scholarly journals How increased atmospheric carbon dioxide and ‘The Law of the Minimum’ are contributing to environmental obesity

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Bryan Cotner
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Metabolic Diseases ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
Excess Carbon ◽  
Agricultural Revolution ◽  
Warming Climate ◽  
Von Liebig ◽  
Agricultural Yields ◽  
Decrease Use

Abstract Justus von Liebig observed that one could greatly increase agricultural yields by adding relatively small quantities of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) to soils. This finding led to the most recent agricultural revolution. But because most plants and microbes can be non-homeostatic with respect to their biomass elemental composition, adding nutrients can lead to disproportional increases in some macro-elements in organisms, while micronutrient content decreases. Increased CO2 in the atmosphere is an important driver of climate change, but it is also an important driver of changing biomass content and ecosystem stoichiometry. Increased CO2 has contributed to excess carbon in biomass and ecosystems, a state which could be contributing to changes in metabolism which I liken to metabolic diseases and ‘environmental obesity’. Here I defined environmental obesity as excess C accumulation relative to other elements in the environment. A warming climate is certainly motivation enough for humans to do whatever is necessary to decrease use of fossil fuels. However, increased carbon has detrimental health outcomes through effects on our food in natural and agricultural systems and suggests that CO2 is not ‘just an environmental problem’, but also a human health problem.

scholarly journals The Impacts of Climate Change on Nigerian Ecosystems: A Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-291
Author(s):  
B. E. Ikumbur ◽  
S. Iornumbe
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Adaptation Strategies ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Climatic Variations ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Warming Climate ◽  
The World ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Climate change is the single biggest environmental issue facing the world today. It has become a great challenge to our generation and its impact is felt in almost every society in the world. Nigeria is one of the most vulnerable countries in Africa. Nigeria as a developing nation with a population of about 200 million people is likely to be adversely impacted by climate change due to its vulnerability and low coping capabilities. Climate change is evidently linked to human actions, and in particular from the burning of fossil fuels and changes in global patterns of land use. The impacts of human activities, as well as those of natural phenomena on global warming, climate change, and the environment, were presented and discussed. Various manifestations of its impact are evident in Nigeria, which includes temperature rise, increase in draught, and scarcity of food instigated by irregularities in rainfall, over flooding, and so on. This paper examines the concepts of global warming and climate change; its impact on the Nigeria ecosystems. It highlights the climate change-related risks and hazards the nation could face if best practices are not employed to prevent and mitigate its impact. Two sets of measures have been advocated for confronting climate change, these are mitigation and adaptation measures. The review explores possible adaptation strategies that are required to respond to the climatic variations and suggests ways that these adaptation strategies can be implemented.

scholarly journals Extraction and exploitation of fossil fuels as the foundation stone of concept of geoecology in Russia

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 550-560
Author(s):  
M. S. Goncharov ◽  
I. M. Rozhkov ◽  
I. A. Larionova
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Management Information Systems ◽  
Life Quality ◽  
Coal Industry ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
Industrial Enterprises ◽  
Strategic Solution ◽  
Foundation Stone

Energy sector is considered to be the basis for economy’s growth, improvement of the population’s life quality, maintenance of energy security of the country. However, the activities of some enterprises of the fuel and energy complex have a negative impact on the environment. The problems of geoecology in the field of fuel and energy require close attention. In this article, by the example of coal industry, gives an evaluation of effects industrial enterprises on the environment. Based on the analysis of official statistical sources, the key trends in this area are highlighted. The strategic solution to the environmental problem in the coal industry, according to the authors, is the creation of energy technology and coal-chemical clusters. Geoecology management information systems should be developed for each cluster. The simplest structure of these systems is given in this paper. The next stage of the study should be to set and solve the problem of optimizing the functioning of each cluster and calculate rating estimations.

scholarly journals The sedentary (r)evolution: Have we lost our metabolic flexibility?

