Leaving Our Mark for Life Without People

I believe that people will cease to exist because of extensive warfare and fighting. Centuries from now, I think that humans will ultimately become their own enemy by eventually destroying each other because of disagreement which will finally lead to the complete disappearance of our species.
After humans are gone, the lights will go out because if no one provides fuel for the power plants, then all the electricity will stop. Hoover Dam could operate for a few months or possibly years without humans but it will most likely be the only power plant still running at the time. As a result, 10 days after humans are gone, food will be rotting and there will be a massive die-off of small dogs because they won’t be able to move fast enough to survive. Average sized dogs, however, could survive in the long haul. Rats and mice will raid pantries, homes, and grocery stores but their numbers will start to diminish significantly.
This scenario leads to the colonization of our abandoned neighborhoods by small predators 6 months after people have disappeared. Consequently, nature begins to reclaim the world approximately one year after people and impervious surfaces become overgrown with weeds and other plant life. A layer of topsoil spreads over these surfaces and yards in front of peoples’ homes eventually turn into fields of tall grasses. During this year after people, the lights in Las Vegas shut off and Hoover Dam heads toward failure. The Colorado River also runs dry and fires would run rampant from lightning and the lack of moisture. Chicago, San Francisco, and Rome would all begin to burn.
As a result of this dryness and burning, concrete buildings start to crumble about 20 years after people. Animals therefore make new homes among the decaying walls because some of their habitats have been destroyed by fire. 25 years after people, London and Amsterdam are flooded and destroyed due to the surrounding water. New York high rises similarly start to deteriorate. In the same way, lumber of homes deteriorate 40 years after people.
There are many different effects on the world after people disappear. These effects, however, are heavily influenced by the seasons and temperatures. For example, during the harsh winters in places like Russia, many things will freeze over. Nearly 150 years after people, most structures with frozen connection points will fall over because of the temperature. Between one hundred and three hundred years after people, many huge structures will collapse. The soil siltation around the Empire State Building will cause it to lean and eventually collapse as well. Decay takes over the city of Chicago. All this destruction of buildings affects the animals still alive because it is destroying their habitats and living conditions. The food chain is severely affected in a negative way because many species will become endangered or extinct without suitable ecosystems to keep them alive.
500 years after people will be the era of decay and destruction. Most concrete will be gone because it has air pockets. Nearly 1,000 years after people, water will begin to reclaim areas like Manhattan and nature reestablishes itself. As a result, the trace of humanity will become fainter and fainter. 10,000 years after people, there could potentially be almost no trace of humanity. Giant structures such as the Great Wall of China and Mount Rushmore might last but Hoover Dam will inevitably collapse.
In the end, the time that humans spend on the Earth is only a fraction of the universe’s existence. Therefore, it is difficult to predict what our planet will look like when we are gone. Hopefully our successors will find a way to trace our existence through the barely decipherable ways we left our mark.

The Melting Antarctic

As we learned in class and according to a recent Chicago Tribune article, the glaciers in Antarctica are melting faster and across a much wider area than previously thought. In fact, the melting extends down into an area called West Antarctica. By the end of the century, the article states, the sea levels could climb by 3 to 5 feet which is much higher than what was predicted by a major scientific group just two years ago. In addition, the ice shelves that hold the glaciers back form the sea are also weakening. The head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group set up by the United Nations, told lawmakers on the Environment and Public Words Committee that Earth has about six more years at current rates of carbon dioxide pollution before it is locked into a future of severe global warming. This threatening statistic should be a wake-up call to the world that if we do not turn around our selfish intake of fossil fuels, the world will remain in a downward spiral for the rest of its existence. Therefore, we should all be much more conscience of our daily choices and how they affect the future of our environment.

Save the Trees

A recent article in the Chicago Tribune documents researched Kris Bachtell’s trek through China in order to find hardy, insect resistant ash varieties. During this trek, he collected seeds which will eventually help to develop a hybrid Chinese/North American ash. Bachtell’s mission in China was to find hardy ash trees able to withstand the menacing onslaught of the emerald ash borer which is an invasive species of beetle responsible for the decimation of about 25 million ash trees in North America. So Bachtell collected about 50,000 seeds from five ash species that are rare in North America and he gave many of them to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Plant Germplasm System which is a seed bank accessible to international researchers. The aim is to develop a hybrid ash that can survive the insects’ ravages. I am astounded by the fact that one man’s efforts could potentially alter the future of the natural world. Bachtell’s selfless efforts will hopefully make an impact on the world’s effort to save the trees.

