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The Frugality Project Hello, and welcome to the Frugality Project. This project is a newspaper concept setup originally in response to mainstream media news, which simply did not understand the true needs of the public. Nowadays, our media outlets are glamourised with celebrities and money-hungry politicians. Often, the most important news is forgotten, in favour of celebrity culture. The first of three newspapers will explore the environment; the second is an extension of this, looking into the construction of corporatism and consumerism, along with the food and animal industry. These three papers are a collection of information heavily detailing what people need to know, and lays the foundations for the supporting website to this project. Along with these three introductory newspapers, there will be an annual paper designed by the Frugality Project, bringing together major news stories from over the year that do not always make it to the papers. These news topics can be kept track
of over the course of the year at; thefrugalityproject.org This newspaper discusses the crisis between our human-made economies against Mother Nature’s thoroughlyembedded ecology. There is a lot of data presented, and through aesthetically inspired graphics and simple presentation of information, even the most complex details are easy to understand. The paper informs you about what our situation was; what it has become and where we as humans are going, plus the flaws of our great cataclysm on the horizon. This project will not leave you at a standstill, however. The frugality project explores solutions, personal action and global action. The project proves that saving the world in an environmental sense is completely plausible, that there are benefits of doing so. Most importantly, the paper debunks the myth that we need to return to living in caves in order to live in a sustainable manner, this fact is simply not true.
contents The Big Bang
1
57
The Frugality Project
The First Cell
3
59
The Trees of Life
What is the Economy?
5
61
Garden of Dirt
Disconnection from Nature
7
63
The Mycelium Network
Fossil Fuels
9
65
Coral Reefs
The Industrial Revolution
11
67
The Ocean
The agricultural Revolution
13
69
Deserts
What is Wrong with the Economy?
15
71
Natures Materials
Exponential Growth
16
73
Solar Energy
Issue with Consumerism
17
75
Wing Energy
The Biosphere
21
77
Tidal Power
Carbon Dioxide
23
79
Geothermal Energy
The Atmosphere
25
81
Biomass Fuel
Soil Degradation and Food
29
83
Hydropower Electricity
Deforestation and Desertification
31
85
Human Energy
Oceans and Stagnation
33
87
Rebuilding
Polar Ice Caps
35
89
The Green Car
The Home Species
37
91
The Carbon Tax
Forces Blocking Change
39
93
The Hansen Tax
Corporations
41
95
Your Voting for This
Fuel Supplies left
47
97
Nature Has Rights
Earths potential future
51
99
Carbon Reduction
Looking into Nuclear
53
101
Get Involved
Moving Forward
55
103
Organisations
105
Figures of interest
107
Frugal networking
109
The Next Project
111
Index
114
Credits
Environment & Economy
DI SCON N E CT ION
7
Human disconnection with nature .
The human mind is said to have thrown us out of balance with our earth, claim many scientists. But what has changed in recent history? In the past one hundred years humanity has radically altered its impact on the Earth.
There is an element that has emerged which has accelerated the human disconnection from Earth, causing extensive damage to our climate and all other natural systems. That is the belief that we are not part of nature, we rule it. Humans have long held the idea they are disconnected from nature. Yet the reality is we are part of nature; in fact, we are nature. This is the most essential misinterpretation in the world causing all this turmoil. [12]
as disordered thinking. Humans cannot be separated from nature, why we think that way is the million pound question. What happens in our mind that allows us to separate ourselves from the natural world? Does this mean the individual thinks he or she is more ‘free’? [14]
The most important fact for people to realise is that humans are the only species that must pay to exist on the planet. Other species pay no taxes to the taxman. Therefore, it could be argued that plants and animals are theoretically freer.
