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The Global Environment Hurricane Mitch Flooding from Hurricane Mitch Climographs Armenian earthquake, 1988 Global wind sytems Horse latitudes Little Ice Age, appx. 1300-1850 Little Ice Age “Hunters in the Snow” – Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1565 Increase in greenhouse gases Global Warming US EPA estimates of impacts of global warming: temperature rise, sea level rise, disease Model predictions indicate that a 3° C global temperature rise by 2100 could increase the number of annual malaria cases by 50-80 million (not considering factors such as local control measures or health services) (Martens et al., 1995). The largest changes will occur in areas adjacent to current risk areas, at both higher altitudes and latitudes. In these regions, a temperature increase can convert areas that are malaria-free into areas that experience seasonal epidemics. In many cases, the affected populations will have little or no immunity, so that epidemics could be characterized by high levels of sickness and death. – from Union of Concerned Scientists, http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science/early-warning-signs-of-global-warming-spreading-disease.html Fossil fuels deforestation Biomes Biomes Tropical rain forest mangroves Shrimp farm at mangrove forest Savanna Sahara Desert Temperate forests Evergreen – northwest US, western Canada Deciduous – eastern US, Europe and Asia Boreal forest tundra Tree line Green Revolution: 1944- Genetically engineered corn has become very popular among American farmers. About 20 percent of last year's crop was of the modified variety, which exudes a toxin in the leaves and pollen that kills caterpillars and other pests that attack the plant above ground Green Revolution pro and cons: •More food, but: •Less biodiversity/varieties of crop plants •High pesticide and fertilizer use: costly and harmful to the environment •Increased corporate dependence (for hyv seeds and other inputs), expense for farmers •Encourages large-scale, industrial farming at expense of small-scale subsistence
