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Climate Change and YOU! Climate Change in Oregon and What You Can Do About It

Climate Change and YOU! Climate Change in Oregon and What You Can Do About It. Amber Moore MD/MPH Student Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility. Agenda. The problem of global warming Impact in Oregon Why act What you can do to stop global warming Lifestyle changes Community changes

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Climate Change and YOU! Climate Change in Oregon and What You Can Do About It

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  1. Climate Change and YOU!Climate Change in Oregon and What You Can Do About It Amber Moore MD/MPH Student Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility

  2. Agenda • The problem of global warming • Impact in Oregon • Why act • What you can do to stop global warming • Lifestyle changes • Community changes • Policy changes • Questions

  3. The Problem http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/sustainability/greenhouse_effect.html

  4. The Problem http://www.globalwarmingart.com/images/8/88/Mauna_Loa_Carbon_Dioxide.png

  5. 11/05 Science

  6. The Problem • Science magazine analyzed 928 peer-reviewed scientific papers on global warming published between 1993 and 2003. Not a single one challenged the scientific consensus that earth's temperature is rising due to human activity.

  7. What’s the Big Deal?

  8. How Does Climate Change Affect Oregon? • Temperature • Precipitation • Sea Level • Snowpack • “The effects of global warming – higher temperatures, reduced snowpack, declining stream flows – are already hurting the bottom line of farmers and business people in other industries,” said Eban Goodstein, an economist at Lewis and Clark College Scientific Consensus Statement on the Likely Impacts of Climate Change on the Pacific Northwest http://inr.oregonstate.edu/download/climate_change_consensus_statement_final.pdf and http://ri.uoregon.edu/publicationspress/press_release_10_10_2005.doc

  9. Temperature • IMPACT: Scientists are very certain that the Pacific Northwest is warming and that this is best explained by human-caused changes • PREDICTION: Northwest temperatures expected to increase approximately 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit by 2030 and 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050. This is expected to lead to longer fire seasons and longer and more intense allergy season

  10. Mosquitoes on the Move Warmer temperatures encourage northward migration of malaria-carrying mosquitoes Source: World Wildlife Fund, 1996

  11. West Nile Virus Compiled from CDC, Health Canada, USGS, and ProMED-mail sources as of 14 May 2003

  12. Precipitation • IMPACT: Since the beginning of the 20th century, average annual precipitation has increased across the region by 10%, with increases of 30-40% in eastern Washington and northern Idaho • PREDICTION: Uncertain, however impacts on water resources are expected due to low summer precipitation and earlier peak streamflow. This will likely lead to decreased summer water availability, changes in ability to manage flood damage, shifts in hydropower production, and decreased water quality due to higher temperatures, increased salinity and pollutant concentration

  13. Sea Level • IMPACT: Land on the central and northern Oregon coast is being submerged at a rate of .06-.08 inches annually (1930-1995) • PREDICTION: Continued rise is certain however impact is uncertain. Maximum wave heights are also expected to increase, leading to increasing erosion in coastal areas.

  14. “We’re going to get a meter sea level rise and there’s nothing we can do about it… It’s going to happen… the question is when.” Andrew Weaver, lead author for IPCC Report October 2007

  15. 2002 2005 Greenland Melt is Accelerating 1992 Rignot, Science v. 311, 2006

  16. 1979 Arctic Sea Ice What is a positive feedback cycle? 2003 http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/Images/Arctic_SSMI1979-03.jpg&imgrefurl=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3%3Fimg_id%3D16340&h=713&w=540&sz=125&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=icadjlObsTb35M:&tbnh=140&tbnw=106&prev=/images%3Fq%3Darctic%2Bsea%2Bice%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DRNWE,RNWE:2004-44,RNWE:en%26sa%3DN

  17. Snow Pack • IMPACT: Between 1950 and 2000, the April 1 snowpack declined. From 1950-1995, the cumulative downward trend in snow water equivalent is approximately 35%. Peak Snowpack has moved earlier in the year, increasing March streamflows and reducing June stream flows. • PREDICTION : Continued decline

  18. B BBC News: bbc.co.uk

  19. It is time to Act Now Leonardo DiCaprio’s 11th Hour

  20. Why Act? • Because we can’t afford not to act • It is our moral obligation

  21. Why Aren’t We Acting? Behavior Change Theory • Health Belief Model • Stages of Change • Social networks/social behavior change

  22. Can I Really Make a Difference? • What’s the point? • “In general, just under half of the emissions for which each of us is responsible come from things over which we have personal control, such as how much we drive and fly and how we heat and power our homes. Of the rest, about 25 per cent of the total arises indirectly through powering our workplaces, about 10 per cent comes from maintaining public infrastructure and government, and about 20 per cent is emitted during the production of the things we buy, including food. We can still influence some of these indirect emissions through what we buy - or we could if we had access to the right kind of information - but by and large it makes sense to concentrate on the emissions we can control directly. “ (Pearce, New Scientist, 2007)

  23. Who is to Blame? The US population has 5% of the world’s population, but more than 20% of emissions

  24. Household emissions by Country • US-55,000 pounds • Germany-27,000 • Sweden-15,000 • Follow the chart above to track progress on your diet Source: Gershon, Low Carbon Diet

