.

While most parameters are now saved digitally, this only dates back to about 1950. Prior to that time only the temperature, precipitation and snow depth were retained digitally. Thus any computer analysis is limited by what has been retained. A sixty odd year record is barely sufficient to say that change is taking place. That is why temperature records dating back to 1840 are so important.”

Sunshine RecorderCasellaLondon, England1958Artifact no. 1966.0225

ThermographCirca 1900Artifact no. 1987.0620

PhotometerSONOTEKMississauga, Ontario, Canada1980-84Artifact no. 1992.0004

Thermometer Spiridion Scientific InstrumentsLlantrisant Wales1985 (replica of 1657 model)Artifact no. 1993.0007

ThermometerShort & MasonLondon, EnglandArtifact no. 1996.0500

Snow RulerDOT Meteorological Branch/MSC1961-1965Artifact no. 2004.0331

PyrheliometerEppley Laboratory Inc.Newport, Rhode Island, USACirca 1971Artifact no. 2004.0347

AnemometerYoung, R.M. Co.Traverse City, Michigan, USABetween 1990-2004Artifact no. 2004.0353

Rain gauge/pluviometerMeteorological Service of Canada/Environment CACanadaBetween 1960-1970Artifact no. 2013.0063

GraduateMeteorological Service of Canada/Environment CACanada1970-1973Artifact no. 2004.0334

Sources

1 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report”, ipcc.ch.https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/mains1.html2 World Meteorological Organization, “Frequently asked questions”, wmo.int. http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/wcp/ccl/faqs.php3 World Meteorological Organization, “Causes of Climate Change”, wmo.int. https://www.wmo.int/pages/themes/climate/causes_of_climate_change.php4 Broecker, Wallace S. Climactic Change: Are We on the Brink of a Pronounced Global Warming?, Science, Aug. 8, 1975, pp. 460-4635 United Nations, “United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change”, 1992, p.7,https://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/background_publications_htmlpdf/application/pdf/conveng.pdf6 United Nations, p.7. 7 United Nations, p.7. 8 IPCC, “Climate Change 2007: Working Group I: The Physical Science Basis”, ipcc.ch. https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/faq-1-3.html9 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, “What’s the Difference Between Weather and Climate?”, updated July 31, 2015. Nasa.gov. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/climate/climate_weather.html10 Warren, Fiona J. and Lemmen, Donald S. Canada In A Changing Climate: Sector Perspectives on Impacts and Adaptation (Synthesis), NRCan, 2014, p. 711 Graham, Steve. “Milutin Milankovitch (1879-1958)”, NASA Earth Observatory, March 24, 2000. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Milankovitch/12 Government of Canada, “Causes of Climate Change”http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=65CD73F4-113 Hilderman, Richard. “The Role of Natural and Anthropogenic Forces in Climate Change”, Mother Earth News. 2011. http://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/the-role-of-natural-anthropogenic-forces-in-climate-change.aspx14 World Meteorological Organization, “Causes of Climate Change”, wmo.int.https://www.wmo.int/pages/themes/climate/causes_of_climate_change.php15 IPCC, “Human and Natural Drivers of Climate Change”, Climate Change 2007: Working Group I: The Physical Science Basis, ipcc.ch. http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/spmsspm-human-and.html16 US EPA, “Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data”https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html17 Government of Canada, “National Inventory Report 1990-2014: Greenhouse Gas Sources and Sinks in Canada – Executive Summary”, Environment and Climate Change Canada. 2014, updated 2016.http://www.ec.gc.ca/ges-ghg/662F9C56-B4E4-478B-97D4-BAABE1E6E2E7/2016_NIR_Executive_Summary_en.pdf18 United States Environmental Protection Agency, “Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions Data”, 2016, epa.gov.https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html19 Government of Canada, ibid. http://www.ec.gc.ca/ges-ghg/662F9C56-B4E4-478B-97D4-BAABE1E6E2E7/2016_NIR_Executive_Summary_en.pdf20 NASA’s Earth Science Communications Team, “Scientific consensus: Earth’s climate is warming”, updated May 31, 2016, nasa.gov. http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/21 Skeptical Science, “97% consensus on human-caused global warming”, skepticalscience.comhttp://www.skepticalscience.com/graphics.php?g=1922 IPCC, “Climate Change 2013: Working Group I: The Physical Science Basis”, Summary, 2013. https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg1/WGIAR5_SPM_brochure_en.pdf23 Government of Canada. “Impacts of Climate Change”, 2015-11-27, climatechange.gc.cahttp://climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=036D9756-124 British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Ice Cores and Climate Change, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Cambridge, May 18, 2015. https://www.bas.ac.uk/data/our-data/publication/ice-cores-and-climate-change/25 Dell’Amore, Christine. Species Extinction Happening 1,000 Times Faster Because of Humans?, National Geographic, May 30, 2014, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140529-conservation-science-animals-species-endangered-extinction/26 Government of Canada, “Facts on Climate Change”, modified April 19, 2016, climatechange.gc.ca.http://www.climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=F2DB1FBE-127 NASA’s Earth Science Communications Team, “The consequences of climate change”, updated May 31, 2016, nasa.gov. http://climate.nasa.gov/effects/28 Government of Canada, “Impacts of Climate Change”, modified November 27, 2015, climatechange.ca. http://climatechange.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=036D9756-129 National Geographic, “Glacier (Encyclopedic entry)”, nationalgeographic.org.http://nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/glacier/

30 Vasil’chuk, Yu. K. “Chemical Properties of Glacial and Ground Ice”, Types and Properties of Water, Lomonosov’s Moscow State University. http://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C07/E2-03-06-02.pdf