Anth 1010 1st EditionFinal Exam Study GuideAdverse Environmental Impacts of Climate Change, Part 2-Desertification and Land DegradationoMillennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)- environmental review program created by the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2000oDesertification or land degradation- one of the greatest environmental challenges and a majorimpediment to meeting basic human needso(human land use practices are also important)- climate change is a cause of desertificationoNot only do climate change and desertification often go hand in hand, each is able to exacerbate the otheroDry land soils contain over a quarter of all the organic carbon stores in the world as well as nearly all inorganic carbonoThe Sahel- home to 309 million people-Prone to drought and desertification-Overgrazing is a problem-Food ProductionoDisruption of food availability is one of the most devastating impacts on humanoBy the end of the 21st century it is predicted that average temperatures during growing season will be higher than ever before recorded in historyoIf temp rises more than 6° F - crop yields will fall 20 to 40%oIFPRI has policies that estimate 25 million more (than otherwise expected) children will be malnourished in 2050 because of the impact of climate change on global agricultureoRegional Variations on Impacts-Africa- most severe expected impacts-Asia- most potential threat - water scarcity-Northern America- decreased precipitation- restrict availability of wateroMexico and Central American countries are at especially high risk for food crop damage from climate changeoChanges in insect behavior is a result of climate changeoLess pesticide use means- less concern by the consumers about pesticide residue, less use of fossil fuel, and fewer volatile organic compoundsoVoltinism- number of breeding cycles in a year of a species (more cycles- more pests- more problems for food production)oFood plants are damages by more than 10,000 species (10% are major pests)oBurden of coping with disaster falls heavily on women's shouldersoSince food insecurity depends more on socio-economic conditions rather than on agro climaticones, the ways in which climate change can affect people's access to adequate food is rather complex-Heat WavesoJuly and August 2010- Russia's experienced a heat wave that almost doubled the average dailydeath rate in MoscowoExcessive heat- temperatures that hover 10 degrees+ above the average high temp for an extended period of timeoHeat waves kill more Americans than any other type of natural disaster-1000 people each year (especially elderly, sick, young, poor)oHeat records set in 1936 were broken in 2012o1880 marked the 36th consecutive July and 329th consecutive month with a global temp above the 20th century averageoLast below average temp July was July 1976, and February 1985oAll-time warmest month since began 1895-Previous warmest was July 1936oFire season now lasts 75 days longer than it did 40 years ago-Heat Island EffectoBy the end of the 21st century some cities could experience nearly an entire summer with temperatures greater than 90° FoMean of 70% increase compared with the 1990s mortality rate oBy midcentury (2050) despite adaptive efforts there will be a doubling of heat-related premature mortality compared to 2007oLarge cities in the US warming at twice the rate of Earth generallyoLouisville's average temp is approximately rising by .5 degrees per decade and the urban heat island effect has increased more rapidly than any other US city since 1960soDr. Brian Stone is the author of The City and the Coming Climate: Climate Change in the Placeswe Live-Research showed that by planting 1.2 million trees it could help cool the city- biological air conditioning effect-Ocean AcidificationoBleaching- when coral reefs dieoOcean acidification- decrease in pHoPteropods and coccolithophores are vital parts to the marine food web-Climate Change & Shifting/ Falling Seafood SourcesoIn response to surface layer warming- oxygen loss in the upper 500moOverturning circulation in the deep ocean decreasedoThree-to seven-fold expansion in suboxic zonesoExtreme oceanic oxygen depletion events are thought to be the reason for some of the large extinction events -Climate Change and Biodiversityo3 components-Genetic diversity-Species diversity-Ecosystem diversityoBiodiversity- using lots of plants and animals togetheroVandana Shiva's book- Stolen Harvest- looks at biodiversity in actionoMultiple contemporary threats to biodiversity-Loss and destruction of habitat-Disruptions of ecosystem composition (loss of one species leads to others)-Introduction of non-native species-Over exploitation-Pollution and contamination-Global climate changeoAnimals and plants exist in symbiotic relationships --> likely to cause "co-extinctions"oMass extinction poses a HUGE threat to human existence-Regional Differences in Climate Change ImpactsoNortheast- extreme heat, declining air quality, frequent flooding, reduce snow, fishery diminishedoSouthwest- megadroughts- worst drought in 1000 years by the end of the century-Scarce water, increased tempoNorth West- declining snow, reduces summer streamflows, increasing wildfires, rising water temps- threaten coldwater fish- sea level rise--> erosion and land losso2015 was the hottest winter on record (National Climatic Data Center)oErratic weather patterns across the US in 2015 are further evidence of the effects anthropogenic climate disruption Last Lecture - Global Warming Denial: Cultural Myths and Climate Change Realities-Scientific consensus on climate change, do not have social consensus on the issue-Climate change debate is keen interest of anthropology-Percentage of conservatives and republicans believe that the effects have declined 50%--> 30%-Democrats and liberals believe it has increased from 60% --> 70%-Kyoto Treaty threatened the material interests mostly of members of the fossil fuel industry-Moon is part of cultural knowledge-People use cultural filters when experiencing the world-Subcultural filters are influenced by -the connection we have with others in our referent group -- the group we identify with, an affiliation that helps define sense of self----- cultural endorsement-Climate change debateoFirst --- not a "pollution" issue -Reduction of greenhouse gases is not the same as reduction of pollutants such as sulfur oxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxideThese are human-made forms of pollution-To reduce carbon dioxide