ESYS 103 Final - SP

According to the Bending the Curve report, what human health impacts are associated with climate change?

- Air pollution originating from fossil fuel combustion. - Crop failures related to ozone pollution - Drinking water scarcity and contamination - Expansion of transmissible diseases

Fossil Fuel Divestment

- Campaign is encouraging divestment from (getting rid of investments in) coal, oil, and natural gas companies

Pavan Sukhder's "Green Economy Report"

- Environmentally-sound development is the engine for growing wealth and employing impoverished people - Ecosystem services have the most relative value for the world's poor (up to 90%) - We must value Natural Capital (ecosystem services) and create Green Carbon Markets - one example is REDD+, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation.

Geothermal Energy (Brown's facts)

- Geothermal energy is a steady, reliable energy source that can generate electricity virtually non-stop. - It's richest in areas with high tectonic activity. - Iceland utilizes geothermal for most of their direct heating (Cheap electricity so leading aluminum producer).

Why do we need The Great Transition?

- Transition from fossil fuels to solar/wind - Concern over GHG's causing climate change, the health impacts of polluted air from burning fossil fuels, desire for local control over energy production, and energy security

Wind Energy (Brown's facts)

- Wind is abundant and widespread. - Wind farms are easily scalable, and increasingly cheap. - UK: half the world's capacity in its offshore installations - China: global leader in wind because it's quick to build, no water constraints, could meet current electricity demand 10X over, 200 gigawatts of capacity by 2020).

How much of our current energy use goes to buildings?

- nearly 50% - then like 25/25 industry/ transport

Lester Brown's World on the Edge: Restoring the Earth-- 5 tactics

-Protecting and restoring forests (including planting trees to sequester carbon) -Conserving and rebuilding soils -Protecting biodiversity -Restoring fisheries -Stabilizing water tables

statement on relative consumption, as stated in the Bending the Curve Report?

1 billion of us consume about 50 percent of the fossil fuel energy consumed on Earth and emit about 60 percent of the greenhouse gases. In contrast, the poorest 3 billion contribute only 5 percent to CO2 pollution.

CLIMATE ACTION PLAN - Cut CO2 emission 80% by 2020

1. Raising energy efficiency and restructuring transportation 2. Replacing fossil fuels with renewables 3. Ending net deforestation and planting trees to sequester carbon

UC Carbon Neutrality Solution 10: Natural and Managed Ecosystem Solutions Cluster

10. Regenerate damaged natural ecosystems and restore soil organic carbon to improve natural sinks for carbon (through afforestation, reducing deforestation and restoration of soil organic carbon). Implement food waste reduction programs and energy recovery systems to maximize utilization of food produced and recover energy from food that is not consumed.

UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

2000: UNDP adopted the Eight Millennium Development Goals. Goal: bring attention to the state of global poverty with clear outcomes Deadline for progress was 2015 --> MDG Summit to reassess and update

What's the current concentration of atmospheric CO2?

410 ppm best tracker for anthropogenic effects is the keeling curve from Mauna Loa

According to the article "The global energy challenge", what is the percentage of energy from fossil fuel sources?

80% - Current trends are that coal use is dropping in the developed world and China (not India) and renewables are growing rapidly (but they started as a small percentage). - Image. depicts how much more the US and China use in comparison with the other top 50 nations

Plan B Budget

Basic Social Goals: $77 billion Restoring the Earth: $110 billion Total Plan B Budget: $187 billion Perspective: this is 1/8 the annual military spending

What technologies must be deployed on a large scale to use WWS in transportation?

Battery electric vehicles Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles Liquefied hydrogen combustion

SDG Goal 3: Good Health and Well Being

By 2030, 1. reduce the maternal mortality rate 2. end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age. 3. end the AIDS/ TB/ Malaria epidemics and other communicable diseases 4. prevent/ treat substance abuse (narcotics and alcohol)

By 2050 the world's population will likely increase by about --percent; to feed that population, crop production will need to -----.

By 2050 the world's population will likely increase by about 35 percent; to feed that population, crop production will need to double - Production will have to far outpace population growth because the developing world will grow prosperous enough to eat meat/ dairy

presentation: UCSD Sustainability Goals

Carbon neutrality emissions: direct/indirect emissions by 2025, travel and commuter by 2050 Zero waste by 2020 (currently at 48%) Reduce potable water use LEED buildings

Singapore, London, Stockholm and Milan are examples of cities who are reducing extreme traffic congestion and pollution in city centers by:

Charging cars a tax to enter the city.