Humanistic attitudes can be rooted in selfishness, based on the economic system we have, politics, etc. How many governments have taken the environmental situation seriously in the past and even today? Certainly not the United Kingdom, and definitely not the United States. [15] We live in a human-centric environment where it is simple to think we are not like other creatures; we are smart, We create our own habitats, The economy is the focus of our lives and the liability that it remains strong. While we focus on the financial system, we have lost focus on the ancient truths, the wisdoms that kept us tuned into nature and what it tells us. People must remember that should they do anything to harm nature, it will
One of the reasons why people may find it so hard to believe humans are connected with nature is that it goes against the grain of our cultural beliefs and values. Our culture is built on that humans are the greatest species on Earth and distinguishable from all other life forms, that humans are superior to other life forms. This fact is simply not true. Humans are a species which have simply developed a taste Humans for greed fundamentally. [13] From a different psychological perspective, to think humans are disconnected can be seen
seek vengeance in horrible ways. In our modern age, this is all too clear. [8]
Kenny Ausubel, We are Nature
When humans do not coexist in good balance with nature there is the possibility that we will decease into extinction. It is not a question of saving the environment. We know that the environment is going to survive. We are the ones that either will not survive, or have long held the we may survive in a planet we idea they are disconnected no longer wish to live in. [12] from nature. Yet the reality Humans were always a species that would coincide with the is we are part of nature; in earth not hold dominion over it.
fact, we are nature
animal/nature free photograph
8
OIL Television
Shaving Cream
Tyres
Tyres
Television Tyres
ision Tyres
Shaving Cream
Television
Drugs Benzine
The
Benzine Cement Kilns
Creosote Cement Kilns Oil
Creosote Oil
Tyres
Vehicles
Oil
Creosote Oil
Undergound
Phenol Phenol
Oil Gas Wood Non Fossil Electricity
Solvents
MP3 Players
MP3 Players
Heating MP3 Players Trains
Phones Asprin
OIL
Heating Watches Fertilisers MP3 Television Heating Players Tyres MP3 Fertilisers I nTrains d u s Fertilisers t r ia l Players Cement Steel I nTrains d u s Fertilisers t r ia l Cricket Cement R e v o l u t i o n Production Steel Creosote Benzine Drugs I nTrains d u sFertilisers t r ia l Bat Oil Cricket Cement R ev olut io n Production Bat Phenol Cricket Cement R ev olut io n Conveyor Bat Carbon Cricket Cement Belts Cement Kilns Conveyor Fibre Bat WOOD crayons Cricket Carbon MP3 Belts Conveyor Bat Fibre WOOD Players crayons Car Fuels Heating Belts Conveyor WOOD crayons WatchesStove BeltsCar Fuels Spears Fertilisers veyor WOOD Water crayons Trains & Bows Car Fuels Stove Filters I n dust r ia l WOOD crayons Water Cement Steel Stove Artificial Filters Cricket R e Water v olut io n Production Turf Stove Bat Artificial Filters Water Turf Artificial Filters Conveyor Water Carbon Turf Belts Artificial Fibre Silicon Filters WOOD crayons WiFi Turf Artificial Metal Car Fuels Silicon Turf Stove Metal Silicon Water Filters Metal Silicon Boats Artificial GAS Metal Turf Silicon Boats Street Metal GAS Fireplace Activated Lamps Optical Silicon Street GAS Carbon Paper WiFi Fireplace Activated Metal Fibres Lamps Industry Street Optical GAS Carbon Fireplace Clothes Lamps Fibres OpticalBoats GAS Fireplace Dryer Clothes GAS Fibres Optical replace Dryer Tennis Street Clothes Fireplace Activated Fibres Lamps Optical Optical Racket Desk Carbon Dryer Tennis Clothes Batterey Fibres Fibres Speakers Clothes Racket Dryer Tennis Clothes Batterey Dryer Speakers Racket Dryer Tennis Tennis Batterey Lumber Racket Racket Tennis Desk Batterey atterey Speakers Lumber Racket Vehicles Construction Lumber Lumber Solvents Lumber Phones Construction Vehicles Construction Solvents umber Construction Phones Asprin Solvents Phones s Construction AntiPhones Asprin Asprin AntiFreeze Construction hones AntiAsprin Freeze Freeze Fabrics AntiFabrics COAL COAL Freeze AntiCOAL Freeze AntiAsphalt COAL Light Freeze Asphalt bulb Light Shampoo COAL Barbaques bulb Shampoo COAL ght Coal Barbaques Tar Shampoo ulb CoalBarbaques ELECTRICITY Shampoo Tar CoalBarbaques Shampoo Tar rbaques Carpeting Inks Instruments Shaving Shampoo Coal Spears & Bows Watches Heating
Coal
Coal
T r a i n w rPhenol eck
Phenol
Phenol
Carpeting
Creosote Oil
Benzine
F o Creosote ssil Fuel
Carpeting
Instruments
