The 40 minute show gives a run-through of all the major topics I have covered in this blog so far, so if you are interested in what you have been reading here I thoroughly suggest you give it a listen.
I might have been a bit rusty getting back into radio after a break for a few months over Christmas, but I hope you enjoy!
The start of the new term has come as an unwelcome reality check for some. It's time to get back to work and start planning for the year ahead. 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, which means it is time to renew the commitment to the goals originally set. The action the world takes this year is more important than ever before, because as Ban Ki Moon put it, 'ours is the first generation that can end poverty, and the last that can take steps to end the worst impacts of climate change' in 'we are the last generation that can fight climate change. We have a duty to act', 2015. The UN will hold their annual climate change conference in Paris this December where they will attempt to reach a binding agreement on climate. Ban Ki Moon reminds us that we need to prevent the Earth reaching the threshold change in global temperature of 2 degrees, from which the Earth might never recover.
One of the largest issues facing the planet is the exponential rise in human population. As world population approaches 9 billion the demand on Earth will exceed the potential of natural resources. The growth of human population is both the ultimate cause of global environmental change, and the reason we need mitigate against future environmental issues.
To protect against future change we need to reduce climate emissions to stop global warming reaching a 2 degree rise. It is also necessary to invest in greater assessment of the worlds species so we can enforce protection measures on species currently unknown. In so doing, we can better predict how quickly we are losing biodiversity in order to understand if we are entering - and if possible, protect against - a 6th mass extinction.
I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog over the last few months and I hope it has opened your eyes to the changes that both man and nature have caused over time.
In the early days of research for this blog, I became very interested in the idea that humans were changing the face of geology on Earth. This theory encompasses the ideas that we are living in the Anthropocene and that humans have been responsible for many of the greatest global events to have occurred since our time on Earth. After months of research on the cause of global environmental changes I understand that both environmental processes and anthropogenic influences have played a partin nearly every case, although it is hugely possible humans are starting to take over as the dominant force. The Gaia hypothesis explains how a self regulating system is formed on Earth through the interaction of organic organisms with their inorganic surroundings. The theory was developed by James Lovelock (Gaia, A new look at life on Earth, 1979) and has since been widely criticised. The holistic view sees every life form on Earth as part of the single organism of Gaia, therefore to lose any species is to lose part of yourself, 'for we are all Gaia'.
It may not sound very realistic, but if you try and forget the images of a goddess-like mother Earth, I think there is something valuable in remembering that all life on Earth is connected. Some foundations for the theory are very understandable, Earth has been transformed by the evolving and self-regulating living system, so that homeostasis is reached by active feeback of biota. The extent of these processes is so huge that even the movement of tectonics could depend upon the deposition of organisms forming limestone strata. James Kircher describes the different aspects to the Gaia hypothesis, in 'The Gaia Hypothesis: Can it be Tested', 1989. As well as discussing the theory that the Earth acts as a single immense organism, Kircher describes how organisms affect their environment, and in turn the environment puts contraints upon evolution of the biota in a paired system. Another aspect to the Gaia hypothesis is that life on Earth has stabilising impacts on the planet, in preference for optimal biological conditions of temperature and composition. We need to hold in mind that every act of man can interfere with any of Earth's processes, whether the result is positive or negative, and whether the Earth, or Gaia, can eventually adjust to these is yet to be seen. Maybe its time to stop thinking of Man vs Earth, but rather as man as part of Earth.
Before we move on to look at the future of Man vs Earth geology in the new year, I have created a quiz to check that you were all paying attention in 2014. Try it out here, the 8 questions all focus on aspects of global environmental change that I have covered over the last few months. Good luck and remember you are against the clock!
