Five Things Everyone Should Know About Climate Change David Karowe Department of Biological Sciences Western Michigan University The source of information on a slide is indicated by a superscripted number, which refers to a specific citation in the three slides at the end of the presentation Temperature Anomaly (oC) 1. Climate change is real, and humans are causing it. Since 1900, Earth has warmed ~ 0.8o C 13 warmest years in history: 2002-2013, 1998* Warming is 10-20 times faster than in at least the last 800,000 years http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/ http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/animations/ Temperature difference relative to 1950-1980 Precipitation is a very important component of climate - severe rainstorms have become more common 43% increase in Ohio since 19481 ex ce ex ptio tre na se me l v m ere od e m rat ild e dr ou gh t At the same time, much of the world has been experiencing more frequent and stronger droughts2 1950-1959 Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) ex ce ex ptio tre na se me l v m ere od e m rat ild e dr ou gh 2000-2009 t At the same time, much of the world has been experiencing more frequent and stronger droughts2 Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) Climate predictions are coming true in the U.S. In 2011, Ohio had its wettest spring on record http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/temp-and-precip/maps As a result, much of Ohio experienced extensive flooding 2012 was the warmest year on record for the U.S. http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/ Since 2011, much of the U.S. has been in severe drought September 2, 2014 47% Drought (4% Exceptional) http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/MapsAndData/MapArchive.aspx This winter, most of the world was not like the Midwest January 2014 Temperatures http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/2014/1 Three lines of evidence against a meaningful contribution of “natural variation” to current warming Since 1900, most of the heat added to Earth’s climate is from greenhouse gasses (GHG)3 GHG added ~ 2.98 W/m2 the sun added ~ 0.12 W/m2 Recently, while Earth has been warming fastest, solar irradiance has been decreasing4 Temperature Solar Irradiance Temperature data: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/tabledata_v3/GLB.Ts+dSST.txt Solar irradiance data: http://www.mps.mpg.de/projects/sun‐climate/data/tsi_1611.txt, http://www.pmodwrc.ch/pmod.php?topic=tsi/composite/SolarConstant Graph: http://www.skepticalscience.com/solar‐activity‐sunspots‐global‐warming.htm Models do a good job of replicating past climate change only if they include anthropogenic factors5 anthropogenic and natural factors modeled natural factors only observed observed modeled - natural factors (the sun and volcanoes) would have caused a slight cooling since 1900 Best estimate: ≥ 95% of current warming is due to human activities In two major ways, current warming is very different than any warming period in at least the last 800,000 years 1. It’s at least 10 times faster 2. It’s happening while solar input is decreasing Are Americans aware of the cause?6 “We’re causing it” “It’s natural” Is there any debate among scientists about whether humans are the primary cause of global warming? “Most of the global warming in recent decades can be attributed to human activities." Scientific organizations endorsing this statement7: United States: National Academy of Sciences American Medical Association American Association for the Advancement of Science American Meteorological Society American Institute of Biological Sciences American Chemical Society American Geophysical Union American Institute of Physics Geological Society of America American Academy of Paediatrics American College of Preventive Medicine American Public Health Association National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration Environmental Protection Agency National Center for Atmospheric Research University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Ecological Society of America American Society of Agronomy American Society of Plant Biologists Association of Ecosystem Research Centers Botanical Society of America Crop Science Society of America Natural Science Collections Alliance American Statistical Association Organization of Biological Field Stations American Physical Society Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Society of Systematic Biologists Soil Science Society of America Federation of American Scientists National Research Council National Association of Geoscience Teachers American Quaternary Association American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians American Society for Microbiology Society of American Foresters American Astronomical Society Europe: European Academy of Sciences and Arts European Science Foundation European Geosciences Union European Physical Society European Federation of Geologists Royal