Non Renewable
Benzine
Drugs
Inks Instruments Inks
Light bulb
Non Renewable
Barbaques
Coal Tar
ELECTRICITY
Inks
Shaving Cream
Oil Gas Wood Non Fos Electrici
A F
Fabrics
Asphalt
Lu
Instruments
Non Renewable
The Fossil Fuel Undergound Trainwreck
The Fossil Fuel Undergound
Cream
Shaving Cream
Shaving Cream Inks
Instruments Carpeting
on Renewable
Inks
Inks Instruments Carpeting
Non Renewable
Instruments Carpeting
The
Non Renewable Coal Oil Gas Wood Non Fossil Electricity
Instruments Non Renewable
Carpeting
Carpeting
F Coal ossil Oil Gas Wood Non Fossil Electricity
Fuel
Coal Unde Oil Gas Wood Non Fossil Electricity
rgou
Coal Oil nGas d Tra Wood Non Fossil Electricity
inwr
The Fossil Fuel Undergound Trainwreck ossil Fuel Undergound Trainwreck u e l 11 Undergound Trainwreck ergound Trainwreck Trainwreck
Coal Oil Gas e ck Wood Non Fossil Electricity
Oil Gas Wood Non Fossil Electricity
Fossil Fuel need to know basis It is a widely-known fact that oil is used for cars and trucks, amongst other automobiles. Two-thirds of US oil is used for transportation. What is oil used for, apart from transportation? Oil is used to produce goods that have both industrial and residential use. It is used for making oil-based lubricants, which are again used in both homes and industries. Also it is used to produce electricity, in some regions, oil is used to heat homes and residential areas in colder climates. Are these the only uses of oil? Certainly not. There are numerous ways in which oil is used. The most commonly used material is plastic. Without plastic, humans probably would not survive. Right from the Apple iPhone in your hand, to the plastic jacket you use to cover yourself from the maddening rain. If humanity was to get rid of all the plastic in the world, we will still be discussing the uses of oil. Apart from plastic, there are a number of things around the house that contain oil; the toothpaste you use daily is made up of a type of petroleum compound, along with your shampoo, soap, shaving cream, deodorant, perfumes, nail polish etc. They contain one or the other type of petroleum compounds like crude oil or natural gas included in the ingredients. Other than this, oil is used in the production of life-saving medicine. It is also used in the production of fertilisers, pesticides, etc. All these essential commodities are transported thousands of miles on helicopters, trucks, buses, cars, ships, etc. These modes of transportation all run on, you guessed it, oil. Other uses include; use as fuel in form of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, jet fuel and fuel oils. It is used as lubricants for motor oils, greases, machine oils, etc. Other variants, like Bulk tar, asphalt,
paraffin wax, petroleum coke, aromatic petrochemicals, etc. are also products made from oil. [21] Coal is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide, as well as one of the largest worldwide anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide releases. In 1999, world gross carbon dioxide emissions from coal usage were 8,666 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. [22] Coal-fired electric power generation emits around 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide for every megawatthour generated, which is almost double the approximately 1100 pounds of carbon dioxide released by a natural gas-fired electric plant per megawatthour generated. Fuel gas is any one of a number of fuels that under ordinary conditions are gaseous. Many fuel gases are composed of hydrocarbons (such as methane or propane), hydrogen, carbon monoxide, or mixtures thereof. Such gases are sources of potential heat energy or light energy that can be readily transmitted and distributed through pipes from the point of origin directly to the place of consumption. Wood has a long history of being used as fuel, which continues to the present day, mostly in rural areas of the world. Hardwood is preferred over softwood because it creates less smoke and burns longer. Adding a woodstove or fireplace to a home is often felt to add ambiance and warmth.[16] Wood fuel is available as firewood, charcoal, chips, sheets, pellets, and sawdust. The particular form used depends upon factors such as source, quantity, quality and application. In many areas, wood is the most readily available form of fuel, requiring no tools. For example, picking up dead wood, or little tools, although as in any industry, specialised tools, such as skidders and hydraulic wood splitters, have been developed to mechanize production. Sawmill waste and construction industry by-products also include various forms of lumber tailings.
