AMSCO 9.3 Technology and the Environment Notes

📍Topic 9.3 Technology and the Environment

 📖 AMSCO p.649 - p.656

Main Idea

Key Timeline

Image Courtesy of Samhitha

Things to Know

Causes of Environmental Change

• Population Growth:
  • Population growth led to increased demand for croplands, causing deforestation, soil erosion, and species habitat reduction.
  • The need to feed the growing population resulted in overfishing, leading to the near disappearance of cod.
  • While fresh water is a renewable resource, growing populations escalate its consumption.
• Urbanization:
  • Urbanization pressures food growers to employ intensive farming methods, depleting soil and causing erosion, or clear more forests for agriculture.
  • The increasing size and number of cities, with an estimated 5.1 billion people living in cities by 2025, contribute to environmental changes.
• Industrialization:
  • Industrialization in developing nations creates a new middle class, boosting the market for products like cars that require metals and contribute to pollution.

Effects of Environmental Changes

• Resource Depletion:
  • Since the mid-1800s, petroleum extraction has depleted about half of Earth's finite resources.
    • Rapid urban and industrial growth may lead to the depletion of the remaining half within 30 to 40 years.
  • UN reports 31 countries facing water scarcity, with over 1 billion people lacking clean, accessible drinking water.
    • World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that by 2025, half of the world's population may lack clean and safe drinking water.
  • Concerns about unsustainable fossil fuel demands lead to investments in renewable energy sources.
  • Renewable energy currently provides about 7% of the world's energy needs.
    • A 2018 study predicts that by 2050, half of the world's electricity will come from wind and solar power.
• Environmental Awareness:
  • In 1968, the "Club of Rome" forms to address global challenges, highlighting concerns about resource depletion limiting economic growth.
  • Green Parties and movements, like the Green Belt Movement, emerge to protect wilderness areas from urban growth.
    • By the 21st century, the Green Belt Movement plants over 51 million trees in Kenya, contributing to ecosystem preservation, reduced greenhouse gases, job creation, and improved soil quality.

Debates About Global Warming

• Scientists, including the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), attribute global warming to carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels.
• Experts call for reducing countries' carbon footprints to address global warming.
• Some in the energy industry resist government interference, relying on market forces for carbon footprint reduction, while other energy leaders plan a shift to renewable fuel sources.
• Kyoto Protocol (1997):
  • Major agreement to reduce carbon emissions and developed nations push for developing countries' cooperation.
• Paris Agreement (2015):
  • Signed by 195 countries, with support from US and China and aim for global progress against global warming.
  • In 2017, President Trump announced the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.
• Climate Activism:
  • Greta Thunberg's Speech: Thunberg, a 15-year-old climate activist, calls for action at a UN climate conference in 2018.
  • Extinction Rebellion: Formed in 2018, the group engages in civil disobedience, blocking bridges, and chaining to company headquarters.
    • Their actions led to the establishment of a citizens' assembly by Members of Parliament to address the climate emergency.

A New Age?

• Holocene Epoch:
  • Our current geological time period has been referenced as the Holocene epoch.
  • The Holocene began approximately 11,700 years ago, marking the end of the last significant ice age.
• Anthropocene Proposal:
  • In 2019, a panel of scientists voted to approve the term "Anthropocene" to describe the present geological time period.
  • "Anthropocene" signifies the era of "new man," emphasizing the profound impact of humans on the entire planet.

Terms to Remember