HUM_Lecture_BeratBerat Z. Haznedarolu
Grand challenges of humanity
Major driving issues
How did we come here? - Before Anthropocene
• Humans are the first species to be aware of their influence
• Significant human alteration of the biosphere began more than 15,000 years ago as Paleolithic tribes evolved social learning, advanced hunting and foraging technologies, and the use of fire, and used them to open up forested landscapes and kill off megafauna
• The Agricultural Revolution began 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Humans domesticated animals and plants, cleared forests, and discovered fire. Humans did not yet possess the technology or organization to dominate nature above a transitory regional level.
• About 10,000 years ago, written language allowed the “accumulation of knowledge and social learning,” which is described as “an impressive catalytic process”
How did we come here? - Before Anthropocene
• 8000 years ago, with a population of just 10 million or so, humans had already altered as much as a fifth of Earth's ice- free land, primarily by using fire to clear forest
• Small populations had such extensive impacts because early agriculture emphasized labor efficiency
• Human populations increased and expanded for millennia • Vast tracts of pristine forest were converted to semi-natural woodlands
and less productive land into rangeland
• Population growth created ever more intensively transformed anthromes (anthropogenic biomes) by tillage, irrigation, manuring and cropping.
• By 1750, more than half of the terrestrial biosphere had been converted into anthromes, • Permanent record left in soils, sediments and the atmosphere
How did we come here?
Industrial transformation - Anthropocene I
• Rise of industrial systems in the past century has transformed
the majority of the terrestrial biosphere into intensively used
anthromes dominated by novel ecological processes
• The Industrial Era (ca. 1800-1945)
• The widespread use of coal (fossil fuels)
• The expansion of economic society
• Human population expands from about 750 million to about 2.5 billion.
How did we come here? - Anthropocene II
End of WW II
• “This first stage of the Anthropocene ended abruptly around
1945, when the most rapid and pervasive shift in the human-
environment relationship began.”
• The Age of Acceleration starts soon after World War II
(ca. 1945-2015). This historical observation initiates much of
what unfolds in our recent course.
How did we come here?
Holocene
• Current geological epoch (geologic timescale). It began approximately 11,650 years ago, after the last glacial period.
• The Holocene has seen the growth and impacts of the human species worldwide, including all of its written history, development of major civilizations, and overall significant transition toward urban living in the present.
Anthropocene
• Paul Crutzen, who won the Nobel Prize in 1995 for work on the Ozone layer. The Anthropocene refers to "the current epoch in which humans and our societies have become a global geophysical force”.
• The scale of humanity's effect on the earth has risen from the local scale to the global.
Source: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Let’s remember the greenhouse effect…
Sources: Smithsonian Inst.
• Water vapor (H2O)
• Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Global warming potential (GWP) of GHGs
Source: IPCC
Carbon cycle
Nitrogen cycle
Phosphorus cycle
Global change in sea ice level
Source: NASA
Source: NASA
Source: NASA
More on: https://www.globalforestwatch.org/
Future scenarios (GHG emissions)
Source: IPCC
Source: IPCC
© OECD/IEA 2012
heading with potentially
energy system of reduced
What do we do?
• First definition by UN’s Brundtland Commission (1987):
“The ability of humanity to ensure that it meets the needs
of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs”
• Robert Solow (1992): “the ability to preserve productive
capacity for the indefinite future”
• J.W. Tester (2005): “A dynamic harmony between the equitable availability of energy-intensive goods and
services to all people and the preservation of the earth for
future generations”
• Poverty, economic globalization, water and food
insecurity, conflicts, and global diseases (AIDS, etc.)
affect this process
• Viable options are needed in terms of cost and return
benefit in key areas such as energy, agriculture, human
health, infrastructure, and water management.
Adaptation strategies
soil protection against erosion
surveillance
Economical and technological barriers, space issues
Water Water capture and reuse, desalination, better irrigation
Human resources, financial and physical barriers
Mitigation
• Every country wants to improve economy and industrial
growth
advancement, and changes in social preferences (i.e. us)
Mitigation strategies Key area Strategies Constraints
Energy
supply
switching to renewables, CCS
Conflict of interest, economical
appliances, solar panels
Standards and regulations
public transportation and non-
efficient equipment, emission control
control
Lack of investment capital
Enforcement, resource availability
• Progress is too slow in almost
all technology areas
Cleaner coal power
generators
generation technologies
Source: Wikipedia
made..”
cultivate the fields for one
hundred years..”
and turning them off completely when not in use, including
your computer.
• Stop paper statements and pay your bills online or via mobile.
• Bike, walk or take public transport. Save the car trips for
when you’ve got a big group.
• Recycling paper, plastic, glass & aluminum keeps landfills
from growing.
What can you do?
• Turn off the lights. Your TV or computer screen provides a cosy glow, so turn off other lights if you don’t need them.
• Air dry. Let your hair and clothes dry naturally instead of running a machine. If you do wash your clothes, make sure the load is full.
• Take short showers. Limit water usage by turning off faucets during shaving, tooth-brushing, etc.
• Eat less meat, poultry, and fish. More resources are used to provide meat than plants.
What can you do?
impact while also recycling nutrients.
• Buy minimally packaged goods.
• Plug air leaks in windows and doors to increase energy
efficiency
• Replace old appliances with energy efficient models and light bulbs
• Don’t rinse. If you use a dishwasher, stop rinsing your
plates before you run the machine
What can you do?
• Use a refillable water bottle and coffee cup. Cut down on
waste and maybe even save money at the coffee shop.
• Bring your own bag when you shop. Pass on the plastic
bag and start carrying your own reusable totes.
• Take fewer napkins. You don’t need a handful of napkins
to eat your takeout. Take just what you need.
• Share, don’t just like. If you see an interesting social
media post about sustainability or climate change, share
it so folks in your network see it too.
• Speak up! Ask your local and national authorities/companies to engage in initiatives that don’t
harm people or the planet.
Thanks for your attention!