The use of electricity is a convenient way to transfer energy, and because of this it has been adapted to a huge, and growing, number of uses. [22] The invention of a practical incandescent light bulb in the 1870s led to lighting becoming one of the first publiclyavailable applications of electrical power. Although electrification brought with it its own dangers, replacing the naked flames of gas lighting greatly reduced fire hazards within homes and factories. [23] Public utilities were established in many cities, targeting the flourishing market for electrical lighting. Electricity is a tangible energy source for refrigeration, with air conditioning denoting a growing market for electricity demand, the effects of which electrical utilities are increasingly obliged to accommodate. In 1999, [24]
Electricity is used within telecommunications, and indeed the electrical telegraph, demonstrated commercially in 1837 by Cooke and Wheatstone, with was one of its earliest applications.
carbon dioxide emissions from coal usage were 8,666 million tonnes
With the creation of first intercontinental, and then transatlantic, telegraph systems in the 1860s, electricity had enabled communications in minutes across the globe. Optical fibre and satellite communication technology have taken a share of the market for communications systems, but electricity can be expected to remain an essential part of the process.
Electronic devices make use of the transistor, perhaps one of the most important inventions of the twentieth century, [26] and a fundamental building block of all modern circuitry. A modern integrated circuit may contain several billion miniaturised transistors in a region only a few centimetres square. [26] Electricity is also used to fuel public transportation, including electric buses and trains. [27]
12
towards the task
$35 Trillion a year to convert yearly carbon dioxide into oxygen
18 Trillion of countries involved could be put towards the task
Problems with the economy: the human effect Economists do take into consideration all the things that nature does for free. Some technologies will never be able to replace nature, such as pollenating all flowering plants. What would it cost to replicate the process of turning carbon dioxide into oxygen? Nature does it for free. An established rough estimate in the year 2000 concluded that it would cost $35 trillion a year to do what nature is doing at no monetary cost. The world economy only reached $18 trillion annually at the time. Therefore, one can conclude that nature is performing twice the amount of work as the economies of the world. In the madness of conventional economics, this is omitted from the equation. [8] The United States of America is the dominant nation of the modern age; the British Empire spanned across the globe in bygone eras, but the United States appears to be taking the reins in this day and age. A key point to consider is what is going wrong in the
15
USA, and to realise that what happens in the USA affects the entire planet. Yes, global warming is an issue in the UK, but the population of the USA is significantly larger, therefore its effect upon the planet is much greater. Thomas Jefferson claimed that people needed to remake and redesign the constitution every generation to meet their needs. Do we truly believe that the American founding fathers could comprehend the future? They would not even have to consider global warming, or deforestation, or the massive amount of toxic chemicals that are pumped into the oceans and our atmosphere, land, and soil. The only way to rectify this is to recognise that nature has rights too, and right now in the current global financial situation, nature is property, not a person. You can believe one thing or another at this point. [29] Over the last few decades, in business schools, students have been trained that the object of their business is growth as if that is an end. In reality, it is a means to an end, and humans have skewed this reality. If humans can re-acquire this ‘end’, their quality of life will improve; at present, the wrong kind of growth reduces quality of life, such as poorquality clothing or unhealthy food at low prices.
