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How long can the Earth System sustain the present rate of human-induced global-environmental change?
Posted on July 20th, 2009Categorized as Biodiversity, Earth System, Human Health, Interdisciplinary Tagged as Biodiversity, climate change, ecosystems, habitat, methane, oceans, permafrost
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Humans are modifying the planet at an alarming rate. Cropland and pasture now cover almost 50% of the entire land surface. This has led to massive habitat destruction, fragmentation and pollution and, together with overhunting, is causing a critical loss in biodiversity. Agricultural pollution is also having a devastating impact on aquatic and marine ecosystems which, together with industrial fishing, is causing collapse of key species populations within these ecosystems. Industrial pollution and burning hydrocarbons is causing polar warming which threatens to destabilize the remaining ice-sheets and reservoirs of methane stored in the polar oceans and permafrost. With populations in the US, China and India still rising, these clearly unsustainable practices are set to continue. The critical question is how long can planetary environmental processes continue to function before these human-induced changes trigger negative feedbacks that result in a switch to an alternate and less supportive Earth System state?
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What is the magnitude of climate change in a given micro ecosystem? And by what magnitude does it change every 25 years
Posted on September 1st, 2009Categorized as Biodiversity, Climate, Earth System Tagged as ecosystems, habitat, micro-climates, small variations
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Macro climates of the world are made up of micro climates. The small variations eventually result in the major change. A given country may have different micro ecosystems. Different micro ecosystems are habitats to different plants and animals. What is the size of the change in there ecosystems?
