Month: October 2022

Climate change is occurring, and that’s an undeniable fact. We can physically measure that the Earth’s oceans are rising, that temperatures are increasing, and that carbon is growing in the atmosphere. No one credible is arguing that these aren’t occurring, but a sizable margin of people question whether these impacts are human caused or the natural cycle of the Earth. To some it seem crazy to believe that humans aren’t causing climate change, it’s not too hard to understand that the chemicals we pump into the atmosphere and plastic we throw into the ocean aren’t having adverse effects on the climate. Nonetheless, many still argue that humans aren’t affecting the planet in these ways and point to other factors either to feel better about themselves or out of a desire to be a contrarian.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/wherrmann/carbon-levels-highest-since-mammoths-roamed-the-earth

After reviewing the graph and article, you should have a pretty decent understanding of how Earth’s atmosphere fluctuates naturally. This is what many skeptics point to when attempting to disprove human-caused climate change. what they neglect however, is the amount of carbon concentrated in our atmosphere currently. Dramatically, seemingly instantly, carbon percentage exploded to almost two times more than recorded in the last million years. Consequently, this occurs as soon as the industrial revolution began. If the pattern were to continue, the downward slope occurring from 140,000 years ago to the current age, carbon should continue to drop for another few thousand years.

Learn more about carbon in our atmosphere…

https://www.sciencealert.com/co2-is-only-a-tiny-part-of-our-atmosphere-but-it-has-a-huge-influence-here-s-why

You can clearly see a correlation between human evolution and carbon percentages, but correlation doesn’t necessarily translate to causation. So, let’s find a causation between the two. Rather than following humans emissions and possibly having a bias towards an outcome, we should follow what is definitely causing the climate to change and backtrack. Starting at carbon, when you find where the most carbon is created, you’re led to human sources such as cars, factories, and oil extraction. You can also track how much carbon is produced in the atmosphere and then track how much carbon percentage increases per year, and the two correlate. Scientists have ruled out “Earth wobble”, ocean cycles, and other factors that may be warming the planet and have ran simulations that predict the exact weather patterns were experiencing based on the output of human sourced carbon into the atmosphere.

For decades, both parties supported climate policy to reverse the effects of global warming which we have known about since the early-mid 1900s. However many oil companies and other corporations that would be negatively harmed by climate policy have spent billions to reverse public image of the issue.

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-five-corrupt-pillars-of-climate-change-denial

Regardless of the source of climate denial, it’s clear the problem is a real threat caused by humans. Anybody who says otherwise simply isn’t looking at the facts and letting personal bias and values distort their world view. Try to educate people who may deny it while they’re wrong without belittling them and maybe we can change the minds of more people each year.

I remember in my younger teen years hearing about a mysterious hole that opened up above our southern pole. No it wasn’t some alien gate from a Marvel movie, or even a portal from Rick and Morty. Instead, it was a hole in the layer of atmosphere called the Ozone layer. The Ozone Layer sits at an atmospheric height between 6-30 miles, and is responsible for blocking the Sun’s harsh UV radiation that causes skin cancer and other adverse effects towards any form of life that comes in contact with it excessively. Some UV radiation still slips through the layer and is crucial towards our survival. UV radiation provides warmth and energy for plants on both terrestrial land and in the ocean. Sunburn is caused by this radiation but the Ozone Layer is so efficient that simply putting a little cream on your body can block almost all of the negative effects.

Sunscreen

That’s why when in the 1970s, when scientists discovered the hole, that the scientific community rushed to find a solution. Without this Ozone layer, life would be forced to face the brutal radiation anytime you were outside. Scientists through various instruments found that the hole was increasing and was caused by CFC’s (Chlorofluorocarbons) which are used in aerosol and cooling devices. Immediately, they published their report, which sent the world into a frenzy. For once, it seemed action was swiftly taken after a bombshell scientific discovery. Soon after its publication, CFC substitutes were discovered that did not have the same negative impacts CFC’s had on the Ozone Layer. However, they have many adverse effects on the climate in other ways…

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120224110737.ht

Nonetheless, scientists have observed the Ozone Hole decreasing over time. If no action had been taken, several holes would’ve appeared in other corners of the globe by now. We got lucky that it appeared over Antarctica, where there is no substantial human population. Since the hole has shrank, scientists have payed close attention to other levels of the atmosphere and if they’re exhibiting reasons for concern. Every Spring, the hole seems to form again in Antarctica, but is patched by Stratospheric air that mixes in during the Summer. Each Spring, the hole becomes slightly smaller.

https://www.livescience.com/27049-ozone-hole-shrinks-record-low.html

Overall, the public fear of the Ozone Hole has subsided now that we seem to have found a cure for the crisis, which is why most people haven’t heard of it since they were younger. If substitutes for CFCs hadn’t of been found, who knows how the issue would’ve played out. The substitutes were cheaper, so companies had an incentive to change, but without this incentive it’s hard to imagine them quitting production of the harmful CFCs. This climate disaster is now seen as a win for humanity, but many other issues still remain. The positive benefits of this story show that change can occur if we’re willing to fight for them. Don’t let our future be dictated by the corporations we rely on for products…if they had their way, there would be multiple Ozone Holes in the atmosphere right now, and very possibly one over your own house.