Currently, as it stands, the economy is changing lifestyle for the worse, not improving it. One could argue that playing video games is a technological advancement, but compared to outdoor activities, it is a step in the wrong direction. [30] The economy today is estimated to be roughly around a whopping value of $32 trillion dollars (£20 trillion pounds). We need to work out a crude estimate of replicating the process of turning Carbon Dioxide into Oxygen. 2,130,000,000 metric (American) tons of CO2= 1ppm (parts per million). The Earth has 395.55ppm which makes up 0.0395% of the atmosphere, so if we add up all of our tons of carbon, we end up with 842,521,500,000 tons estimated to be in the air. A scientific study (found on Scientificamerican) came out estimating that is would cost £660 to remove a single ton of carbon. There are 120 gigatons (120,000,000,000) of carbon absorbed by the trees each year. So in that is £79,197,480,000,000. How much would it cost to remove all the carbon from the atmosphere if we wanted to? Simply by multiplying the tons by cost per ton, we arrive at a staggering figure of £ 557,149,357,692,000. Therefore, it is vital that carbon levels are regulated, but our fossil fuel madness is tipping us over the edge.
Exponential Growth With David Suzuki Here we have the earth, attached to a test tube of bacteria, food and other matter. If we timeline earth into 60 minutes this is what we can see today as our system At zero minutes we have one cell at two minutes we have 4 cells, 3 minutes we have 8 cells, 4 minutes we have 16 cells. So at 55 minutes the food tank is 3% full and a bacteria says to another bacteria; “I think we’ve got a population problem” however fellow bacteria reply “What have you been smoking man, that's crazy!”
2 minutes
1 minute 3 minutes
55 minutes
Then 58 minutes the tank is 25% full 59 minutes the tank is 50% full and the fellow bacteria realise. “That guy was right we need to fix this”. 60 minutes is 100% If you give money to economists, they’ll print more money, but in the end they’ll crush the tube. Give it to scientists and they’ll make three more test tubes. After 61 minutes there are 2 empty test tubes, 62 minutes there are no test tubes left. suzuki asks “how do we get an extra minute back of all that air/water/fire and earth?”. Humanity has already passed the 59th minute.
58 minutes
59 minutes
If we think about it our body has 100 trillion cells and we are constantly loosing cells in hair, blood, skin etc. If one of our cells continually devides similar to the minutes of the food tube that cell will kill us. This type of cell division is known as cancer, an infected cell decides to divide and kills us. This only agrees with the theory that exponential growth is suicidal. - David Suzuki
Possible futures
60 minutes
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Humans 1G
3.4G
Fossil Fuel Industry
Co2
Military system
Transportation system
Getting to know our carbon What is carbon dioxide (co2) for ? Plants “inhale” carbon dioxide and use the carbon to build their structures. Then, they release the oxygen into the atmosphere. The same process is adopted by plankton. Carbon dioxide can also be frozen to produce “dry ice”, which is pumped into fire extinguishers to extinguish fires. It can also be mixed with hot water to produce a white gas, used in theatres to create a ‘steam’ effect. Carbon dioxide is also forced into water, producing carbonic acid. That’s the fizzy stuff in soft drinks to you and me.
23
Carbon dioxide also has life-saving qualities, and is used in life jackets which rely on it for quick inflation. High concentrations can also be used to kill pests, such as the common moth. Leavening agents produce carbon dioxide, which causes dough to rise. It extinguishes flames, and some fire extinguishers, especially those designed for electrical fires, contain liquid carbon dioxide under pressure. Plants require it to conduct photosynthesis and greenhouses may enrich their atmospheres with additional co2 to boost plant growth.