EIA (Energy Information Administration) US Energy consumption projections

Current laws and policies project that energy consumption will decline to 76.6% by 2040. - renewables are increasing by an average of 2.6%/ year - nuclear is second fastest - fossil fuels still account for 78% of energy use in 2040

how to preserve biodiversity

Stabilize population Stabilize climate Set up reserves Protect biodiversity hotspots.

What drives deforestation?

A. Global demand for wood and lumber. B. Growing global population. C. Demand for commodities such as soy and palm oil for an export market. D. Increasing global consumption of beef.

Hydropower: Pros

Abundant energy resource Renewable Dams can provide flood control Can provide irrigation water Can provide continuous baseload power or quickly ramp on or off

electricity-generating technologies favored by authors Jacobson and Delucchi (2011)?

All existing technologies in wave, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, tidal and solar renewable energy.

UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative

Announced by President Napolitano in November 2015 Commits UC to emitting net zero greenhouse gases from its scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 2025 - we emit a lot of GHGs through: natural gas/ campus fleet, purchased electricity, and campus commute/ business air travel

What is the best estimate for the amount of power required today to satisfy all end uses worldwide as given by Jacobson and Delucchi (2011)?

Approximately 12.5 trillion watts (Terawatts, or TW)

Energy Star

brand advantage: it's a way to show that an energy source is truly efficient, credible, and is a leader in environmentalism - recognized symbol by >70% of households by ends of 2007

LEED

certification system that shows if a building meets formal, recognizable standards Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Pavan Sukhder argues that the dramatic decrease in biodiversity is:

Due to the fact that private profits are valued more than public benefits.

Brown's tactics for raising Energy Efficiency in buildings, lighting, & transportation

Examples: - Buildings: Retrofits with insulation and more efficient appliances can cut energy use by 20-50% - Lighting: A worldwide switch to highly-efficient lighting would enable the world to close 705 of its 2,800 coal-fired power plants - Restructure Transportation: to emphasize light rail and bus rapid transit would save energy, while making walking and cycling safer // Moving from oil-powered transport to clean electricity reaps big gains. Potential: The efficiency measures proposed here can offset the nearly 30% growth in projected energy demand by 2020.

"Bending the Curve" in this report refers to

Flattening the upward trajectory of human-caused warming trends.

Hydropower: Cons

Flooding displaces people, plants, and animals Weakens river resilience Traps sediment, shrinking downstream lakes and wetlands Impedes the movement of fish and other creatures Reservoirs emit climate-disrupting methane gas Power distribution required Expensive: typically >2x original cost estimate, per Oxford study Long build time; opportunity cost Over the past 25 years, nearly 900 US dams have been removed.

Types of "New Water"

Graywater- untreated household wastewater (not come into contact with toilet waste) that can be directly reused for irrigation without undergoing a treatment process. Recycled (reclaimed) water- A process that treats wastewater to a level that is approved for some purposes. purple pipe Water Purification- A process that treats wastewater to a level that is approved for drinking supply. (filtered/ reverse osmosis/ UV light): half cost of imports/ desalination Desalination- a process that removes salts and other minerals (usually through reverse osmosis) to create water that is approved for drinking supply

SDG Goal 13: Combat Climate Change

Implement Paris Climate Agreement

SDG Goal 4: Quality Education

Inclusive and quality education helps people break out of poverty cycles (reduces inequality and empowers people to lead healthier more sustainable lives)

History of energy consumption in the US

Three fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas, and coal) have provided more than 80% of total U.S. energy consumption for more than 100 years. - US Energy Consumption in order of greatest to least: petroleum, natural gas, coal, renewables, nuclear

What is the approximate total annual budget for Brown's Plans to Restore the Earth?

110 Billion (USD)

UC Carbon Neutrality Solution 1: Science Solutions Cluster

Bend the warming curve immediately by reducing short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) and sustainably by replacing current fossil-fueled energy systems with carbon neutral technologies.

effective strategies to increase energy efficiency outlined in this chapter

Recycling materials Smarter-Grids U.S. Green Building Council-LEED certification Zero-Carbon Buildings

biggest concern with the use of WWS energy supplies that Delucchi and Jacobson address in Part 2

Reliability of WWS to meet changing demands over time scales of seconds to years.