F1000Research ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Freese ◽  
Rainer Johannes Klement ◽  
Begoña Ruiz-Núñez ◽  
Sebastian Schwarz ◽  
Helmut Lötzerich
Keyword(s):  
Metabolic Diseases ◽  
Sedentary Lifestyle ◽  
Metabolic Flexibility ◽  
Alcoholic Fatty Liver ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Agricultural Revolution ◽  
Energy Needs ◽  
Lack Of Exercise

During the course of evolution, up until the agricultural revolution, environmental fluctuations forced the human species to develop a flexible metabolism in order to adapt its energy needs to various climate, seasonal and vegetation conditions. Metabolic flexibility safeguarded human survival independent of food availability. In modern times, humans switched their primal lifestyle towards a constant availability of energy-dense, yet often nutrient-deficient, foods, persistent psycho-emotional stressors and a lack of exercise. As a result, humans progressively gain metabolic disorders, such as the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, certain types of cancer, cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer´s disease, wherever the sedentary lifestyle spreads in the world. For more than 2.5 million years, our capability to store fat for times of food shortage was an outstanding survival advantage. Nowadays, the same survival strategy in a completely altered surrounding is responsible for a constant accumulation of body fat. In this article, we argue that the metabolic disease epidemic is largely based on a deficit in metabolic flexibility. We hypothesize that the modern energetic inflexibility, typically displayed by symptoms of neuroglycopenia, can be reversed by re-cultivating suppressed metabolic programs, which became obsolete in an affluent environment, particularly the ability to easily switch to ketone body and fat oxidation. In a simplified model, the basic metabolic programs of humans’ primal hunter-gatherer lifestyle are opposed to the current sedentary lifestyle. Those metabolic programs, which are chronically neglected in modern surroundings, are identified and conclusions for the prevention of chronic metabolic diseases are drawn.

Carbon Isotope Composition of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide in Southern Poland: Imprint of Anthropogenic CO2 Emissions in Regional Biosphere

Radiocarbon ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 848-864 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Pazdur ◽  
Tadeusz Kuc ◽  
Sławomira Pawełczyk ◽  
Natalia Piotrowska ◽  
Barbara Sensuła ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Rings ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Tatra Mountains ◽  
Temporal And Spatial Distribution ◽  
Southern Poland ◽  
Pine Tree ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
High Tatra Mountains

Southern Poland is home to numerous large mining and energy industry facilities, which consume relatively great amounts of fossil fuels. Temporal and spatial distribution of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere were estimated on the basis of 13C and 14C isotope measurements in atmospheric CO2 and in α-cellulose from pine tree rings. The Suess effect was evaluated in the atmospheric CO2 from the High Tatra Mountains (Kasprowy Wierch) and the urban area (Kraków), as well as in tree rings from Niepołomice Forest near Kraków. Two different models were used to estimate the emission component recorded in tree ring δ13C on the background of climatic changes.

Short-rotation woody crop systems, atmospheric carbon dioxide and carbon management: A U.S. case study

2001 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald A. Tuskan ◽  
Marie E. Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Carbon Management ◽  
Short Rotation Woody Crops ◽  
Short Rotation ◽  
Woody Crop

Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) are increasing along with global use of fossil fuels and worldwide rates of deforestation. These trends have led international panels and organizations to devise carbon management strategies in an effort to curb increases in CO2. The goal of this paper is to explore the potential role of short-rotation woody crops (SRWC) in the U.S. as one option in a carbon-managed future economy. On a scale of 40 × 106 ha, and at an average productivity rate of 21 Mg oven-dry biomass ha−1 yr−1, SRWC systems could account for an average of 0.30 Pg of C yr−1 when prorated over the 50-year deployment life of a typical SRWC system. Most of the accounted carbon (76%) would come from fossil fuel displacement as opposed to direct carbon sequestration. The proportion of accounted carbon associated with fossil fuel displacement increases with longer time frames due to the relatively rapid saturation of the carbon sequestration pool. Key words: Populus, biomass, carbon sequestration, carbon displacement, Kyoto Protocol, CO2

scholarly journals GHG Balance of Agricultural Intensification & Bioenergy Production in the Orinoquia Region, Colombia

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 289
Author(s):  
Nidia Elizabeth Ramírez-Contreras ◽  
David Munar-Florez ◽  
Floor van der Hilst ◽  
Juan Carlos Espinosa ◽  
Álvaro Ocampo-Duran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Biomass Production ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agricultural Productivity ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Energy Crop ◽  
Agricultural Yields ◽  
High Scenario

