2025 Envirothon Current Issue Key Topic #1

Many think rich countries should take ambitious climate action given their greater contributions & ability to pay.

Water levels in the Great Lakes are generally predicted to continue to drop in future years.

Which part of the US is experiencing less precipitation than usual over the last few decades.

What 3 RCPs (representative concentration pathways) are used by Canada's government to study climate change.

During this century, winter nights are expected to warm less than winter days.

Limiting global temp increase to 1.5 C requires reach net zero emissions by ___________ & reduce global emissions by __%

The average heat wave season is ___________ days longer in the US compared to the 1960's.

Which of the following are ways that people are disturbing the carbon cycle today?

The extent of Arctic sea ice has decreased by about ____% since 1979 and snow-cover time has decreased by ___ days.

On average, Canada has warmed by more than ________ degrees Celsius since 1948.

During the past century, global ocean levels have risen an estimated _________ meters.

_______________ are dynamically downscaled models that simulate the climate of a smaller region.

Since the 1970's unusually hot summer days have become less common & unusually cold winter temps have become more common

With models, we can say for certain how the climate will change in the future.

The primary greenhouse gas contributing to recent climate change is:

______________ is causing climate change.

In the major cities of the US, there is now an average of _________ heatwaves per year instead of two per year.

Large areas of the Arctic Ocean will be seasonally ice free before the end of this century.

In Canada, actual evapotranspiration rates (AET) have decreased in most regions since the 1940s.

Climate is only impacted by 1-2 elements.

In the Upper Great Lakes, trends have indicated higher temperatures and lower water levels in recent years.

Natural processes that respond to global warming by either offsetting or further increase the change in climate system?

Since 1901, annual precipitation has increased at a rate of ___________ inches per decade in the contiguous US.

When incoming solar radiation is trapped by gases in Earth's atmosphere, helping to warm the planet:

Warmer air holds more moisture than cooler air.

Which of the following does NOT add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere?

When sea ice melts, the darker water absorbs more solar energy, increasing warming.

This type of greenhouse gas can remain suspended in the air for days to weeks and can either absorb or reflect sunlight?

In Canada, more precipitation is falling as rain instead of snow.

Which group makes up 30% of foodborne illness fatalities each year?

9 of the top 10 years for extreme one-day precipitation events have occurred since ___________.

Rising global average temperatures will not cause widespread changes in weather patterns.

Research attributes _____% of heat-related deaths to human induced climate change.

Arctic sea-ice extent is predicted to ________ during the twenty-first century & _________ ice will change the most.

The poorest regions and countries are more vulnerable to climate change because:

World average temperature has increased by about ____ degree(s) Celsius compared to the pre-Industrial era.

Direct damage costs to health from climate change is expected to cost the US _____ per year by 2030.

Emissions of greenhouse gases due to human activity have increased to more than 40 billion tons/year since the:

What part of Canada is predicted to warm the most this century?

In vulnerable regions, death rate from extreme weather events in the last decade was __ higher than less vulnerable ones

Which types of extreme weather events are predicted to become more frequent & more intense with climate change?

WHO data shows 2 billion lack safe drinking water & 600 million suffer from foodborne illnesses each year.

The high global emissions scenario predicts 3.2-5.4 C warming by 2090, and the low scenario predicts 0.9-2.3 C warming.

Which season is expected to have the greatest warming as human-induced climate change increases?

Climate models are so complex that it can take weeks to run one simulation, even with supercomputers.

A World Bank report estimates that an additional ___________ people could be pushed into poverty by 2030.

In the US, each person produces about _______________ of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

A change in the amount of carbon in one reservoir (atmosphere, ocean, organisms) does not affect other reservoirs.

Long-term average temperature and precipitation in a given place (influences what wardrobe you would buy to live here).

_________________ people already live in areas highly susceptible to climate change.

Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause an additional ______________ deaths per year (health impacts)

The richest countries represent 16% population but 40% CO2 emissions, poorest - 60% population but <15% emissions.

State of the atmosphere at any given time and place (influences what you wear on any given day).

Clouds can have both warming and cooling effects on climate.

Earth's temperature depends on the balance between energy entering and energy leaving the planet's climate system.

Climate change may cause an additional 700,000 deaths annually due to the spread of ____________.

____________________ has increased in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico over the past 20 years.

Since 1896, the average winter temperatures across the contiguous 48 US states have increased by nearly _____ degrees.

This is a measure of climate impacts based on how long each greenhouse gas remains in atmosphere & absorbs energy?

_________________ are a way to help us understand what the future of Earth's climate might look like.

The poorest regions/people also contribute the most greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

Sea-level rise, storms, and decreases in sea ice will all increase the rate of coastal erosion.

The greenhouse effect is not natural and is caused entirely by human activities.

What group of people are disproportionately affected by climate change & climate mitigation efforts?

Which age group is commonly identified as being the most vulnerable to climate change (esp. health-related impacts)?

Which Canadian coastal area has seen sea levels rise 32 cm over the twentieth century?

Greenhouse gas emissions today are mainly linked to the level of a nation's __________.

All of the top 10 warmest years on record worldwide have occured since _______________.

A set of scenarios called the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) are common in use to study climate change.

As sea levels rise, the risk of _____________ increases. This will likely occur more frequently in the future.

What makes it difficult to predict Earth's future climate?

A current idea is creation of adaptation funds (tech transfers from rich countries to poorer ones).

Another example of positive feedback (as this retreats, it causes more solar absorption, which leads to more warming):

This greenhouse gas is the most significant source of positive feedback (as it increases, it leads to further warming):