Society of the United Kingdom Academie des Sciences (France) Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher (Germany) Accademia dei Lincei (Italy) Royal Irish Academy Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Royal Academy of Belgium for Sciences and the Arts Royal Meteorological Society British Antarctic Survey United Kingdom Institute of Biology Other countries (≥ 35): Chinese Academy of Sciences Science Council of Japan Russian Academy of Sciences Indian National Science Academy Royal Society of New Zealand Australian Academy of Sciences Australian Medical Association Polish Academy of Sciences Academia Brasiliera de Ciencias (Brazil) Royal Society of Canada African Academy of Sciences Caribbean Academy of Sciences Academy of Sciences of Malaysia Indonesian Academy of Sciences Academy of Science of South Africa Scientific organizations holding a dissenting opinion: Until 2007: American Institute of Petroleum Geologists Since 2008: none Are Americans aware of the strength of the scientific consensus6? In fact, 97.5% of climate scientists agree “Scientists agree” “Scientists don’t agree” What does the future hold? “No fate but what we make” It depends on our choices 2. If we remain on our current course, future climate change will be severe. Depending on choices we make, Earth is likely to warm by 2-5o C by 21008 Actual “Business as usual” Alternate energy sources 5o 4o 2o Will a 5o temperature rise matter? When Earth was 5o cooler: http://www.scotese.com/lastice.htm Warming is likely to cause sea level rise of 1-2 meters by 2100 - up to 300 million people could be flooded each year9 Much of U.S. would be affected by 1 meter rise10 Much of Florida would also be under water So would much of the east coast Climate change will also include altered precipitation patterns11 Summer Precipitation Summer rainfall is predicted to decrease throughout U.S.12 Most summers are likely to be hotter than any experienced thus far13 Much of the world is likely to experience much more frequent and stronger droughts by the 2060s2 ex ce ex ptio tre na se me l v m ere od e m rat ild e dr ou gh t 2060-2069 Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) What will this mean for Earth’s species? It depends on the choices we make 3. If we remain on our current course, there will be serious adverse consequences for most species. With 2o warming: 2,100 of 5,200 African plant species (40%) are predicted to go extinct14 3. If we remain on our current course, there will be serious adverse consequences for most species. With 2o warming: 2,100 of 5,200 African plant species (40%) are predicted to go extinct African mammals are likely to be adversely affected With 3.5o warming: 55 of 275 species (20%) are predicted to go extinct15 Even if suitable future habitat exists, species may not be able to get there in time to avoid extinction This is the worst time in Earth’s history for climate change Which species are particularly vulnerable? 1. Species that have nowhere to go 2. Species that live in coral reefs 3. Species that live on land in the tropics High latitude species have nowhere to go Most, but not all, polar bear populations are predicted to decline dramatically by 205016 All decline or disappear by 2100 Alaska Red = declining Blue = increasing All ice-obligate species are highly vulnerable In Antarctica, Emperor and Adelie penguins need ice but Chinstrap and Gentoo penguins nest on land High altitude species may also have nowhere to go All of Earth’s 1,009 montane bird species are predicted to be “climate losers”17 Coral reef species are also particularly vulnerable because both warming and ocean acidification can cause bleaching Even 2o warming is likely to cause a massive increase in bleaching events18,19 Acidification alone may make most or all of the ocean unsuitable for corals20 - 650 ppm CO2 may cause near total loss of coral reefs Tropical species have narrow temperature ranges, so are very likely to experience “disappearing climates”21 Where do most species live? Low Moderate High Probability of disappearing climate Therefore, tropical species are particularly vulnerable What will happen to plants and animals in Ohio? 10 of the 20 most abundant Ohio tree species are predicted to decline by at least 50%22-24 -100% White pine -100% Bigtooth aspen -89% Black cherry -79% White ash -91% Sugar maple -78% American beech Three of the 20 most abundant Ohio tree species are predicted to increase22-24 Black gum +14% Black oak +112% Post oak +150-fold Several rare tree species are predicted to increase dramatically in Ohio22-24 Winged elm +6-fold Sweetgum +43-fold Shortleaf pine +104-fold - and many southern species are predicted to arrive Ohio forests are predicted to change fairly dramatically22-24 Today 2o warming 4o warming But forests are more than just trees 36 Ohio bird species are predicted to decline by >90%25-26 -100% Savannah Sparrow -99% -99% -99% House Wren -99% Veery -98% Bank Swallow Bobolink -98% Tree Swallow Willow