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Global Warming Solutions for America. Dr. Eban Goodstein, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon. Presentation materials supplemented by Jennifer Edmonds, PhD.
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Global Warming Solutions for America Dr. Eban Goodstein, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon Presentation materials supplemented by Jennifer Edmonds, PhD
Carbon dioxide and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm up. (URL) The “Carbon Blanket”: Getting Thicker Every Year Pre-industrial: 280 PPM ≈ 1950 Today: 384 PPM 2050: ??
Carbon dioxide and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a thickening blanket, trapping the sun's heat and causing the planet to warm up. (URL) The “Carbon Blanket”: Getting Thicker Every Year Automobiles, the second largest source, create nearly 1.5 billion tons of CO2 annually. Coal-burning power plants are the largest U.S. source of carbon dioxide pollution -- they produce 2.5 billion tons every year.. Pre-industrial: 280 PPM ≈ 1950 Today: 384 PPM 2050: ??
Today’s level 384pm
Pasterze Glacier, Austria - 1875 Pasterze Glacier, Austria – 2004 Clear Impacts: 1º F degree warming
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Instrumental_Temperature_Record.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Instrumental_Temperature_Record.png
Average temperatures have climbed 1.4º F (0.8º C) around the world since 1880, much of this in recent decades (according to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies) Q A http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1206_041206_global_warming.html http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/f101.asp
Temperate glacier retreat is global Portage Glacier, Alaska - 1914 Portage Glacier, Alaska – 2004
Portland, Oregon 1984 2002
Q Global warming is already causing damage in many parts of the World. • In 2002, Colorado, Arizona and Oregon endured their worst wildfire seasons ever. • The same year, drought created severe dust storms in Montana, Colorado and Kansas, and floods caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in Texas, Montana and North Dakota. • Since the early 1950s, snow accumulation has declined 60 percent and winter seasons have shortened in some areas of the Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington. • In 2003, extreme heat waves caused more than 20,000 deaths in Europe and more than 1,500 deaths in India. A http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/f101.asp
Global Impacts • The BAD:(worse as it warms more) • Water shortages from snowpack loss
Global Impacts • The BAD:(worse as it warms more) • Water shortages from snowpack loss • Increased floods and droughts
Global Impacts • The BAD: (worse as it warms more) • Water shortages from snowpack loss • Increased floods and droughts • Extinction of many species & ecosystems…
Global Impacts • The BAD:(worse as it warms more) • Water shortages from snowpack loss • Increased floods and droughts • Extinction of many species & ecosystems… • More heat related illnesses and deaths…
Global Impacts • The BAD:(worse as it warms more) • Water shortages from snowpack loss • Increased floods and droughts • Extinction of many species & ecosystems… • More heat related illnesses and deaths… • More intense hurricanes and typhoons
Global Impacts • The SCARY • Ocean acidification: potential collapse of marine foodchains
Dire warming scenarios for world’s reefs Experts predict ’crumbling frameworks’ if CO2 emissions continue to grow Ove Hoegh-Guldberg These images published with a coral acidification study in the journal Science reflect scenarios of carbon dioxide's impact on reef ecosystems. The left image represents an intact system at current CO2 levels; the center image shows coral decay with increased CO2; and the right image shows a devastated system with even higher CO2 emissions. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22185971/
Global Impacts • The SCARY • Ocean acidification: potential collapse of marine foodchains • Fire-driven deforestation of Amazon: accelerated warming
Global Impacts • The SCARY • Ocean acidification: potential collapse of marine foodchains • Fire-driven deforestation of Amazon: accelerated warming • Methane release from tundra: accelerated warming
Global Impacts • The SCARY • Ocean acidification: potential collapse of marine foodchains • Fire-driven deforestation of Amazon: accelerated warming • Methane release from tundra: accelerated warming • Continental Ice Sheet Collapse: sea level rise of 35-40 feet, 2
What can be done? WHY SHOULD I DO ANYTHING?
What is ‘going green?’ GO GREEN! • WHAT? • Consumers
What is ‘going green?’ GO GREEN! • WHAT? • Consumers • Businesses
For a small company, going green might mean using recycled paper products, installing solar panels and using organically grown materials. For a large company, it might mean investing millions of dollars in renewable energy research, slashing carbon dioxide emissions and drastically reducing energy consumption.
WHY go green? GO GREEN! • WHAT? • WHY go green? • Consumers
WHY go green? GO GREEN! • WHAT? • WHY go green? • Consumers • Businesses
…companies are increasingly learning that green initiatives are not just good P.R., they're good business. • “They're not just doing this to try to save the planet…They're seeing the huge economic potential. Instead of simply growing the bottom line by reducing costs, they're growing the top line by increasing revenue. This is creating new products and new markets and in some cases new companies.”