Week 7
True or False: we are locked in to a set amount of warming.
False, warming will stop a few years after net zero is reached, and will slowly decline afterwards.
Define consumerism
The relentless pursuit of purchasing unnecessary goods and services.
Define climate mitigation, and list the two main methods of climate mitigation.
Climate mitigation is the process of reducing climate change by reducing the net greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. This can be done by reducing the sources of GHGs or enhancing the removal of GHGs.
Define a worldview.
A worldview is made up of beliefs, assumptions, attitudes, values, and ideas that form a model of reality.
Define energy poverty.
Energy poverty is the inability to afford or access basic energy needs, like running lights and charging a phone or running a radio for 4 hours.
Define climate doomism, and describe how it affects individual action and support for climate policy.
Climate doomism is the thought that climate change cannot be stopped, and that no matter what humanity/the earth will be harmed. Doomism can make people less likely to change their individual actions and undermines support for climate policy.
Rank the following sectors from highest to lowest emissions: Waste, Energy, Industry, and Agriculture/Forestry/Land Use
Energy > Agriculture/Forestry/Land Use > Industry > Waste
Differentiate between low carbon and renewable energy. Is low carbon energy always renewable? Provide an example/examples of each.
Low carbon energy does not release much or any greenhouse gases, but does not regenerate on a human timescale and is therefore finite. Renewable energy is also low or zero emissions, but regenerates on a human timescale and is practically infinite. Nuclear is the best example of low carbon energy, and solar is an example of renewable energy.
What are negative emissions, and why are they important for reaching net zero?
Negative emissions is the process of actively removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and can be used to help offset difficult to eliminate emissions to reach net zero.
What are natural climate solutions? List some examples of natural climate solutions.
Natural climate solutions focus on enhancing natural carbon dioxide sinks, focusing on protecting, managing, and restoring ecosystems. This can include wetlands, peatlands, range/grasslands, and forests/trees.
Bonus: what category of NCS has the most potential in the US between forests, agriculture, and wetlands?
Define pluralistic ignorance and the spiral of silence. How are the concepts related to climate change and each other?
Pluralistic ignorance is incorrectly assuming what other people believe; the spiral of silence describes how people are less likely to talk about topics they think others will disagree with them on. People greatly underestimate how many people care about climate change (pluralistic ignorance), so they don't talk about it (spiral of silence), which leads to the perpetuation of both of these and less support for climate action.
State the IPAT equation and the Kaya Identity equation. How do they differ?
Impact = Population * Affluence * Technology
Emissions = Population * Affluence * Energy Intensity * Carbon Intensity
The Kaya Identity further subdivides technology into both energy and carbon intensity, allowing for a bit more nuance.
Are renewable energy sources displacing fossil fuels? Why or why not?
No, renewable energy sources are not displacing fossil fuels, because total energy use is increasing along with increases in renewable energy.
Differentiate between an emissions trading system and a carbon tax. Which one is generally more effective?
In an emissions trading system, a cap on total emissions is set, and permits are given out to companies. Companies can then sell their unused emissions to others to allow them to emit more. A carbon tax applies a flat fee to products (like energy) based on how much GHGs they emit. Taxes are generally more effective than ETSs, as the price is fixed by the government.
Compare and contrast annual national emissions with cumulative national emissions. How does this affect who is responsible for climate change?
Countries with the highest annual national emissions include countries like China and India, but the United States and countries in Europe have higher cumulative emissions, so people argue they are more responsible for climate change.
Explain how a false balance is created in the media, and how it affects climate change discourse and public perception of climate change.
Summarize some arguments for and against paying attention to individual emissions. Are there any common arguments that are incorrect?
We should pay attention to individual emissions because: emissions can add up, even small emissions matter, it can help influence other people, is the moral thing to do
We shouldn't pay attention to individual emissions because: they are small compared to industry and government, it can distract from systemic change, it can be difficult and stressful
People often argue voluntary change is best, but this ignores the majority of emissions from systemic or non individual sources.