Flycatcher -96% Cedar Waxwing Another 19 species are predicted to decline by 50-90%25-26 -89% -88% song sparrow Yellow Warbler -74% Cerulean Warbler -82% -81% Blue-winged Warbler -69% Rose-breasted Grosbeak American Redstart -56% Ovenbird -53% American Goldfinch 32 species are predicted to increase by >50% +660-fold +113-fold +104-fold Chuck-will’s Widow* Black Vulture* Loggerhead Shrike* +5-fold Summer Tanager +103% Northern Bobwhite +77% Yellow-billed Cuckoo +7-fold Pine Warbler* +58% Carolina Wren 10 new species are predicted to occur in Ohio25-26 Brown-headed Nuthatch Mississippi Kite Little Blue Heron Snowy Egret Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Painted Bunting Cattle Egret Bachman’s Sparrow 4. If we remain on our current course, there will be serious adverse consequences for human health. Major ways in which climate change is likely to affect human health: 1. Increased heat stress and decreased cold stress 2. Increased disease 3. Increased malnutrition 4. Change in air quality 5. Change in frequency and/or severity of conflict Record hot summers are likely to result in dramatic increases in heat stress13 For many cities, the number of Chicago 1995-like heat waves (~700 deaths) will increase dramatically28,29 Chicago 1995-like heat waves per decade 2o C 4o C Climate change is likely to increase vector-borne diseases Malaria: World Health Organization estimates 250,000,000 cases and 1,000,000 deaths annually - every 30 seconds a child dies from malaria30 Malaria is generally predicted to increase, but change depends on climate scenario31 + 2o C + 4o C With 2-4o warming: 200-400 million more people at risk worldwide by 208032 About 450 million of the world’s poorest people depend entirely on agriculture - grains provide ~ 2/3 of the total human protein intake Much more frequent and stronger droughts will decrease crop yields substantially 2060-2069 1950-1959 2000-2009 Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) Future U.S. corn and soybean yields are likely to decrease dramatically33 20-25% decrease by 2050 55-60% decrease by 2100 Coal-fired power plants kill people34 Climate change is predicted to increase civil wars in sub-Saharan Africa by 50% in the next 20 years35 Most worrisome scenario: India and Pakistan start a “water war”36 - Indus supplies 83% of Pakistan’s irrigation water Climate change is a major U.S. national security threat “The effects of climate change in the world’s most vulnerable regions present a serious threat to American national security interests. Washington must lead on this issue now.”37 Partnership for a Secure America, February 2013 Developed countries are causing the problem, but developing countries suffer most of the effects38 Countries proportional to CO2 emissions through 2002: Countries proportional to climate-related health effects: What can I do to minimize climate change? 5. We don’t have to remain on our current course. We can change the future by implementing multiple solutions that already are available. Stop deforestation: great idea, but not a solution Unfortunately, energy conservation is not a solution - really just delays the outcome To limit warming to 2o C, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050 This can only happen through aggressive expansion of alternate energy sources Solar Wind Globally, we generate only 0.2% of our energy from wind, and only 0.1% from solar39 Global wind potential is >40 times worldwide use40 All 9 highest CO2-emitting countries could use wind alone 183x 23x 183x 30x 8x 18x 8x 3x 3x The “intermittency problem” can be solved easily e.g. Luddington pumped storage plant Solar energy has even greater potential Three main technologies: solar thermal parabolic trough photovoltaics Global potential estimated at up to 100 times total current use41,42 A small portion of the Sahara desert could supply all of the world’s electricity43 A solar array 100 x 100 miles could provide all of US energy needs today44 Again, “intermittency problem” can be solved easily solar thermal parabolic trough - store excess heat during day, generate electricity at night Educate others Encourage policymakers to make smarter choices What would we gain by switching to green energy? Higher Emissions Lower Emissions Switching to green energy sources would improve the fate of most species on Earth 3.5o Warming Low 2o Warming Moderate Probability of disappearing climate High Bottom Line: 1. We’re causing climate to change at an alarming rate. 2. If we continue on our current path, the future is very likely to include unprecedented hardships for all of Earth’s species, including humans. 3. We can change our path by using smarter choices we have available today. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Sources of information used in this talk Madsen, T. and E. Figdor. 2007. When it rains, it pours: Global warming and the rising frequency of extreme precipitation in the United States. Environment Rhode Island Research and Policy Center. www.environmentrhodeisland.org. Dai, A. 2011. Drought under global warming: a review. