Environmental science project
Ohmygod
resource.pdf
How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth? h6ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN06tLRE4WE
Development of the World's Popula5on
2016 populaIon: ~7.4 billion 2050 populaIon: ~9 billion 2100: ~11 billion
PopulaIon as related to environmental issues
FiOeen million years ago was the last Ime carbon dioxide levels were as high as they are today, and were sustained at those levels. • Global temperatures were five to ten degrees F higher than they are today (2.5 -‐ five degrees C);
• Sea level was approximately 75 -‐ 120 feet higher than today;
• There was no permanent sea ice cap in the ArcIc and very li6le ice on AntarcIca and Greenland.
• Based on 40 million years of actual history, not theoreIcal projecIons, sea level will rise more than 50 feet from the 0.8 °C of warming that has already happened, once the ice has had Ime to melt. And limiIng that rise to 50 feet assumes that there is no further warming, essenIally an impossibility.
• Many internaIonal groups are desperately trying to figure out how to keep the temperature this century from rising more than an addiIonal 3.6 degrees F (two degrees C).
The last hours….
Priebus confirms that climate denial will be the official policy of Trump’s administraIon h6ps://thinkprogress.org/trump-‐climate-‐change-‐bunk-‐28c5c44cee#.5a94h575l
FiOeen million years ago was the last Ime carbon dioxide levels were as high as they are today, and were sustained at those levels. • Global temperatures were five to ten degrees F higher than they are today (2.5 -‐ five degrees C);
• Sea level was approximately 75 -‐ 120 feet higher than today;
• There was no permanent sea ice cap in the ArcIc and very li6le ice on AntarcIca and Greenland.
• Based on 40 million years of actual history, not theoreIcal projecIons, sea level will rise more than 50 feet from the 0.8 °C of warming that has already happened, once the ice has had Ime to melt. And limiIng that rise to 50 feet assumes that there is no further warming, essenIally an impossibility.
• Many internaIonal groups are desperately trying to figure out how to keep the temperature this century from rising more than an addiIonal 3.6 degrees F (two degrees C).
2100 ProjecIons do not reflect the possibility of catastrophic melIng
Englander’s predicIons: • sea level rise on the order of one foot or more by 2050.
• a four-‐ to five-‐foot rise by 2100 is realisIc, though that could easily shiO upwards with new informaIon in the years ahead.
The complete melIng of the Greenland Ice Sheet will raise sea level about 24 feet
The East Antarc5c Ice Sheet is the most stable area of AntarcIca. It does not show imminent large-‐scale melIng, and in fact it is gaining thickness in many parts. The West Antarc5c Ice Sheet is parIcularly vulnerable to melIng. Whereas the East AntarcIc Ice Sheet is a vast sheet on top of level ground, the West AntarcIc Ice Sheet is anchored by two large mountains, with a large porIon of the ice sheet going below sea level and resIng on the bedrock underwater. That vulnerability, plus its massive size, is a recipe for truly epic ice sheet collapse.
The ArcIc and the Snowball Effect • Four decades ago, it was inconceivable that the ArcIc would be ice free in the
twenty-‐first century. The ArcIc Ocean has been frozen for almost three million years, spanning more than two dozen ice ages, as well as the warmer eras in between, those “interglacials,” like the period we live in now.
• For the last three decades, the ArcIc sea ice has been melIng quickly. Recent esImates for when the ArcIc Ocean will become largely open water each September range from as early as this decade to as late as the 2040’s.
• While the melIng ArcIc ice cap represents a profound and disrupIve change, it
has almost no direct effect on sea level rise because the ArcIc ice cap floats on water, not on land.
• Nevertheless, the loss of the ArcIc ice sheet will have a powerful effect-‐ profound changes in global weather pa6erns-‐ also when the bright snow and ice melts and is replaced by very dark seawater, it becomes a heat-‐absorbing surface….. speeds up the warming process already underway, which increases the amount of water vapor in the air.
• Water vapor increases the heat in the atmosphere, which then increases the rate of ice melt. This is what scienIsts call a “posiIve feedback loop”
CO2 and You
Push me, pull you
C02 Changes: Caused By Nature or Man? See also h6p://co2now.org
Unprecedented rate of warming: • 20,000 Imes faster than nature • Last abrupt climate change was > 50 million yrs ago. CO2 increased by 100 ppm in over a million years-‐ and 75% of species went exInct. Temp spiked by 9 °F (5° C) over 10,000 yrs.
