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A SICK PLANET
SYMPTOMS
• Global climate change• Rising average
temperatures• Rising sea level• Melting polar ice• Warming oceans• Rising use of fossil
fuels: appetite for oil increasing
SYMPTOMS
• Loss of two billion tons of topsoil each year due to wind and water erosion
• Washing into mouths of rivers causing “dead zones”
SYMPTOMS
• Polluted water and air
• Synthetic (man-made) chemicals ending up in atmosphere and hydrosphere
SYMPTOMS
• Diminishing biodiversity
• Worldwide habitat destruction
• Ecosystems in danger• Colony-Collapse
Disorder
SYMPTOMS
• Destruction of tropical rain forests and marine ecosystems
• More forest fires in the temperate zone
SYMPTOMS
• Destruction of world’s coral reefs
• Bleaching of polyps due to increased solar radiation & warmer water
• Killed when fishermen use explosives & cyanide to kill fish
SYMPTOMS• Amphibians on the
decline; more deformities• Frogs, toads,
salamanders disappearing world-wide
• In danger now:12% of 10,000 bird species
24% of 4,763 mammal species
30% of 25,000 fish species
SYMPTOMS
• Collapse of most of the worlds oceanic fisheries
• Populations of tuna, groupers and cod are plummeting.
• “We are spending our savings of ocean food resources.”
SYMPTOMS• Four in ten species of freshwater fish in N. America are in danger.
•457 species are in trouble or already extinct.
• These are “silent extinctions.”
SYMPTOMS
• Holes in the earth’s ozone layer
• Stratospheric ozone filters out harmful UV rays.
• On the mend due to phasing out of CFCs; repaired by 2050?
SYMPTOMS
• Disappearing wetlands• Being drained for
agriculture, dams and development
• 50% destroyed in past century
SYMPTOMS
• Extreme water shortages and shrinking water tables
• Rivers run dry before they get to the sea:
Rio Grande ran dry at its mouth last year.
SYMPTOMS
• More destructive storms due to rising temperatures
• Hurricanes more frequent & violent
• Frequency of severe storms also increasing
• Tornadoes out-of-season
SYMPTOMS
• Deteriorating range lands
• Support world’s 3.3 billion cattle, sheep and goats
• Half of grasslands moderately degraded
SYMPTOMS
• Disappearing species• Have had five great
extinctions so far• Now in early stages of
6th• Loss of species is
weakening the web of life.
DIAGNOSIS
People-itis!
PEOPLE-ITIS
• Currently 6.7 billion people on the planet
• Adding 73 million per year (net increase)
• 1.1 billion are undernourished
• India alone adds 21 million per year - another Australia!
PEOPLE-ITIS
• Each time your heart beats once, three new hearts begin to beat for the first time!
• Stop at two!
WARNING
• Q: Why didn’t scientists warn us?
• A: They did. Many times. We ignored their warnings.
What Should We Do?
• Take better care of the earth.
• Use all forms of energy more efficiently.
• Use more energy from the sun:– Wind– Hydrogen– Water
• Stop at two kids.
What Shouldn’t We Do?
• Waste any more time• Wish upon a star*
*Disney’s First Law
Wishing will not make it so!
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