How furthering mankind affects the world around us By Alex Shear

The increase in the average temperature of Earths near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation Global surface temperature increased by 0.74 0.18 C (1.33 0.32 F)

Melts polar icecaps Leads to death of flora and fauna Causes rise in sea level, inundating some island nations slowly

Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over a long time. Weather is the present condition of these same elements over a shorter period of time.

GLOBAL WARMING

OZONE DEPLETION

Troposphere Warms Troposphere H2O, CO2, CH4, etc. Traps terrestrial thermal infrared Less infrared out means more heat in troposphere

Stratosphere Cools Stratosphere CFCs and Nitrous Oxides Reduces ozone Less ozone means more UV radiation

Gases in atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range

H2O (water) CO2 (carbon dioxide) CH4 (methane) NO2 (nitrous oxide) O3 (ozone)

Since the industrial revolution GHGs in the atmosphere have increased from 280 ppm to 390 ppm (71% increase)

The release of methane gas from arctic tundra and wetlands Expiration of carbon dioxide by breathing Regional fluctuations in water vapor (clouds)

Methane

Landfills Grazing Livestock Fertilizers

Burning of Fossil Fuels Deforestation

Nitrous Oxide

Carbon Dioxide

Organic compound that contains carbon, chlorine, and fluorine, produced as a volatile derivative of methane and ethane. Many CFCs have been widely used as refrigerants, propellants (in aerosol applications), and solvents. More commonly associated with ozone depletion, but still a factor of global warming

People of course. Is our impact on the environment selfish, or sadly necessary?

Currently 7B people worldwide

+2 people/second +200K people/day +80M people/year

This growth comes with responsibilities to humanity, as a price

Food Energy Water Shelter

The world population is predicted to be 9B by 2050

Roughly 3B more people in 40 years This is greater than the current populations of Europe, Africa, and both North and South America Not case of people having huge families, rather a lot of people doing what comes natural

Unavoidable

Human Reproduction Rate >> Food Production Rate

The Power of the population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man. Exponential vs. Arithmetic

Based on NASA International Space Station data, man needs 2.5 L daily Earth is 70% water (salt and fresh), 2.5% fresh water, of which only 1% is accessible.

Most is frozen in the icecaps

Need water for industry and agriculture as well as consumption

Contributes to global temperature hikes

Desalination Plants

Good idea in theory but has negative results for the environment
Expensive Enormous Energy Dependence (Greater production of

GHGs) Damaging Byproducts Released into the Sea

30-40% of land surface is used for agriculture to feed the populous

Leads to deforestation in some cases, which has a direct effect on carbon dioxide regulation

This is nearly all the usable land Need to double amount of food in next 40 years Need to raise productivity because there simply isnt enough land to provide even the basic requirements to the world

4-5K calories or 820 grams of dry foodstuffs

Use of synthetic fertilizers releases harmful GHGs into the atmosphere (Nitrogen-Oxide gases) Industrialization of food production also affects the release of carbon dioxide and usage of fossil fuels

People require a minimum amount of energy Fossil Fuels are most used

Oil in particular

85M barrels/day and increasing yearly Provides much needed fertilizers, pesticides and mechanizations necessary for food production

Moral obligation, as most intelligent species to protect and preserve nature and all life Self interest, the more we destroy the environment, the more we threaten our chance of survival

Human Impact [I] = Population [P] x Affluence [A] x Technology [T]

P measured with census information A measured by global GDP rates T measured with world patent office applications

Since 1900 world GDP and the number of patent applications have grown even faster than population

More environmental damage in steadily decreasing time frames

Stop consuming so many natural resources

Recycle and repopulate

Change our technology

Wind, solar, geothermal and biologic energy sources Clean

Reduce population growth

Hard to do because human morality plays such a vital role

Resources are finite Even if we cut back on certain destructive processes, population growth will still take over in the end

That is to say that eventually we wont be able to sustain ourselves In an attempt to preserve our wellbeing we subsequently cause our demise
We truly shape the future of the earth

Asplund, Richard W. Profiting form Clean Energy. Hoboken, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2008 Asplunds book offers insight on alternative fuels and energy sources. It is mainly an investors book, but it shows what goes into the production of human necessities. The Causes of Global Warming and the Solution. Global Warming and the Solution. 2011. 28 Apr. 2011 http://wwwl.causesofglobalwarming.net/ This site offered a wide range of facts and graphs. It allowed me to gain an initial grasp of global warming, its causes and its effects on the world Hawking, Stephen. The Universe in a Nutshell. New York: Bantam Books, 2001. Hawkings book, though primarily a theoretic al physics work, offers insight on the technological rise of the human race and the resultant effects on the planet How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth. BBC Horizon. Narr. David Attenborough. BBC. 2009 A BBC documentary pertaining to the living capacity of the planet, it offers many figures and facts on the human impact. It was by far the most helpful of my sources. It offers an outlook on the tomorrow of man. Kolbert, Elizabeth. Enter the Age of Man. National Geographic Mar. 2011: 60-85 The article deals with the new geologic epoch known as the Anthropocene which is categorized by the permanent impact on global climate by man. It shows that even though we may be gone in the future the evidence of our existence will remain evident in what was left behind Kunzig, Robert. Population 7 Billion. National Geographic Jan. 2011: 42-69 Part of an article series that addresses the growing population of the world and the stretching of the constraits of comfortable existence. Offers a look at the coming storm of population threat and harsh but true solutions to the problem Wikipedia. 2011. 28 Apr. 2011 http://www.wikipedia.org/ Use of this site was for general common knowledge of global warming and graphs