• Current rates, will increase CO2 by 100ppm in 30-‐40 yrs-‐20,000 Ime faster than at any Ime in last 540 million yrs
• Rate and magnitude of atmospheric change are unprecedented
ConservaIve EsImates
• IPCC esImates are conservaIve-‐based on measurable melIng of glaciers, current melt in Greenland, and thermal expansion of seawater
• discount three phenomena that are believed to be nearing “Ipping points” – Accelerated melt in Greenland-‐ faster melt than in past 100,000 yrs – AntarcIca melt – Methane from permafrost and deep oceans (h6p://
www.planetexIncIon.com/planet_exIncIon_permafrost.htm)
• “I appreciate the IPCC’s dilemma. They do not want to be alarmist. Their credibility is at stake. Yet there is so much at risk with rising sea level, their cauIous approach to presenIng the forecasts likely misleads the world to significantly understate what could happen this century.
• THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE….
Cogni5ve Dissonance • Mankind has assumed the coastlines to be essenIally unchanging,
since they have changed li6le for the last6,000-‐8,000 years. Our cultural heritage and our daily lives operate within a context of stable sea level.
• The boundaries of the land masses appeared to be as rock solid as anything we know, and had been so for all of our ancestors.
• The magnitude of devastaIon related to sea level rise is so massive that we react with what psychologists term cogniIve dissonance: when confronted with difficult and conflicIng thoughts, we are uncomfortable and find some way to reconcile them.
• We tell ourselves such things as: “It’s just a cycle; cycles reverse themselves; it’s just a ma6er of Ime; it will happen so far in the future, I don’t need to worry about it; we can solve anything; the next generaIon will figure it out and fix the problem; leave it to them; we will just have to build seawalls.”
• Thinking deeply about this means thinking about the demise of our enIre coastal civilizaIon, possibly our own lifestyles and personal assets. It is hard to avoid the quesIon: how bad could it get? Could all the ice melt in a thousand years, or even hundreds, causing that 212 feet or more of sea level rise?
• PoliIcians, the press and the public seem to operate from the same inclinaIon towards denial, procrasInaIon, and preference to “live in the now” that can be seen in our policies and attudes about naIonal debt, social security, health care, and pension plans.
• With sea level rise, a truly conservaIve attude would be that there is no point just hoping things will get be6er, and certainly no point in denying reality. The facts are the facts. Not only in the United States, but globally, we have enormous capacity for innovaIon and adaptaIon. We should be posiIve, based on realism, not some Pollyanna view of things.
• Famous historian Will Durant said, “CivilizaIon exists by geological consent, subject to change without noIce.” In the case of the impending sea level change we do have noIce. That knowledge gives us the privilege to plan and to adapt.
What can we do? • Make a plan for personal investments, parIcularly coastal real estate
• Share what you know with local community • Support poliIcal leaders who “get it”
• Climate change versus global warming
• Sea level rise
• CO2 effects: global warming, coral bleaching, ocean acidificaIon
• NOTE THAT bleaching is NOT a result of ocean acidificaIon but rather a result of warming
• acidificaIon and warming are both caused by CO2
The Problem
Economic growth at the expense of the environment.
Modified aOer Anderson 2003
Materials flow from the environment to the economy:
The economy grows at the environment’s expense.
The economy grows more at the environment’s expense.
The economy dumps into the environment:
Energy, Water, Air, Food
Waste PolluIon Green-‐ house gases
Types of PolluIon • Toxic Substances • Oil Spills • Ocean AcidificaIon • Noise PolluIon • Dead Zones • Trash Gyres
h6p://4.bp.blogspot.com/__C-‐zwS8z144/SwyyE8LqWkI/AAAAAAAAABI/pWJATDa7KME/s1600/ocean-‐polluIon.jpg
Toxic Materials
h6ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu7fs3VM2MI
Source: h6ps://infogr.am/oil-‐spill-‐poluIon
Oil PolluIon
h6ps://www.oceanfdn.org/sites/default/files/comic_0.jpg
Ocean AcidificaIon
How does this affect underwater ecosystems?
