Causes
The leading cause of climate change today
What is carbon or greenhouse gas emissions?
Impact that will affect coastal communities more than inland commmunities
What is sea level rise? Rising sea levels will require coastal communities to adapt to the rising sea, or move away from it
What is adaptation?
Actively reducing emissions or removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere
The main source of water for Colorado
What is snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains? Snowmelt provides 75% of the water in the Western US
Term to describe atmospheric conditions at a specific time and place
What is weather? Weather is the day-to-day conditions, and climate is the weather patterns over long periods of time
Word to describe a prolonged period of abnormally low precipitation
What is drought? Droughts are becoming more severe due to global warming. The western US is currently experiencing the worst drought in over 1,200 years
Sea walls and levees are an adaptation strategy to combat what
What is sea level rise? Sea walls and levees can protect certain coastal communities from rising seas, but require a lot of resources to construct
The most effective mitigation strategy for reducing carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels
What is green or renewable energy? Wind, solar, and hydropower are renewable energy sources and the most important tool we have in moving away from carbon emitting energy sources
What is drought? Since year 2000 the western US has been gripped by a drought that is becoming more severe due to global warming.
Cause of global warming that clear cuts nature's way of extracting carbon from the atmosphere while emitting carbon in the process
The cause of sea level rise
What is the melting of glaciers or ice? Glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates due to increasing temperatures. Sea levels will rise between 1-5 feet by 2100 depending on the mitigation efforts of humans
Adaptation strategy used by humans to escape the heat
What is air conditioning? AC is an adaptation that allows people to live in extremely hot climates where they might not have been able to in the past
_____, Reuse, Recycle
What is Reduce? Reduction of waste is the first option when it comes to waste management. The more we can reduce the amount we use, the more we can reduce methane from landfills and CO2 from the factories producing the waste
True of False:
Snowmelt in Colorado is happening later in the year due to global warming
False! Snowmelt from the mountains is occurring earlier in the year, putting more pressure on the water resources during the hotter summer months when more water is required for everyday life.
Greenhouse gas that is 80 times better at trapping heat than CO2
What is Methane? The structure of methane molecules allows it to trap radiation much more efficiently than CO2
What is biodiversity loss? Biodiversity is crucial for the health of the planet and humans. We are currently in the 6th mass extinction event of the planet's history due to human influence
The act of planting trees
What is reforestation? Reforestation is the planting of trees with the purpose of removing CO2 from the atmosphere and sequestering it into the ground.
Adaptation strategy for wildfires in Colorado
What are firebreaks or controlled burns? These adaptation strategies help protect communities from potentially deadly wildfires that have grown in severity due to global warming.
What are volcanic eruptions? Aerosols block radiation from reaching Earth's surface, cooling the atmosphere
The lake that was created by the construction of the Hoover Dam
What is Lake Mead? Lake Mead is the largest freshwater reservoir in the U.S. supplying water for over 20 million people and for the production of many of our favorite fruits and veggies.
Last adaptation resort for humans
What is relocation? Relocation is often the last resort when all other adaptation strategies have been exhausted or are too expensive.
Fertilization of the ocean promotes the growth of this
What is algae? Algae in the ocean has the potential to remove large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere and sequestering it in the ocean
Animal most threatened by global warming in Colorado
What is the trout? Trout are very sensitive to temperature changes and global warming is increasing the temperature of the streams and rivers where they live