Honors Case Study Challenge Entry Form

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1 Page1 HonorsCaseStudyChallengeEntryForm Areyousubmittingthisentryasanindividualchaptermemberorasa chapter? IndividualMemberEntry x ChapterEntry Pleasefilloutthecorrespondingentryfieldsbelow. IndividualMemberEntryInformation TitleofCaseStudy IndividualMember s FullName Address City,State,Zip Phone# Address PhiThetaKappa ChapterName AdvisorName AdvisorPhone# Advisor SchoolName SchoolCityandState ChapterEntryInformation TitleofCaseStudy Will we need to compete for a place to live? PhiThetaKappa BetaThetaOmicron ChapterName AdvisorName ChristineCase AdvisorPhone Advisor case@smccd.edu SchoolName SkylineCollege SchoolCityandState SanBrunoCA SponsoredbyUSATODAYandPhiThetaKappa. Forquestionsoradditionalinformation honors.programs@ptk.orgorcall

2 Page2 CaseStudyTitle: Will we need to compete for a place to live? ArticleInformation: Why you should sweat climate change Wendy Koch USA TODAY March 1, 2013 p. A.5 In full thrust over climate change David Jackson USA TODAY June 26, 2013 p. A.9 Study warns rising seas could swamp 1,400 cities Wendy Koch USA TODAY July 30, 2013 p. A.3 This will only get worse Dan Vergano USA TODAY August 7, 2013) p. A.1 Some crops migrate north with warmer temperatures Elizabeth Weise USA TODAY September 18, 2013 p. A.11 SponsoredbyUSATODAYandPhiThetaKappa. Forquestionsoradditionalinformation honors.programs@ptk.orgorcall

3 Page3 SummaryStatement: Our ancestors had to compete with humans and other animals for food and land. Now it s possible to feed seven billion people using industrialization and modern technology. However, burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and modern agriculture release greenhouse gases that are changing our environment. In the 1820s, French mathematician Joseph Fourier calculated that the Earth, based on its distance from the sun, should be too cold to support life. He suggested that greenhouse gases in the Earth s atmosphere might insulate the Earth. The Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenium proved this natural greenhouse effect in Arrhenium discovered that water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane in the atmosphere absorb solar energy and release that energy as heat, thus warming the Earth. The relative amount of heat trapped by atmospheric gases is measured as global-warming potential (GWP). GWP compares the amount of heat trapped by a certain mass of the gas to the amount of heat trapped by the same mass of carbon dioxide. The principal greenhouse gases produced by human activities are carbon dioxide and methane. Carbon dioxide s GWP is 1; methane s GWP is 25. Thus methane returns 25 times more heat to the Earth than the same amount of carbon dioxide. (Water vapor GWP is not calculated because humans don t influence the amount of water vapor.) Scientific data show that greenhouse gases have increased since the Industrial Revolution. Atmospheric methane has increased by 150 percent since Analyses of air bubbles trapped in Antarctic ice show that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is higher than at any other time in the last 800,000 years. These increases in greenhouse gases have led to global warming. Evidence of global warming is seen in melting polar ice caps, rising sea level, and increases in average air and ocean temperatures. In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that climate change is indisputable. A warmer climate could benefit cold areas causing more precipitation in dry areas and less precipitation in wet areas. However, the negative effects include decreased food, vegetation loss, and reduced biodiversity. When average global temperatures exceed pre-industrial levels by 2 C, rising sea levels are expected to flood coastal cities. Moreover, the health of the entire planet would be affected by changes in natural cycles. Ocean waters absorb carbon dioxide, thus decreasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. However, the carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic acid. This carbonic acid dissolves the calcium carbonate needed by mollusks to make shells and by corals to make skeletons. Since 1995, ocean acidity has increased six percent. Moreover, increased acidity could kill some microorganisms and potentially disrupt food supplies from the ocean. Plants fix carbon dioxide into organic compounds such as cellulose and wood that are stored in the plant. However, microbial decomposition of these organic compounds returns carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere. The modern agriculture that feeds us is part of the problem. Bacteria in the swamp-like environment of rice fields produce methane. Thus making rice agriculture the largest contributor of human-generated atmospheric methane. SponsoredbyUSATODAYandPhiThetaKappa. Forquestionsoradditionalinformation honors.programs@ptk.orgorcall

