•W 4/30 “Nobelity”

•M 5/5 Field Trip to Wildflower center- 2pm

•Bonus #3 due W 4/30

•Final Reviews TBA

CB 54.17

Carbon cycle

http://www.esr.org/outreach/climate_change/basics/basics.html

CO2 and other greenhouse gases keep heat from radiating back into space

http://www.esr.org/outreach/climate_change/basics/basics.html

Ecological Restoration and Global Climate ChangeJ. Harris, R. Hobbs, E. Higgs, and J. AronsonRestoration Ecology Vol. 14, No. 2, pg. 170–176 June 2006

Mismatches – an example• Great tit (relative of

the chickadee)• Common in Europe• Studied in detail

since the 1950’s by scientists at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology.

Information: Grossman, D. 2003, Spring Forward, Scientific American, 85-91.

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20030723/a106_1511.jpg

• Tits lay eggs at the same time that they did in 1985 – mid-spring (~4/16 to 5/15)

• Since ~1985 spring temperatures have risen about 2oC• Tits primary food is the winter moth caterpillar (below)• Caterpillar production is 2 weeks earlier in 2002 than in

1985

Grossman, D. 2003, Spring Forward, Scientific American, 85-91.

Grossman, D. 2003, Spring Forward, Scientific American, 85-91.

Restoring a disturbed ecosystem to historical conditions may not be valid as ecosystems change.

It is increasingly likely that the next century will be characterized by shifts in global weather patterns and climate regimes.

precipitation changes

Some species can adapt to changes, while other may not.

CB 55.2

A key attribute of ecosystems required to ensure resilience and adaptability is that of genetic diversity among and within species.

The past is no longer a prescriptive guide for what might happen in the future.

precipitation changes

CB 52.22Human Population GrowthIf everyone on earth consumed at the rate of the average American, we would need 6 planet earths to supply the resources.http://sustainability.publicradio.org/consumerconsequences/

CB 54.11

Energy is lost in each consumer: the 10% rule

CB 54.14Human impact:

As consumers

Use of agriculture in the U.S.About 1/2 of water and ~80% of agricultural land is used for raising animals.

Fossil Fuels:Producing beef consumes over 100 times more fossil fuel than producing potatoes.The typical American could save almost as much gas by going vegetarian as by not driving.

http://bicycleuniverse.info/transpo/beef.html

http://www.ushmm.org/conscience/analysis/details.php?content=2005-11-25&page=1&menupage=Sudan#top

The connection between resources and armed conflict: Darfur

Changes in precipitation 1900-2000

Environmental Degradation as a Cause Of Conflict in Darfur:•Conflict in Darfur: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives•Natural Resources Management for Sustainable Peace in Darfur•Combating Desertification: Experience from Umm Kaddada District in East Darfur•Land Tenure, Land use and Conflicts in Darfur•Indigenous Institutions and Practices Promoting Peace and/or Mitigating Conflicts: The Case of Southern Darfur•Environmental Degradation and Conflict in DarfurFrom a conference of the University for Peace, UN charted university

Drought in the northern part of Darfur forced nomadic groups to immigrate southwards in search of water and herding ground, which resulted in conflict with sedentary tribes.

Nomadic herders

http://www.usaid.gov/stories/sudan/ss_sudan_crop.html http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor-hotline/20050802.cfm

Farmers in Darfur

The extent of the drought forced many Darfurian tribes to change their Nomadic lifestyle and seek settlement in lands considered by other tribes as their Dar or homeland. The decades of drought led to migration of more nomads into Darfur in

search of water and grass.

The population of Darfur is generally divided into Arabs and non-Arabs. The separation along such lines is probably more based on cultural heritage than on true ethnic separation. Although what is called Arabic tribes may have some Arabic roots, generations of immigration and intermarriage have renderedsuch separation almost meaningless.

Adam Shogar, a commander of the Sudan Liberation Army, the non-Arab rebels at the center of the Darfur conflict, stretched a coal-black arm at Yassine Yousef Abdul Rahman, his copper-skinned, brown-eyed counterpart from an Arab insurgent group, studying him carefully with midnight eyes.

"Militia talks could reshape conflict in Darfur" by L. Polgreen The New York Times (April 15, 2007)

The struggle in Darfur has often been portrayed as one between Arabs and black Africans, nomads and farmers, with the former bent on slaughtering the latter. But the conflict has never been that simple.

There is an essential need to address the root cause of the problem – competition over dwindling natural resources.

The nomads and farmers have depended on each other for centuries to survive on some of the world's most forbidding terrain. Farmers allowed herders to traverse their lands, and the herders brought milk and meat. They also transported farm goods to markets, and traded durable goods not usually available in remote farming villages. The farmers bartered those items for vegetables and grain.

Solutions to the violence in Darfur must consider the environmental factors behind the conflict.

•W 4/30 “Nobelity”

•M 5/5 Field Trip to Wildflower center- 2pm

•Bonus #3 due W 4/30

•Final Reviews TBA