In this episode we hear the wonderful Jason Sole who promises us that this will be the last dishevelled episode.
He talks initially about a recent study that shows if we burned all the fossil fuels we have on earth it would put 5 trillion metric tonnes of co2 into the atmosphere. Now it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that would be very destructive to the environment.
Jason adds that the track we are currently on with regards to burning things and using oil to multiply our population is totally unviable. A study by the Pnas said “higher growth entails more emissions and means more people will be vulnerable to climate-related impacts” and this means innovation is more important than ever. Pnas used the dynamic integrated climate economy model to analyse the value of a population.
Quite simply the way we produce energy at the moment is not sustainable in the long run. There are only a finite amount of natural resources and there is an infinite amount of needs for them. So why carry on with the current system. Why not invest heavily in renewable technology and other green methods of doing things. We need to have a future for our children and that’s only possible if these measures are taken.
In addition amphibians are slowly becoming extinct. These beautiful tetrapod vertebrates are a necessity in the global ecosystem. Moreover we are approaching an incredibly dry period in our lives and that is not good for amphibians that need water to survive.
Links: http://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2017/10/24/1618308114.full.pdf , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_in_amphibian_populations , https://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/23/health/aquatic-cocaine-totoaba-bass-smuggling/index.html ,
By Alex Mitchison