SD Climate Action Plans strategies

Significantly reducing land fill waste Bicycling, walking, transit & land use Energy and water efficient buildings Climate resiliency

Which of the following energy technologies has the largest contribution to Jacobson and Delucchi's plan (Table 4)?

Wind

How to stabilize climate through energy choices

- Shift to carbon free energy - provide energy to the 3 billion people that currently live in the least developed countries. - Increase Energy Efficiency - Other: Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation

Trends in Deforestation

"In recent years, the shrinkage of forests in tropical regions has released 2.2 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Meanwhile, expanding forests in the temperate regions are absorbing close to 700 million tons of carbon." - Forests cover 31% of the total global land area. - The rate of forest loss has slowed globally, but overall deforestation remains very high (esp. tropical) - Deforestation accounts for 12-29% of global GHGs

Existing Cost-Effective Technologies: residential sector

- 1/3 of CA's current urban water use can be conserved using existing technology (conclusion: it's cheaper to conserve water than to tap in to new supply sources) --->Indoor residential conservation measures - Low flow toilets, faucets and showerheads - Water efficient washing machines and dishwashers - Leak detection and reduction. Outdoor residential conservation measures - Improved irrigation scheduling, operation, and maintenance, - Some replacement of irrigation technology

SDG Goal 2: End Hunger

- By 2030, end malnutrition and hunger - Ensure access by all people to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.

Lester Brown's World on the Edge: Ending Net Deforestation, Planting Trees

- Ending net deforestation by 2020 will reduce annual CO2 emissions by 1.5 billion tons of carbon (today that would be roughly one-sixth of emissions from fossil fuel burning). - Planting trees and adopting less-intensive farming and land management practices can stabilize soils and sequester carbon.

Lester Brown's World on the Edge: ways to protect and restore forests

- Focus on reducing paper use and then paper recycling. - Reduce fuelwood use in developing countries by introducing innovative stoves and fuels. - Harvest forests responsibly: certification and stewardship - Reforestation (much in developed nations) - Successes are noted in China, Thailand, and the Philippines

Why do cities and campuses have climate action plans?

- Given that the political climate doesn't prioritize climate change, they're just doing the work that needs to be done. - mitigate emissions - adapt to current changes

How is food supply tightening?

- Growth in crop yields is slowing - Cropland is being lost to non-farm uses - Deserts are expanding - Aquifers are being over-pumped - Extreme weather events and rising temperatures threaten harvests **we're only one poor harvests away from chaos in world grain markets According to Brown, the current status of world grain carryover stocks is 74 days of consumption (down from 104 days)

What actions are "Accelerating the Transition" according to Brown?

- Investing in energy efficiency is less costly than building new generating capacity. - Governmental policies that promote clean energy. - Putting a price on carbon through cap-and-trade policies and/or through carbon tax. - The power of companies, businesses and corporations to invest in clean power.

Bending the Curve: 10 scalable solutions for carbon neutrality and climate stability: 4 tactics to reach climate stability...)

- Reduce SLCPs immediately, and then reduce current fossil-fuel energy systems. - Deepen the culture of climate collaboration to involve community, religious leaders, academic scholars and researchers to come up with solutions. - Adopt market forces such as cap-and-trade or carbon taxes to reduce CO2 emissions. - Regenerate damaged ecosystems and restore soil carbon.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

- Replaced the UN Millennium Development Goals that started in 2000 and ended in 2015 when countries adopted a set of 17 goals to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity by reducing population pressures. - Each goal has specific targets to be achieved over the next 15 years. - SDGs feature the means of implementation: financing building

Restructuring Transportation-- 4 tactics

- Underground rail, light rail, and bus rapid transit saves energy, while making walking and cycling safer. - Intercity (high-speed) rail sharply reduces air and car travel. - Replacing inefficient internal combustion engines (oil) with electric motors (localized energy). - Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles could charge at $1 per gallon of gasoline equivalent what's required? change the driving culture, urban planning

SD CAP Benchmarks

- Use 100 percent renewable energy citywide by 2035. - Cut vehicle trips in designated transit areas by 20 percent within next five years and by 50 percent within two decades. - Boost the urban tree canopy by 15 percent in five years and by 35 percent within two decades. - Recycle or compost 75 percent of all solid waste within five years and by 90 percent within two decades. - Increase zero-emission vehicles in city government's fleet to 50 percent in five years and 90 percent within two decades.

