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Environment and Society

Environment and Society. Climate Change. This Week’s Topics. How is our planet livable? Why do we have such an impact on our environment? What are the results of our impact? Male fish producing eggs Climate change. Silencing Climate Change.

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Environment and Society

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  1. Environment and Society Climate Change

  2. This Week’s Topics • How is our planet livable? • Why do we have such an impact on our environment? • What are the results of our impact? • Male fish producing eggs • Climate change

  3. Silencing Climate Change • Scientists Say White House Muzzled Climate Research • Thursday, November 2, 2006 by the Associated Press • http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1102-03.htm • Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him • Sunday, January 29, 2006 by the New York Times • http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0129-01.htm

  4. Why do we have a habitable planet? • We tend to take our atmosphere and environment for granted. • Subtle differences between the Earth and other planets like Mars and Venus have lead to the world we have! • Slight changes to our environment during its evolution would have led to a dead planet like Mars.

  5. Cycles of Glacial and Interglacial • 180 ppm during glacial • 280 ppm during inter-glacial • 380 ppm now

  6. Human Impacts on Atmosphere • Carbon Dioxide is highest in 800,000 years • Ice Bubbles Reveal Biggest Rise in CO2 for 800,000 Years • http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0905-06.htm

  7. Why do we have such an impact? • All organisms must cycle energy through them. • Food, sunlight and other inputs are used to maintain the life of an organism. • Societies operate similarly. • Societies also cycle energy and materials through them. • Both organisms and societies produce waste as a natural part of the system!

  8. Societies vary in efficiency of producing food! • Swidden Agriculture (simple tools and human labor) • 11 kilocalories produced for every kilocalorie of work energy expended in the production of the food. • Plow and Animal Agriculture • 4.3 kilocalories food energy for 1 kilocalorie of work. • Industrial Agriculture • 1 kilocalorie of food energy for 2.8 kilocalories of work.

  9. Fossil fuels • Decreases the amount of people necessary to produce food. • Agrochemicals from petroleum sources may increase short term growth of crops. • Fossil fuels are used to decrease transportation time and increase transportation distances.

  10. Greater Productivity under Capitalism = Greater Waste • Packaging as a means for advertising or theft prevention. • Concentration of animals on “feeder lots” • Consumer waste • Toxic effects of industrialized agriculture and petrochemicals

  11. Male Fish Producing Eggshttp://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=138149http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/05/AR2006090501384.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33850-2004Oct14.html

  12. Alligator Song • David Rovics • http://www.soundclick.com/pro/view/01/default.cfm?bandID=111310 • Alligator Song • http://www.soundclick.com/util/DownloadSong.cfm?ID=762185&ref=2

  13. Climate Change • Climate change or global warming? • Sources of climate change are not limited to Carbon Dioxide

  14. Greenhouse Effecthttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/sci_nat/04/climate_change/html/feedback.stm

  15. Emiliania huxleyi • Ehux • A phyto-plankton involved in the reduction of carbon-dioxide

  16. Acidification of the Oceans • Acid oceans spell doom for coral • http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3605908.stm • Deep ice tells long climate story • http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/5314592.stm

  17. “Hockey Stick”

  18. What will happen if? • 1 degree increase • Water supply threatens 50 million as glaciers disappear in Andes along South American coast • 2 degree increase • 15-40% of species face extinction • Water scarcity in Africa and Mediterranean • 3 degree increase • 1-4 billion people suffer water shortages • 4 degree increase • Crop failures and decline in agricultural yields • Half of the artic tundra disappears • 5 degree increase • Glaciers in Himalayas threatened, affecting water supply of 25% of Chinese • Sea levels rise, flooding areas of Asia and large cities like New York, London and Tokyo

  19. Increased melting of Arctic may lead to the shutdown of the “thermohaline” circulation

  20. Stronger Storms • Caribbean 'faces stormier future’ • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5290818.stm • New Data Clearly Links Storms and Warming • http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0608-07.htm

  21. Problems from Climate Change • Migration patterns of animals disturbed • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4313726.stm • Forests like in Oregon are suffering from heat and increased pest infestations • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/05/sci_nat_how_the_world_is_changing/html/1.stm

  22. Corporations Seek to Profit from Climate Change • Arctic Booms as Climate Change Melts Polar Ice Cap • http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/1127-03.htm • As Polar Ice Turns to Water, Dreams of Treasure Abound • http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F70A1FF734540C738DDDA90994DD404482

  23. What’s the worst that could happen? • Past mass extinction events linked to climate change • http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0329-extinction.html • Earth Faces 'Catastrophic Loss of Species’ • http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0720-08.htm • Be worried, be very worried • http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/26/coverstory/index.html

  24. Change is possible • Solving the UK's generation issue • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4850548.stm • Marble trade sucks Indian villages dry • http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3755780.stm

  25. Consumption • The United States, with less than 5 % of the global population, uses about a quarter of the world’s fossil fuel resources—burning up nearly 25 % of the coal, 26 % of the oil, and 27 % of the world’s natural gas. • http://www.worldwatch.org/node/810 • 1/3 of the grain produced in the world goes to feed livestock. • 1/2 of the water consumed in the US is used to grow grain for cattle production. • 70-80% of the grain produced in the US is fed to livestock. • http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Poverty/Hunger/Causes.asp

  26. Waste • In 2005, U.S. residents, businesses, and institutions produced more than 245 million tons, which is approximately 4.5 pounds of waste per person per day. • In 1996, recycling of solid waste in the United States prevented the release of 33 million tons of carbon into the air-roughly the amount emitted annually by 25 million cars. • http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/facts.htm

  27. How much do you pay for your car? • Do you walk or drive to school? Go home on weekends? • How much do pay to support your car? • Car payment • Insurance • Gas per month • What could you do with all that money?

  28. Solutions? • So what are the solutions to these issues? • What or who might stand in the way of these solutions? • How do you overcome these obstacles?

  29. Recap • Our environment is created by the dynamic interaction of life and non-life • People have a dramatic impact on the environment in terms of waste, especially carbon dioxide • The Earth is warming, leading to many possible scenarios. • A temporary increase until mechanisms bounce the climate into a glacial period • A new hotter climate “regime” • A “positive feedback” leading to out of control climate change and warming until the system collapses • Solutions are complex and must take into account people and institutions that will resist needed change

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