Adaptations and mitigation: Questions and answers part 2

 Q: What is the impact of CO2 increase on the water cycle predicted by various models?

Ans: The impact of CO2 increase on the water cycle predicted by various models conclude that models of climate change may be underestimating how much water is likely to run off the land and back into the sea as atmospheric chemistry changes. Runoff may be as much as 17 percent higher in forests of the eastern United States, when models account for changes in soil nitrogen levels and atmospheric ozone exposure.

Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration directly affects plant growth, which inherently is tied with the hydrological cycle through lowered rates of stomatal conductance and increases in leaf area. Decreased stomatal conductance could reduce evapotranspiration (ET) whereas increased leaf area could contribute to increases in ET potentially offsetting the reduction in stomatal conductance to some degree. Many studies have indicated that combined effects from elevated CO2 concentrations may lessen ET, resulting in increased runoff. However, global warming can increase the ability of air to absorb water as temperatures rise, suggesting increases in potential evapotranspiration (PET).

Impact of CO2 on water cycle

Q: What are the principal interactions between CC and SD?

Ans: The principal interactions between CC and SD are:

First, future economic development and the well-being of large numbers of human beings would be threatened by global warming.

Second, social welfare and equity would also be undermined in an unprecedented manner, by climate change. In particular, both intra- and inter-generational equity are likely to be worsened, especially since poorer nations and disadvantaged groups within nations are more vulnerable and the costs of damage, as well as of necessary adaptation and mitigation efforts will be unevenly distributed. Sustainomics suggests that inequitable distributions are not only ethically unappealing, but are also likely to be unsustainable in the long run, because they undermine social cohesion and exacerbate

conflicts over scarce resources.

Third, the environmental sustainability viewpoint draws attention to the fact that increasing anthropogenic emissions and accumulations of GHGs might significantly perturb a critical global subsystem – the atmosphere. Changes in the global climate are likely to threaten the stability of a range of critical physical, ecological and socioeconomic systems and subsystems at all levels – regional, national and sub national.

Q: Describe the the three types of capital that are essential for SD.

Ans: The three types of capital that are essential for SD:

1) Natural resources are all of those things that we take out of nature and use: water, plants, animals, and materials from the earth such as fossil fuels, metals and minerals. All of these are things that we use up, either as raw material or as part of a production process.

2) Human capital is each individual's personal skills and abilities, physical and mental health, and education. Social capital is the connections in a community -- the ways in which people interact and relate to each other. The simplest connections are connections to family, friends and neighbors. On a larger scale, we form connections through community and volunteer organizations, the ability of groups of people to form governments to deal with common problems, and the ability of people to form companies to create goods and services to satisfy the needs of the community.

3) Built capital includes roads, heavy equipment, factory buildings, houses, and apartment buildings. It includes basic necessities like food and clothing. It also includes things that, although not strictly necessary, many people in developed countries would be loath to do without, like dishwashers, cars, telephones and computers.