impact on humans

heat stress

• increase in heat strokes, heat-related deaths, and heat-related illnesses

• heat stress: occurs when a body cannot cool itself

• heat stroke: when a body’s cooling mechanism fails

  • can damage the heart, brain, and kidneys; may be lethal

• heat waves mainly affect older adults, infants/children, people with chronic illnesses, low-income people, outdoor workers

increase in infectious diseases

• half of human’s infectious diseases may get worse

• more diseases transmitted by mosquitos and ticks

  • west nile virus

  • malaria

  • lyme disease

• more diseases transmitted by polluted water

  • cholera

  • hepatitis

  • childhood diarrhea

• more diseases transmitted by rodents

  • hantavirus

• more diseases transmitted by other mammals as mammals shift their ranges and humans get in contact with new species

  • eg. bats in southeast asia (COVID)

worsening effects of air pollution

• effects of particulate air pollution and heat extremes are more severe when nighttime temperature and pollution occur together

• hot weather contributes to photochemical smog and the production of ground-level ozone

• it also increases the chances of wildfires which release particulate matter

• plants have more time to produce pollen, resulting in more allergies

destruction of human cultures and settlement

• the Inuit people have lived in the Arctic for millennia, but the climate change is a threat to their lifestyle (hunting, traveling, traditions)

  • early springs

  • slushy ice

  • invasive species

• destruction of homes due to natural disasters

  • increased quantity and intensity of wildfires, floods, mudslides

food and water

exacerbating food insecurity

• warmer temperatures may mean longer growing seasons, but severe rains and droughts threaten crops

• low agricultural lands may end up under water

• coastal fisheries may be disrupted

threats to the water supply

• climate change alters the hydrological cycle, causing more floods and droughts

• many communities have no access to safe drinking water

• this may feed armed conflicts between and within countries (water wars)

fossil fuels

• fossil fuels: a mixture of organic compounds that were formed from the decomposition of living matter over geological time

• three types of fossil fuels

  • coal

  • natural gas

  • oil

• fossil fuel consumption

coal

pros

• most abundant fossil fuel

• US has a lot

cons

• dangerous to mine

  • causes accidents and black lung disease

• produces soil erosion

• can’t be used in cars

• pollutes water

• releases radioactivity and toxic metals when burned

• causes acid deposition

• emits heat-trapping gases when burned

natural gas

• natural gas: a mixture of gases, the most important being methane

• found on top of crude oil reservoirs

  • Russia has many such reserves

pros

• burns cleaner than coal

  • less CO2 emissions, less pollution

• can be liquified

• less damaging to extract

cons

• extraction leaks methane

oil

pros

• cheap

• efficient

• easy to transport

• petrochemicals are made from it

  • eg. plastics, fertilizers, fibers

cons

• needs to be refined to be separated into different components

  • gases, gasoline, heating oil, diesel oil, asphalt)

• not much left

• results in oil spills

  • environmentally destructive

• emits heat-trapping gases and air pollutants

  • acid deposition, photochemical smog

the organization of petroleum-exporting countries (OPEC)

• OPEC: an association of manufacturers or suppliers with the purpose of maintaining prices at a high level and restricting competition

• member countries

  • algeria

  • angola

  • congo

  • equatorial guinea

  • gabon

  • iran

  • iraq

  • kuwait

  • libya

  • nigeria

  • saudi arabia

  • united arab emirates

  • venezuela

unconventional oil sources

• oil shale: fine grained rock that contains a solid, waxy mixture of hydrocarbon compounds called kerogen

  • shale is crushed and heated until kerogen vaporizes

  • reserves in colorado, utah, wyoming

• tar sand, oil sand: fine grained rock that contains a solid, waxy mixture of hydrocarbon compounds called kerogen

  • reserves in Canada

the international community

two strategies: mitigation vs. adaptation

• mitigation: reducing emissions of and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

  • reducing greenhouse gas emissions

  • improving atmospheric CO2 removal

• adaptation: learning to live with climate change but reducing its harmful effects

  • building infrastructure

  • changing behaviors

  • dealing with the environmental refugee crisis

historical international responses

• 1992 — during the UN Earth summit in Rio, the UN decided to address climate change by creating the framework convention on climate change

• 1997 — delegates from 160 nations signed the Kyoto Protocol in Kyoto, Japan and draft a climate change treaty

  • industrialized countries committed to lower their emissions by certain percentages below 1990 levels

• the Paris Agreement

  • result of the UN climate change conference in 2015

  • legally binding international treaty on climate change

  • adopted by 196 parties at COP21 in Paris, 2015

  • goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels

  • commits countries to support each other

COP27

• in November 2022, Egypt hosted the 27th conference of the parties of the UNFCCC (COP 27) in the city of Sharm el-Sheikh

the tragedy of the commons

• when a resource is shared by many individuals (common), each individual acts in their own best interest

• as a result, the resource is depleted

LDCs want to develop

things that can be obtained by burning fossil fuels

• better housing

• cars

• computers

• discardable goods

• medical devices

• eating meat

loss and damage

• the most vulnerable countries are the least responsible

• form of reparations

reasons for optimism

• goals are clearer

• reformed financial institutions

  • better borrowing conditions for LDCs

• less greenwashing

• private financing

• new rules for strengthening voluntary carbon markets