Co2
Corporate Industry
Co2
Housing
Nature Co2
Co2
Fossil Fueled Farming
Animals
Co2
Co2
Deforestation Forest Fires
Co2
Volcanoes
Co2
Forest
Co2
Co2
Co2
Soil Respiration Oceans & Coral Reefs
Animal Pollution
A
Human Threat The earth has its own natural way of removing regulated carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but now that humans are interfering with this, the situation has changed. There are many issues to consider as a result. For example, humans are using natural resources, commonly known as fossil fuels. These fossil fuels are then burnt as energy, with co2 being the by-product. Deforestation is reducing oxygen levels and, increasing co2, because when living trees are cut down, they release a lot of carbon, and trees absorb it out of the
atmosphere, like a sponge. Billions of land animals bred for the meat industry produce dangerous amounts of harmful greenhouse gasses. This may not sound that bad, but considering there are over sixty billion for the meat industry alone, these gassy animals become a genuine threat to the climate. Soil degradation means that less carbon is kept in the ground and the plankton are releasing their carbon upon death, as they naturally wither away. [36]
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Stagnation
Acidic layer of carbon dioxide builds on ocean top
Ocean Warms from injest of co2
Water Based Species Die Out
water at the top is too warm to turn over with the bottom water
Ocean
Pollution and Stagnation
There are also issues lingering with the coral reef system. There are two types of stresses associated with these reef systems: natural and human-induced. The effects of these stresses can range from negligible to catastrophic. Reefs display a surprising adaptation to shortterm natural catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, and usually recover to normal community structure. These natural events can even be considered beneficial in regards to biological diversity. Severe storm events on land can topple large
In the long term, this event benefits the ecological integrity of the reef. However, reefs are not well adapted to survive exposure to long-term stresses. Some examples include agricultural and industrial runoff, increased sedimentation Bubbling from land Methane clearing, human sewage and
There is an oceanic crisis. The upshot toxic discharges. Many land-based is that humans have taken far too much activities have important implications for reefs. Agricultural activities can out the ocean and pumped too much introduce herbicides, pesticides, fertilizers waste into it. Humans are responsible and runoff from animal feed. Sewage for wrecking the edge of the ocean discharges can introduce nitrogen through overfishing. Millions to billions of and phosphate fish are caught every year; much “The health of the ocean depends on the water compounds along of this is wasted, turning over and the surface water sinking to with pathogens and mixtures of toxics. as it is not the bottom and the bottom water coming up to Uncontrolled land consumed. Either the top. We can turn this conveyor belt off by clearing can result that or they are thrown back into warming the surface of the ocean too much in erosion, with the the ocean. [57] if we do that the whole ocean will become resultant increase in sediment loads 90% of the big stagnant.� to surface waters. fish have been Roadways, parking lots and buildings lost in the sea in a space of fifty years. trees. This opens up the forest to reconsist of impervious surfaces. These colonisation and results in a greater Fishermen then turn to deeper areas, diversity of plants. This same process surfaces increase runoff rates and carry areas offshore. Tonnes of unnatural occurs with storm impacts to reefs. with those waters mixtures of dissolved matter is disposed of into the ocean. The damaged area of the reef is often substances to surface waters. The surface This has a harmful effect, as some fish recolonised by a greater diversity of waters in any watershed eventually concentrate these substances like heavy organisms than existed before the storm. discharge into coastal or near-coastal mercury, pesticides and herbicides. [58]
33
