GEOG 1101 Lecture 18 Outline of Last Lecture I Nature Society History II Environmental Impact III Conceptual Device IV Different Ecologies V Environmental Disasters VI Earth Summits VII Policies VIII Global change IX Tragedy of the commons X Industrialization Outline of Current Lecture I Energy consumption II Climate Change III Nuclear Power IV Three Gorges Dam V Renewable Energy VI Deforestation and Desertification VII Environmental sustainability VIII Land use Current Lecture Energy consumption Peak oil is the period of time in which we have exhausted half of the energy resources that we know have existed It happened around 2005 2010 Oil will become more expensive harder to get to in the future Production of energy is correlated with consumption of energy Greenhouse Gasses CO2 is the largest greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change 64 Methane 19 Nitrous Oxide 6 CFC 6 Other hydrocarbons 5 Largest contributors of CO2 Emissions is US Followed by other core countries Countries such as India contribute the least These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute In 2009 China had more CO2 emissions than US Due to industrialization in China there are policies that pull back CO2 emissions in India Climate change Climate change is the disruption to the self regulating mechanisms of the atmosphere CO2 allows for long wave radiation for leaving which ends up warming up the environment and melting ice caps It decreases albedo of the earth The concern is whether climate change is human caused or natural Another concern is what to do about it Main point is that we need to cut back on CO2 emissions Global climate Change Mitigation of climate change is the balance between economic development and environmental degradation Kyoto Protocol Was developed to reduce amount of greenhouse gasses Make sure that the burden is shared equitably Core countries reduce emissions by 6 to 8 Fears that energy companies would lose profits and reduce economic growth India and China not included in Numerical limitations of emissions of the Kyoto Protocol The core countries did not like that clause Nuclear Power Nuclear power became popular because it was clean but left us with radioactive waste which is very dangerous Core countries are highly dependent on nuclear energy Nuclear Power accidents Three Mile Island was one of the first nuclear scares Put anti nuclear activists on the rise Chernobyl located in Ukraine Impacted a lot of children with diseases Fukushima all 4 reactors exploded Leaked radiation to the ocean and fumes of radiation went around the world Three gorges Dam Uses Hydropower and is renewable Effects of Hydropower Displaces people Changes ecology of river Removes access to prime agricultural land Only temporary Dams become unusable after a period of time because of siltation Yangtze 2 million people moved Largest dam in the world 185 m high 25billion dollars Renewable Energy Geothermal Heat from the ground Wind Power turns turbines Solar Power photovoltaic Biomass ethanol biodiesel Germany s solar energy Solar costs the same as conventional and meets half of nations needs Both for the grid and individuals Deforestation and Desertification Deforestation is the process of cleaning and destructing forests Which also reduces the possibility of other things to grow which erodes the soil Desertification is the degradation of land cover and damage to soil and water in grasslands Major causes of tree loss and the expansion of deserts are stripping land of its natural cover for firewood and for growing crops poor farming techniques over grazing large scale commercial logging and depleting groundwater Environmental Sustainability Sustainable development meet the needs of present generations without compromising ability of future generations to meet their needs Power economic and political Difficult to measure enforce Easiest to initiate and maintain at a local level Human Ecology of future Centralized nuclear hydropower wind and biofuels De centralized solar wind geo thermal Conservation through efficiency Land use Agriculture regional and local food systems Forests farm products replace forest products Rescaling of agricultural production