The Future of Energy: Damaged Ecosystems (Part 1)

The energy transition to cleaner sources has been botched and should have started 40 years ago. Why 40 years ago? Was the problem noticeable then? The rate of warming since 1981 is 0.18C per decade. Prior to this, between 1880 and 1980, the Earth was warming at an average of 0.08C per decade.

Source: Climate.gov

But before 1980, there were periods of sharp warming spikes and warmer-than-average years against cooler-than-average years. This change in trend was noticed. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established in 1988 to research the impacts and mitigation strategies for climate change. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was launched in 1992, and the first COP occurred in 1995. Nuclear power existed but attitudes towards it were negative due to disasters such as Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. For my research on these disasters, and the nuclear industry in general, head to my previous piece here. Climate change existed. But no drastic actions were taken. And now we are living in a period of sharp increases in global average surface temperature. We have started too late.

The ice caps melting is contributing to the growing average surface temperature and contributing to extreme weather patterns. We see in damaged ecosystems such as Pakistan, they experience severe droughts and floods. The degradation of soil is a large contributor to this. Heavy drought damages the soil as the drying soil creates cracks which reduce moisture and hence the ability of ecosystems to grow. Then during a period of flooding, nutrients in the rain that are vital for healthy soil formation are washed away. The soil then becomes infertile and lacks the proper nutrients for growth. This also comes to affect food growth. The need to focus on soil and cultivating ecosystems is a vital aspect of addressing climate change. All this without mentioning other ways in which ecosystems are being destroyed, such as through forest fires and deforestation.

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Case Study: Pakistan

La Nina

La Nina is a climate phenomenon that occurs as part of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation climate pattern. La Nina’s key characteristic is cooler than average ocean surface temperatures in the Central and Eastern Pacific Oceans.

As a result of this, warmer water is pushed to the surface in the Western Pacific. Hence the cooler water rises to the surface in the Central and Eastern Pacific. Importantly, La Nina’s cooler surface water in the Central and Eastern Pacific contributes to drier conditions, but more rainfall in the Western Pacific near Asia.