Category Archives: Planetary Boundaries

Climate change is just one of 9 existential boundaries we are crossing, and declining energy will probably keep the worst IPCC scenarios from happening. More worrisome is loss of biodiversity, ozone, gases released from agricultural fertilizers, freshwater depletion, ocean acidification, chemical pollution, and so on

Nuclear waste will last a lot longer than climate change

Posted on May 19, 2020 by

Preface. One of the most tragic aspects of peak oil is that it is very unlikely once energy descent begins that oil will be expended to clean up our nuclear mess. No one wants the spent fuel! New Mexico is … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuclear Waste, Planetary Boundaries | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Himalayan glaciers supplying water to a billion people melting fast, Andes too

Posted on December 5, 2019 by

Preface. The Himalayan glaciers that supply water to a billion people are melting fast, already 30% has been lost since 1975. Adding to the crisis are the 400 dams under construction or planned for Himalayan rivers in India, Pakistan, Nepal, … Continue reading →

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U.S. Industrial farming destroys future food production for centuries

Posted on June 13, 2018 by

Preface. Below are excerpts from a devastating critique of current farming practices by the National research council who show the myriad ways that industrial farming is harming the land and future food production.

Posted in Air, Biodiversity Loss, Groundwater, Limits To Growth, Peak Food, Pesticides, Planetary Boundaries, Soil, Water Pollution | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Nitrogen fertilizer poses significant threats to humans and the environment

Posted on August 11, 2017 by

NRC. 2015. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System. National Research Council, National Academies Press. 19 pages.   Nitrogen (N) is essential for agricultural productivity, but in its more reactive forms, it can pose significant threats to humans … Continue reading →

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Climate change effects on conflict, social unrest, health, mass migration, food, and national security

Posted on May 14, 2017 by

[ Since oil shortages from exponential decline rates of conventional oil will affect every aspect of civilization from farming to electricity to supply chains far harder and sooner than sea-level rise and other climate change problems, think “energy shortage” whenever … Continue reading →

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Missing monsoon crashes Indus Valley Civilization

Posted on August 17, 2016 by

19 March 2014 Withering monsoon may have doomed past Asian society. NewScientist. The Indian summer monsoon abruptly weakened 4200 years ago. The ensuing drought may have led to the collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization, which flourished around the Indus … Continue reading →

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How to survive the coming century

Posted on April 13, 2014 by

Excerpts from 25 Feb 2009  How to survive the coming century http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126971.700-how-to-survive-the-coming-century.html?full=true All of the world’s major deserts are predicted to expand, with the Sahara reaching right into central Europe. Glacial retreat will dry Europe’s rivers from the Danube to … Continue reading →

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Science editor-in-chief Marcia McNutt : Climate Change + other ecosystem damage = extinction

Posted on March 25, 2014 by

Climate Change Impacts Marcia McNutt is Editor-in-Chief of Science. 2 August 2013. Science: Vol. 341 no. 6145 p. 435 We are not just experiencing increases in greenhouse gas emissions but also eutrophication, pollution of the air and water, massive land … Continue reading →

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James Hansen : Sea level could rise in decades, not centuries or millenia

Posted on March 23, 2014 by

James Hansen explains how sea level could rise in decades, not centuries or millenia At the bottom is a more recent article that backs Hansen up. Below are excerpts from:  Climate change and trace gases. James Hansen, Makiko Sato, et … Continue reading →

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If Greenland Ice Sheets melt, sea level will rise 23 feet

Posted on March 23, 2014 by

Greenland Ice Sheet Destabilizing, Threatening Greater Sea-Level Rise March 2014   (James Hansen makes the case that sea level could rise over decades) [My comment: 90% of global trade (much of it food and oil) is carried by container ships and … Continue reading →

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