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Energy Use and Environmental Impact
Published in B K Bala, Energy Systems Modeling and Policy Analysis, 2022
Two processes could contribute to sea-level rise: the thermal expansion of the oceans and the melting of polar ice caps, snow cover and glaciers. Many coastal communities, particularly those in large alluvial flood plains and low-lying islands, are particularly vulnerable. Low-lying cities and crop lands may be partially submerged or subject to more frequent flooding by tides and storms, and highly productive coastal ecosystems that humans depend on, particularly estuaries, may suffer a loss in productivity. This loss in productivity is due both to increasing salinity in surface and ground water and to increasing water levels. Furthermore, as highly reflective polar and glacial ice and snow melt to expose less reflective earth or open sea water, the earth becomes a better absorber of solar radiation. This may further increase the rate at which global temperatures rise. Similarly, as the artic tundra warms, methane could be released from methane hydrates and contribute to further warming.
Environmental literacy for the sustainable designer
Published in Rob Fleming, Saglinda H Roberts, Sustainable Design for the Built Environment, 2019
Rob Fleming, Saglinda H Roberts
All of these ecosystem services interact in complex, interdependent systems which create the conditions for life. If one of the elements like water, for example, is compromised, the entire ecosystem is threatened. For example, as global temperatures continue to rise, the polar ice caps melt. Less ice means that polar bears need to travel farther for food expending more energy in the process, leading to less body fat to sustain successful pregnancies, ending up in an overall decrease in polar bear population (Derocher et al. 2018, p. 163). This doesn’t sound like a huge problem, until you look at the balancing effect polar bears have on the seal population. By eating seals, polar bears help to keep the seal population down, meaning they eat less fish, leaving more fish for human consumption. From the really big picture, species go extinct all the time. The disappearance of the polar bear may allow for a new species to emerge, or they may adapt by moving further south, which would then have an effect on the balance of another ecosystem.
Drinking Water Supplies
Published in Frank R. Spellman, The Drinking Water Handbook, 2017
Approximately 326 million cubic miles of water comprise Earth’s entire water supply. Although it provides us indirectly with freshwater through evaporation from the oceans, only about 3% of this massive amount of water is fresh, and most of that minute percentage of freshwater is locked up in polar ice caps and glaciers. The rest is held in lakes, in flows through soil, and in river and stream systems. Only 0.027% of Earth’s freshwater is available for human consumption (see Table 4.1 for theDID YOU KNOW?Of all the freshwater on Earth, only about 0.3% is contained in rivers and lakes. Not only are rivers and lakes the water we are most familiar with, but they are also where most of the water we use in our everyday lives exists.
Nuclear Energy, Environment and Public Safety: North-South Politics
Published in Strategic Planning for Energy and the Environment, 2019
The levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) have been increasing and 2010 became the hottest year on record [5]. This was soon eclipsed by 2014 and again by 2015. Increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have devastating impacts on both the world's environment and its economy. The increase in global temperatures has caused environmental degradation leading to rising sea levels, increased pressures on wildlife and accelerated melting of the polar ice caps. At the rate global population is increasing, it is estimated that by 2050 there will be over 9 billion people living on the planet. This will cause demand for freshwater resources and agricultural goods to increase, thus challenging the Earth's capacity to fulfill such a huge demand [5]. To sustain Earth's life forms for the next few centuries, we need to use sustainable methods of development, those that are economically-viable and environmentally friendly. One possible alternative is to develop clean sources of energy that are sustainable and eco-friendly, as opposed to conventional carbon-based energy sources.