Notes on "Heat," PBS / Frontline report on climate change' open notes quiz on Tues

Class of 2012 planted 40 crepe myrtles in Feb. On Earth day they are thriving.
Originally uploaded by trudeau

Quiz on notes on Climate Change includes these notes as well as 2 articles from the NY Times which follow. 10 mult-choice questions on Tues. Also includes 3 or 4 questions on notes on Japanese cuisine.

“Heat” / PBS climate change overview

Earth population is now 6.5 billion!

Glaciers are water towers.
More water attracts more settlers. Throws eco system out of balance.
Nearly half world pop depends on water from Himalaya glaciers.
These rivers are fed by the Himalayas: Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Yangtze, Mekong.

“Some rivers will no longer flow year round.”
Millions will suffer lack of adequate water.
Conflicts between neighbor nations over water are inevitable.
Sea levels rising.
Co2 creates vast dead zones in bays and the ocean. Deserts expanding. Freq droughts. Storms more violent.

Some climate change may not be reversible.

Reducing emissions of greenhouse gases is a priority. Carbon dioxide.
Coal is the platform upon which America’s great electrical system is based. 52% of the US electricity is from coal.
Great pools of petroleum have also given the US decades of cheap power.


Yet CO2 emissions from burning coal and from vehicle emissions are exacerbating greenhouse effect.

China opens 2 new coal-powered electric plants each week. Enormous demand for power. Controlling CO2 pollution is secondary to profit.

India will surpass China in population by 2030.

Cement making is 3rd largest contrib to CO2 emissions.
Energy and heat needed to cook the limestone into dry powder.

Western model of growth is toxic. Uses energy, resources, creates waste.
150 years of progress and pollution in western, developed nations.

Global climate treaties unable to be agreed upon. US offers 1st compromise at UN Conf in Bali, Indonesia.

Essential economic engine of our lives is Fossil Fuels.

Coal shipments make up 1/2 of the US train taffic. Wyoming is big source. “World’s largest conveyor belt.” Coal trains to east and South.
AEP biggest carbon emission source in US.
600 coal-powered plants in US. “We don’t see the coal being burned. We don’t think about where elec comes from.”
52% of US elec power is coal-produced.


Indie work:
- Brief comparison of nuclear power vs coal power for generating electricity