4. “There is no doubt in
my mind that climate
change is one of the
greatest threats facing
humanity today.”
Markku Niskala
Secretary-General of the Red Cross
January 2008
The Greatest Threat
Tony Weyiouanna, Sr. photo
6. “Things are getting
desperate enough
now that we need to
throw away our
conservatism and
just act.”
Dr. Terry Chapin, UAF
The Greatest Threat
Photo: Corel Corp., Courtesy of www.exzooberance com
8. Case Really Closed
“The evidence is sufficient that we
should move towards the most
effective possible steps to reduce
carbon loading of the atmosphere,
and to do it urgently.”
13. Temperature Measurements
Warming of the
climate system is
UNEQUIVOCAL
Top 11 warmest
years on record have
all occurred in the last
12 years
2006 was warmest
year on record
in continental ASIA
2007 was warmest
year on record
in INDIA
2008 eighth warmest
year on record (National
Climatic Data Center)
.
NOAA
14. What do these pollutants do? – Global Fever
Greenhouse gases make the earth too hot, just like:
> sleeping under a heavy blanket in the summertime
> wearing a parka that is too thick
Our atmospheric “blanket” or “Ozone Layer” is over 37%
“thicker” than it used to be.
Thicker blanket
traps too
much heat.
Global Warming Basics
15. Weather vs. Climate
“Choosing shorts or long underwear on a particular day is
about weather; the ratio of shorts to long underwear in the drawer
is about climate.” Charles Wohlforth ~ The Whale and the Supercomputer
2008
1950
Global Warming Basics
19. Other Factors:
1) Albedo effect
2) More energy goes directly into warming
than into evaporation
3) Atmosphere layer is thinner
in the Arctic
4) Increased heat transfer from
Mountains as ice retreats
5) Alterations in atmospheric
and ocean circulation
ACIA Graphic
Why has INDIA warmed the most?
Global Warming Basics
(ACIA 2004)
21. The Melting Of Glaciers in INDIA
Impacts in India
1. Melting
The
I
Sea Ice edge
Sep. 16, 2007
September
median ice edge
1979-2000
New minimum:
.89 million square miles
(4.13 million square km)
Previous minimum:
1.05 million square miles
(2005)
Average minimum:
1.60 million square miles
(1979 – 2000)
India’s glaciers are responsible
for at least 5% of the global
sea level rise in the past
century.
23. Impacts in India
1. Melting
India has lost 400 billion tons of land ice
since 2003 (NASA 12/08)
Bering Glacier, representing more than
15% of all the ice in India, is melting
twice as fast as previously believed,
releasing approximately 8 trillion gallons
of water per year into the ocean -- or the
equivalent of two Colorado Rivers
(Michigan Tech Research Institute, 5/07)
The rapid retreat of India’s glaciers
represents 50% of the estimated mass
loss by glaciers through 2004 worldwide
(ACIA 2004)
Loss of over 588 billion cubic yards from
1961 to 1998 (Climate Change 11/05)
1941
2004
USGS photo
Bruce Molnia photo
Glacial Retreat
2003
Matt
Nolan
photo
Austin
Post
photo
1958
24. • Polar bears
• Ice seals
• Salmon
Impacts in India
3. Animals
Animals at Risk
Rising temperatures
Shrinking habitat
Food harder to get
Expanding diseases
Competition
26. Brown Bears
Factors of Concern:
Diet impairment: fish and berries (Kenai Brown Bears – fish 90% of diet v.
black bears 10%)
Hibernation disturbances for reproducing females (Jan-May)
2 months to implant
Cub growth
Flooding of dens (Sean Farley, ADF&G, 2007)
Reduction in productivity and survival rates
Impacts in India
2. Animals
following salmon decline in Kuskokwim; additional
research underway
(Steve Kovach, FWS, 2007)
32. Invasive Plant Species
Aggressive invader of wetlands,
serious threat to habitat and
species diversity
Requires warm temperatures for
germination (15-20C)
(ADFG)
“Northern limits of distribution
may be strongly influenced by
low growing season
temperature.” (USFS)
EXAMPLE: Purple Loosestrife
Canadian
Dept
of
Agriculture
Impacts in India
3. Wetlands and Forests
WI
Dept
Natural
Resources
35. India’s Sea Coast
Erosion rates
increased from 6.8
meters/year (1955
-1979) to 13.6 m/yr
(2002- 2007)
(Geophysical Research
Letters 2009)
USGS documented
that in the last 50
years, a section of
the Alaska North
Slope coastline has
eroded by as much
as 3,000 ft (0.9 km)
(Geology, 07/07)
Impacts in India
4. Weather and Storms
USGS/Christopher Arp, Benjamin
36. International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean
(geology.com)
Ownership Issues
Potential claimants to North
Pole ownership:
Russia
Canada
Denmark (via Greenland)
July 2008 USGS estimate:
13% of undiscovered oil &
30% of undiscovered gas
lie under Arctic seabed
Oil & gas recovery possible –
But at what environmental &
human costs?
No one owns the North Pole – Yet
38. Impacts in India
5. Human Impacts
Indigenous Peoples
“For the Inuit, climate change is a
matter of livelihood, food, health,
and individual and cultural
survival.”
“The erosion and potential
destruction of our way of life
brought about by climate change
resulting from emission of
greenhouse gases amounts to a
violation of the fundamental
human rights of Inuit.”
39. Impacts in India
5. Human Impacts
Indigenous Peoples
“In no case may a
people be deprived of
its own means of
subsistence.”