Energy crop expansion can increase land demand and generate displacement of food crops, which impacts greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mainly through land-use change (LUC). Increased agricultural productivity could compensate for this. Our study aims to evaluate the regional combined GHG emissions of increasing agricultural yields for food crop and beef production and using the generated surplus land for biomass production to replace fossil fuels in the Orinoquia region of Colombia until 2030. The results show that surplus land for biomass production is obtained only when strong measures are applied to increase agricultural productivity. In the medium and high scenario, a land surplus of 0.6 and 2.4 Mha, respectively, could be generated. Such intensification results in up to 83% emission reduction in Orinoquia’s agricultural sector, largely coming from increasing productivity of cattle production and improving degraded pastures. Biofuel potential from the surplus land is projected at 36 to 368 PJ per year, with a low risk of causing indirect LUC, and results in GHG emission reductions of more than 100% compared to its fossil fuel equivalent. An integrated perspective of the agricultural land use enables sustainable production of both food and bioenergy.

scholarly journals Algal constraints on the Cenozoic history of atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>?

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Henderiks ◽  
R. E. M. Rickaby
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Temperature Sensitivity ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Ice Core ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Polar Ice ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
History Of ◽  
Evolutionary Memory

Abstract. An urgent question for future climate, in light of increased burning of fossil fuels, is the temperature sensitivity of the climate system to atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO2). To date, no direct proxy for past levels of pCO2 exists beyond the reach of the polar ice core records. We propose a new methodology for placing an upper constraint on pCO2 over the Cenozoic based on the living geological record. Specifically, our premise is that the contrasting calcification tolerance of various extant species of coccolithophore to raised pCO2 reflects an "evolutionary memory" of past atmospheric composition. The different times of first emergence of each morphospecies allows an upper constraint of past pCO2 to be placed on Cenozoic timeslices. Further, our hypothesis has implications for the response of marine calcifiers to ocean acidification. Geologically "ancient" species, which have survived large changes in ocean chemistry, are likely more resilient to predicted acidification.

scholarly journals CARBON SOURCES FOR BIOMASS, FOOD, FOSSILS, BIOFUELS AND BIOTECHNOLOGY - REVIEW ARTICLE

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Savas G. Anastassiadis
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Atom ◽  
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Organic Molecules ◽  
Carbon Sources ◽  
Microbial World ◽  
Carbon Cycles ◽  
Process Economics ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Life On Earth

Carbon atom Carbon atom is most important and abundant constituent of existing and new generated biological mater and biomass and the basis of all forms of life on earth. It is involved in the composition and construction of organic micro- and macromolecules, cells and living organisms, storage molecules, fossils, fossil fuels, biofuels and energy resources of living and nonliving organic matter. Initially originated from atmospheric carbon dioxide, it is absorbed and incorporated into organic molecules by photosynthetic plants and microorganisms through photosynthetic processes to form glucose and other less or more complex organic molecules, enabling and sustaining life on Earth. A semantic part of CO2 has been captured, trapped and immobilized in various forms of fossils, not participating in biogeochemical carbon cycles for millions of years, or is dissolved in oceans. Carbon sources is also one of most important parameters, strongly influencing microbial growth and the accumulation of cellular metabolites, fermentation technologies, process economics and feasibility of industrial production. Advanced developments in recombinant technologies, such as metabolic and genetic engineering, systems and synthetic biology, as well as in bioengineering, biotechnology, industrial microbiology and fermentation technology will expand the opportunities of literally unseen microbial world.

scholarly journals AIR POLLUTION IN ZIMBABWE: AN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGE

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1750-1758
Author(s):  
JEMITIAS MAPIRA
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk

Air pollution is a major environmental problem in industrialized countries such as: the USA, China, Japan and most European countries including: France, Germany, Italy and the UK. One of its major causes is modern technology which depends heavily on fossil fuels (coal and oil) and dates back to the Industrial Revolution, which started some two centuries ago. Although the level of industrialization is quite low in developing countries such as Zimbabwe, air pollution is now posing a threat to the nations environmental security. This paper examines the problem of air pollution in Zimbabwe with a view to suggesting possible solutions. While previous researches have given brief and rather superficial accounts on the problem, this paper seeks to provide an in-depth study on the issue for the benefit of researchers, stakeholders and policy makers. The paper examines issues such as: causes, sources, health impacts, and possible solutions within the legislative and policy framework of Zimbabwe.Based on information that was collected in August 2014, the paper shows that air pollution is a major environmental problem and should be addressed seriously at both local and national levels.

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