The Earth Is Shrinking...
The Human Footprint widens as the green belt disappears
Measured by the land area that can support human habitation, the earth is shrinking and our early 21st century civilisation is being squeezed between advancing deserts and rising seas. Mounting population densities, once generated solely by the addition of over 70 million people per year, are now also being fuelled by the relentless advance of deserts and the rise in sea level.
These new trends are both of human origin - the result of overstocking grasslands and over ploughing land. Rising seas result from temperature increases set in motion by carbon released from the burning of fossil fuels.
Cattle Now Trample Rainforests
China is not only losing productive land to deserts, but it is doing so at an accelerating rate. From 1950 to 1975 China lost an average of 600 square miles of land (1,560 square kilometres) to desert each year. By 2000, nearly 1,400 square miles were going to desert annually.
Nigeria is losing 1,355 square miles of rangeland and cropland to desertification each year. While Nigeria's human population was growing from 33 million in 1950 to 134 million in 2006, a fourfold expansion, its livestock population grew from 6 million to 66 million, an 11-fold increase. With the food needs of its people exceeding the carrying capacity of its grasslands for livestock, the country is slowly turning to desert.
Cattle Cross The Niger River
While deserts are now displacing millions of people, rising seas have begun to threaten far greater numbers given the concentration of the world's population in low-lying coastal cities and rice-growing river deltas.
During the twentieth century, sea level rose by 6 inches (15 centimetres). In its 2001 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projected that during this century seas would rise by 4 to 35 inches. Since 2001, record-high temperatures have accelerated ice melting making it likely that the future rise in sea level will be even greater – and faster than expected.
Rising tidelines claiming coastlines around the globe
Washington, D.C., flooded with seawater.
Together, rising seas and desertification will present the world with an unprecedented flow of environmental refugees and the potential for civil strife if people are not prepared and ready to vote for responsible governments… now!
Population Boom
We must begin to deal with the effects of the trends that were set in motion during the last century. Growth in the human population of over one million people per four days (that’s around 90 million per year) accompanied by a simultaneous growth of livestock populations of more than 35 million per year must be addressed.
The rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide that are destabilizing the earth's climate are driven by the burning of fossil fuels. Our choice is a simple one: reverse these trends or risk being overwhelmed by the consequences.
RATES OF DESERTIFICATION
Afghanistan In the Sistan basin, windblown dust and sand have buried more than 100 villages. In the northwest, along the Amu Darya River, a sand dune belt that is some 186 miles (298 kilometers) long and 19 miles wide is expanding by up to 3 feet (1 meter)
a day.
Brazil Approximately 224,000 square miles of land have been affected. Economic losses associated with desertification are estimated at $300 million a year.
China Nationwide, deserts are expanding by 1,400 square miles a year. Some 400 million Chinese are affected by the dust storms of late winter and early spring.
India Various forms of desertification affect 413,000 square miles, one third of India’s land area.
Iran In the eastern provinces of Baluchistan and Sistan, some 124 villages have been buried by drifting sand.
Kenya More than 80 percent of its land is vulnerable to desertification, affecting up to a third of the country’s 35 million people and half its livestock.
Mexico Some 70 percent of all land in Mexico is vulnerable to desertification. Land degradation prompts some 700,000 Mexicans to leave the land each year in search of jobs in Mexican cities or the United States.
Nigeria Each year some 1,400 square miles of land are lost to desertification, which affects each of the 10 northern states.
Yemen Some 97 percent of the land in this country of 21 million people shows some degree of desertification.
Key: 1 mile = 1.6 kilometers; 1 meter = 3.3 feet.
Various Sources: including ENN e-zine, www.popconnect.org, and used under GNU agreement
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Malaysia Found
Hope that one day this knowledge can be shared througout and let our Mother Earth breath in greens once more.
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These stats are frightening, more of a threat to mankind than the threat of Nuclear
war. Are our Governments blind or something?
katyzzz
Learning Something Everyday
Malaysia Found
Most unfortunately, our government is mostly blinded by $$$, economy growth, pressure from some business tycoon, etc...
Over population also occur when there isn't enough education and many poorer people just have babies as if they come in flocks without knowing the consequences. If you understand what I mean.