waters. These waters can then impact coral communities associated with these discharge points. Thus, activities occurring in distant locations have impacts to reefs which are far away from these activities. [59] [60] Water stagnation occurs when water stops flowing. Stagnant water can be a major environmental hazard. Carbon has also been accumulating in the ocean as time has passed. Whilst deforestation, soil erosion, vanishing wetlands and other situations have all continued, this is still a much-evaded subject. The earth is heading towards a crisis, as it is like seamless network. For example, the fertilizers and pesticides are applied in the fields travel down rivers and end up in dead zones, many of which are all around the world [42]. Jeremy Jackson clarifies this; “We could tip the ocean into a different state the health of the ocean depends on the water turning over and the surface water sinking to the bottom water and the bottom water coming up to the top. It is conceivable that we could turn that conveyer belt off by warming the surface of the ocean too much. If we do that we could make the whole surface top stagnant. The last time that happened was the Enpermien mass extinction and more than 95% of all the species on the earth went extinct”. [61] Dr. Jackson laments that species are dying off faster than we can discover and catalogue them. Biology has descended into being an ‘obituary’ of nature. Humanity is responsible for causing extreme habitat reductions in entire suites of organisms, to the point of ecological extinction. What will be left to thrive? There is a list of organisms which will reportedly have a negative impact on the human population, and the vast majority of global species: Denitrifying bacteria, Leptospira, Purple bacteria (both sulfur and non-sulfur), some Fish, Lepisosteidae (gar), Northern snakehead fish, Pygmy gourami, Siamese fighting fish, Spotted barb, Walking catfish Mosquito larvae in stagnant water.
Stagnant water is the favorite breeding ground for a number of insects, Dragonfly nymphs, Fly maggots, Mosquito larvae, Nepidae (water scorpions), Algae, Biofilm, A number of species of frogs prefer stagnant water and Some species of turtles [20] There are two different t ypes of biological pollution, the first of which is ‘species introduction’. Killer algae which were accidently released from an aquarium which were bred to be cold tolerant, to have in peoples aquaria. The algae then started overgrowing in the north-west Mediterranean sea, smothering nearly all the sea life on the ocean bed, and the algae is apparently at the top of its food chain. The other t ype is excess nutrients. Materials such as artificial nitrogen fertilizer are used in excess, running down the river and feeding off all the plankton in the coastal water. It should be noted that plankton are the key factor in this article. [62] Since humans consumed all the fish at the top of the chain that would eat the plankton, more and more of plankton die of old age, which is a largely new phenomenon. Once plankton dies, bacteria breaks it down in the process, using up all the oxygen in the process. By doing so, they effectively make the environment lethal for anything that cannot swim away. As a result, the microbial zoo is dominated by bacteria and jellyfish, the only fish left are the jellyfish, even in Newfoundland, where cod was once plentiful, only a jellyfish fishery remains. [62]
In twent y to thirt y years, there will certainly be no fish in existence, except for minnows. The water will polluted with mercury, dead zones will get bigger and start to merge with other ones. Eating the fish found in coastal areas will turn into a game of Russian roulette; the worst outcome being that it could potentially kill you. The consequences in the future are that the nutrients that fuel great fisheries, e.g. sardines, will slow down, then those fisheries collapse. At the same time, water at the top of the ocean, rich with oxygen, will not travel downwards, turning the ocean into a desert.
Jeremy Jackson Ocean Stagnation
There are many things we must consider but according to Jeremy Jackson, in the final analysis, the thing we really need to fix is ourselves. It is no longer about the fish, or the pollution, or even climate change. It is about humans and their greed, and the constant need for expansion. Humans have developed an inability to imagine a world that is different from the world that they have created for themselves. The question is will we respond to it or not?
