THE POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE!
RECENTLY, MY ATTENTION HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON WHAT OUR FUTURE MIGHT BE IF WE FAIL TO SLOW THE CLIMATIC CHANGES WE ARE EXPERIENCING TODAY. THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA) HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COLLECTING AND RECORDING CLIMATE DATA FOR DECADES. RECENTLY THEY PUBLISHED A PAPER ENTITLED, “CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS “. THE REPORT VALIDATES THE FACTS THAT ECOSYSTEMS AND COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD ARE BEING IMPACTED BY SERIOUS CLIMATIC CHANGES TODAY. 2023 WILL GO DOWN AS THE WARMEST YEAR RECORDED SINCE WE BEGAN COLLECTING CLIMATE DATA. CERTAINLY, NO ONE CAN DENY THAT STORM FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. SINCE 1960, WHEN I STARTED MY CAREER WITH THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE, THE MAGNITUDE AND SIZE OF WESTERN WILDFIRES HAVE INCREASED. WE PREVIOUSLY MEASURED THE ACRES BURNED AND NOW WE MEASURE THE SQUARE MILES BURNED. WARMER AND DRYER WEATHER CONDITIONS HAVE HAD A DIRECT IMPACT, ALONG WITH MANAGEMENT ACTIONS WHICH DESTROY THE DIVERSITY FOUND IN NATURAL FOREST ECOSYSTEMS.
I RECENTLY PROVIDED INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE MENOMINEE INDIAN NATION HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED NATIONS AND CERTIFIED BY THE FOREST STEWARD COUNCIL, FOR THE NATION’S STEWARDSHIP AND MANAGEMENT OF THEIR TREE COVERED FOREST LANDS IN WISCONSIN. THEY PRACTICE UN-EVEN AGE MANAGEMENT AND RELY ON NATURAL REGENERATION PROVIDED BY THE MOTHER TREES. TRIBAL FORESTS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE THE HEALTHIEST MANAGED FORESTS IN THE UNITED STATES. FOREST RESOURCE PROFESSOR, DR. DOCKRY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, STATES, “IN MANY WAYS THEY ARE LEADING THE FEDERAL FOREST MANAGING AGENCY’S IN HOW TO MANAGE FORESTS”.
THE ISSUE OF CLIMATE CHANGE IS COMPLEX AND MUST FOCUS ON REDUCING HUMANITY’S IMPACT ON THE ELEMENTS AND RESOURCES THAT SUSTAIN LIFE ON EARTH! WE MUST REALIZE THAT THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ARE SEEN THROUGHOUT EVERY ASPECT OF THE WORLD WE LIVE IN. DROUGHT HARMS HUMAN HEALTH, FOOD PRODUCTION AND WATER SOURCES. FLOODING MAY LED TO THE SPREAD OF DISEASE AND DESTROY COMMUNITIES, INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECOSYSTEMS. CLIMATIC CHANGE IMPACTS WILL VARY CONSIDERABLY ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. UNDER SERVED PEOPLE WILL BE MORE VULNERABLE AND EXPERIENCE THE HIGHEST EXPOSURE TO THE HAZARDOUS IMPACTS. SOCIOECONOMIC INEQUITIES AMONG THE PEOPLE CAUSE THOSE IN THE LOWER CLASSES TO SUFFER FIRST AND FOR SHORTER PERIODS OF TIME, WHILE THOSE IN THE UPPER CLASSES DEMAND ACCESS TO NEEDED RESOURCES, RESULTING IN LONGER PERIODS OF SUFFERING AND STILL EXPERIENCING THE SAME FINAL RESULTS. DR. JERED DIAMON, IN HIS BOOK, “COLLAPSE”, DEMONSTRATES THIS PHENOMENON WITH THE FAILURE OF THE EASTER ISLAND CULTURE.
THE FUTURE HAZARDOUS IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ARE NOT INEVITABLE. WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO IMPLEMENT REALISTIC SOLUTIONS TO SLOW CLIMATE CHANGE AND THERE IS SUFFICIENT TIME, TO INITIATE THE LIFE STYLE CHANGES REQUIRED TO MINIMIZE THE NEGATIVE OUTCOMES. REDUCING THE EMISSIONS OF GREENHOUSE GASES IS ESSENTIAL! SUCCESS WILL REQUIRE INVESTMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE, ALONG WITH MAJOR CHANGES IN LIFE STYLES.
