Environment Affecting Humans

1.Human Health at Risk 2.A Lack of Forests 3.Climate Change 4.Water, Water, Everywhere?!

Human Health at Risk Greenhouse Effect Smog

Smog in Hangzhou, China

Human Health at Risk

A Lack of Forests Road washouts Erosion of farmlands Watershed Foods Medicines

A Lack of Forests

Food in the Rainforests At least 80% of the developed world's diet originated in the tropical rainforest. Its bountiful gifts to the world include fruits like avocados, coconuts, figs, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, bananas, guavas, pineapples, mangos and tomatoes; vegetables including corn, potatoes, rice, winter squash and yams; spices like black pepper, cayenne, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, sugar cane, tumeric, coffee and vanilla and nuts including Brazil nuts and cashews.

Medicine in the Rainforest As the rainforest species disappear, so do many possible cures for life-threatening diseases. Currently, 121 prescription drugs sold worldwide come from plant-derived sources. While 25% of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, less that 1% of these tropical trees and plants have been tested by scientists.

Medicine in the Rainforest

Climate Change 1. Increased warming 2. Differing regional impacts 3. Vulnerable ecosystems 4. Widespread water concerns 5. Secure food supply 6. Near-term increase in forest growth 7. Increased damage in coastal and permafrost areas 8. Adaptation determines health outcomes 9. Other stresses magnified by climate change 10. Uncertainties remain and surprises are expected

Climate Change

Greenland’s Melting Ice, 1992 & 2002

Florida Peninsula, 2006

Florida Peninsula, under water?!

Mount Kilimanjaro, 1970 & 2000

Mount Kilimanjaro, 2005

Boulder Glacier, 1932 & 1988

Glacier AX010, 1978

Glacier AX010, 2004

Contributions to Global Warming

The Day After Tomorrow

Climate Change is Real As preparations for filming of The Day After Tomorrow accelerated through 2002, unusual weather patterns added a sense of urgency to the project. "With the floods in Europe and the breaking of that ice shelf in Antarctica, I realized we had to hurry up or otherwise we're making a documentary," film-maker Roland Emmerich said. NY Times, Sunday May NASA and NSIDC

Is rapid climate change possible? “Yes. At the end of the last glacial period (10,000 years ago), the Younger Dryas event was a very sharp transition around the North Atlantic from warm conditions at the end of the last glacial period back to cold conditions which lasted about 1000 years before switching back to warm conditions. Scientists think that this was caused by the last major ice sheet in North America collapsing and putting a lot of fresh water into the North Atlantic. This may have caused the North Atlantic "overturning" to slow down, reducing the amount of heat transported toward the pole.”

Is rapid climate change possible? “Temperature and salinity differences in the world's oceans work together to create what is known as thermohaline circulation. This circulation pattern, illustrated in the figure, acts as a "conveyor belt," slowly overturning the oceans. The strength of the thermohaline circulation is strongly determined by the sinking of the waters associated with the Gulf Stream. This releases vast amounts of heat to the atmosphere, keeping Europe warm.”

Is rapid climate change possible?

Is the movie real?! “While aspects of the movie have a distant basis in fact and real theories of climate change, the film greatly compresses and exaggerates events. Scenarios that take place over a few days or weeks in the movie would actually require centuries to occur. Nevertheless, climate change is real, and is having an effect on Earth’s ice and oceans. Not tomorrow, or the day after, but today.”

Water, Water, Everywhere?! Water scarcity occurs when the amount of water withdrawn from lakes, rivers or groundwater is so great that water supplies are no longer adequate to satisfy all human or ecosystem requirements, bringing about increased competition among potential demands. Scarcity is likely to occur sooner in regions where the per capita availability of water is low to start with, and with high population growth. It becomes more serious if demand per capita is growing owing to changes in consumption patterns.