2,900
edits
Ecological crisis: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
'''In the 1960s, humans took about three-quarters of what the planet could regenerate annually.'''<ref name=":1">Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future, Front. Conserv. Sci., 13 January 2021 | [https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419/full https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419]</ref> '''By 2016 this rose to 170 percent.''' We are now amidst''',''' a [[Ecological Crisis Timeline|great race]] between how fast we can get to a [[social tipping point]] versus the time it takes to reach a [[global ecological tipping point]]. Of the 9 recognised planetary boundaries ('''Figure 1''') we have already transgressed five: | '''In the 1960s, humans took about three-quarters of what the planet could regenerate annually.'''<ref name=":1">Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future, Front. Conserv. Sci., 13 January 2021 | [https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419/full https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419]</ref> '''By 2016 this rose to 170 percent.''' We are now amidst''',''' a [[Ecological Crisis Timeline|great race]] between how fast we can get to a [[social tipping point]] versus the time it takes to reach a [[global ecological tipping point]]. Of the 9 recognised planetary boundaries ('''Figure 1''') we have already transgressed five: | ||
* '''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. https://ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment</ref>. | ||
*'''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>. | *'''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>. | ||