THE LEVELS OF THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT ANTHROPOGENIC GREENHOUSE GASES, CARBON DIOXIDE AND METHANE, CONTINUED THEIR UNRELENTING RISE IN 2020 EVEN WITH THE ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN CAUSED BY THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC. NOAA REPORTS THAT GLOBAL TEMPERATURES HAVE RISEN 1.8 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT FROM 1901 TO 2020, SEA LEVELS HAVE RISEN 3.2 MM SINCE 1993, SEA ICE HAS SHRUNK BY 40% SINCE 1979, AND CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE ATMOSPHERE HAS RISEN BY 40% SINCE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. WARMER TEMPERATURES AND DRYER CONDITIONS ARE REQUIRING FARMERS TO INCREASE IRRIGATION EFFORTS FOR CROP PRODUCTION. THE COMPOUNDING EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ARE LEADING TO MANY CHANGES IN ECOSYSTEMS, ACCORDING TO NOAA. WE MUST INCREASE OUR ABILITY TO “READ-THE-LAND”, AND IDENTIFY INDIVIDUAL ECOSYSTEMS. EARTH IS AN AMALGAMATION OF ECOSYSTEMS AND BASED ON RECENT SCIENTIFIC STUDIES, ONLY 3 PERCENT OF EARTH’S ECOSYSTEMS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE IN BALANCE AND PROPERLY FUNCTIONING. SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT MUST INTENSIFY TO THE MANAGEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL ECOSYSTEMS, RATHER THAN VAST AREAS OF TREE COVERED, PRAIRIE OR TILLABLE LANDS. THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT GROUPS, AGENCIES AND CORPORATIONS.
WITH NEARLY 40% OF THE UNITED STATES POPULATION LIVING IN COASTAL COUNTIES, IT IS TIME TO ACTIVELY PREPARE FOR THE COMING IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. WE MUST INITIATE SOLUTIONS THAT WILL SLOW THE PROGRESSION OF CLIMATE CHANGE, AND PREPARE FOR THE INEVITABLE IMPACTS FROM CLIMATE CHANGE. TEACHING THE TRUTH ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE WILL BE CHALLENGING, BUT IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR STUDENTS TO LEARN, AS THESE CHANGES WILL AFFECT MANY CURRENT SOCIETAL NORMS.
WE THINK WE ARE SO BUSY AND INVOLVED WITH OTHER CONCERNS THAT WE HAVE LITTLE TIME, IF ANY, TO CONSIDER WHAT IS OCCURRING DAILY BEFORE OUR EYES. THE FACTS ARE PRESENT, AND THE “DO-NOTHING” ALTERNATIVE IS NOT ACCEPTABLE! FOCUSING ON ELIMINATING FOSSIL FUEL CONSUMPTION IS GOOD BUT INSUFFICIENT! THE HUMAN SPECIES IS NOTHING MORE THAN A SMALL PART OF THE MAGIC OF LIFE WITHIN THE NATURAL WORLD. HUMANITY’S VOLUMINOUS DEMAND FOR NATURAL RESOURCES WILL CONTINUE TO EXPAND AS OUR WORLD POPULATION CONTINUES TO INCREASE. EDUCATING THE CITIZENS OF THE WORLD IS ESSENTIAL, AND MUST START NOW! HUMAN CAUSED CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL IS UNACCEPTABLE AND UNTRUE!
DEFORESTATION IS CAUSING ADVERSE CLIMATE CHANGES EQUAL TO FOSSIL FUEL CONSUMPTION. WITH 74 % OF OUR ORIGINAL TREE COVER ELIMINATED, THE SCIENCE OF FORESTLAND MANAGEMENT MUST ALTER CURRENT FOREST LAND MANAGEMENT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. THE EXAMPLE PROVIDED BY THE MENOMINEE NATION MUST SET THE MANAGEMENT GOALS FOR PUBLIC FORESTLAND MANAGEMENT WORLDWIDE! THE PRINCIPLES OF “CONSERVATION” OR “PRESERVATION”, WILL ONLY ACCELERATE CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS. “NATURE’S WAY” WILL SLOW CLIMATE CHANGES THEREBY REDUCING THE INEVITABLE ADVERSE IMPACTS OF CLIMATIC CHANGE! THE FACTS ARE OBVIOUS, EARTH HAS A LIMITED CARRYING CAPACITY WHICH WE ARE RAPIDLY APPROACHING. THE LIFE-STYLES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS DEPENDS UPON OUR ACTIONS TODAY!
