The topic of global warming has been an increasingly debated one over the past several decades. Despite scientific evidence that the causes of global warming are human related, there are still people out there who are skeptical.
This week I read about natural resource depletion and it effects on people and the environment, as well as, theories of the extinction of the population of Easter Island in the southeast corner of the Polynesian triangle. According to the Easter Island theory, the cause of the sudden decline in population was due to the depletion of natural resources. In my second reading, there was evidence of natural resource depletion greatly effecting the world's population and climate.
I believe that global warming is closely related to the effects of natural resource depletion. Despite a tremendous amount of evidence proving the causes of global warming, there are still skeptics. One of their arguments against global warming is that our world's most reliable temperature data show no signs of a global warming trend. According to the American Policy Roundtable's website they feel that, "satellite readings of temperatures in the lower troposphere (an area scientists predict would immediately reflect any global warming) show no warming since readings began 23 years ago. These readings are accurate to within 0.01 degrees C, and are consistent with data from weather balloons. Only land-based temperature stations show a warming trend, and these stations do not cover the entire globe, are often contaminated by heat generated by nearby urban development, and are subject to human error" (American Policy Roundtable, 2007).
It may be true that these temperature gauges show no sign of global warming, but in my opinion, there is an overwhelming amount of evidence in other areas of the world that can prove that global warming is a direct effect of natural resource depletion. These issues need to be addressed quickly so that future generations do not suffer the consequences of current human behavior.
Hi, Jamie;
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting outside source that you have found. Your blog is organized and centers around a strong thesis statement. I think your argument may be enhanced by better description of the two readings; drawing upon them to prove your point. Could you tell me a little bit more about how you think resource depletion and global warming are interrelated? Thanks!
Hi Dr. Armstrong,
DeleteHere is some additional information from this week's readings to help support my point. According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment research there was proof that between the years 1960 - 2000 the world population doubled to 6 billion people, causing the demand for ecosystem services (natural resources) to grow significantly. Population can grow exponentially, yet the earth's resources can only last us so long and the more people we have in this world the faster our resources will run out. More evidence linking resource depletion and global warming is the fact that our world is becoming less diverse as far as species. We are losing that diversity due to ecosystem changes and according to the MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) most ecosystem changes were the direct or indirect result of changes made to meet growing demand for ecosystem services, in particular food, water, timber, fiber, and fuel.
I believe that what those explorers found at Easter Island over the years it was visited is further proof to show that population increase and natural resource depletion go hand in hand, as well as, global warming due to resource depletion. For instance, when an ecosystem changes it causes species that live in that environment to either die off due to those changes or adapt; and most species can not adapt quickly to rapid ecosystem changes, therefore causing either that local species population to die out or total extinction of that species. Which in then leads to global warming because of all of these ecosystem changes occurring over long periods of time.
I hope that this helped clear up some of what I was trying to say. Sometimes I know exactly what I am talking about, but am unable to voice it either verbally or in writing.
Thanks,
Jamie Hathorn
Great! Thanks Jamie for the extra work!
DeleteHi Jamie. Congrats on the first blog. I agree with your overall argument that natural resource depletion is in effect causing major environmental problems and global warming; however could you provide some data to support your argument that there is a tremendous amount of research supporting global warming and natural resource depletion? Also, you conclude that something must be done urgently - how do you believe is the most efficient and effective means of addressing the current environmental issues? Can you support it with the Millenium Report? Look forward to blogging with you.
ReplyDeleteHi Brittney,
DeleteJust a few examples of data to support my argument come from the MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) itself. One example is that the consumption of ecosystem services is expected to grow while the population continues to grow. The more people there are, the less resources to help sustain us. One direct driver of ecosystem change is climate change. I believe that climate change combined with other ecological changes (biodiversity loss, land degradation, etc.) are important contributors to global warming and the fact that the population has been rapidly increasing over the last century, it is only going to cause further problems. With population and demand for resources increasing, our small, slow steps to help reverse depletion or to figure out a way to renew these resources is not going to be fast enough. I think that within our lifetime, our demands will soon outgrow our available resources.
I believe that the steps we need to take to actually make a difference is to input some form of policy to lawfully make people/businesses/corporations become sustainable. I know that in my career choice, we are extremely unsustainable in the amount of paper we use. Contracts, drawings, documents all have to be tangible and have multiple copies. Some companies/people see the idea of going all digital as impossible. Just by making people recycle and use less energy alone could make a big difference, but then you run into the problem of having people out there who are going to reside over these companies to ensure that they are following the law. We need to come up with some form of system to make this happen and soon. Thanks for the comments!
Hello Jamie,
ReplyDeleteYour argument is that global warming is caused by resource depletion, yet that only evidence that you state is stating that global warming is in fact not occurring. This is very confusing. You state more than once that there is an "overwhelming amount of evidence" that global warming is happening, but do not back it up. Also, I would stay away from using the phrase "in my opinion". Your source is very interesting though! I had not heard about that.
Hi Josh,
DeleteSorry for the confusion. When I look back on what I wrote, I do notice my lack of evidence. To clear that up, here are a few examples of my evidence. The fact that population growth and resource demand have grown exponentially over the past century according the the MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment). The structure and functioning of the world's ecosystems changed more rapidly in the second half of the twentieth century than at any other time in human history. What happened to the people on Easter Island is another example of what is to come if we don't figure out a way to sustain or renew our resources. I hope this helped clear up some of your questions.