Mitigation and Adaptation - NASA Science

Overview

• NASA's Role: Leader in climate studies and Earth science, providing data to understand climate change but not setting climate policy or solutions.
• Climate Change: A global issue involving science, economics, society, politics, moral and ethical questions.
• Greenhouse Gases: Carbon dioxide is the primary driver of global warming, lingering for thousands of years in the atmosphere.

Responding to Climate Change

• Two-Pronged Approach:
  1. Mitigation: Reducing emissions and stabilizing greenhouse gas levels.
  2. Adaptation: Adjusting to existing and expected climate changes.
• Commitment to Change: Even with zero emissions, past emissions commit us to ongoing climate change effects.

Mitigation

• Goals of Mitigation:
  • Avoid significant human interference with Earth's climate.
  • Stabilize greenhouse gases to let ecosystems adapt naturally.
  • Ensure food production isn't threatened.
  • Enable sustainable economic development.
• Methods:
  • Reduce sources of greenhouse gases (e.g., fossil fuels).
  • Enhance sinks that store gases (e.g., oceans, forests).

Adaptation

• Goals of Adaptation:
  • Reduce risks from climate change effects like sea-level rise and extreme weather.
  • Maximize potential benefits of climate change (e.g., longer growing seasons).
• Historical Context: Human societies have historically adapted to climate changes with varying success.
• Local Responses: Local governments lead in adaptation by building defenses, planning for weather extremes, managing resources.
• UN Report: Governments are increasingly including climate change in planning.

NASA's Involvement

• Data Provision: Provides climate data via missions (e.g., GRACE, ICESat) for global understanding.
• Collaborations: Part of the U.S. Global Change Research Program with other agencies like the Department of Agriculture, EPA, and Department of Energy.
• Energy Technology: Though not focused on energy-tech, NASA collaborates on finding alternative energy sources.

Additional Resources

• Related Articles:
  • Sustainability and Government Resources.
  • NASA Aeronautics and Spinoff Programs.

Key Takeaways

• NASA contributes significantly to climate science by offering data for mitigation and adaptation strategies.
• Understanding both mitigation and adaptation is critical for managing climate change impacts effectively.