EcoPlex-Overview

ecological and climate change It is the greatest challenge humankind will ever face. Somehow, we must turn the tide of the ongoing damage caused by a century old industrial revolution and poor management of our natural resources. A Planet in Peril… • The Amazon produces 20% of world’s oxygen. More than 150 acres of this critical rainforest is lost every minute – 78 million acres lost every year! More than 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest is already gone. • Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, Earth’s atmosphere has warmed about 1.8° F. Globally, even though we should be undergoing a gradual long-term cooling trend. The oceans have absorbed over 90% of this excess warmth causing them to rise by about 15 centimeters (6 inches) over the past 100 years. When ocean temperatures rise to a certain level, they will stop absorbing excess heat. What happens next? • Thawing of the oceans polar regions will expose permafrost transforming it from a carbon sink to a carbon contributor, releasing heavy metals and exponential amounts of methane, which is 54X more potent than CO2. • Global population growth will put a continual strain on our dwindling natural resources, leading to a multiplier effect making curbing these challenges impossible for future generations. • While we like to think that halting the use of fossil fuels will reverse climate change, soil degradation from poor farming practices and desertification contributes to twelve times the amount of carbon put into the atmosphere than from the burning of fossil fuels. Copyright 2021 EcoPlex