Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
COLLISION OF SOCIETY AND ECONOMY WITH
THE ENVIRONMENT
The environment
Ultimately, the environment supports all life on Earth and the activities associated with it.
In the last two centuries, domination of energy sources combined with scientific discoveries
and engineering developments have changed the shape of the planet's landscape, created
economic prosperity, and expanded human population to newer heights. Unfortunately, the
development of the society and the economy in place today has been based on the use on
nonrenewable energy and feedstocks and the overexploitation of renewable resources that will
be depleted sooner than later.
A consequence of this development has been the loss of terrestrial ecosystems, loss of
biodiversity, alteration of natural biogeochemical cycles, ozone depletion, increase of carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere, and the potential threat of climate change.
In this three-party joint venture involving the environment, society, and the economy, the
environment contributes the principal, consisting of natural capital and fossil fuels. The other
two partners provide labor and ingenuity, but unfortunately they have created a system that ate
the principal instead trying to live on the interest; and that is the reason why we talking today
about creating a sustainable economic system that is in harmony with the environment and
with fair social benefits for everyone.
Climate change
Several pieces of evidence indicate that the climate may be changing. The most significant
facts are the rising of sea levels, the rising global temperatures, warming oceans, shrinking of
ice sheets, declining Artic sea ice, retreating glaciers, acidifying of the oceans, and extreme
weather events:
The global sea level has risen 0.17 m in the last 100 years (Church and White, 2006).
Global temperatures have shown an increase of 0.8°C since recordings started in 1880
(Voiland, 2010).
The top layer of the oceans has warmed 0.167°C (0.302°F) since 1969 (Levitus et al.,
2009).
The thickness and extent of the Artic sea ice have declined over the last few decades
(Polyak et al., 2009).
Many glaciers are receding in all continents of the world (National Snow and Ice Data
Center [NSIDC], n.d.).
Acidity of oceans is increasing as a result of the absorption of carbon dioxide from the
burning of fossil fuels (Sabine et al., 2004).
Extreme weather events, indicated by the Climate Extreme Index, which is in aggregate
of  many weather indicators, indicate that since the early 1970s extreme conditions in
U.S. weather have increased (Gleason et al., 2008).
The political aspects of climate change
The relationship between increasing carbon dioxide emissions and climate change has become
such a politicized issue and this discussion will not delve into it. However, it is important to
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