Aggressive Carbon Emission Proposal

The call to combat global warming by using the cap & trade system is potentially one of the most far-reaching elements in the budget blueprint. This plan to reduce carbon emissions from power plants & other industrial facilities aims to cut emissions by 14 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and by 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. I have hope for this plan because President Barack Obama is not willing to negotiate with Congress over the specifics of his global-warming strategy. The plan is to set emissions limits on facilities & tighten those limits yearly to achieve overall goals. As we discussed in class, permits for carbon emissions cost money which simultaneously encourages the companies to reduce their carbon emissions. The best part of the plan, in my opinion, is that the president would allocate $15 billion a year for renewable energy research, starting in 2012. I think this is a vital aspect to reducing carbon emissions because we need to help preserve the Earth for the many generations to come.

Fear of Polar Melt-Off

I came across an article in the Chicago Tribune from March 19, 2009, that discusses how global warming and human activity are speeding up the Antarctic thaw. Just as we have been studying, the article references the fact that Earth is headed toward a thaw which is caused by carbon dioxide pollution in the atmosphere. According to recent research that dealt specifically with the ice sheets that sit atop West Antarctica, world sea levels would raise 16 feet if it all melted. The rise in carbon dioxide levels is driven by the human activity over the past 200 years. Mostly the burning of fossil fuels is causing this unprecedented global warming which is leading to the inevitable melting of West Antarctica. In the last 100 years, according to this article, the average annual temperature of the Earth has risen 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit, but the temperature over Antarctica has risen 4.5 degrees. For the sake of our future generations, we should all take this as a warning to take aggressive action against carbon dioxide pollution in our atmosphere. Evidently, the problem is not getting any better. I believe that the newspapers and other forms of media are of vital importance to the issue because they serve as a means of letting the people know what is going on with our environment today and what actions must be taken.

Australian Drought & Devastation

The morale in Australia is being seriously affected by the decade of drought that has occurred. An April 12, 2009, article in the Chicago Tribune references Frank Eddy, a local Australian whose orchards are drying up. He claims that suicide rates are high, depression is widespread, and families are breaking up. The cause? Global warming, says Eddy. He described one of his neighbors whom he found sitting in his truck a few days before, crying his eyes out because of how desperate the times are. Scientists say that Australia actually “epitomizes the accelerated climate crisis” despite its apparent picture-perfect landscape. Australia’s current situation serves as an early cautionary tale for the rest of the world to start adapting to the inevitable climate change. Paleontologist Tim Flannery claims that Australia’s problems as a result of climate change are going to be greater than for any other developed country. In fact, they are already tearing apart the life-support system. For example, on the hottest day, more than 4,000 gray-headed flying foxes dropped dead out of trees. Evidently, the climate change is affecting all forms of life which consequently affect the entire population. I think that the rest of the world should take Australia’s dire condition as a warning that we must prepare for the worst because severe problems as a result of climate change are right around the corner.

Cars, Cars, & More Cars

It seems that as Americans in today’s world, the most obvious way we can contribute to reducing our carbon footprint is to be more aware of the kind of car we purchase. Personally, I know of so many working adults who drive alone to their jobs. Many teenagers have to drive to school as well, especially if it’s far from their homes. For example, I commute over twenty miles daily to and from school in a car. Obviously, driving is inevitable in our daily lives, so by purchasing more fuel-efficient vehicles, we can help to decrease the amount of carbon in our atmosphere. However, according to Automotive News, hybrid sales in the United States slipped 9.9% in 2008. Last year, hybrid sales made up 2.4% of the total vehicle market. In fact, Ford suffered the greatest decline in hybrid sales which dropped 22.2%. GM, on the other hand, enjoyed a tripling of its sales due to the introduction of the hybrid Escalade, Yukon, & Malibu. Overall, though, hybrids were not as commonly bought as other vehicles. The constant fluctuation of fuel price contributes to this trend as well as the economy. But if the public was constantly reminded of how much our vehicles affect the environment, people would be more aware of their decisions.