4 Page4 DiscussionQuestions: 1. Speaking at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, a former U.S. presidential advisor told his audience not to worry about global warming because, the average temperature increases scientists are projecting were much less than the temperature increase he experienced in coming from Washington, D.C. to Williamsburg, Virginia. What is the fundamental flaw in this reasoning? 2. What aspects of your lifestyle directly add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere? Which are you willing to give up to slow global warming? 3. Many cities and towns are planting more trees to remove carbon dioxide. Is this approach to prevent global warming effective? 4. Developing countries such as India, China, and Brazil are having difficulties developing and using technologies that are more efficient in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. On the other hand, developed countries that have the technologies to help cope with global warming use more fossil fuels to support their economies. Are developed countries such as the U.S., European Union, and Russia more responsible for global warming compared to developing countries? Or are the developing countries more responsible? 5. The Kyoto protocol is an international agreement that sets targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. The agreement requires a variety of governmental actions that have a potential effect on a country s economy. The U.S. withdrew support of the agreement because the treaty would reduce the U.S. s economic advantage unless developing countries have binding emissions targets too. Now that we are experiencing the effect of global warming, should the U.S. ratify the Kyoto protocol? Should competition between nations outweigh the ecological impact of global warming? FutureImplications: On the positive side, global warming will open the elusive Northwest Passage allowing ships to save time and money by going over the North Pole between the east and west hemispheres. And global warming would increase food production in mid-to-high latitude places. However, this may force humans to migrate and compete for space and resources in more moderate climates. Taking steps now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will give humans and other organisms a better chance of adapting to and coping with their new, hotter environment. Burning fossil fuels is the largest contributor of human-generated carbon dioxide. Production and distribution of natural gas releases methane into the atmosphere. Bacteria growing on solid waste compacted in landfills produce methane. These landfills are the third most-important source of human-generated methane. Interestingly, coordinated efforts to reduce use of fossil fuels and landfills might lead to sustainable energy sources and solid waste reduction. Already several U.S. states are burning landfill methane to generate electricity but landfill-methane and other renewable energy sources account for only 13 percent of energy produced in the U.S. and 10 percent of energy worldwide. The solutions will require coordinated efforts of governments, businesses, and individuals. SponsoredbyUSATODAYandPhiThetaKappa. Forquestionsoradditionalinformation honors.programs@ptk.orgorcall

5 Page5 AdditionalResources: Bryant, S. (2013). The One-Stop Carbon Solution. Scientific American 309(5): Describes an approach for removing atmospheric carbon dioxide while generating methane for fuel. Kump, L. R. (2011). The Last Great Global Warming. Scientific American 305(1), Describes the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) global warming of 56 million years ago and offers comparisons showing current conditions are similar to those leading up to the PETM. Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.). (2007). Climate Change 2007 The Physical Science Basis. New York City, Cambridge University Press. Also available online _report_the_physical_science_basis.htm. This is the standard scientific reference on climate change. It includes background information on climate and weather and data on climate change; includes a chapter on limitations of our knowledge. Stern, N. (2007). The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review. New York: Cambridge University Press. Although written for the British government, this report discusses the potential impact of global warming on the world economy. It provides information for readers to formulate their own ideas. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A student s guide to climate change. Includes basics about climate throughout the Earth s history, scientific evidence for climate change, and references. U.S. Global Change Research Program. This website is an excellent source of data and climate modeling from NASA, the U.S. Geological Services, and other sources. SponsoredbyUSATODAYandPhiThetaKappa. Forquestionsoradditionalinformation honors.programs@ptk.orgorcall