Growing demand for food

- World population is increasing by 80 million annually - Almost one billion people live in extreme poverty - Some 3 billion people are trying to move up the food chain and eat more grain-intensive livestock products - Expanding biofuel production means that cars and people compete for crops

Putting a Price on Carbon (define Cap&Trade/ Carbon Tax)

- fossil fuels are still heavily subsidized and should be priced to better reflect their true social and environmental costs - Cap-And-Trade: countries can reduce emissions and sell their permits, then polluters can buy carbon market permits (EU had first international Emissions Trading System) - Carbon Tax: tax levied on each ton of carbon emitted, simple, can be offset by reduced income tac)

TEEB: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity

- groundbreaking because it counts the global economic benefits of biodiversity (attempts to influence people to consider how decisions will damage or preserve biodiversity) - It encourages countries to develop and publish "Natural capital accounts" tracking the value of plants, animal, water and other "natural wealth" alongside traditional financial measures.

The Pacific Institute: Background

- non-profit research institute for freshwater issues - current and future water needs can be met by: conservation and efficiency - 1/3 of CA's current urban water use can be conserved using existing technology (conclusion: it's cheaper to conserve water than to tap in to new supply sources)

Geopolitics of food scarcity: 4 main threats

- population increase, esp. in failed states - land grabs in poor countries by richer countries to supplement their own lost agricultural carrying capacity (often an outcome of the host being a failed state) - water scarcity: importing food is a device for obtaining water from another region - Diminishing returns from Green Revolution fertilizer-intensive agricultural (reflected in declining grain surpluses).

2015 MDG Summit

- summit held to update sustainable development goals - 17 new sustainability development goals developed to end all forms of poverty - Stimulate action in People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, Partnership - More focus on the mobilization of resources/ follow-up and review of goal implementation

SDG Goal 5: Gender Equality

- women suffer discrimination worldwide - providing women with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and political representation benefits humanity at large because women are half the world's potential

Who gets paid under REDD?

-Countries that reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation -Countries that plant new trees -Countries that use their forests sustainably -Countries that continue to conserve large areas of intact forests.

SDG Goal 14: Life Below Water

-Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts. -Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification. -By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds. -Prohibit fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

In their papers "Providing all global energy with wind, water and solar power Part 1" (2011) the authors Jacobson and Delucchi propose

-That we can generate 100% of all the world's new energy supply from WWS renewable sources by 2030. -That we can generate 100% of all the world's energy supply from WWS renewable sources by 2050.

Bending the Curve: discrepancy in emissions between the rich and poor: 1 billion of us consume_______ and emit ________ while the poorest contribute ______

1 billion of us consume about 50 percent of the fossil fuel energy consumed on Earth and emit about 60 percent of the greenhouse gases. In contrast, the poorest 3 billion contribute only 5 percent to CO2 pollution

Plan B- Climate Action Plan (4 components & the goal)

1. Eradicate poverty (primary school education, health care) 2. Cut CO2 emissions 80% by 2020 -Raise energy efficiency, restructure transportation -Replace fossil fuels with renewables -end net deforestation, plant trees to sequester carbon 3. Stabilize population at 8 billion by 2040 4. Restore Earth's natural systems (end deforestation, plant trees to sequester carbon) ...to prevent global atmospheric CO2 concentrations from exceeding 400 ppm, minimizing future temperature rise.

Delucchi and Jacobson propose 7 solutions to reliability issues

1. Interconnect the grid (mix of wind, solar, and water energy: so when the sun isn't shining, the wind is blowing, and water power is consistently available) 2. Use a consistent source, like hydroelectric or geothermal, to fill the solar and wind gaps. 3. Create a smart grid to use energy most efficiently 4. Use energy storage technologies 5. Build more WWS than needed, so that there's still supply when wind and sunlight are low and to supply H2 6. Use electric vehicle batteries as a storage medium 7. Utilize weather forecasts to anticipate energy demands

Nat Geo Carbon Bath: 1. What if we stop increasing emissions? 2. How do we cause CO2 emissions? 3. How does CO2 cause warming? 4. Where does our CO2 go?

