Ecological crisis: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Planetary Boundaries.png|alt=Planetary Boundaries|thumb|Planetary Boundaries]] | [[File:Planetary Boundaries.png|alt=Planetary Boundaries|thumb|Planetary Boundaries]] | ||
''The world won't end tomorrow, next year or the year after. But it will get progressively worse, each day we do nothing we roll a dice where the probability of something seriously bad happening goes up and up. We have already seen the following:'' | ''The world won't end tomorrow, next year or the year after. But it will get progressively worse, each day we do nothing we roll a dice where the probability of something seriously bad happening goes up and up. We have already seen the following:'' | ||
* '''Climate change''' - s''ince records began in 1880, nineteen of the twenty hottest years have | * '''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>. | ||
*'''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>. | ||
Revision as of 23:47, 21 February 2022
The world won't end tomorrow, next year or the year after. But it will get progressively worse, each day we do nothing we roll a dice where the probability of something seriously bad happening goes up and up. We have already seen the following:
- Climate change - since records began in 1880, nineteen of the twenty hottest years have occurred since 2000[1].
- Biodiversity loss - there has been a 68% average decline in the population sizes of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish between 1970 and 2016[2].
- Deforestation - more than half the world’s tropical forests have been destroyed since the 1960s[3].
- Ocean acidification - more CO2 in the atmosphere means more acidity in the oceans.
- Ozone depletion
- Microplastics via overconsumption.
- the nitrogen cycle
- the phosphorus cycle
These issues combined are accelerating us towards collapse.
References
- ↑ NASA, Global Temperature: https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/
- ↑ IPBES, Media Release, Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’ May 2019
- ↑ International Union for Conservation of Nature. (2021, February). Deforestation and forest degradation. https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-briefs/deforestation-and-forest-degradation