Make a simple three step model of how policies are made, then add the effects of climate research and fossil fuel industry.
I can't put images in here
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
but see lecture 9B in Canvas
Describe the moral hazard argument in the context of carbon dioxide removal and climate change.
The moral hazard argument proposes that implementing carbon dioxide removal will encourage people to keep emitting, or lessen their motivation to reduce emissions because of the use of carbon dioxide removal, potentially leading to missing emissions goals. It could also be another source of greenwashing for companies.
Describe carbon lock-in and path dependency.
Path dependency describes how our current system, including infrastructure and investments, encourage the use of our current options and making it difficult to use alternatives.
List the 8 climate discourses and provide a brief summary of each one.
Biophysical: focuses on science of ghg emissions and climate system, science, and modeling
Policy: Focuses on limiting warming through national pledges and implementing climate change policy
Economic: Focuses on limiting warming through economic policies that reward sustainability or discourage emissions, looking at cost benefit analysis and externalities
Critical: Focuses on the unequal distribution of climate change and current growth centric system as a whole, including power dynamics and politics
Moral: Focuses on the moral obligation of who should act on climate change, and injustice caused by climate change
Biocentric: Views humans as a part of nature and emphasizes the need to protect, conserve, and restore nature.
Dismissive: Aims to undermine and delay climate action, support and maintain fossil fuels using denial, skepticism, and greenwashing
Integrative: Focuses on changing our relationship with the environment to make it sustainable and just, incorporates multiple other discourses
Define a carbon footprint and its origin. List the top four things someone can do to lower their carbon footprint.
A carbon footprint is the total emissions that are caused by our actions / lifestyle, and it was originated by BP. The top four things someone can do to reduce their carbon footprint are having one fewer child, living car free, avoiding a trans-Atlantic round trip flight, and going vegan/plant based.
Describe the Jevons paradox, and how it relates to emissions from energy. What is the rebound effect? Differentiate between direct and indirect rebound effects, and provide examples of both.
The Jevons paradox occurs when increases in efficiency lead to an overall increase in consumption of a resource (usually energy). This can be seen when technology becomes more efficient, leading to more usage of that technology and thus more emissions, sometimes more than there were initially. The rebound effect is how much the increased usage offsets efficiency gains. Direct rebound effects occur when technology becomes more efficient, so people use that technology more. Indirect rebound effects occur when efficiency in one area/technology leads to increased usage/emissions in another area/technology.
Direct example: people get fuel efficient cars, so they drive more than they did before.
Indirect example: people get energy efficient appliances, so they save money on their energy bill and use it to drive across the country.
List the 7 types of carbon dioxide removal discussed in class and give a very brief description of them.
Carbon capture and storage: carbon dioxide captured directly from source and sent underground
Bioenergy carbon capture and storage: Grow biomass, burn for energy, capture carbon dioxide from fumes, store underground.
Direct Air Capture: use fans and chemical filters to collect carbon dioxide, store underground.
Biochar: heat and break down (pyrolyze) organic matter under anaerobic conditions to form biochar, use for agriculture or other uses and store in soil.
Enhanced Rock Weathering: break up silicate rocks and spread them so they interact with rain more, forming carbonate compounds that can store carbon.
Ocean Fertilization: Dump iron/phosphorous into ocean to spur phytoplankton growth, photosynthesize and absorb carbon, die, sink to bottom of ocean and store carbon
Ocean alkanization: add carbonate or silicate rocks to ocean to react w/ carbon dioxide and store it in oceans as carbonate compounds.
List the four main categories of discourses of climate delay, and their subcategories.
Redirect responsibility: Individualism, Whataboutism, "free rider" excuse
Non-transformative solutions: Technological optimism, all talk no action, Fossil fuel solutionism, no sticks just carrots
Emphasize downsides: Policy perfectionism, appeal to social justice, appeal to wellbeing
Surrender: Change is impossible, doomism