Enviro Warrior
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Yes this one scared me and as I watched Kevin Rudd finally take over the Australian labor leadership today, I couldn't help but wonder if all the drumming circles, prayer and peace; and blue groups (not green - aparently I'm told they are only political) groups around the globe are finally heralding some changes which are now on the way... we [the people] must stay vigialnt and not get sleepy... not now...
this post depressed me a bit when I realised that all those children that we saved in Afrika have now become child bearing adults with no food to eat... now with cxhildren of their own and so much so, that in the space of 30 years the population has catapulted up by 4:1...why don't these world organisations also give these people an education and the pill.. like Jessica says... what are we playing at, really... when we play God? I have travelled and seen the suffering of these poor people and it is worse now than it was 30 years ago... terribly sad.
I've ended up today with more questions than answers and am having an early night. My humblest of humble apologies for not having commented at your places, but I've been flat out and will leave some words with my votes again soon
Lilla...
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...you are right and I have answered in part in KAtyzzz's response... more education... but what about religion... it plays such a big part and leaves little room for reason... no one told these people that they would need more food, although I read a report the other day that suggests in Australia at least we export our good beef to American and European markets and import our beef from Ethiopia, to our big multi-national grocery stores... that'd be right wouldn't it?
Global village my a*se, literally... the bottom line of profit and loss blinds the possible truths of a complete collapse of climatic and economical nature..? . It wouldn't be the first time, look at Rome in 535 a.d., mind you there was a huge volcanic eruption that blacked the sun out for three years... however, no other pollution then, but something has gotta give ...people are waking up and need a new reality... this one is beginning to get scary... we must step on it now and push protocols and initiatives such as the Kyoto and Carbon taxes and perhps even limit having more than two children per family... what's better, extinction of the human race...?
Serious questions, as I said... I ended up with too many today and am going off to write a letter to my local politician*lol*
Lilla...
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Your final suggestion looks more like what it has implemented in Singapore years ago, and currently they are implementing in China.
Yet, how many are there would listen? With the bad culture the kids are being exposed, 2 in a family becomes too precious and the kids are more spoilt... if only the parents would listen...
Even the Bible said, "you can't serve 2 masters." While the country politics are striving for economy wellness, they would eventually neglect nature. Not everyone is like Mayor Lee Myung-bak who works hard to restore the polluted city's main stream to its natural greenery (read Chonggyechon Stream Opens). Honestly, how many are there would really work towards that at this point of time?
We can only pray...
Enviro Warrior
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To me the trouble began when they divided religion and politics... and your words speak the truth of the feelings we [the people] have of being disempowered to make a change in all this... which is wrong because we can... as you and I have discussed many, many times before... each person alive on the 'wealthy' side of the planet must conserve and take less, tread lightly and make-do more... don't waste, stop overeating and prioratise... most importantly don't vote for anyone who has not satisfied your curiosity of their loyalty and intention with regard to handling the earths resources along with one for health and education... who cares about pharmaceuticals really, doesn't nature provides all the herbs we need...
When I first read the Bible, one of the proverbs that most stood out to me was the one that speaks about sluggards not being able to lift their hands to their mouths to eat as a result of their slovenly ways... and I remember thinking, og God please do not let me become such hideous beast... but I digress...
Jessica... Your local politician sounds great and you are right my sweet, we must each pray and those prayers will not go unheard... as I said... comming off yesterday's healing drumming circle, I can see changes already shaping and coming towards us... and it is exciting because when the levy breaks, everyone will work together again, as one...
Thanks for the link ...
Lilla...
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Enviro Warrior
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...again you speak the truth... I went through the Desert in Rajasthan, India and again here in Australia...
.. hard life...
>>> rushing lilla >>>
mass transfer on non-linear MHD boundary layer flow
R. K. Samy, Muhaimin and Azme B Khamis
Centre for Science Studies,
Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia,
86400, Parit Raja, Batu Pahat Johor, Malaysia,
Email: future990@gmail.com
It is expected that this research may prove to be useful for the study of shrinking of earth. It is concluded from the present investigation that the shrinking of earth due to the decrease of the earth’s porosity has been its potential to affect the stability of the Antarctic ice sheet and infrastructure of the earth. The southern continent contains enough ice to raise ocean levels, a deluge that would put every major coastal city in the world deep under water and uproot hundreds of millions of people. On the other hand; it is observed that the earthquake and tsunami arise with reduces of porosity of the earth due to the increase of carbon rate in air. The rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide that are destabilizing the earth’s porosity and warming climate are driven by the burning of fossil fuels. Our choice is a simple one: reverse these trends or risk being overwhelmed by them.
Enviro Warrior
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Thanks for this great information.
I am not sure if that is your contact details or not, but will email soon after looking for papers and books on this penomenon.
It sounds about right though from what I have read and I look forward to learning more... your statement is scary, in so far as 'reversal within time' is concerned.
Thanks for commenting.
Lilla ...