1. What if we stop increasing emissions? - our current rate emits CO2 twice as fast as it is removed and it'll take centuries for plants and ocean to soak up most CO2. 2. How do we cause CO2 emissions? - 4/5 is from burning fossil fuels, the rest is from deforestation and other land use changes 3. How does CO2 cause warming? - it absorbs some of the heat radiation coming off earth's surface and radiates it back down 4. Where does our CO2 go? - 9.1 billion metric tons IN a year, 5 billion OUT - plants and soil absorb about 1/3 each year, 1/4 ocean surface water, and 45% remains airborne

UC Carbon Neutrality Solution 2 & 3: Societal Transformation Solutions Cluster

2: Foster a global culture of climate action through coordinated public communication and education at local to global scales. Combine technology and policy solutions with innovative approaches to changing social attitudes and behavior. 3. Deepen the global culture of climate collaboration by designing venues where stakeholders, community and religious leaders converge around concrete problems with researchers and scholars from all academic disciplines, with the overall goal of initiating collaborative actions to mitigate climate disruption.

presentation: UCSD campus significance

3rd largest energy/water user in SD. Largest employer in SD. Living Lab for real world solutions. campus microgram provides over 85% of campus energy

UC Carbon Neutrality Solution 4: Governance Solutions Cluster

4. Scale up subnational models of governance and collaboration around the world to embolden and energize national and international action.

UC Carbon Neutrality Solution 5 & 6: Market- and Regulations-Based Solutions Cluster

5. Adopt market-based instruments to create efficient incentives for businesses and individuals to reduce CO2 emissions. 6. Narrowly target direct regulatory measures — such as rebates and efficiency and renewable energy portfolio standards — at high emissions sectors not covered by market-based policies.

UC Carbon Neutrality Solution 7, 8, & 9: Technology-Based Solutions Cluster

7. Promote immediate widespread use of mature technologies such as photovoltaics, wind turbines, battery and hydrogen fuel cell electric light-duty vehicles, and more efficient end-use devices, especially in lighting, air conditioning, appliances and industrial processes. 8. Aggressively support and promote innovations to accelerate the complete electrification of energy and transportation systems and improve building efficiency. 9. Immediately make maximum use of available technologies combined with regulations to reduce methane emissions by 50 percent and black carbon emissions by 90 percent. Phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by 2030 by amending the Montreal Protocol.

New Urbanism (define + Brown's plan)

A planning philosophy that seeks to revive the traditional city planning, designing around human beings instead of cars. - reducing urban water use (we have too many people now to just wash away our waste) - increasing urban agriculture (ecological, economic, social, and psychological benefits = unrealized potential in US cities) - upgrading squatter settlements - getting people in touch with nature - restructure urban transport by improving bus lines, building better pedestrian pathways, connecting city with underground rail lines and light-rail surface systems, and bike pathways.

SDG Goal 1: End Poverty + tactics

By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a day. - Universal primary education (gender parity in education) - Eradication of adult illiteracy - School lunch programs - Access to a safe supply of clean water - Aid to women, infants, and preschool children - Reproductive health care and family planning services - Universal basic health care Total Additional Annual Cost = $75 billion

Sustainable City: Example: Bogotá, Columbia

Colombia mayor Enrique Peñalosa transformed one of the world's most chaotic cities into a model of civic-minded and sustainable urban planning. -Cities designed for people, not cars - He reformed public transportation, added greenways, built mega-libraries and created the longest stretch of bike-only lanes in the world.

Millenium Ecosystem Assessment Summary

It was called for by the UN to assess global ecosystem health for informed policies - Humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly over the last 50 years than any previous period, these changes have led to loss of biodiversity. - These changes have so far increased net human well being but pose risks that unless addressed will diminish future generations access to ecosystem services - Degradation of ecosystem services can get worse and prevent achieving Millenium Development Goals (now the SDGs) - we must change policies/ institutions to reverse ecosystem services degradation while meeting the demands for their services.

Short lived climate pollutants

Methane (CH4) Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) Tropospheric Ozone (03) Black Carbon

How much should we limit emissions?

Keeping carbon dioxide concentrations below 450 ppm would give the world even odds of limiting warming to 2°C theme: the earlier we act, the easier it will be to reach our targets

OECD vs. non-OECD energy consumption

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development made to stimulate economic progress and world trade - The energy consumption in non-OECD countries increases 41% between 2015-2040 in contrast to a 9% increase in OECD countries. - non-OECD has greatest consumption in Asia

Which of the following do Delucchi and Jacobson identify as barriers to conversion?

Political issues - we may lack the political will to convert. Social issues - we don't have will of society to convert.

Goals of the San Diego Climate Action Plan (CAP)

Put the city on a trajectory to reach the statewide GHG reduction goals, cut emissions to 80% of the 1990 levels by 2050 - projects success with business as usual, 2010 baseline, reduction targets post-CAP

What's REDD+ ?

