Kkkh4284Sustainable urban planning

Task 6: global warming

NAME : Roshafizah Bt Roslan

MATRIC NUMBER : A133549

LECTURER : Prof. Ir. Dr. Riza Atiq Abdullah Bin O.K Rahmat

Dr. Muhammad Nazri Bin Borhan

Puan Norliza Bt. Mohd Akhir

Task 7:Supposed you are living in a coastal city. The city administrator has noticed that the

mean sea level has been rising for the past 50 years. The raising is small but over a long period

of time it may cause problems in the city centre as the level of that part of the city is quite low. If

you are hired as a consultant, write a plan of action on what can be done to reduce or mitigate

the problems.

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Core samples, tide gauge readings, and, most recently, satellite measurements tells that over the

past century, the Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) has risen by 10 to 20 centimeters. However,

the annual rate of rise over the past 20 years has been 3.2 millimeters a year, roughly twice the

average speed of the preceding 80 years.

Over the past century, the burning of fossil fuels and other human and natural activities

has released enormous amounts of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. These emissions

have caused the Earth's surface temperature to rise, and the oceans absorb about 80 percent of

this additional heat.

The rise in sea levels is linked to three primary factors which are the thermal expansion,

melting of glaciers and polar ice caps and also the ice loss from Greenland and West Antarctica,

all induced by this ongoing global climate change.

1. Thermal expansion: When water heats up, it expands. About half of the past century's rise

in sea level is attributable to warmer oceans simply occupying more space.

2. Melting of glaciers and polar ice caps: Large ice formations, like glaciers and the polar

ice caps, naturally melt back a bit each summer. But in the winter, snows, made primarily

from evaporated seawater, are generally sufficient to balance out the melting. Recently,

though, persistently higher temperatures caused by global warming have led to greater-

than-average summer melting as well as diminished snowfall due to later winters and

earlier springs. This imbalance results in a significant net gain in runoff versus

evaporation for the ocean, causing sea levels to rise.

3. Ice loss from Greenland and West Antarctica: As with glaciers and the ice caps, increased

heat is causing the massive ice sheets that cover Greenland and Antarctica to melt at an

accelerated pace. Scientists also believe melt water from above and seawater from below

is seeping beneath Greenland's and West Antarctica's ice sheets, effectively lubricating

ice streams and causing them to move more quickly into the sea. Moreover, higher sea

temperatures are causing the massive ice shelves that extend out from Antarctica to melt

from below, weaken, and break off.

2.0 MITIGATION

Mitigation of global warming involves taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to

enhance sinks aimed at reducing the extent of global warming. This is in distinction to adaptation

to global warming, which involves taking action to minimise the effects of global

warming. Scientific consensus on global warming, together with the precautionary principle and

the fear of non-linear climate transitions, is leading to increased effort to develop new

technologies and sciences and carefully manage others in an attempt to mitigate global warming.

No single technology can provide all of the mitigation potential in any sector. The

economic mitigation potential, which is generally greater than the market mitigation potential,

can only be achieved when adequate policies are in place and barriers removed. There are several

of the selected examples of key sectorial mitigation technologies such as:

1. Energy supply

Improved supply and distribution efficiency, fuel switching from coal to gas,

nuclear power; renewable heat and power (hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal

and bioenergy), combined heat and power, early applications of carbon dioxide

capture and storage, CCS for gas, biomass and coal-fired electricity generating

facilities, advanced nuclear power, advanced renewable energy, including tidal

and wave energy, concentrating solar, and solar photovoltaics.

2. Transport

More fuel-efficient vehicles, hybrid vehicles, cleaner diesel vehicles, biofuels,

modal shifts from road transport to rail and public transport systems. non-

motorised transport (cycling, walking), land-use and transport planning, second

generation biofuels, higher efficiency aircraft, advanced electric and hybrid

vehicles with more powerful and reliable batteries.

3. Buildings

Efficient lighting and daylighting, more efficient electrical appliances and heating

and cooling devices, improved cook stoves, improved insulation, passive and

active solar design for heating and cooling, alternative refrigeration fluids,

recovery and recycling of fluorinated gases, integrated design of commercial

buildings including technologies, such as intelligent meters that provide feedback

and control and also solar photovoltaics integrated in buildings.

4. Industry

More efficient end-use electrical equipment, heat and power recovery, material

recycling and substitution, control of non-CO2 gas emissions, and a wide array of

process-specific technologies, advanced energy efficiency; CCS for cement,

ammonia, and iron manufacture and also inert electrodes for aluminum

manufacture.

5. Agriculture

Improved crop and grazing land management to increase soil carbon storage,

restoration of cultivated peaty soils and degraded lands, improved rice cultivation

techniques and livestock and manure management to reduce CH4 emissions,

improved nitrogen fertilizer application techniques to reduce N2O emissions,

dedicated energy crops to replace fossil fuel use, improved energy efficiency and

also make improvements of crop yields.

6. Forestry

Afforestation, reforestation, forest management, reduced deforestation, harvested

wood product management, use of forestry products for bioenergy to replace

fossil fuel use, tree species improvement to increase biomass productivity and

carbon sequestration, improved remote sensing technologies for analysis of

vegetation carbon sequestration potential and mapping land-use change.

7. Waste

Landfill CH4 recovery, waste incineration with energy recovery, composting of

organic waste, controlled wastewater treatment, recycling and waste

minimization, biocovers and biofilters to optimise CH4 oxidation.

3.0 ADAPTION

Adaptation means anticipating the adverse effects of climate change and taking appropriate

action to prevent or minimise the damage they can cause, or taking advantage of opportunities

that may arise. It has been shown that well planned, early adaptation action saves money and

lives later.

Some planned adaptation to climate change is already occurring on a limited basis.

Adaptation can reduce vulnerability, especially when it is embedded within broader sectoral

initiatives. There is high confidence that there are viable adaptation options that can be

implemented in some sectors at low cost, or with high benefit-cost ratios. However,

comprehensive estimates of global costs and benefits of adaptation are limited. There are several

selected examples of planned adaptation by sector such as:

1. Water

Expanded rainwater harvesting, water storage and conservation techniques, water

re-use, desalination and water-use and irrigation efficiency.

2. Agriculture

Adjustment of planting dates and crop variety, crop relocation and improved land

management as example erosion control and soil protection through tree planting.

3. Infrastructure/settlement (including coastal zones)

Relocation, seawalls and storm surge barriers, dune reinforcement, land

acquisition and creation of wetlands as buffer against sea level rise and flooding

and also protection of existing natural barriers.

4. Human Health

Heat-health action plans, emergency medical services,improved climate-sensitive

disease surveillance and control and safe water and improved sanitation.

5. Tourism

Diversification of tourism attractions and revenues.

6. Transport

Relocation, design standards and planning for roads, rail and other infrastructure

to cope with warming and drainage.

7. Energy

Strengthening of overhead transmission and distribution infrastructure;,

underground cabling for utilities, energy efficiency, use of renewable sources and

also reduced dependence on single sources of energy.

Adaptive capacity is intimately connected to social and economic development but is unevenly

distributed across and within societies.

4.0 CONCLUSION

To conclude, mitigation and adaptation are vastly different strategies, however they both need to

be used in order to not only save national economies from future recessions, but to save the

natural and human world from physical disaster.