  25. It is possible to cut individual emissions by around 75 per cent without seriously altering our lifestyles. • Chris Goodall

  26. The following slides on reducing your carbon footprint are adapted from this book (Gershon, D (2006). Low Carbon Diet. Woodstock: Empowerment Institute.) and from True Green by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin (2005, National Geographic)

  27. Solid Waste-the problem • Every pound of solid waste that goes to the landfill generates 2 pounds of greenhouse gases, from transportation and anaerobic decomposition • The average household produces about 4.5 lbs of solid waste a day

  28. Solid waste-the solution • Reduce-do you really need to buy that? • Recycle! Remember, even things that can’t be recycled curbside can still be recycled. • Compost • Reduce packaging-bring your own bags and buy items with little packaging • Reduce junk mail—www.DirectMail.com/Junk_Mail

  29. Solid waste-the savings • Recycle all recyclable waste-save 1,300 lbs • Reduce weekly waste from a 90 gallon trash container to a 60 gallon container- save 3,120 lbs Total Saving: 4,320 lbs

  30. Hot Water • Heating hot water for a 10 minute shower can generate 4 lbs of CO2 • A bath can use twice as much • A dishwasher uses two pounds of CO2 each time it is run, inefficiently washing dishes by hand can generate up to 3 pounds of CO2

  31. Hot Water-the solution • Reduce shower time from 10 to 5 minutes • Install a low-flow showerhead • Run the dishwater only when it is full • When hand-washing dishes, full one tub with soapy water, and one with clean for rinsing • Turn water off when you are done using it

  32. Hot Water-the savings • Each person who reduces shower time to 5 minutes saves 300 pounds of CO2/year, or 1200 pounds for a household of 4 • Installing a low-flow showerhead reduces emissions by 250 pounds/year • Reducing washing by one dishwasher load/week saves 100 pounds • Minimizing hot water use when hand washing saves 125 pounds Total savings: 1675

  33. Clothing care-the problem • An average washing machine produces nearly 200lbs of greenhouse gases per year (80-85% comes from heating the water) • A dryer generates 5 pounds per cycle

  34. Clothing care-the solution • Wear clothes until they are dirty • Only wash full loads of laundry • Hang clothes to dry

  35. Clothing care-the savings • Switching one load of laundry per week from hot to cold water saves 100 pounds • Eliminating the need for one dryer load each week saves 260 pounds Total: 360 pounds

  36. Home Heating-the problem • People who live in colder climates generate 8,800 pounds of CO2 emissions annually

  37. Home heating-the solution • Turn the temperature down during the day when people are out of the house, and while sleeping at night • Set your thermostat to “sweater” temperature when you are at home: between 65-68 degrees

  38. Home Heating-the savings • Setting the thermostat to 65-68 during the day and 55-58 at night saves 1400 pounds annually.

  39. Travel-the problem • US residents drive an average of 10,000 miles per year, each mile driven (in a car that gets 20 mpg) is one pound of carbon • Air travel has a greenhouse gas effect three times greater than a vehicle. A coast-to-coast round trip dumps 4480 pounds of carbon, PER PERSON!

  40. Travel-the solution • Reduce car travel by biking, taking public transportation, combining trips to reduce mileage, carpool • Reduce plane travel when possible • Buy carbon offsets to reduce impact when travel is necessary

  41. A note about carbon offsets • What am I buying? -You are reducing the amount of power generated by fossil fuels -When you buy offsets, are buying a renewable source, therefore reducing the need for energy from harmful sources -Nativeenergy.com

  42. Travel-the savings • If you drive a car that gets 20mpg, and you drive 10,000 miles/year, reducing the number of miles driven by 20% will save 2,000 pounds

  43. Fuel efficiency-the problem • 10-30% of your fuel costs and CO2 emissions can be reduced by driving smart • An additional 30% can be reduced by tuning up your car

  44. Fuel efficiency-the solution • If your family has more than one car, drive the more efficient vehicle • Avoid idling • Rid your car of unnecessary weight • Keep highway driving at 55 mph, the most efficient speed • Keep your tires inflated • Service car on a regular basis

  45. Fuel efficiency-the savings • By driving efficiently, you can save 1,100 pounds per year. • By tuning your car, you can save 1,500 pounds • Total savings= 2,600 pounds

  46. Home Energy efficiency-the problem • Regular light bulbs use significantly more energy than newer compact fluorescent bulbs • Appliances use significant amounts of energy

  47. Home energy-the solution • Change to CFLs! • Turn off appliances/computers when not in use

  48. Home energy-the savings • Save 100 pounds per bulb • Assuming 10 bulbs are changed, save 1000 pounds

  49. Total Savings Solid Waste 4320 Hot Water 1675 Clothing Care 360 Home Heating 1400 Travel 2000 Fuel Efficiency 2500 Home Energy 1000 Total 13,355 pounds saved

  50. When you are the consumer • Buy energy star appliances • Buy a fuel efficient car • Tune up your water heater and furnace, or buy a more efficient products • Seal air leaks in your house • Insulate walls and attic, install energy efficient windows • Buy green energy (PGE) • Buy local

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