Anthropocene - the new era

what is the era of anthropocene

when the effects of man are so severe that we have entered a new geological state

in the coming centuries it has been predicted that what percentage of species will become extinct

75%

when do some people think that the anthropocene era began

in 1712 with the invention of the steam engine

what are consumtables

resources that cannot be renewed and can be fully used up

in how many years do we believe oil will be completely used up

50

how long until our finite resources will be used up

in a couple of generations time

what might happen before we get to the point of running out of resources

the earth might not be able to sustain itself for that long due to climate change and all the fossil fuels that have already been burnt up in the atmosphere

what happens when there is a lot of methane and carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere

the heat and energy from the sun stays in the atmosphere for longer which heats it up

what is the current state of the carbon in earth’s atmosphere

there is more carbon now than in the last million years

when has climate change been beneficial for humans

the warming of the planet ended the Ice Age

what was the Holocene

when the earth warmed up so farming could be possible and stable civilisations could be formed

what did the melting of the ice sheets allow for

native american populations to move from asia into america

how much does the temperature of the earth tend to fluctuate over millions of years

as much as 14 degrees warmer and 6 degrees cooler

what happened during the medieval warming period

vikings could settle in greenland

what 2 things happened during the little ice age

the dutch experienced their golden age

the dutch developed sophisticated trade routes

why was an organic economy very vulnerable to climate change

they had to rely on the climate for their crops to grow

give an example of the climate significantly impacting a complex civilisation

the maya people disappeared because of a supposed drought during a warming period

what did historian Geoffrey Parker say about climate change and global conflicts

when the climate fluctuates it is more likely to cause global conflicts and events

why is the risk of societal breakdown higher today even though we have stable food sources

the power of nuclear energy

how many warheads are in the world now

16,000

what have fossil fuels done for the economy

given us a sustained economic growth

what do many experts believe we need to do in order to save the environment

go back to a modernised version of organic society

what is a modernised version of organic society

using powers such as wind and solar rather than relying on power from external sources (fossil fuesl)

nowadays what percentage of power is made from renewable sources

30%

what changes could everyday people make that would help revert back to organic society

eating less meat and having a mostly vegetable diet

why might we not be able to sustain our economic growth

we will run out of resources

what is an example of trying to protect the environment but being limited by the modern necesities of now

you can double petrol to stop people from using their cars but they will revolt

what is an entirely different perspective some people have about climate change

that it does not exist

since the revoltution was not equally distributed what does that mean for climate change

developing countries who did not have the chance in the past to use fossil fuels for economic growth are doing so now and will not stop as the western world was able to do the same thing years before

what is considered the period of modernity

1712-2050

in what 3 areas has the revolution in development been beneficial for humans

improved peoples life expectancy, quality of life and wealth

when has the revolution not been beneficial for humans

it has created environmental problems