RECENTLY, MY ATTENTION HAS BEEN FOCUSED ON WHAT OUR FUTURE MIGHT BE IF WE FAIL TO SLOW THE CLIMATIC CHANGES WE ARE EXPERIENCING TODAY. THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA) HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE AND COLLECTING AND RECORDING CLIMATE DATA FOR DECADES. RECENTLY THEY PUBLISHED A PAPER ENTITLED, “CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS “. THE REPORT VALIDATES THE FACTS THAT ECOSYSTEMS AND COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD ARE BEING IMPACTED BY SERIOUS CLIMATIC CHANGES TODAY. 2023 WILL GO DOWN AS THE WARMEST YEAR RECORDED SINCE WE BEGAN COLLECTING CLIMATE DATA. CERTAINLY, NO ONE CAN DENY THAT STORM FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY HAS INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. SINCE 1960, WHEN I STARTED MY CAREER WITH THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE, THE MAGNITUDE AND SIZE OF WESTERN WILDFIRES HAVE INCREASED. WE PREVIOUSLY MEASURED THE ACRES BURNED AND NOW WE MEASURE THE SQUARE MILES BURNED. WARMER AND DRYER WEATHER CONDITIONS HAVE HAD A DIRECT IMPACT, ALONG WITH MANAGEMENT ACTIONS WHICH DESTROY THE DIVERSITY FOUND IN NATURAL FOREST ECOSYSTEMS.
I RECENTLY PROVIDED INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE MENOMINEE INDIAN NATION HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED NATIONS AND CERTIFIED BY THE FOREST STEWARD COUNCIL, FOR THE NATION’S STEWARDSHIP AND MANAGEMENT OF THEIR TREE COVERED FOREST LANDS IN WISCONSIN. THEY PRACTICE UN-EVEN AGE MANAGEMENT AND RELY ON NATURAL REGENERATION PROVIDED BY THE MOTHER TREES. TRIBAL FORESTS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE THE HEALTHIEST MANAGED FORESTS IN THE UNITED STATES. FOREST RESOURCE PROFESSOR, DR. DOCKRY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, STATES, “IN MANY WAYS THEY ARE LEADING THE FEDERAL FOREST MANAGING AGENCY’S IN HOW TO MANAGE FORESTS”.
THE ISSUE OF CLIMATE CHANGE IS COMPLEX AND MUST FOCUS ON REDUCING HUMANITY’S IMPACT ON THE ELEMENTS AND RESOURCES THAT SUSTAIN LIFE ON EARTH! WE MUST REALIZE THAT THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ARE SEEN THROUGHOUT EVERY ASPECT OF THE WORLD WE LIVE IN. DROUGHT HARMS HUMAN HEALTH, FOOD PRODUCTION AND WATER SOURCES. FLOODING MAY LED TO THE SPREAD OF DISEASE AND DESTROY COMMUNITIES, INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECOSYSTEMS. CLIMATIC CHANGE IMPACTS WILL VARY CONSIDERABLY ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. UNDER SERVED PEOPLE WILL BE MORE VULNERABLE AND EXPERIENCE THE HIGHEST EXPOSURE TO THE HAZARDOUS IMPACTS. SOCIOECONOMIC INEQUITIES AMONG THE PEOPLE CAUSE THOSE IN THE LOWER CLASSES TO SUFFER FIRST AND FOR SHORTER PERIODS OF TIME, WHILE THOSE IN THE UPPER CLASSES DEMAND ACCESS TO NEEDED RESOURCES, RESULTING IN LONGER PERIODS OF SUFFERING AND STILL EXPERIENCING THE SAME FINAL RESULTS. DR. JERED DIAMON, IN HIS BOOK, “COLLAPSE”, DEMONSTRATES THIS PHENOMENON WITH THE FAILURE OF THE EASTER ISLAND CULTURE.
THE FUTURE HAZARDOUS IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ARE NOT INEVITABLE. WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO IMPLEMENT REALISTIC SOLUTIONS TO SLOW CLIMATE CHANGE AND THERE IS SUFFICIENT TIME, TO INITIATE THE LIFE STYLE CHANGES REQUIRED TO MINIMIZE THE NEGATIVE OUTCOMES. REDUCING THE EMISSIONS OF GREENHOUSE GASES IS ESSENTIAL! SUCCESS WILL REQUIRE INVESTMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE, ALONG WITH MAJOR CHANGES IN LIFE STYLES.
