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Ecological crisis: Difference between revisions
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* '''Climate change''' - s''ince records began in 1880, nineteen of the twenty hottest years have occurred since 2000''<ref>NASA, Global Temperature: https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/</ref>''.'' | * '''Climate change''' - s''ince records began in 1880, nineteen of the twenty hottest years have occurred since 2000''<ref>NASA, Global Temperature: https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/</ref>''.'' | ||
*'''Biodiversity loss''' - there has been a 68% average decline in the population sizes of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish between 1970 and 2016<ref>IPBES, Media Release, Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’ May 2019</ref>. | *'''Biodiversity loss''' - there has been a 68% average decline in the population sizes of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish between 1970 and 2016<ref>IPBES, Media Release, Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’ May 2019</ref>. | ||
*'''Nitrogen cycle''' - | *'''Nitrogen cycle''' - ammonia factories supplement the enzymatic magic of microbial nitrogen fixation with the brute forces of temperature and pressure, extracting close to 100 million metric tons of nitrogen from the atmosphere each year. This results in the creation of Nitrous Oxide which is a 200 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO<sub>2</sub><ref>http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/challenges/nitrogen.aspx#:~:text=Such%20human%20activity%20has%20doubled,rain%2C%20and%20contaminating%20drinking%20water.</ref>. | ||
*'''Deforestation''' - more than half the world’s tropical forests have been destroyed since the 1960s<ref>International Union for Conservation of Nature. (2021, February). ''Deforestation and forest degradation''. <nowiki>https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/deforestation-and-forest-degradation</nowiki></ref>. | *'''Deforestation''' - more than half the world’s tropical forests have been destroyed since the 1960s<ref>International Union for Conservation of Nature. (2021, February). ''Deforestation and forest degradation''. <nowiki>https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/deforestation-and-forest-degradation</nowiki></ref>. | ||
* '''Ocean acidification''' - more CO2 in the atmosphere means more acidity in the oceans. | * '''Ocean acidification''' - more CO2 in the atmosphere means more acidity in the oceans. | ||
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*'''Ozone depletion, the phosphorus cycle...''' | *'''Ozone depletion, the phosphorus cycle...''' | ||
We are overstepping our [[wikipedia:Breaking_Boundaries|planetary boundaries]] (great documentary) and these issues combined are accelerating us towards [[collapse]]. | We are overstepping our [[wikipedia:Breaking_Boundaries|planetary boundaries]] (great documentary) pushing us to specific tipping points: | ||
* '''The Arctic''': we have lost the frozen Arctic. | |||
* '''West Antarctic sea ice''': we could lose this within ten years, and if so, sea levels will eventually rise three metres because of it. | |||
* '''Amazon Rainforest''': the current projection is that we have five to ten years before the rainforest tips into a new state, that of a savannah. | |||
* '''Greenland ice sheet''': we could lose this in 20 to 25 years, and if so, sea levels will eventually rise seven metres because of it.<ref>https://illuminem.com/energyvoices/80df1713-3292-4626-911f-48decadc37ae?fbclid=IwAR1mTkC2LAoJy92kIninjXbu0ULxIOLGqymTzD7tbxfnENdlDBuqKjn-0bA</ref> | |||
All of these issues combined are accelerating us towards [[collapse]]. | |||
== Root Cause == | == Root Cause == | ||
We are treating the symptoms of the disease not the disease itself. Like a doctor treating the symptoms of a cancer instead of treating the cancer itself, we are concentrating on divesting from fossil fuels, investing in renewables and reducing plastic use instead of what really needs to be done. Furthermore, perhaps symptom management placates the anxiety we feel that drastic change is needed. | We are treating the symptoms of the disease not the disease itself. Like a doctor treating the symptoms of a cancer instead of treating the cancer itself, we are concentrating on divesting from fossil fuels, investing in renewables and reducing plastic use instead of what really needs to be done. Furthermore, perhaps symptom management placates the anxiety we feel that drastic change is needed. | ||
=== References === | === References === | ||