In Just 60 Years, Neoliberal Capitalism Has Nearly Broken Planet Earth This post first appeared at Common Dreams. Humanity’s rapacious growth and accelerated energy needs over the last generation — particularly fed by an economic system that demands increasing levels of consumption and inputs of natural resources — are fast driving planetary systems towards their breaking point, according to a new pair of related studies. Prepared by researchers at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the first study looks specifically at how “four of nine planetary boundaries have now been crossed as a result of human activity.” “It is difficult to overestimate the scale and speed of change. In a single lifetime humanity has become a geological force at the planetary-scale.” In addition to the four boundaries that have already been crossed, the study looked five other ways in which the planetary systems are under assault by human activity. “I don’t think we’ve broken the planet but we are creating a much more difficult world,” Sarah Cornell, another report author, told Reuters.
Climate change explained in six graphics Scientists: Human activity has pushed Earth beyond four of nine ‘planetary boundaries’ Clmate change: A severe drought plagued a third of Queensland, Australia in 2013. Destabilizing the global environment could make Earth less hospitable for humans. (David Gray/Reuters) At the rate things are going, the Earth in the coming decades could cease to be a “safe operating space” for human beings. That is the conclusion of a new paper published Thursday in the journal Science by 18 researchers trying to gauge the breaking points in the natural world. The paper contends that we have already crossed four “planetary boundaries.” “What the science has shown is that human activities — economic growth, technology, consumption — are destabilizing the global environment,” said Will Steffen, who holds appointments at the Australian National University and the Stockholm Resilience Center and is the lead author of the paper. Forest cover and land system change: Farming, mining and infrastructure projects are consuming the Amazon rainforest. It’s not just a list of F’s.
See Earth’s Temperature Spiral Toward 2°C The steady rise of Earth’s temperature as greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere and trap more and more heat is sending the planet spiraling closer to the point where warming’s catastrophic consequences may be all but assured. That metaphoric spiral has become a literal one in a new graphic drawn up by Ed Hawkins, a climate scientist at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. The animated graphic features a rainbow-colored record of global temperatures spinning outward from the late 19th century to the present as the Earth heats up. Monthly global temperatures from 1850-2016. “The pace of change is immediately obvious, especially over the past few decades,” Hawkins, who has previously worked with Climate Central’s extreme weather attribution team, wrote in an email. The graphic is part of Hawkins’s effort to explore new ways to present global temperature data in a way that clearly telegraphs the warming trend.
Forskare: CIA kan försöka militarisera vädret CIA försöker hitta nya sätt att manipulera vädret för militära ändamål. Det misstänker en klimatforskare som nu slår larm till sina kolleger. ”Det här är inte är hur jag vill att mina skattepengar ska användas”, säger Alan Robock. Forskaren Alan Robock vid Rutgers University i New Jersey hävdar att han för tre år sedan blev kontaktad av två män som sade sig arbeta för CIA. Männen ville veta om det gick att upptäcka om fientliga krafter hade börjat manipulera USA:s väder. – Jag fick ett telefonsamtal från två män som sade att ”vi arbetar som konsulter för CIA och vi skulle vilja veta hur vi skulle märka om något annat land kontrollerade vårt klimat”, sade Alan Robock vid American Association for the Advancement of Sciences årsmöte i San Jose, Kalifornien enligt The Independent. Robock svarade att både satelliter och markbaserad utrustning troligen skulle kunna upptäcka utrustning som placerar partiklar i atmosfären för att reflektera solljuset. Robock kände sig rädd.
UNO Sustainable development Do you know all 17 SDGs? History The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries - developed and developing - in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. The SDGs build on decades of work by countries and the UN, including the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Follow DSDG on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sustdev and on X at @SustDev. Implementation Progress Please, check below information about the SDG Progress Report: SDGs Icons.
Germany warns citizens to avoid using Wi-Fi - Green Living - Environment Its surprise ruling – the most damning made by any government on the fast-growing technology – will shake the industry and British ministers, and vindicates the questions that The Independent on Sunday has been raising over the past four months. And Germany's official radiation protection body also advises its citizens to use landlines instead of mobile phones, and warns of "electrosmog" from a wide range of other everyday products, from baby monitors to electric blankets. The German government's ruling – which contrasts sharply with the unquestioning promotion of the technology by British officials – was made in response to a series of questions by Green members of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament. The Environment Ministry recommended that people should keep their exposure to radiation from Wi-Fi "as low as possible" by choosing "conventional wired connections". It added that it is "actively informing people about possibilities for reducing personal exposure".
National geographic Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments. Geographers explore both the physical properties of Earth’s surface and the human societies spread across it. They also examine how human culture interacts with the natural environment, and the way that locations and places can have an impact on people. Geography seeks to understand where things are found, why they are there, and how they develop and change over time. Ancient Geographers The term "geography" comes to us from the ancient Greeks, who needed a word to describe the writings and maps that were helping them make sense of the world in which they lived. Of course, the Greeks were not the only people interested in geography. Indeed, mapmaking probably came even before writing in many places. During the Middle Ages, geography ceased to be a major academic pursuit in Europe. In addition to the advances in the Middle East, the Chinese empire in Asia also contributed immensely to geography.
These 29 Clever Drawings Will Make You Question Everything Wrong With The World Polish artist Pawel Kuczynski has worked in satirical illustration since 2004, specializing in thought-provoking images that make his audience question their everyday lives. His subjects deal with everything from social media to politics to poverty, and all have a very distinct message if you look closely enough… Even if you don’t agree with the messages behind some of these illustrations, it’s impossible not to appreciate the creativity involved in them. Like this article? Check out Pawel’s website here! H/T: imgur.com Source: