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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'''. Live data source can be obtained via: 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'''. Live data source can be obtained via: 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>'''Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’''' May 2019. https://ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment</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>'''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 | *'''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 200 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than [[CO2|CO<sub>2</sub>]]<ref>'''Effects of Nitrogen Fertilizer Types on Nitrous Oxide Emissions'''. Martin Burger and Rodney T. Venterea Understanding Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agricultural Management. January 1, 2011 , 179-202 [https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bk-2011-1072.ch011 DOI:10.1021/bk-2011-1072.ch011]</ref>. | ||
*'''Deforestation''' - more than half the world’s tropical forests have been destroyed since the 1960s<ref>'''Deforestation and forest degradation.''' International Union for Conservation of Nature. Published 2021, February. Accessed via https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/deforestation-and-forest-degradation</ref>. | *'''Deforestation''' - more than half the world’s tropical forests have been destroyed since the 1960s<ref>'''Deforestation and forest degradation.''' International Union for Conservation of Nature. Published 2021, February. Accessed via https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/deforestation-and-forest-degradation</ref>. | ||
* '''Ocean acidification''' - more [[CO2|CO<sub>2</sub>]] in the atmosphere means more acidity in the oceans. | * '''Ocean acidification''' - more [[CO2|CO<sub>2</sub>]] in the atmosphere means more acidity in the oceans. | ||
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== Root Cause == | == Root Cause == | ||
In the study of medicine, when a symptom develops, a bad doctor will only treat the symptoms. A good doctor will treat the symptoms whilst looking for the root cause. We are currently concentrating on most pressing symptoms climate change our remedy is divesting from fossil fuels and investing in renewables however this distracts from the other growing symptoms and reduces the collective alarm to persist and address the root cause. | In the study of medicine, when a symptom develops, a bad doctor will only treat the symptoms. A good doctor will treat the symptoms whilst looking for the root cause. We are currently concentrating on the most pressing symptoms of climate change, our remedy is divesting from fossil fuels and investing in renewables however this distracts from the other growing symptoms and reduces the collective alarm to persist and address the root cause. | ||
'''Perhaps it's all [[Climate change is not being addressed is complicated|too complicated]] and we should give up? Or perhaps it is the nature of the [[machines]] we have invented that in order to feed us?''' <hr/> | '''Perhaps it's all [[Climate change is not being addressed is complicated|too complicated]] and we should give up? Or perhaps it is the nature of the [[machines]] we have invented that in order to feed us?''' <hr/> | ||
=== References === | === References === | ||