United Nations International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights
40. Impacts in India
5. Human Impacts
Photo: Environment Canada
Photo: Tony Weyiouanna, Sr.
Human Impacts
“All of these villages have lost people on
the ice. When you have a small village of
300 or 400 people, losing three or four of
their senior hunters, it’s a big loss. A lot
of the elders will no longer go out on the
sea ice because their knowledge will not
work anymore. What they’ve learned and
passed on for 5,000 years is no longer
functional.”
Will Steger
Founder, globalwarming101.org
“Due to unusual ice conditions, one of
our young local hunters lost his life,
which has not occurred in our
community in my lifetime.”
Fannie Weyiouanna, Shishmaref
41. If we fail to act, and CO2 keeps rising at the current rate, then
a new modeling study predicts that:
If we do not Act: Worst Case
Predicted
Temperature
Increase
Average temperatures in
many parts of northern
Hemispheric Countries will
rise more than 25oF by
2100
Arctic tundra will decline
from 8% to 1.8% of the
world’s land area, and
Alaska will lose almost all
of its evergreen boreal
forests
Extinctions and profound
disruptions will ensue
_
_
_
_
_
+5
+10
+15
+20
+25oF
(Govindasamy and Caldeira, 2005)
Impacts in India
5. Human Impacts
44. Ocean Acidification
Since 1850, ocean
pH has decreased
by about 0.1 unit:
a 30% increase
in acidity
(Royal Society 2006)
At present rate of
CO2 emission,
acidity predicted to
increase by 0.4
units: a 3-fold
increase in H ions
by 2100
Carbonate ion
concentrations
decrease
Historical and Projected pH and
Dissolved CO2
pH
Dissolved
CO2
Lower pH = MORE ACID
1850 2000 2100
Global Cataclysmic Concerns
Feely, Sabine and Fabry, 2006
Historical and Projected pH and
Dissolved CO2
1850 2000 2100
Historical and Projected pH and
Dissolved CO2
1850 2000 2100
47. International Health Impacts
Increased epidemics of malaria in Africa;
new cases in Turkey and elsewhere
Increased cerebral-cardiovascular
conditions in China
Increased heat wave deaths on Europe
(52,000 in 2003), typhoid fever, Vibrio
vulnificus, Ostreopsis ovata, Congo Crimea
hemorrhagic fever
Dengue fever in SE Asia
More mercury release, flooding, storms
WHO: 150,000 deaths and 5 million
illnesses per year attributable to global
warming; numbers expected to double
by 2030 (Nature, 2005)
Global Cataclysmic Concerns
55. Measuring Your Carbon Footprint
Major Carbon Contributors:
Electric consumption
Gas/heating oil
consumption
Car and miles driven
Miles flown
ORV use
Average India Carbon Footprint
= 1,60,000 Rs
What We Can Do
56. Transportation’s Contribution
Motor vehicle emissions represent 31% of total carbon dioxide and
49% of nitrogen oxides released in the India. (The Green Commuter, a publication of the
Clean Air Council)
Global Warming Basics
57. Transportation: Part of the Solution
The Big 3
1. Reduce vehicle use through
urban planning, trails, mass
transportation and other land
use and transportation policies
(0.2 Gt)
2. Improve vehicle efficiency
3. De-carbonize fuels
“Support smart Transit planning
that prioritizes public transportation,
biking and walking.” (Design to Win, 8/07)
If one million people replaced a
five-mile car trip/week with a bike
ride or walk, CO2 emissions would
be reduced by 100,000 tons/year
(www.activetransporation.org)
What We Can Do
58. Making a Difference as an Individual
Conservation Measures:
Walk, bike, ride public transit,
or carpool
Make sure your tires are fully
inflated and your car tuned up
Lower your water heater and
home thermostats
Don't preheat your oven
Only run your dishwasher with
full loads
Reduce your shower length and
temperature
Buy locally produced food—look
for the Alaska Grown Logo
Unplug appliances not in use
Turn off lights when leaving a room
Use recycled paper
Reuse or recycle as much as you can
Cut down on consumerism
What We Can Do
59. Conservation: Three Examples
Unplug Appliances
Vampires!
43 billion kWH lost/year in India.
Estimated savings =
1,000 lbs/year/person
Pump Up Tires
4 million gallon of gas wasted daily
in India.
Extends life of tires by 25%
Estimated savings =
1,000 lbs/year/person
Lower Thermostat
2 degrees
OR 6 degrees for 8 hours/day
Estimated savings =
2000 lbs/year/person
What We Can Do
60. Making a Difference as an Individual
Energy Efficiency
Reduce your home’s heat
and energy loses
Replace incandescent lights
with fluorescents
Replace your appliances with
“energy star” rated appliances
Buy a hybrid car
Renewables
Install renewable energy
systems: wind, solar, geothermal,
in-stream hydro
Use biofuels
Carbon Neutral
Carbon offsets – Denali Green Tags
Be Heard!
What We Can Do
61. Energy Efficiency: Two Examples
Compact Fluorescents
Four to six times
more efficient
Estimated savings =
100 lbs/year
for each bulb converted
Hybrid Cars
Save money on fuel
Tax credit
Estimated savings =
5,600 lbs/year
What We Can Do
62. Getting to Zero
What We Can Do
Renewable Energy
Wind
Solar
Instream hydro
Geothermal
Biofuels
Carbon Offsets
Bonneville Environmental
Foundation (BEF)
Carbon Offsets
NativeEnergy Carbon Offsets
Myclimate/Sustainable Travel
International
Expedia/TerraPass
Other