CaCO3 Shell formaIon PLANKTON: phytoplankton (coccolithophores), zooplankton (foraminifera) -‐Coral growth -‐ Shell fish-‐ clams, oysters, mussels -‐Internal pH of marine species
Intense Anthropogenic Noise -‐Air Guns -‐Shipping Vessels -‐Submersives
h6p://strangesounds.org/wp-‐content/uploads/2013/09/ seismic_surveys_022.jpg
h6p://www.bath.ac.uk/news/system/wp-‐content/uploads/2012/12/ Underwater-‐noise-‐e1355224119776.jpg
Dead Zones
EutrophicaIon (dead Zones) • Overload of Nitrogen and Phosphorus • Excessive algae growth-‐ O2 depleIon
Earth gauge
PlasIc trash gyres-‐ Boyan Slat
Cruise ships
Overview of Global Fish ProducIon • Global fish producIon has grown steadily in the last five
decades • Food fish supply is increasing at an average annual rate of
3.2%
h6p://www.whoi.edu/cms/images/lstokey/2005/1/v43n1-‐kitepowell2en_5409.gif
In Crisis • Global fisheries are in a crisis – 2004 report by US Commission on Ocean Policy said that “25% to 30% of the world’s major fish stocks are overexploited” and that “US fisheries are experiencing similar difficulIes”
2012 REPORT FAO 87% of the worlds fisheries are over exploited or fully exploited h6p://blogs.edf.org/edfish/2012/07/11/fao-‐reports-‐87-‐of-‐the-‐worlds-‐fisheries-‐are-‐ overexploited-‐or-‐fully-‐exploited/
According to the FAO the majority of the world’s fish stocks are under pressure, some
completely depleted.
– Bo6om trawling-‐ dragging net on seafloor-‐ shrimp – Dredging-‐ large metal baskets-‐ shellfish – Gillnetng-‐ nets in water column-‐ cod, salmon – Purse seining-‐ tuna, salmon – Long line-‐ tuna, mahi, lines up to 50 miles
– Traps and pots-‐ crabs and lobster – Harpooning and rod and reel
Fishing Methods
• unintended capture • “trash fish” • thrown over board
• Shrimp trawling Up to 20:1 bycatch to shrimp Average 6:1
What is Bycatch
Shrimp Trawling
Fisheries subsidy: government acIon that confers an advantage on consumers or extractors of fish in order to supplement their income or lower their cost.
What is Being Done
• EU proposed a series of fishing cuts – Mandated reducIons of up to 60% in herring catches, 34% for cod, and 27% for mackerel
• seafoodwatch.org – Website that will tell you if certain types of seafood or sushi are Best Choice, Good Alterna5ves, or ones to Avoid based on how it is caught or farmed.
• U.S. marine aquaculture – oysters, clams, mussels, shrimp, salmon, some cod
– In ocean
cages on the seafloor or suspended in the water column
– on-‐land, manmade systems such as ponds or tanks.
Aquaculture
• Relieves overfishing • food base for growing populaIon • Shellfish feed on algae, leading to cleaner water
Benefits of Aquaculture
Impacts of Aquaculture
• IMPACTS
h6p://thewildfish.org/ wp-‐content/uploads/ 2008/09/33081.jpg
Coculturing and Polytrophic PracIces
h6p://columbianewsservice.com/2010/04/awaiIng-‐legislaIon-‐eco-‐friendly-‐fish-‐farms-‐in-‐federal-‐waters/
• Oceans are severely overfished • Responsible aquaculture holds promise • eat seafood responsibly – Sustainable fish – Responsible fishing methods.
Conclusions
Sharks, Whales, Dolphins
What Classifies a Large Marine Vertebrate?
VS
SHARKS:-‐ FISH! Characterized by a carIlaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head covered in dermal denIcles The Shark SIgma • You have a 1 in 63 chance of dying from the flu and a 1 in
3,700,000 chance of being killed by a shark during your lifeIme.
• In 1996, toilets injured 43,000 Americans a year. Sharks injured 13
• For every human killed by a shark, humans kill approximately two million sharks
• Major declines in shark stocks have been recorded over the past few decades; some species have declined over 90% and populaIon declines of 70% are not unusual.
• h6p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ List_of_threatened_sharks
Whale Shark— • slow-‐moving filter feeding shark and the largest known extant fish species.
• Over 14 m long (46 O) and 66,000 lbs. • Life span 70 yrs
Whales
h6p://assets.worldwildlife.org/photos/1091/images/hero_small/whale-‐landing-‐hero_61029559.jpg?1345585596
• Dolphins, porpoises, and whales: cetaceans • warm-‐blooded, breathe air, and suckle their young
• 86 species of cetaceans two main groups:
• Baleen whales (14 species), includes largest whales-‐ blue and fin whales. blue whale largest animal that has ever existed on earth.
