Air Pollution and Climate
Change: Sustainability,
Restoration, and Ethical
Implications
Jiaying Chen
1 , Mie Jul Dahlin
1
, Linnea Luuppala
2
,
David Bickford
3
, Lina Boljka
4
, Vanessa Burns
5
and Matthew Stanley Johnson
1,6
1 Department of Chemistry, University of
Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
2 Social and Moral Philosophy, Department of
Political and Economic Studies, University of
Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
3 Biology Department, University of La Verne, La
Verne, CA, USA
4 Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado
State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
5 School of Geography and the Environment,
University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
6 Airlabs, Copenhagen, Denmark
Article Outline
Glossary
Definition
Introduction
Atmospheric Chemistry: The Physical Origin of
Climate Change
Observations of Climate Change
Sustainability and Climate Change
Environmental Management and Climate Change
Ecological Restoration
Mitigation and Adaptation
Mitigation
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Adaptation
Ethics and Philosophy of Climate Change
Conclusion
Future Directions
Bibliography
Glossary
Adaptation An adaptation is an adjustment made
in response to an actual or expected climate that
moderates or avoids harmful impacts. Adaptation can be divided into incremental and transformational actions. Incremental adaptation
refers to relatively small changes and actions
that affect a system while maintaining its integrity, while transformational adaptation includes
changes and actions that affect the fundamental
attributes of a system [10].
Air Pollution Air pollution is “a mix of particles
and gases that can reach harmful concentrations both outside and indoors” [12]. Determining the harmfulness of substances is not always
straightforward. For example, some substances
that are toxic have been found to have beneficial effects in low quantities [13], while for
others there may be no safe dose. A pertinent
example is that carbon dioxide is a natural part
of the atmosphere and is exchanged with the
biosphere via photosynthesis thus fertilizing
plants but clearly there could be too much of
a good thing, as excessive amounts of CO 2
have a clear negative impact on the biosphere
through climate change. Plants require fixed
nitrogen, and some is produced naturally by
lightning, depositing to the surface as nitrate
from nitric acid, one cause of acid rain [5]. In
small amounts it is a good thing and clearly
damaging in large amounts. Thus the classification of a given substance as pollution
depends on context.
Biosphere The biosphere is the global aggregate
of all ecological systems including all living
beings and their interrelationships with each
other and with the atmosphere, geosphere,
hydrosphere, and lithosphere.
Conference of the Parties (COP) The United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty
signed and put into action in 1994. The convention’s principle goal is to prevent negative
impacts to society from anthropogenic climate
Jiaying Chen, Mie Jul Dahlin and Linnea Luuppala
contributed equally with all other contributors.
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021
M. E. Goodsite et al. (eds.), Air Pollution Sources, Statistics and Health Effects,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0596-7_1082
Originally published in
R. A. Meyers (ed.), Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology, © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC,
part of Springer Nature 2020, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2493-6_1082-1
279
Change: Sustainability,
Restoration, and Ethical
Implications
Jiaying Chen
1 , Mie Jul Dahlin
1
, Linnea Luuppala
2
,
David Bickford
3
, Lina Boljka
4
, Vanessa Burns
5
and Matthew Stanley Johnson
1,6
1 Department of Chemistry, University of
Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
2 Social and Moral Philosophy, Department of
Political and Economic Studies, University of
Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
3 Biology Department, University of La Verne, La
Verne, CA, USA
4 Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado
State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
5 School of Geography and the Environment,
University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
6 Airlabs, Copenhagen, Denmark
Article Outline
Glossary
Definition
Introduction
Atmospheric Chemistry: The Physical Origin of
Climate Change
Observations of Climate Change
Sustainability and Climate Change
Environmental Management and Climate Change
Ecological Restoration
Mitigation and Adaptation
Mitigation
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Adaptation
Ethics and Philosophy of Climate Change
Conclusion
Future Directions
Bibliography
Glossary
Adaptation An adaptation is an adjustment made
in response to an actual or expected climate that
moderates or avoids harmful impacts. Adaptation can be divided into incremental and transformational actions. Incremental adaptation
refers to relatively small changes and actions
that affect a system while maintaining its integrity, while transformational adaptation includes
changes and actions that affect the fundamental
attributes of a system [10].
Air Pollution Air pollution is “a mix of particles
and gases that can reach harmful concentrations both outside and indoors” [12]. Determining the harmfulness of substances is not always
straightforward. For example, some substances
that are toxic have been found to have beneficial effects in low quantities [13], while for
others there may be no safe dose. A pertinent
example is that carbon dioxide is a natural part
of the atmosphere and is exchanged with the
biosphere via photosynthesis thus fertilizing
plants but clearly there could be too much of
a good thing, as excessive amounts of CO 2
have a clear negative impact on the biosphere
through climate change. Plants require fixed
nitrogen, and some is produced naturally by
lightning, depositing to the surface as nitrate
from nitric acid, one cause of acid rain [5]. In
small amounts it is a good thing and clearly
damaging in large amounts. Thus the classification of a given substance as pollution
depends on context.
Biosphere The biosphere is the global aggregate
of all ecological systems including all living
beings and their interrelationships with each
other and with the atmosphere, geosphere,
hydrosphere, and lithosphere.
Conference of the Parties (COP) The United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty
signed and put into action in 1994. The convention’s principle goal is to prevent negative
impacts to society from anthropogenic climate
Jiaying Chen, Mie Jul Dahlin and Linnea Luuppala
contributed equally with all other contributors.
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021
M. E. Goodsite et al. (eds.), Air Pollution Sources, Statistics and Health Effects,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0596-7_1082
Originally published in
R. A. Meyers (ed.), Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology, © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC,
part of Springer Nature 2020, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2493-6_1082-1
279