Transcript Basic overview of environmental policy promises

Catherine N. Duckett, Ph.D
Associate Dean, School of Science
Monmouth University
[email protected]
• Air, water and land qualities suitable for sustaining humans and
other creatures
• Pollution
• Ecological stability – do species interact with each other in a
predictable way?
• Land use - does wildlife actually have a place to live?
• Climate stability
Environmental Policy & Regulatory Changes
• Reduce regulations and hobble regulatory agencies
• EPA, NOAA, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Power Plan
• Oppose regulations, laws, and treaties to control carbon emissions and
human caused climate change
• Oppose the Paris Accord, Carbon Taxes
• Revoke restrictions on new drilling technologies
• Muzzle officials and agencies tasked with protecting the environment
and lands from commercial exploitation
• Appoint officials whose personal positions are anti-regulation and
skeptical of climate change.
Why should you
care about
regulations?
Reduction of natural predators
undermines marsh stability
• Crabs increase without predators
• Crabs feed on ‘bugs’ that control
algae (isopods)
• Without control algae overgrew
eelgrass-- marsh structures
deteriorated & collapsed
• Loss of marshlands
http://www.npr.org/2014/12/14/370670678/more-than-just-cute-sea-otters-aresuperheroes-of-the-marsh
• Otters returned after overhunting
• Regulations changed
• Marshes recovered
• Fish nurseries recovered
• Fishing improved.
Why does it matter to us that the earth is warming?
• Economic systems depend on stability and predictability
• Current climate has been very stable for the last 9,000 years : - https://xkcd.com/1732/
• Animals and plants can only adapt to change if they have the genetic tools
to do so
• Mutations cause genetic change but tied to rate of reproduction
• Larger populations have more genetic diversity
• Environmental and agricultural impacts of CC will become unpredictable
• Humans evolved about 200,000 years ago
• Humans have NO evolutionary experience with high CO2 conditions
•
Climate History : http://media.hhmi.org/biointeractive/earthviewer_web/earthviewer.html
Is Climate Change Caused by Humans ?
1/29/2017
• CO2 and other greenhouse gas levels are rising.
• Night time low temperatures are rising faster than day time highs
• Isotopic signature atmospheric carbon from Fossil fuels,
• Not volcanoes
• Surface warming is accompanied by stratospheric cooling
• Less heat exiting into space
• 98% of climate scientists agree- climate changes= humans
• Climate science has been systematically attacked
• Anti-communists
• Fossil fuel industry e.g. Exxon
• Others threated by evidence based arguments
• http://climate.nasa.gov/interactives/climate-time-machine (warming
interactive) for warming data
If you want to get really technical visit
http://www.itacanet.org/the-sun-asa-source-of-energy/part-2-solarenergy-reaching-the-earths-surface/
Rising rapidly: CO2 emissions, concentrations, Temps
?
http://co2now.or
g/CurrentCO2/CO2Now/weeklydataatmosphericco2.html
The Other CO2 Problem: Ocean Acidification
Richard A. Feely, Ph.D.
NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Workshop
August 12, 2010
Coccolithopores
Single-cell algae
manipulation of CO2
system by addition of
HCl or NaOH
pCO2
280-380 ppmv
780-850 ppmv
Emiliania huxleyi
Calcification
decreased
- 9 to 18%
Gephyrocapsa oceanica
- 45%
Riebesell et al.(2000); Zondervan et al.(2001)
Climate Impacts
• Potentially large impacts
• Potentially unpredictable
• Could cause food or forestry
shortages
• Possibly largest in marine
environments due to
combined effects with
Ocean Acidification
• Will be expensive
Sea level Rise
Factors governing Sea level rise include:
Heat from thermal expansion- 70 cm!
Melting of Glaciers on land masses, mostly Greenland
and Antarctica
1. Positive feedbacks from warm water undercutting
these at sea leve
2. Surface melting caused by heating from the sun
amplified by wet spots
3. Surface melting caused by particulate matter
4. Positive feedbacks caused by lubrication of glacial
flows :see points 2 and 3
How is this going to affect us?
http://wapo.st/1Y1evzz
photo credit: National Geographic
096
The breakup of the Larsen B ice
shelf, Antarctica, February and
March 2002
Currently concerns are that the west
Antarctica is committed to collapse.
https://youtu.be/W2pYHMx5bN8
https://nyti.ms/2kI6tlI
E.A. Mathez, 2009, Climate Change: The Science of Global
Warming and Our Energy Future, Columbia University
Press. Source: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team
NJ has some problems with sea levels
other states don’t have
Climate change Health implications
What environmental concerns
are you passionate about?
• Pollution
• Climate Change
• Endangered Species
• Land and species conservation
• Environmental Health
• Sea Level Rise adaptation
• What does your passion imply for activism?
• Personal leadership
• Gives credibility
• Some problems can be addressed significantly via citizen
actions – e.g. littering, suburban land use, green house gases
• Changes the conversation – “I did” or “I do” are powerful
• Political leadership
• Workplace policies-e.g. low carbon retirement fund
• Social Organizations- e.g. Philanthropic plans
• Local politics- Environmental or Shade tree commissions
Notes: to help with Questions
http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/earths-climate-back-future