3. In what ways do oceans help moderate climate change? Describe the harmful pos

Question

3. In what ways do oceans help moderate climate change? Describe the harmful positive feedback mechanisms involved. (1 point) 

4. Thoroughly describe the effects of melting land ice and snow - such as glaciers in Greenland and the Himalayas - on the environment and on people. Describe the positive feedback mechanisms involved. (1.5 points) 

5. Describe why melting sea ice does not contribute significantly to sea level rise. (A knowledge of basic physics or chemistry will help.) (0.5 point) 

6. So, what ARE the major harmful effects caused by melting sea ice? (1 point) 

7. Describe the role of melting permafrost in climate disruption, and the positive feedback mechanisms involved. (1 point) 

Risk 
8. What are the three major risks you face from each of the following a) your lifestyle, b) where you live, and c) what you do for a living? Which of these is voluntary and which are involuntary? What steps can you take to reduce these risks? (3 points) 

Green taxes, tax shifting 
9. Summarize how we can discourage pollution and resource waste by taxing it. Why is the United States Congress slow to enact green taxes? (3 points) 

Individuals (in Business) Matter 
10. Briefly describe Mike Biddle’s contribution to plastics recycling (1 point) 

11. Briefly describe three principles of sustainability specifically adopted by Ray Anderson’s carpet company, Interface. (1 point) 

Environmental Law 
12. Summarize the political controversy over managing the four major types of US public lands. (3 points) For a little extra credit, you may also cite recent news about legislation to open more public land to drilling, mining, logging, etc. 

Comprehensive Final Essay: Perverse Subsidies 
The negative effects of perverse government subsidies and how they directly compound other problems have been mentioned throughout the textbook and in Myers’ guest essay “Perverse Subsidies”. In order to answer the questions below, you’ll be gathering your information from various chapters. If you remember sufficient detail without having to look things up, you must say so (“from memory”). Otherwise, please cite all pages consulted.

NOTE: I am NOT asking for a recap of all the environmental and social problems associated with agriculture, fisheries, mining, etc. (That would be a very long discussion!) Each chapter section describes information specific to subsidies for each industry. Please summarize in your own words. (Total 5 points) Once again, I’ve assigned the number of points required to minimally answer each topic, but extra credit may be earned. This is your chance to pull ahead with your insight into subsidies!

14. Continue to describe the perverse subsidies for each of the following industries, and some of the harmful consequences due to current subsidies: (3 points)

*Fisheries 

*Mining 

*Oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear power (nonrenewable energy resources)

Explanation / Answer

3. Help of ocean in moderating climate change:

The Ocean Warms the Planet:

Most of the sun’s radiation that hits the Earth is absorbed by the ocean especially in the tropical regions of our planet. The ocean stores radiation from the sun and distributes it globally from the tropics to the polar regions by winds and ocean currents.

The Ocean Influences Precipitation Patterns:

The ocean’s role in producing precipitation is so important that nearly all rain that falls over the Earth’s land originates from the ocean.

Global Weather Patterns are controlled by Ocean Currents:

Weather patterns are primarily controlled by ocean currents, which are influenced by surface winds, temperature, salinity, the Earth’s rotation, and ocean tides. Ocean currents generally flow clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern Hemisphere. Ocean currents bring warm water and rain from the equator to the poles and cold water from the poles toward the equator. These ocean currents help to counteract the high levels of solar radiation that the Earth’s equator receives.

Photosynthetic Organisms in the Ocean Influence the Global Climate:

About half of the global carbon cycle is managed by photosynthetic organisms that live in the ocean such as phytoplankton, that produce oxygen and influence the levels of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane that are present in the ocean and in the atmosphere. The level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere influences global temperatures and weather patterns because these gases absorb solar heat so efficiently.

The Ocean’s Heat Storing Ability:

The temperatures in the atmosphere are influenced and slowed down by the ocean’s capacity to store heat.

Harmful positive feedback mechanism:

Glaciers and polar ice are melting:

As the climate warms, glaciers are melting. Yet millions of people depend on the planet's 190,000 glaciers to supply water in dry seasons. Arctic sea ice is melting rapidly, a process that further speeds up climate change. On the West Antarctic Peninsula, massive ice shelves have crumbled into the ocean.

Sea levels are rising faster:

As glaciers and land-based ice sheets melt, they contribute to sea level rise. This increases flood risk for millions of people on coasts, where populations and cities are growing fast. Sea levels could rise by a meter by the end of this century if we don't reign in emissions. For people of small islands and low-lying coastal areas, sea level rise is already a harsh reality.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse 3
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.