Global Climate Change and my career Your Name Global climate change is unequivocal, is almost certainly caused mostly by us, is already causing significant harm is growing rapidly, and requires global action and local solutions. The Key Facts Three things to remember Scientists are very confident that humans are causing climate change Climate change will impact California: wildfires, droughts, water shortages, heat- waves Everyone can work to slow climate change Warming is Unequivocal J. Hansen et al., PNAS 103: ( 2006) And Not Uniform Average Surface T in vs Warming differs over space Source: IPCC TAR Summary for Policy Makers Muir Glacier, Alaska NSIDC/WDC for Glaciology, Boulder, compiler. 2002, updated Online glacier photograph database. Boulder, CO: National Snow and Ice Data Center. August 1941August 2004 Shrinking Glaciers Source: ACIA, 2004, CIRES, 2005, Roger Braithwaite, University of Manchester (UK) Surface melting on Greenland is expanding Source: Westerling et al Western US area burned Increasing Wildfire Risk IPCC, Extreme Events: Heat IPCC, 2007 Extreme Events: Heat 11 Natural Carbon Cycle Human Impact on the Carbon Cycle LAND ATMOSPHERE 750 Gt C 379 ppm CO 2 OCEANS emissions from terrestrial systems 100 Gt C per year absorption by terrestrial systems 103 Gt C per year emissions from marine systems 100 Gt C per year absorption by marine systems 102 Gt C per year human-caused emissions: 9 Gt C per year Carbon Flows (2005) Increasing CO 2 Concentrations IPCC, 2007 Increasing CO 2 Concentrations Ice Core Records Source: Hansen, Clim. Change, 68, 269, Ice Core Records IPCC, 2007 Black = Observed Gold = Human and Natural Forcings Blue = Only Natural Forcings Fingerprint Analysis How hot will it get? How much greenhouse gases we emit (we can control) How the planet responds to increased greenhouse gas concentrations (we cant control) Feedbacks (permafrost, wildfire, etc.) UCS Projected Changes in CA Summer Temperature 2004 >9,500 ft 1900 >7,800 ft Pika Species Shifting and Diminishing Sierra Snowpack Percentage Remaining, Relative to UCS Mitigation Adaptation Raupach et al. 2007, PNAS Rapidly Increasing Emissions Climate Stabilization Raupach et al., 2007 Regional CO 2 Emissions Growth Coral reef collapse National security threat Crop failures Drought More and bigger wildfires Ocean acidification Species extinctions Loss of mountain snowpack Sea-level rise Floods Expanding tropical diseases Heat-waves Human migrations Increased allergy season More air pollution More intense hurricanes Gulf-stream shutdown Melting permafrost Forest die-off Methane-clathrate out-gassing Increased biological invasions Fisheries collapse Ice-sheet collapse Glacial loss Delta and river salination Loss of tropical forests Wetland and flood protection loss Climate Change Impacts California Impacts: Fire and Drought Source: IPCC TAR, SPM Wildfires More frequent fires More intense fires Longer fire durations Longer fire seasons Source: Westerling et al Science The good news We dont appear to have crossed any tipping points yet For the most part, we control much of our future Everyone can do something to help solve the problem Addressing climate change can be an economic opportunity What everyone can do Efficiency Appliances Lightbulbs House water use Auto mileage Behavior Carpooling Refuse/reuse/recycle Saving energy Buying green energy Eating local Also necessary Policy for efficiency standards clean energy electricity grid changes technology research and design carbon capture International treaty with targets Global warming Its more than polar bears