BILD 18 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Fertile Crescent, Habitat Destruction
20 Jun 2018
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Lecture 1: Introduction
What is the current population?
● Almost 7.5 billion people (nearing 8 million)
● Increasing resource consumption per person
Lessons from History
● Pyramid at Chefren
● Mayan Ruins
● Easter Island
● Chaco Canyon
● Fertile Crescent
● Petra
● All these civilizations were thriving and successful until resources were no longer
abundant enough to support the population
Is this what globalization is leading to?
● Global warming stems from anthropogenic causes
● Humans have added huge amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere
● Carbon dioxide
● Methane
● Nitrous oxide
● Sulphate aerosol
What are the consequences of global warming?
● Loss of ice caps and glaciers, which will increase temperatures
● Glacier national park
o 1900 – 150
o 2005 – 30
o 2030 – 0
● Increased sea level
● Species extinction
● Facilitate spread of disease
The Oceans
● Increase in pollution leads to a decrease in marine life
o Habitat destruction
▪ 1/3 coral reefs dead, 1/3 unhealthy
o Overfishing
▪ Locally lots of exploitation to the point of local extinction
o CO2 increase slows circulation of thermohaline currents, influencing climate
