Society

Radon Gas

• radioactive decay of uranium in soil/rock

• health concerns (basement of homes)

Blue Zones

Areas of high life expectancy

• heart disease/hardness of water

• carcinogenic substances

• Radon gas

Societal Collapse Factors (ECHCR)

1. Environmental Damage

2. Climate Change

3. Hostile neighbors

4. Changes in friendly partners

5. Resistance to change (political/economic/social)

Easter Island

1. Environmental Damage + 5. Resistance to change

Mayan Society

1. Environmental damage, 2. climate change, 3. hostile neighbors, 5. resistance to change

Greenland Norse

ALL 5 FACTORS (ECHCR)

Hispaniola

Haiti: bad

DR: good

US Overall Wellbeing

High along west and northeast coast, low in deep south + appalachia

US Life expectancy

mirrors wellbeing chart

Personal adaptation of environmental expriences

1. We have Historic perspective

2. We see awareness spread

Sustainability

conservation of natural resources for future generations

Challenges for sustainability

• We need to capture and store CO2 which isn’t feasible today.

• Use fewer resources of all kinds (fossil fuels + electricity)

• Better fuel economy and transportation policy

Greenhouse Gases

• Carbon dioxide

• Methane

• Nitrous oxide

• water vapor

Climate Change evidence

• Rising global temperatures

• Rising sea level

• Glacial melting

• Ocean warming and acidification

• Extreme weather events

Geoengineering strategies for mitigating climate change

Carbon Dioxide Removal

• Direct air capture

• Ocean fertilization

• Stratospheric aerosol injection

Annual patterns (atmospheric CO2)

Steady increase due to fossil fuel use

Seasonal Patterns (atmospheric carbon dioxide)

Summer - lower carbon dioxide (photosynthesis)

Winter - higher levels (lower plant activity and decomposition)

Impacts of melting ice sheets

Sea level rise

• Loss of freshwater storage

Distruption of ocean currents

Reduced albedo (reflected light from earth)