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A Planet on Loan from Our Children

A Planet on Loan from Our Children. George Seielstad April 21, 2005. Spaceship Earth. Single, Interconnected System. Common Home for All Humanity. Benevolent Habitat for Diverse Life. Stunningly Beautiful. Finite. Fragile. Finiteness. Earth, from 3.7 billion miles Voyager 1

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A Planet on Loan from Our Children

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  1. A Planet on Loan from Our Children George Seielstad April 21, 2005

  2. Spaceship Earth Single, Interconnected System Common Home for All Humanity Benevolent Habitat for Diverse Life Stunningly Beautiful Finite Fragile

  3. Finiteness Earth, from 3.7 billion miles Voyager 1 June 6, 1990

  4. Fragility

  5. Density of Thermo- sphere down 10% in 35 years.

  6. What world will they catch from us?

  7. It’s in our hands. Tomorrow’s world will be built by us today. Humans are the dominant force causing planetary change. Humans are also Earth’s stewards.

  8. Wisest Policy Treat the Earth well. It was not given to you by your parents. It was loaned to you by your children. Kenyan Proverb

  9. In one century: Our numbers exploded. Our technologies empowered us Our abilities grew faster than our understanding of their consequences. Why Us?

  10. Ecosystem or Human-made Services? ● Nutrient Recycling ● Water Purification ● Climate Moderation ● Pollination ● Soil Stabilization ● Genetic Archive ● Aesthetics

  11. Food

  12. Human Longevity • In 1900: 46 years • In 2000: 77 years

  13. Characteristic Population Economy Industrial Output Energy Use CO2 Emissions Water Use Marine Fish Catch Blue Whales Factor of Increase 4 x 14 x 40 x 16 x 17 x 9 x 35 x 0.0025 x 20th Century Global Growth O’Neill, Something New Under the Sun (2000), p. 360.

  14. Onset of Civilization Climate: Recent 400,000 years

  15. 2100 Global Future • If nothing slows greenhouse gas emissions. . . • CO2 concentrations will exceed 700 ppm by 2100 • Global average temperatures will rise 2.5 – 10.4 F

  16. Population

  17. Another New York City per Month

  18. Cultivated Natural AAAS Atlas of Population & Environment (2000) Human Domination--Land • 39-50% of land’s surface transformed. • >55% of biological productivity used by humans. • Earth’s 3 most abundant plants = Rice, Wheat, Corn • Global homogenization of landscapes Vitousek et al., Science 277, pp. 494-499 (1997).

  19. http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/wri94-4001/fig1www.gif http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/wri94-4001/fig1www.gif

  20. Fertilizer Management

  21. Residue from previous year = Fertilizer in current year Decomposition Study

  22. Biomass of Sugar Beet Tops Leaf Color Acre N Yellow9.03 130 Yellow Green53.80 110 Green73.50 80 Dark Green15.34 60 Normal Application 150 lbs per acre Precision Application 90 lbs per acre

  23. Savings over 4 years 1010 acres of Beets / year Avg Nitrogen Reduction 60# /acre 101 tons less in the Environment Total Savings over 4 Years >$51,000

  24. Human Domination--Water • Humanity uses >50% of surface freshwater • In U.S., only 2% of rivers run unimpeded. • Many rivers no longer reach the sea.

  25. Dams’ Impacts on Rivers Green, unimpacted Yellow, moderately impacted Red, strongly impacted Nilsson et al., Science 308, 405 (2005)

  26. By 2050, 45% of world’s people will live where water supply is less than daily requirement! GlobalWater

  27. Newfoundland Fishery Defying the Kenyan Proverb

  28. Human Domination--Biota

  29. Bird & Mammal Extinctions 40 Number of Extinct Species 20 0 1600- 1649 1700- 1749 1800- 1849 1900- 1949 Years Extinction rate now 100-1000 x natural rate.

  30. Now living beyond Earth’s carrying capacity---by depriving future generations. Now living beyond Earth’s carrying capacity---by depriving future generations. Global Experiment More people are using more resources with more intensity than at any time in human history.

  31. Exponential Growth in Finite System

  32. . Day 1

  33. Day 2

  34. Day 3

  35. Day 4

  36. Day 5

  37. Day 6

  38. Day 7

  39. Day 8

  40. Day 9

  41. Day 10

  42. Day 11

  43. Day 12

  44. Day 13

  45. Day 14

  46. Day 12 repeat How much need one find to meet future needs?

  47. Find twice as much as has been used in all of history… to add 1 more day’s consumption For the 16th day, find twice as much again.

  48. 2004 Nobel Peace Prize to Wangari Maathai Significance Peace, Democracy, Sustainability areindivisible Can have none where poverty overwhelms.

  49. Afghanistan Haiti Iraq Sudan Rwanda Burundi Jared Diamond, Collapse (2005), p. 496 Peace/Democracy/Sustainability

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