• -‐long horny plates edged with bristle-‐like fibers that strain small marine animals from seawater.
• Toothed whales or Odontocetes, with around 72 species including the beaked whales, killer whales, pilot whales, dolphins and porpoises.
• Dolphins and porpoises differ in their faces, fins, and body shapes. Dolphins have longer noses, bigger mouths, more curved dorsal fins, and longer, leaner bodies than porpoises
• 7 of the 13 great whale species are endangered or vulnerable, even aOer decades of protecIon.
h6p://www.exploratorium.edu/theworld/sonar/images/sonar.gif
h6ps://utstaIc.a.cdnify.io/wp-‐content/uploads/2010/10/roman-‐mccarthy-‐whale-‐pump.png
Environmental Issues ● Whaling ● Bycatch ● Naval sonar ● Oil producIon ● Ship strikes ● Climate change
h6p://www.earthImes.org/newsimage/increase-‐whale-‐strandings-‐causes-‐concern_65.jpg
The Southern Ocean ● Richly producIve
ecosystem ● Circumpolar Deep
Water
h6p://www.quora.com/Does-‐the-‐concentraIon-‐of-‐dissolved-‐elements-‐vary-‐in-‐different-‐parts-‐of-‐the-‐ocean-‐If-‐so-‐why
Krill -‐ A Keystone Species ● Key indicator of AntarcIc ProducIvity ● 5-‐6 cm ● 85 different species ● Feed on diatoms ● Live 5 -‐ 11 years ● Heavier than water ● Most abundant species on earth
h6p://images.naIonalgeographic.com/wpf/media-‐live/photos/000/006/cache/krill_601_600x450.jpg
Dolphins
Threats to dolphin survival ● Over 95% of dolphin deaths are directly attributable to man-related
causes Captivity
- Life Expectancy of dolphins shortens in captivity - Swimming with dolphins programs have brought more danger to
dolphins because of feeding and breeding areas being invaded by tourists
h6p://ioutdoor.com/nature-‐adventure/swim-‐with-‐the-‐dolphins/ h6p://petchary.wordpress.com/tag/dolphin/
Chemical Pollution - Pollution manifests in illness and high infant
mortality rates 24-44% - Impact increases because of biomagnification
h6ps://www.causes.com/causes/657575-‐chemical-‐water-‐polluIon-‐how-‐it-‐destroys-‐our-‐ environment/updates/594692-‐atlanIc-‐ocean
h6ps://www.nwf.org/What-‐We-‐Do/Protect-‐Habitat/Gulf-‐RestoraIon/Oil-‐Spill/Effects-‐ on-‐Wildlife/Mammals.aspx
Noise Pollution
- Oil drilling, navigational sonars, and ship engines
- Streams of underwater noise that
can frighten, disorient or even injured dolphins
h6p://izismile.com/tags/fish/page/2/
Dolphins ● Dolphins are super intelligent
● great impact on ecosystem health
● mainly preyed on by sharks
● Are threatened by human activities: - Captivity - Ocean Pollution - Noise Pollution - Bycatch
● many organizations are fighting to protect
dolphins
• Tropical Marine Ecosystems include mangrove, seagrass, and coral reefs under acute risk due to human acIviIes.
h6p://www.uq.edu.au/study/course.html?course_code=BIOL3023
h6p://ocw.unu.edu/internaIonal-‐network-‐on-‐water-‐environment-‐and-‐health/unu-‐inweh-‐course-‐1-‐mangroves/ Importance-‐of-‐mangroves.pdf
Mangrove Habitat
Mangrove World Distribu5on
~ 1 million hectares lost every year worldwide-‐ irreversible
Shrimp Farming: Asia
Mangrove restoraIon
Benefits • Roots • Water clarity, filter • Shelter • Food
Seagrass
• High Biodiversity
• Variety of visitors and permanent residents
• PotenIal to combat climate change (BURY CARBON)
Seagrass
Food web 1. Grazers eat leaves Manatees and turtles
2. Decomposers eat decayed leaves -‐worms, urchins, sponges
3. Living and dead grass washed to deeper ocean
Seagrass
Threats • 30% die off in last century • Run off causes algal blooms – blocks sunlight • Prop scars • Fishing methods
What is being done? ★ Water improvement → natural regrowth ★ Transplants ○ Labor intensive
★ Seeding
Coral Reefs
CORALS
• Phylum Cnidaria • polyps • calcareous skeletons • Symbiotic algae
• High biodiversity- rainforests of the ocean
h6p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyp
Coral As a Habitat
SecIon of House Reef in the Phillippines, Photo Credit: David Burdick
o High biodiversity
o Shelter, sources of food
o nurseries
Economic Value of Reefs
• contribute $70-‐357 billion US dollars to global economy: -‐Fishing -‐Tourism -‐Medicine
• buffer against wave acIon. • half a billion people have dependency on reefs.