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change 2: 45-65. IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 2007. Fourth Assessment Report, Chapter 2, Changes in Atmospheric Constituents and Radiative Forcing, Section 2.9.2. http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch2s2-9-2.html Lockwood, M. and C. Froehlich. 2008. Recent oppositely directed trends in solar climate forcings and the global mean surface air temperature. II. Different reconstructions of the total solar irradiance variation and dependence on response time scale. Proc. Roy. Soc. A 464: 1367-1385. IPCC. 2007. Fourth Assessment Report, Working Group I, Chapter 9, Understanding and Attributing Climate Change, Section 9.4.1.2. http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch9s9-4-1-2.html Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., Feinberg, G., & Howe, P. (2014) Climate change in the American mind: Americans’ global warming beliefs and attitudes in April, 2014. Yale University and George Mason University. New Haven, CT: Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus; Cook et al. 2013. Quantifying the consensus on anthropogenic global warming in the scientific literature. Environmental Research Letters 8 024024 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/024024 IPCC AR4 WG1. 2007. Chapter 10: Global Climate Projections, G. A. Meehl and T. F. Stocker, Co-ordinating Lead Authors. Stern, Nicholas. 2006. Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change. Chapter 3: How Climate Change Will Affect People Around The World. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Weiss, A. and J. Overpeck. 2003. Climate Change and Sea Level. Environmental Studies Laboratory, Department of Geosciences, The University of Arizona. www.geo.arizona.edu/dgesl/research/other/climate_change_and_sea_level/sea_level_rise/sea_level_rise.htm IPCC. 2007. Fourth Assessment Report, Working Group I, Chapter 10, Global Climate Projections, Section 10.3. http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch10s10-3.html Walsh, J. and D. Wuebbles (Convening Lead Authors). 2013. National Climate Assessment Draft Report. Chapter 2: Our Changing Climate. http://ncadac.globalchange.gov/download/NCAJan11-2013-publicreviewdraft-chap2climate.pdf Battisti, D. and R. Naylor. 2009. Historical warnings of future food insecurity with unprecedented seasonal heat. Science 323: 240-244 McClean, C.J., J. Lovett, W. Kuper, L. Hannah, J. Sommer, W. Barthlott, M. Termansen,G. Smith, S. Tokumine, and J. Taplin. 2005. African plant diversity and climate change. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 92:139-152. Thuiller, W. et al. 2006. Vulnerability of African mammals to anthropogenic climate change under conservative land transformation assumptions. Global Climate Biology 12: 424-440. Sources of information cited in this talk (cont.) 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. Durner, G. et al. 2009. Predicting 21st-century polar bear habitat distribution from global climate models. Ecological Monographs 79: 25-58. LaSorte, F. and W. Jetz. 2010. Projected range contractions of montane biodiversity under global warming. Proc. R. Soc. B 277: 3401-3410. Donner, S.D. 2009. Coping with commitment: Projected thermal stress on coral reefs under different future scenarios. PLoS ONE 4(6): e5712. Burke, L., K. Raytar, M. Spalding, and A. Perry. 2011. Reefs at Risk Revisited. World Resources Institute, Washington D.C. Hoegh-Guldberg, O. et al. 2007. Coral reefs under rapid climate change and ocean acidification.” Science 318: 1737– 1742. Williams, J., S. Jackson, and J. Kutzbach. 2007. Projected distributions of novel and disappearing climates by 2100 AD. Procedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104: 5738-5742. Prasad, A. M., L. R. Iverson., S. Matthews., M. Peters. 2007-ongoing. A Climate Change Atlas for 134 Forest Tree Species of the Eastern United States [database]. Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Delaware, Ohio. http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/atlas/tree/tree_atlas.html Prasad, A. M., L. R. Iverson., S. Matthews., M. Peters. 2007-ongoing. http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/atlas/tree/ft_summary.html Iverson, L. R., A. M. Prasad, S. N. Matthews, and M. Peters. 2008. Estimating potential habitat for 134 eastern US tree species under six climate scenarios. Forest Ecology and Management. 254:390-406. http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/13412 Matthews, S.N., L. R. Iverson, A.M. Prasad, A. M., and M.P. Peters. 2007-ongoing. A Climate Change Atlas for 147 Bird Species of the Eastern United States [database]. http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/atlas/bird, Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Delaware, Ohio. Matthews, S. N., Iverson, L. R., Prasad, A. M. and Peters, M. P. 2011. Changes in potential habitat of 147 North American breeding bird species in response to redistribution of trees and climate following predicted climate change. Ecography, 34: no. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0587.2010.06803.x Published online: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-0587.2010.06803.x/full Patz, J., D. Campbell-Lendrum, T. Holloway and J. Foley. 2005. Impact of regional climate change on human health. Nature 438: 310-317. Hayhoe, K., S. Sheridan, L. Kalkstein, and J. S. Greene. Climate change, heat waves, and mortality projections for Chicago. Journal of Great Lakes Research 36, no. Supplement 2 (2010): 65-73. Hayhoe, K., J. VanDorn, N. Vaishali, and K. Wuebbles. Midwest: Projections of future temperature and precipitation. Cambridge, MA. Union of Concerned Scientists. http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/global_warming/midwest-climate-impacts.pdf Sources of information cited in this talk (cont.) 30. World Health Organization. 2012. World Malaria Report 2012. http://www.who.int/malaria/publications/world_malaria_report_2012/report/en/index.html 31. Tonnang, H., R. Kangalawe, and P. Yanda. 2010. Predicting and mapping malaria under climate change scenarios: the potential redistribution of malaria vectors in Africa. Malaria Journal 9:111. 32. van Lieshout, M., R.S. Kovats, M.T. Livermore, and P. Martens. 2004. Climate change and malaria: analysis of the SRES climate and socio-economic scenarios. Global Environmental Change 14: 87–99. 33. Schlenker, W. and M. Roberts. 2009. Nonlinear temperature effects indicate severe damages to U.S. crop yields under climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106: 15594-15598. 34. Schneider, C. and J. Banks. 2010. The Toll From Coal. Clean Air Task Force, Boston, MA. 35. Burke, M., E. Miguelc, S. Satyanathd, J. Dykemae, and D. Lobell. 2009. Warming increases the risk of civil war in Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106: 20670–20674. 36. Center for Naval Analysis. 2007. National Security and the Threat of Climate Change. 37. Partnership for a Secure America. 2013. The Cost of Inaction. http://www.psaonline.org/downloads/PSAClimateChange_NationalSecurity%20Handout.pdf 38. Costello, A. et al. 2009. Managing the health effects of climate change. The Lancet 373 (9676): 1693-1733. 39. IPCC. 2011. Summary for Policymakers. In: IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, K. Seyboth, P. Matschoss, S. Kadner, T. Zwickel, P. Eickemeier, G. Hansen, S. Schlomer, and C. von Stechow (eds), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. 40. Lu, X., M. McElroy and J. Kiviluoma. 2009. Global potential for wind-generated electricity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106: 10933-10938. 41. Arvizu, D., P. Balaya, L. Cabeza, T. Hollands, A. Jager-Waldau, M. Kondo, C. Konseibo, V. Meleshko, W. Stein, Y. Tamaura, H. Xu, and R. Zilles. 2011. Direct Solar Energy. Chapter 3 in IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation [O. Edenhofer, R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, K. Seyboth, P. Matschoss, S. Kadner, T. Zwickel, P. Eickemeier, G. Hansen, S. Schlomer, C. von Stechow (eds)], Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. 42. National Academy of Sciences of the United States. 2010. Climate Stabilization Targets: Emissions, Concentrations, and Impacts over Decades to Millenia. http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/reports-in-brief/Stabilization-Targets-Final.pdf 43. Trans-Mediterranean Interconnection for Concentrating Solar Power Final Report. German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Technical Thermodynamics, Section Systems Analysis and Technology Assessment. 44. America's Solar Energy Potential. http://www.americanenergyindependence.com/solarenergy.aspx. The next few slides were not part of the lecture, but have information about personal behaviors that can help you reduce your carbon footprint. How can I conserve energy? 1. Next time, buy a more fuel-efficient car 20 mpg 30 mpg 34 mpg 50 mpg Increasing by 10 mpg saves $585 and 1.6 tons of CO2 per year 2. Weatherize your home weather-strip insulate attic single-pane windows → triple-pane windows Would reduce U.S. CO2 emissions by 23 million tons/year 3. Next time, buy energy star appliances Would reduce U.S. CO2 emissions by 15 million tons/year 4. When necessary, replace older furnace and central air conditioning unit with Energy Star model Would reduce U.S. CO2 emissions by 14 million tons/year 5. Change to compact fluorescent light bulbs One per household would have the same effect as taking 6 million cars off the road 6. Turn the thermostat down (winter) or up (summer) - can save 7 tons of CO2 per year for a family of four 7. Offset what you can’t (or don’t want to) reduce One GreenBlock costs $1.50/month and is equal to driving 3,300 fewer miles To offset all of my driving costs me $22/year Can visit www.care2.com/click-to-donate/ daily to offset computer use