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Ecological crisis: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Sustainable Transition is Complicated.png|thumb|'''Figure 1'''. Carbon Tunnel Vision.]][[File:Planetary boundaries.png|alt=Planetary Boundaries framework (2022) showing 5 boundaries transgressed.|thumb|400x400px|'''Figure 2.''' Planetary Boundaries framework (2022) - climate change is only one of the 5 boundaries transgressed. | [[File:Sustainable Transition is Complicated.png|thumb|'''Figure 1'''. Carbon Tunnel Vision.]][[File:Planetary boundaries.png|alt=Planetary Boundaries framework (2022) showing 5 boundaries transgressed.|thumb|400x400px|'''Figure 2.''' Planetary Boundaries framework (2022) - climate change is only one of the 5 boundaries transgressed.<ref name=":1">'''Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future'''. Front. Conserv. Sci. Published on 13 January 2021, accessed on 19 June 2022 via: [https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419/full https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419]</ref>]] | ||
'''It's becoming increasingly clear that our singular home—Earth—is under severe strain due to our excessive consumption. In the 1960s, our demands were about three-quarters of what the Earth could replenish in a year. By 2016, we were consuming at a rate of 170 percent of the planet's yearly regenerative capacity<ref name=":1" />.''' | |||
We | We now find ourselves in a [[Ecological Crisis Timeline|great race]]: Will we reach a [[social tipping point]] to reduce our impact before we hit irreversible [[global ecological tipping point]]? While [[CO2|CO<sub>2</sub>]] emissions often take the spotlight (as shown in '''Figure 1'''), there are nine key environmental limits to consider (illustrated in '''Figure 2'''). Alarmingly, we've already transgressed five of these: | ||
*'''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 (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>. | *'''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>. | ||