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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 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>. | *'''Nitrogen cycle''' - ammonia factories (used for water purification, plastics, fabrics, pesticides and dyes) 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. | ||