THE LEVELS OF THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT ANTHROPOGENIC GREENHOUSE GASES, CARBON DIOXIDE AND METHANE, CONTINUED THEIR UNRELENTING RISE IN 2020 EVEN WITH THE ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN CAUSED BY THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC. NOAA REPORTS THAT GLOBAL TEMPERATURES HAVE RISEN 1.8 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT FROM 1901 TO 2020, SEA LEVELS HAVE RISEN 3.2 MM SINCE 1993, SEA ICE HAS SHRUNK BY 40% SINCE 1979, AND CARBON DIOXIDE IN THE ATMOSPHERE HAS RISEN BY 40% SINCE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. WARMER TEMPERATURES AND DRYER CONDITIONS ARE REQUIRING FARMERS TO INCREASE IRRIGATION EFFORTS FOR CROP PRODUCTION. THE COMPOUNDING EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ARE LEADING TO MANY CHANGES IN ECOSYSTEMS, ACCORDING TO NOAA. WE MUST INCREASE OUR ABILITY TO “READ-THE-LAND”, AND IDENTIFY INDIVIDUAL ECOSYSTEMS. EARTH IS AN AMALGAMATION OF ECOSYSTEMS AND BASED ON RECENT SCIENTIFIC STUDIES, ONLY 3 PERCENT OF EARTH’S ECOSYSTEMS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE IN BALANCE AND PROPERLY FUNCTIONING. SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT MUST INTENSIFY TO THE MANAGEMENT OF INDIVIDUAL ECOSYSTEMS, RATHER THAN VAST AREAS OF TREE COVERED, PRAIRIE OR TILLABLE LANDS. THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT GROUPS, AGENCIES AND CORPORATIONS.
WITH NEARLY 40% OF THE UNITED STATES POPULATION LIVING IN COASTAL COUNTIES, IT IS TIME TO ACTIVELY PREPARE FOR THE COMING IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. WE MUST INITIATE SOLUTIONS THAT WILL SLOW THE PROGRESSION OF CLIMATE CHANGE, AND PREPARE FOR THE INEVITABLE IMPACTS FROM CLIMATE CHANGE. TEACHING THE TRUTH ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE WILL BE CHALLENGING, BUT IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR STUDENTS TO LEARN, AS THESE CHANGES WILL AFFECT MANY CURRENT SOCIETAL NORMS.
WE THINK WE ARE SO BUSY AND INVOLVED WITH OTHER CONCERNS THAT WE HAVE LITTLE TIME, IF ANY, TO CONSIDER WHAT IS OCCURRING DAILY BEFORE OUR EYES. THE FACTS ARE PRESENT, AND THE “DO-NOTHING” ALTERNATIVE IS NOT ACCEPTABLE! FOCUSING ON ELIMINATING FOSSIL FUEL CONSUMPTION IS GOOD BUT INSUFFICIENT! THE HUMAN SPECIES IS NOTHING MORE THAN A SMALL PART OF THE MAGIC OF LIFE WITHIN THE NATURAL WORLD. HUMANITY’S VOLUMINOUS DEMAND FOR NATURAL RESOURCES WILL CONTINUE TO EXPAND AS OUR WORLD POPULATION CONTINUES TO INCREASE. EDUCATING THE CITIZENS OF THE WORLD IS ESSENTIAL, AND MUST START NOW! HUMAN CAUSED CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL IS UNACCEPTABLE AND UNTRUE!
DEFORESTATION IS CAUSING ADVERSE CLIMATE CHANGES EQUAL TO FOSSIL FUEL CONSUMPTION. WITH 74 % OF OUR ORIGINAL TREE COVER ELIMINATED, THE SCIENCE OF FORESTLAND MANAGEMENT MUST ALTER CURRENT FOREST LAND MANAGEMENT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. THE EXAMPLE PROVIDED BY THE MENOMINEE NATION MUST SET THE MANAGEMENT GOALS FOR PUBLIC FORESTLAND MANAGEMENT WORLDWIDE! THE PRINCIPLES OF “CONSERVATION” OR “PRESERVATION”, WILL ONLY ACCELERATE CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS. “NATURE’S WAY” WILL SLOW CLIMATE CHANGES THEREBY REDUCING THE INEVITABLE ADVERSE IMPACTS OF CLIMATIC CHANGE! THE FACTS ARE OBVIOUS, EARTH HAS A LIMITED CARRYING CAPACITY WHICH WE ARE RAPIDLY APPROACHING. THE LIFE-STYLES FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS DEPENDS UPON OUR ACTIONS TODAY!
