Human Energy Systems Unit Activity 6.3 How Our Decisions Affect Earth’s Future

1. Human Energy Systems UnitActivity 6.3How Our Decisions Affect Earth’s Future Carbon: Transformations in Matter and Energy Environmental Literacy ProjectMichigan State University

2. In this unit we have examined many large-scale data sets. Atmospheric CO2 Change in Sea Level Height

3. How are these changes in Earth’s systems related to each other? Atmospheric CO2 Change in Sea Level Height

4. Atmospheric CO2 If we could do something about this trend… …we could have an impact on these trends. Change in Sea Level Height

5. Using what you learned form the simple climate model in Activity 6.2, what would we need to do to stop or reverse the trend of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations?

6. What will happen to Earth’s systems if we don’t reduce CO2emissions? Biomass organic carbon Atmosphere Inorganic CO2 Before the industrial revolution, the carbon in the atmosphere pool maintained a balance between the biomass pool through photosynthesis and cellular respiration. As carbon concentrations in the atmosphere continue to rise, so will the global temperatures. What are the results of increasing temperatures for people and the planet? However, the biomass pool can only sequester a limited amount of carbon. Today, we are adding too much carbon to the atmosphere pool. This causes an imbalance. Fossil Fuels organic carbon Soil organic carbon If we continue to use fossil fuels at the rates we are using them now, it will be impossible for the planet to maintain the natural balance between the atmosphere and biomass pool. When we burn fossil fuels in cars and buildings, we move carbon from the fossil fuel pool to the atmosphere pool.

7. Review from Activity 6.2:How will our decisions about future CO2 emissions affect global temperature? What do you think the shaded area around each line represents?

8. What do the computer models predict about sea ice extent? The green line shows how much scientists predict the sea ice will decrease if we lower our emissions by a lot. Sea Ice Extent Predictions The red line shows how much scientists predict the sea ice will if we continue to increase CO2 emissions.

9. What do the computer models predict about sea level in the future? The red line is shows what will likely happen If CO2 emissions continue to increase (RCP8.5). The blue line shows what will likely happen if we drastically reduce CO2 emissions (RCP2.6).

10. Atmospheric CO2 The individual and collective (local, national, and global) decisions we make that affect CO2 emissions… Change in Sea Level Height What impacts would increased global temperatures and sea level and decreased sea ice have on humans and other living things? …will determine future global temperatures, amount of sea ice, and sea level.

11. How are decisions affect Earth’s future:Questions for further study • Climate change mitigation: What can we do to decrease CO2 emissions and the amount of CO2 already in the atmosphere? • Effects of climate change: How will the effects of climate change affect humans and other living things? • Climate models: How were the RCP scenarios developed and how do scientists use them? • Climate feedbacks: How will changes to one Earth system affect others? • Media literacy: Are the arguments about climate change presented in news stories based on reliable data?