What purpose do we as humans truly serve? Are we innovators? Are we the Earth’s caregivers? Or are we merely parasitic beings, who serve no purpose other than tampering with the natural processes of our Great Earth?
While the answers to such a complex question may vary extensively, by the end of this article, I’m sure what you thought you knew about the state of our planet will be in question.
Considering the current welfare of our once flourishing environmental system and economy, humans could easily be dubbed as serving no greater purpose than extending lineage, manifesting a series of evolving traits and attributes from one generation to the next.
In actuality, however, there’s a possibility that the soils of our Earth never meant to serve as footprint space for the human race. Throughout our history of energy use, humans have only contributed to the destruction and plaguing of a host of our world’s ecosystems. The health of global habitats is plummeting at our dispense.
To get a sense of the severity of such momentum, let’s take a concise look at the true science behind global warming or climate change, as a result of human interaction with the planet.
According to geography Professor Robert Wilson of Syracuse University, since 1800, we have lived in the age of fossil fuels (peat, coal, and natural gases) and the adoption of such principles has been one of the most important developments for the salvation and flourishing of mankind in the history of our species. Fossil fuels have paved the way for a rapid growth in the human population as well as the successful development of cities.
Fossil fuels seem like a good thing, right? Well, only not so much. See, the rapid transition into an era of fossil fuel use has had detrimental consequences: pollution. The development of cities has resulted in extreme levels of air pollution, which have impacted our rivers, lakes, and eventually our oceans. Our oceans control the cyclical nature of the world’s health and stability.
Let’s take a look at a term scientists refer to as “The Greenhouse Effect.” This is, perhaps, the root of global warming. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a U.S. agency geared towards environmental research, concludes that, “The greenhouse effect is an increase in the average temperature of the Earth.” The gases in our atmosphere play a significant role in controlling the temperature of our atmosphere, and further, of our earth’s surface.
Sunlight, in the form of energy, is absorbed almost entirely by land and water, however, the remaining fraction of this energy is reflected back into the atmosphere. When the surface of the earth warms, it reflects a different type of energy, known as infrared radiation. As this energy travels back towards outer space to escape Earth’s atmosphere, the abundance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere capture this energy, re-emitting it in all directions, ultimately warming the surface. While a percentage of the fossil fuels in use are necessary for human salvation and growth, too many are detrimental.
Scientists and environmentalists report that the impacts of climate change are pervasive and significant. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), described by the World Resources Institute as, “…the world’s foremost collection of climate scientists,” has provided us with the threshold for danger: 2° Celsius. What this means is that the international community has agreed upon a global temperature rise of 2°C above pre-industrial levels as being the guard rail for a dangerous climate catastrophe.
But, there’s one problem; the 2°C threshold is almost unobtainable. Our earth has gained entirely too much momentum within its climate change system due to excessive greenhouse gas emissions.
Now that scientists have concluded that maintaining the 2°C threshold is no longer in reach, they have presented theories about what we could begin to expect as we surpass that cap. Professor Robert Wilson continues that at a 4°C global temperature increase, the Earth will experience the highest temperatures it has seen in the past 30 million years. We can expect sea levels to rise between three and six feet, drought in over 40 percent of currently inhabited land, potentially hundreds of millions of refugees, and the threatened extinction of half of all known species.
Kevin Anderson, professor of energy and climate and the director of the Tyndall Energy Program stated, “a 4-degree C future is incompatible with an organized global community.”
The TED Talk below, Climate Change is Simple, presented by David Roberts, provides further insight into what the state of our planet might be if our human footprint were to continue to result in a global temperature rise of 4°, 6°, or maybe even 12°C.
If humans were to suddenly disappear from Earth tomorrow, our world would be revitalized, replenished, and nourished. Our Earth and its abundance of natural processes can survive without us; we cannot survive without them.
It is certain that our current course of action will result in global catastrophe. What is not certain is what we as a global community will do to reverse the sequence of events that has caused such rapid momentum to form. As we ignore our Earth's pleas for help, we create a world that is only suitable for our species, disregarding the health of our remaining environmental counterparts. But without a world to exist in, we cease to exist.
What does our world mean to you?