Imagine you wake up on a Monday morning and walk to the dining hall for breakfast. You grab your usual breakfast of sausage, eggs, and a salad but instead of carrots and lettuce, you grab seaweed and sea vegetables. While this may sound weird and disgusting, it’s a very real possibility in the near future. Terrestrial agriculture accounts for roughly 11% of our entire greenhouse gas emissions, and uses a significant amount of land, water, and food to maintain these farms. Click the link below to see the effects of terrestrial agriculture.

https://www.fao.org/3/cb3808en/cb3808en.pdf

As our population grows and agriculture based land use increases to support the hunger of this population, we will need to seek other forms of agriculture. One of the likely potential solutions to this issue is aquaculture. Aquaculture employs the use of large nets below water to farm and raise species of fish, vegetables, and other sea creatures. They are typically deployed in the ocean where sunlight is abundant, and minerals like salt can provide essential nutrients to the plants and animals being harvested. Dozens of seaweeds, mollusks, fish, and invertebrates are grown and uses for a plethora of purposes ranging from food, to medicine, and other products. The benefits of this form of marine farming means it’s easier to cultivate large quantities of food without taking it out of its natural habitat. Many fish such as salmon, cod, tilapia, and shrimp are grown in large fish farms built on land. These fish have limited diets, chemicals, and little range of movement in these “holes”. As a result the meat isn’t as healthy and can even have negative side effects on people that eat them.

The Dangers of Eating Farmed Fish

You might be wandering why people don’t eat fresh, wild caught seafood. Overfishing, the process of manually catching fish, and keeping caught fish fresh leads to high costs for less meat. Some families either don’t have the money to afford fresh fish, or would rather just buy farmed fish in bulk for much cheaper. This is where aquaculture seeks to solve this issue. With the process shown in the diagram above, fish have free range to swim, eat what they please, and grow strong in their natural environment. The nets keep them enclosed but they have no obstructions within the net. Imagine waking up and realizing Earth was surrounded by a net, sorta weird but it wouldn’t change your day to day life because your habitat was enclosed in that net. The same applies with sea vegetables like seaweed, the product is mass produced but doesn’t have the downsides that mass produced food on terrestrial land has.

https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-aquaculture

For a number of years, aquaculture has been the primary source of seafood for most people, and you wouldn’t;t even have known. This form of marine farming is continuing to skyrocket as demand increases. There are certainly potential side effects to this process such as pesticide use and the obstruction of water currents as a result of the large nets, but these problems are being mitigated and will hopefully be a non-factor in the next few years. Next time you’re shopping for fish, keep your eye out for will caught salmon that is extremely cheap, it may have just came from a marine farm near you!

A common assumption is that our ancient homo sapient ancestors survived solely off red meats and fruit, with maybe some bird meat every once in a while. However in reality, most of the meat we consumed came from bodies of water! Researchers are now finding out that fish was an important source of protein that was available year round and contributed to a significant portion of our diet. This has carried into the 21st century where around 10-12% of the world’s population depends on fish as a source of nutrients, and over 50% consume seafood as some portion of their diet. Needless to say fish is an important factor in our lifestyles and offers a wide variety of shapes, colors, and flavors to choose from.

The best ways to cook a fish!

https://www.webstaurantstore.com/article/282/how-to-cook-fish.html

Fish is an excellent source of oils and fats that are actually good for you! Many scientists may make claims like, “Never eat oil, never eat fatty acids, never eat sodium”, when in reality these forms of nutrients are crucial to our survival. The fats and oils in fish are different from those found in a candy bar and can help your heart function better, eyesight improve, and lifespan to increase.

Fishing is such an important cog in our dietary world, and as a result is a very popular form of meat. Across the globe, countries use large nets to physically scoop as many fish out of the water as humanely possible. Our ancestors fish in sustainable practices on smaller scales such as traditional pole fishing and spear fishing which allowed time for the fish populations to replenish. However during the advent of the industrial revolution, fishing practices have been enhanced and it seems we have flew too close to the sun. Large nets, electroshock methods, and by-trawling have dramatically decreased fish populations and led to a seafood crisis.

Click the link to learn about by-trawling. A horrible thing for fish populations but an interesting form of human innovation.

Bottom trawling

These forms of fishing may end up being the achilles’ heel of our oceans. These methods are so efficient that populations don’t have enough time to recover and reproduce. In some areas, over 75% of fish populations were either killed or fished out of the water. What this implies is that while for now we may have plenty of fish to consume, this will not be the case forever. Fishing is a very environmentally friendly form of protein and without it, we’d be force to create more pig, chicken, and beef farms. Not only are these forms of meat more unhealthy when consumed frequently, long-term but also produce way more carbon and methane which can help global warming.

Instead of blindly fishing the oceans clean of fish, we should establish more regulations on how much a country can fish and through which methods. Forms of fishing like individual pole fishing, and sustainable troll fishing can help the issue.

View the rest of the list here. https://mindseteco.co/sustainable-fishing-methods/

Fishing is a touchy issue because without these unsustainable forms of aquaculture we would struggle to feed large portions of our population. However relying on these methods will be destructive to our future diet and planet. We need to work together now to fix the issue before the threat becomes imminent.