Name___________________________________________________Date____________Period______
Articles on Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming
“Good Gas, Bad Gas” Part 1, National Geographic; December 2012
1. What are the bubbles trapped under the Alaskan lake composed of? And how does the grad
student confirm this fact?
2. How has the temperature change in the Arctic compared to the amount of temperature change
elsewhere on the planet?
3.
How does the heat-trapping power of methane compare to that of carbon dioxide?
4.
If methane is burned what is produced? _____________________________
5.
Why has hydraulic fracturing (fracking) increased the production of methane?
6.
Name an advantage and a disadvantage to producing natural gas through hydraulic fracturing.
7.
How much methane is buried in the permafrost compared to the amount currently in the
atmosphere? _________________________________________________
8.
While some methane is being released from permafrost in the Arctic (high latitude), most is
coming from lower latitudes. Name the main sources.
9.
Under what conditions is methane normally produced by microbes?
10. Name four locations that have these conditions for methane-producing microbes.
11. How else can methane be produced besides microbes?
12. Since natural gas can be formed by the same physical processes acting on organic matter as
coal and oil it is often found buried with these other fossil fuels. Why was it often burned or
simply vented rather than being utilized?
13. How much has natural gas fracking increased since 2005? _____________________
14. What fraction of natural gas currently comes from fracking?__________________
15. What is another source of methane besides deep shale? What conditions is needed to keep it
stable?
16. How much has the methane levels in the atmosphere increased since preindustrial times? ____
17. The levels of methane emissions leveled off from 1999 to 2006 (although they are now
increasing again with the development of fracking techniques.) What are two theories on why
they might have leveled off during the 1999- 2006 time period?
“Relief in Every Window, but Global Worry Too”,
New York Times; June 20, 2012
1.
How much has air conditioner sales increased in China and India? ___________________
2.
The Montreal Protocol in 1987 regulated certain CFC’s because of what environmental
problem?
3.
What environmental problem is not addressed by the Montreal Protocol?
4.
Scientists estimate that the greenhouse gases from air conditioners will contribute how much
to global warming by 2050?
5.
What is the name of these new gases that replaced CFC’s?
6. What are some difficulties in trying to produce a coolant that is neither an ozone-depleting
compound nor a greenhouse gas?
7.
How have rules to forbid the sale of air conditioners that contain HCFC been evaded in the US?
“Alert on Ocean Acidity”, New York Times, December 8, 2010
1.
Approximately what percentage of carbon dioxide generated by fossil fuels enters the ocean?
2.
As the carbon dioxide dissolves into the water a certain percentage of the CO2 reacts with water
to form what acid?
3.
What has been the increase in acidity (decrease in pH) since the beginning of the Industrial
Revolution?
4.
What effect will increased acidity have on coral and marine shellfish?
“How to Buy Time on Global Warming”, Scientific American, January 12, 2012
1.
A scientific study published in the journal Science found that reducing what two greenhouse
gases may be the best alternative to slow warming in the short term?
2.
Name two methods for reducing methane.
3.
Name three methods for reducing soot.
4. What would be additional benefits to reducing these gases?
5.
What ecosystem could be preserved
“Profits on Carbon Credits Drive Output of a Harmful Gas”, NY Times; August 8, 2012
1.
Eliminating one ton of carbon dioxide has a carbon trading value of 1. What are the values for
eliminating one ton the following greenhouse gases?
Methane______________________
Nitrous oxide ____________________
HCFC-22 _____________________
2.
Define cap and trade (also known as emissions trading). Wikipedia has a definition if you need to
review.
3.
Cap and trade programs have had much success- including a program to reduce acid rain in the US.
This article describes a potential pitfall that must be guarded against. Describe the issue discussed
in this article and explain the difficulties that the UN has had in stopping this unintended
consequence.
Omnivore’s Dilemma “There Goes the Sun”, by Michael Pollan
1.
Nitrogen is required by all organisms in order to build which organic molecules?
2.
Why is the abundant atmospheric nitrogen unusable by most organisms?
3.
Name an organism that is able to produce usable nitrogen compounds (nitrates) from
atmospheric N2. Where can these organisms be found?
4.
What natural process can also convert atmospheric nitrogen into nitrates?
5.
According to Vaclav Smil, what fraction of the world’s population owes its existence to the
increased farming productivity due to Haber’s invention of inorganic (synthetic) fertilizers?
6.
Why is Haber not well known, despite his Nobel Prize in 1920 for his important invention?
7.
Since the reaction to break apart the triple bond between N2 molecules require a large amount
of energy, what form of energy in used to produce synthetic fertilizer?
8.
When you add together all the energy demands of industrial corn, how much oil is used per
bushel of corn?
9.
Name the specific greenhouse gas that is created from excess fertilizer.
10. When excess nitrogen fertilizer seeps into the water table, what are the potential health risks?
What age group is most at risk?
11. When excess nitrogen fertilizer is washed off into aquatic ecosystems, how does it affect the
lakes and other bodies of water?
12. To summarize, what two greenhouse gases result from synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. Explain
how/why.