Environment and Natural Resources

Did you know...

• CO ranks 38th in Spending on Natural Resources?
• CO ranks 39th in Electricity Consumption (10.15 Megawatthours)?
• The Earth’s temperature is a 400 year high;
• Category 4 and 5 hurricanes have nearly doubled in frequency in the past 30 years;
• The world’s glaciers are melting — Greenland’s ice glow has doubled in the past decade;
• 279 species have already begun to move to closer to the poles in response;
• The # of scientific, peer-reviewed articles concluding solid evidence of global warming = 100%; disagreeing = 0%
• The # of pop culture or pop media articles suggesting their is disagreement = 53%;
• The White House officials edited a report by the EPA to remove conclusions in the report indicating the scientific significance of global warming also deleted a reference to a 1999 study showing that global temperatures had risen sharply in the previous decade compared with the last 1,000 years.
• The continued melting of the polar ice shelves could raise sea level by an estimated 20 feet. Who cares?
  • This would mean submerging significant portions of Florida, San Francisco, Manhattan, New Orleans, Boston, Calcutta, the Netherlands, Tuvulu, Maldives, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Uruguay, Antartica, Greenland, Egypt…The casualties from this would be in the millions to hundreds of millions — and it is preventable.
  • Deaths from global warming will double in just 25 years — to 300,000 people a year.
  • Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense.
  • Droughts and wildfires will occur more often.
  • The Arctic Ocean could be ice free in summer by 2050.
  • More than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by 2050.

The key is connecting the dots. We observe many phenomena and do not necessarily always see how the pieces fit together. The climate changes seem minor but their impact is very significant. Below are some examples:

• Hurricane Katrina is just one example of increased frequency and severity of storms. Scientists predicted this storm, and were even able to predict that the levies of New Orleans would breach.
• Increased flooding of coastal regions (flooding will increase ninefold, 80% will be in South, Southeast Asia, 50% of US population lives on or near coastal areas).
• Increased Heat Waves occur (35,000 heat-wave related deaths in Europe from 2003).
• Increasing Power Outages and Rolling Blackouts are the result when increased use of air-conditioning strain the electrical grid system. Consumption of electricity has risen 35% in past decade but new generation of electricity has risen by only 18%. i.e. demand is out-pacing supply.
• Wildfires and Loss of Forests occur as draught increases and temperature increases allow for infestations of forests by pine beatles that otherwise used to be killed off in winter seasons.
• Spread of Infectious Disease increases bringing diseases like Malaria to new regions of the world that were previously inhospitable to the virus, new diseases are emerging on the scene and the return of once-extinct diseases are on the rise. (SARS, Avian Flu, Ebola etc.)
• As Carbon Dioxide levels increase so too to rates of allergies and asthma because the CO2 carries aeroallergens. Both rates of allergies and frequency of asthma have increased dramatically even during our lifetime.
• Bleaching of Coral Reefs is dramatic when considering they have existed for 200 million years and are home to one out of every four Ocean Species, yet may be extinct as soon as 2050 at the current rate. By 2000 25% of the world’s Coral Reefs were already destroyed.
• Changes in temperature cause changes in Air Flow Patterns and Ocean Current Patterns whichcause profound changes in weather patterns, storms, and inhabitable portions of the Earth.
• Impact on Food Production, Farming and Agriculture has already begun. As draughts increase the ability to grow and produce food decreases, yet the demand with population growth obviously continues to decrease. Portions of the world are already facing famine in regions that were once fertile.
• Water shortages can foment disease, dehydration, crop destruction and sanitation problems.

Of course all of these come with a great human, environmental and financial cost. So what can we do about it (pulled from www.climatecrisis.net)? Below are some easy, everyday things we can do:

1. Change a Light: Replacing 1 regular bulb with a compact flourescent light will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year.
2. Drive Less: Walk, ride, carpool or take mass transit more often. You save one pound of CO2 for every mile you don’t drive.
3. Recycle More: You can save 2,400 pounds of CO2 per ear by recycling just half of your household waste.
4. Check Your Tires: Keeping your tires inflated properly improves gas mileage by more than 3%. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of C02 out the atmosphere.
5. Use Less Hot Water: It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds CO2 saved per year)
6. Avoid Products with a lot of Packaging: You can save 1,200 pounds of CO2 if you cut down your garbage by 10%.
7. Adjust Your Thermostat: Moving your thermostat just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer could save about 2,000 pounds of CO2 in one year with simple adjustment.
8. Plant a Tree: A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.
9. Turn Off Electronic Devices: Simply turning off your TV, DVD player, stereo and computer when you are not using them will save you thousands of pounds of CO2 per year.

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