Gas-Guzzler Goes Green!

The Cadillac Escalade Hybrid sounds like an oxymoron. An Escalade… that is environmentally friendly? According to a recent article in the Chicago Sun Times, the Cadillac proves hybrids don’t have to compromise luxury and capability in order to be more efficient. As it turns out, though, this hybrid does not perform as well in winter weather which is essential to the average Chicagoan’s needs. Jill Ciminillo, the reporter, claims she had the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid for a full week but she found that it averaged only 15.6 mpg. The EPA estimates that you should get 20 to 21 mpg on the highway. Nonetheless, it is more fuel-efficient than the regular Cadillac Escalade. Under optimal conditions, the Escalade Hybrid improves fuel economy by 50 percent in city driving. In addition, it does not compromise any of the luxury that Cadillac owners expect. From the picture, I can see that “HYBRID” is printed lightly across the bottom of the doors of the vehicle. Whether or not this is how the real model looks, I don’t know, but I think it’s important to advertise hybrid vehicles by actually driving one. The luxurious amenities of the regular Escalade are present in the hybrid as well, such as blind spot monitoring, park assist, and rearview camera which gives an average Escalade buyer no reason not to purchase the hybrid. Although the price tag is nearly $75,000, this car is not meant for the average middle-class family in the first place. Rather, upper middle-class to upper class families will be purchasing these vehicles which most likely means that a few thousand dollars extra is not going to be a problem. Therefore, I commend Cadillac for taking the plunge by transforming such an obvious gas-guzzler into a more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly vehicle.

Economy Over Environment?

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal on February 23, 2009, states that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will determine that carbon-dioxide emissions are dangerous to the public. Consequently, the EPA will propose new rules to regulate emissions of the greenhouse gas from a range of industries. The 2007 Supreme Court ruling is being examined because it requires the agency to determine whether carbon dioxide endangers public health or welfare. The next step after that is a notice of proposed rule-making for new regulations on carbon dioxide emissions. Technically, the government is required, under the Clean Air Act, to make regulations about carbon dioxide emissions because it is dangerous to the public world. However, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers have recently been lobbying the EPA against trying to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act because it would lead to costly new regulations. According to William Kovacs, a chamber vice president, these actions would “completely shut the country down.” Auto emission standards are also being researched. Eventually, the goal is to create a national policy for auto emissions. But with the current state of the economy, some think it is best to hold off in order to prevent crippling the economy. In my opinion, it is absolutely necessary that the EPA takes serious action toward regulating carbon dioxide emissions. In the long run, our economy will inevitably bounce back from its slum, but our environment will not get any better if we do not take action immediately. In fact, the environment will get significantly worse if we continue to increase our carbon emissions worldwide. Therefore, I hope the EPA understands the importance of its decision on the future of the world. Of course our businesses and economy must be taken into account. Ultimately, though, the environment should be our main priority.

The Role of Agriculture

            According to Norman Borlaug, a Nobel laureate and father of the Green Revolution, the world will have to produce more food in the next 50 years than it has in the last 10,000.  The world is fed by organic, sustainable, and commercial types of agriculture.  Some consumers pay a premium for organic agriculture while sustainable agriculture is similarly important because it adheres to practices which are sensitive to the environment.  Finally, commercial agriculture is considered the “backbone” of most rural counties’ economies across the nation.  It also helps to offset the unfavorable balance of international trade.  According to the Chicago Tribune article, “Agriculture’s Next Big Challenge,” the Department of Agriculture should support research into organic and sustainable agriculture because it is vital to realize the importance of the relationship between agriculture and the environment.  Agriculture, in fact, is key if we want to continue to become less dependent on foreign oil by means of converting crops into biofuels and renewable energy.  Americans, however, spend only 10% of their disposable income on food which is the lowest percentage in the world.  Therefore, it is necessary that we develop a better understanding of agriculture based on our larger goals if we want to utilize a long-term food and farm policy that works.  Agriculture has the power to adjust and contribute to improving the environment.  I agree with the authors of this article in that they recognize the role that agriculture plays in our daily lives and the importance and potential it holds to contribute to the solution to our energy crisis.