biosphere & the global crisis of unsustainable...
TRANSCRIPT
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John R. Schramski, P.E.
University of Georgia, Athens GA
Global Bioeconomy Summit, Telekom Forum, Berlin
April 19, 2018
Biosphere & the Global Crisis
of Unsustainable Resource Utilization
Civilization’s dominant conflict with nature
is energy consumption.
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global primarypower consumption
- 13,280 Mtoe/yr
- 527 quadrillion Btus/yr
- 556 exajoules/yr
- 17.6 terrawatts = x 1012 J/s
1. Humans are the prime movers of the Great Acceleration.
2. The biosphere is finite.
3. The health of the biosphere is declining.
ROMEO GACAD / AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Defining the global crisis:
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1. Humans are the prime movers of the Great Acceleration.
2. The biosphere is finite.
3. The health of the biosphere is declining.
ROMEO GACAD / AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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Defining the global crisis:
Steffen et al. The trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration (Anthropocene Review) 16 January 2015. Design: Globaia
Great Acceleration
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Human socio-economic drivers
global primarypower consumption
Steffen et al. The trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration (Anthropocene Review) 16 January 2015. Design: Globaia
Great Acceleration
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1. Humans are the prime movers of the Great Acceleration.
2. The biosphere is finite.
3. The health of the biosphere is declining.
ROMEO GACAD / AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Defining the global crisis:
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1. Humans are the prime movers of the Great Acceleration.
2. The biosphere is finite.
3. The health of the biosphere is declining.
ROMEO GACAD / AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The global crisis:
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Steffen et al. The trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration (Anthropocene Review) 16 January 2015. Design: Globaia
global primarypower consumption
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Year AD
global phytomass
400 M yrs of slow charge; NPP converted
solar energy into two forms of chemical energy
• Living biomass – mostly in forests
• Fossil hydrocarbons – oil, gas, coal
Schramski, Gattie, and Brown, PNAS 2015
Earth is a chemical battery
100 yrs of rapid discharge; humans converted
the stored energy into work and heat
• Burning of fossil fuels
• Depletion of biomass
global primarypower consumption
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Solar Heat
Thermodynamics 101
Solar Heat
1. Wind
2. Geothermal
3. Gravitational
4. Electrical (e.g., lightening
and galvanic materials)
5. Nuclear materials
1. Biomass
2. Fossil Fuels
3. Animal (beasts of burden)
4. Hydro
5. Marine (currents, tides, waves)
Original energy gradients:
Additional energy gradients added:
4.5 billion years
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400 million years
Cambrian Explosion
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NPP
1. Biomass
2. Fossil Fuels
3. Hydro
4. Wind
5. Animal (beasts of burden)
6. Geothermal
7. Marine (waves, currents, tides)
8. Gravitational
9. Electrical (lightening and galv.)
Solar
Heat
global primarypower consumption
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25
30
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0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
Ph
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s St
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s, x
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Year AD
global phytomass
Solar Heat Solar Heat
Evolutionary charging rate
4,500,000,000 years
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Solar HeatHuman discharge rate
< 100 years
Solar Heat
Evolution, Cambrian Explosion, and Humans
Cambrian Explosion
400,000,000 years
global primarypower consumption
Civilization’s dominant conflict with nature
is energy consumption.
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global primary power consumption
ROMEO GACAD / AFP/GETTY IMAGES
1. Humans are the prime movers of the Great Acceleration.
2. The biosphere is finite.
3. The health of the biosphere is declining.
ROMEO GACAD / AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Defining the global crisis:
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1. Humans are the prime movers of the Great Acceleration.
2. The biosphere is finite.
3. The health of the biosphere is declining
ROMEO GACAD / AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The global crisis:
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Steffen et al. The trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration (Anthropocene Review) 16 January 2015. Design: Globaia
global primarypower consumption
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Acknowledgements:
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