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) + conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. A GREEN CARBON MARKET (cap and trade) - Creates a financial value for the carbon stored in forest - Provides incentives to developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands + co-benefits (poverty alleviation in forest areas, biodiversity conservation) - Basic Idea: wealthy nations meet GHG emissions targets by buying carbon credits from developing countries and poor countries get money by keeping forests alive - It's dealt with in 2 paragraphs of the Paris Climate Agreement: parties must conserve and enhance GHG sinks// parties must reduce emissions from deforestation, enhance carbon stocks in developing nations -A UN program -An effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forest -A program that provides incentives to developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands -A part of the international climate change solution that could offer a potentially effective way to reduce global carbon emissions.

short lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) and long ones

SLCPs = methane (CH4), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), tropospheric ozone (O3), black carbon Long-lived pollutants: Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - has huge impact on anthropogenic radiative forcing

The connection between poverty, education, and population

School lunch programs help kids, especially girls, stay in school --> Girls who stay in school longer are likely to have fewer children --> Reducing family size helps lift families out of poverty Efforts to eliminate poverty and slow population growth reinforce each other—and they also help prevent state failure by addressing the root causes of instability. - Lester Brown

In their 2011 paper, Jacobson and Delucchi find that the cost of energy in a 100% WWS world will be

Similar to the cost of energy today

Solar Energy Revolution (Brown's facts)

Solar energy is the fastest-growing electricity source worldwide. Pros: -fastest growing electricity source - can scale up from small systems to massive utility-scale arrays. - The price of solar installations has decreased: now cheaper than grid average in many markets. (Solar panels used to cost over $74/watt in 1972 and in 2014 it was down to below 70cents/watt). - Traditional utility businesses are threatened by rooftop PV and must reinvent themselves to survive in the new energy landscape because they over invested in fossil fuel/ nuclear - China and India are expanding their solar goals by a LOT - PV expands access to electricity for the 1.3 billion without it because PV is cheaper than building centralized power systems.

Economic impact of SD's CAP

There are considerable economic benefits of implementing CAP strategies including job creation and cost savings from reduced resource consumption.

Urbanization (define + problems)

Urbanization is the second most dominant demographic trend of our time, after population growth itself. - As of 2008, more than half of the world's population live in cities. - Growing problems resulting from urbanization are: traffic congestion, air pollution (respiratory illness), reliance on distant sources for basic amenities

water tables fall while...

water tables fall while energy prices rise (we value energy over water) Intersection between water, energy, food, and population.

Ecosystem services provided by forests

Wood and paper Water regulation and soil protection Climate Regulation Biodiversity

The vast majority of CA's water goes to the:

agriculture sector which uses 80% of the CA developed water supply (the Pacific Institute says 20% of agriculture water could be conserved with existing tech) improving the efficiency: irrigation tech (flood to drip), irrigation scheduling (local climate/soil info), regulated deficit irrigation (using less water on crops during drought-tolerant growth stages), practices enhancing soil moisture

Lester Brown suggests that perhaps the quickest, most profitable way to reduce electricity use world wide is to:

change light bulbs: Earth Policy Institute suggest that switching to more energy-efficient lighting alone can lower world electricity use by 12%

how to regenerate fisheries

fisheries are an important ecosystem service that's declining (sea is main source of protein) - end fishing industry subsidies - set up marine reserves - there's some success and there's a surge in fish farming

Downtime of traditional vs. renewable power sources

fossil fuels: the average US coal power plant was down 12.5% of the time for maintenance// centralized power plant outages affect large regions renewables: wind turbines have a downtime of 0-5%, solar is 1%, renewable outages only affect a small fraction of electrical production

Lester Brown World on the Edge: Soil conservation tactics

protect topsoil and restore rangelands - needed if agriculture is to prosper - emulate US success (New England) - conservation tillage agriculture: reduces erosion, retains water, raises soil carbon content, reduces energy use for tillage - eliminate overgrazing - Green Walls around deserts (Sahara initiative)

What is the fastest growing source of energy globally?

renewable energy (unlike fossil fuels, energy from the wind and sun is clean, inexhaustible, falling costs, free fuel)

SDG Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

there's sufficient fresh water on earth to provide for everyone but bad economies and bad infrastructure prevent millions from supply/ sanitation/ hygiene