• !!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DestrucIon from Human
AcIvity
• Rapid decline of reefs worldwide
• Causes 1. Climate Change 2. Temperature Increase 3. Sedimentation 4. Coral Bleaching 5. Pollution from land 6. Fishing practices 7. Ocean Acidification
h6p://www.oceanwideimages.com/ categories.asp?cID=605
• Coral reef restoraIon • RegulaIons • Deep reefs-‐ refugia • MARINE PROTECTED AREAS-‐-‐
• InternaIonal Goals-‐ • 5th World Parks Congress (WPC) addiIonally recommended 20-‐30% of all
marine habitats across the global come under protecIon by 2012 • 10-‐30%
Invasive species, Threatened species, ExIncIons
Invasive species
The introduction of non-native species to an ecosystem which may cause or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm, or harm to human health. Intentional Unintentional
http://www.oceanhealthindex.org/Components/Alien_Species���
Impacts
• Ecological
• Human Health
• Economic
http://www.nrc.govt.nz/upload/12756/Mussel.gif
http://stateofthecoast.noaa.gov/invasives/ maunaluabay.jpg
http://www.marinephotobank.org/images/photos/ IMG_1074.JPG
Florida examples
• Lionfish • 1992-‐ aquarium release • Australian Pine Australia, South Pacific Islands, Southeast
Asia / Late 19th century; Landscaping
Research/Prevention
Ballast Water NOAA Programs • Expands and coordinates prevenIon, early detecIon, rapid
response, control, and monitoring programs naIonwide.
• Expands and supports research and monitoring efforts that invesIgate the impacts of aquaIc invasive species (AIS) on ecosystems and socioeconomics.
• Assist regions and states by providing technical support and best management pracIces regarding the prevenIon and spread of invasive species.
http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/benviron/water/
quality/surfwq/graphics/boatramp.jpg
THREATENED &ENDANGERED SPECIES
Endangered: at the brink of extinction NOW Threatened: likely to be at the brink of extinction in the near future Impact of invasive species?
EPA- Environmental Protection Agency set standards, monitors, enforces environmental activities Endangered Species Act (1973- Nixon) To halt and reverse the trend toward species exIncIon, whatever the cost. Administered by NOAA: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Management of fisheries, coastal restoration, marine commerce AND US FISH AND WILDLIFE Service
• Sharks
• Whales
• Dolphins
• Commerical fish-‐ commerical exIncIon
• Mangroves
• Corals
The Sixth Great ExIncIon
The Problem & The Cause -‐ScienIst have studied the fossil record and shown that we are now facing the 6th Great ExIncIon in Earth history.
-‐The difference: It is enIrely human caused
Due to...
1. OverpopulaIon 2. Habitat DestrucIon 3. Climate Change 4. PolluIon 5. Invasive Species 6. OverexploitaIon 7. Disease
Anthropocene! • DefiniIon: human acIvity
has been been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.
• “[It] will be another strong reminder to the general public that we are now having undeniable impacts on the environment at the scale of the planet as a whole, so much so that a new geological epoch has begun.”
High ExIncIon Rates • -‐ 9 vertebrate species were
expected to be exInct since 1900, about 400 more have become exInct
• Human driven decline of 25% in all species in past 500 years
• -‐ Current exIncIon rates are 100 Imes higher than normal
h6p://www.earthintransiIon.org/wp-‐content/uploads/ 2011/11/ExIncIonAndPopulaIon_350p.jpg
Will we survive?
The Previous 5 Great Mass ExIncIons
Peter Ward-‐ Under a Green Sky
• Only the K-‐T ex5nc5on 65 million years ago was asteroid impact;
• the others were due to climate change and rapid global warming from
• Methane (natural gas) which is 20x more warming than carbon dioxide
• Carbon dioxide from volcanic erupIons • An anoxic bo6om layer of the ocean that spewed out bubbles of poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas, killing most life in the sea and on land
The last hours….