Another new feature is red tides, otherwise known as toxic bloom. The whole north-western Gulf of Mexico’s water has 1 giant dynoplagelate bloom, that can kill fish. It is cloud, blackishgreen in colour, moving along coastlines, particularly in that part of the world. Little droplets of that toxic water get in the air, and the hospitals are inundated with people suffering from acute respiratory distress as a result [62]
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make the british flag out of logos in diff colours
North Pole Summer
-1850 AD -1900 AD -2013 AD -2020 AD -2030 AD
Frozen Methane
There is ancient shelf known as ‘Larson B’, which has been in a deep freeze for 12,000 years, but in the summer of 2002, it suddenly collapsed, with a chunk the size of London and Surrey combined, falling into the sea. Scientists were left
Polar ice- caps what is the problem? It is more than just a few polar bears and ice that are going to disappear
stunned, as ice, some of which dates back 8000 years, is melting. The Pategonian ice fields are the largest piece of ice, apart from Antarctica and Greenland, being some 7000 square miles in size. Most icebergs from the area have now melted. Many icebergs have lasted from the last ice age; some of them are up to half a mile thick. Despite this, 10% of their mass lost in the last 7 years [55] “When I was here in 1998 this lake was completely full of icebergs, we couldn’t even get our boats to the ice front and now you can see most of the ice bergs have melted. The reason why we think climate change is significant is melting is happening at a historically fast rate.” [63] Stephen Harrison, a glaciologist, studied the ice glaciers for 2 decades, concluding that rapid melting is happening everywhere, literally carving
35
rivers through the ice, and down into lakes, tunneling hundreds of feet into the heart of the glacier. He sees the melting as an undeniable sign that global warming exists. Ice is a logbook of the climate going back hundreds of thousands of years. The bubbles in the ice formed when the ice was formed. Oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen are found in the ice, allowing for it to be dated. Antarctica’s ice history dates back 600,000 years.
By analyzing ice history, scientists can determine if whether our carbon natural
cycles are real or if they are accelerating. Mark Serene claims that the changes that we’ve seen in the past decade are “much too large, and much too pronounced to be explained away as the natural cycle, there is something much
more fundamental hitting on the climate system now” [64] Ice naturally shrinks and expands as the seasons change. In 1979, sea ice covered 1.7 billion acres. This amounts to over 28 United Kingdoms in size, but in the last two decades, it has lost an area twice the size of Texas. Scientists evaded the question of polar melting at first, because of natural cycles, but the re-cooling never happened. Now, they believe climate change is the cause of this. Predictions say by 2060, the North Pole will have an ice-free summer. In Greenland and Antarctica, 75% of the earth’s fresh water is locked up in these two places. Greenland’s ice sheet is 775,000 square miles and is rapidly shrinking. “The rate icebergs are appearing off Greenland has doubled twice in the last 15 years and if that happens a few more times, then the ice sheet may just
North Pole 2030
Bubbling Methane
collapse.” [65] The water may rise up to three feet by the end of the century, the Greenland ice cap is 23 feet of sea level rise, the Antarctic ice sheet is 20 feet; if they melt, that is a lot of water.
to threaten the beaches, which could disappear. For every 1ft of sea height on east coast, a typical beach looses 100ft inland. In U.S. alone, erosion could destroy up to 1/4 of the coasts, removing 500ft of inland. [66].
In the coming century, New York could be abandoned completely. The water As for the polar bears, Nick Lunn, would reach central London. Bangladesh a biologist says “The size of the would pretty much disappear. “The population has declined from 1200 temperature change would to under 950 so around 99.99% of be this century. it could take 22% drop directly linked the scientists to early breakup of sea 50-100 years to respond, but it’s not 1000 years from ice. It makes me sad to have an now” says James Hansen, understanding think I might be the last Head of Nasa’s climate person working on this of what is change program. A place project and become now going on, called Tivoli, which is used known as a polar the science is bear historian”. to high tides, suffered an incident in February 2006. overwhelming Polar bears rely on the An 11ft tide prediction ice to survive. For a few threatened the village, with the islands highest point being 16 ft. The high tides used to occur around January, now they are happening for around six months of the year, and the islands are eroding away. If tides continue to rise, these islands will continue to disappear under water, and become a modern day Atlantis. Warming the ocean temperature causes thermal expansion, which requires more space. This alone will do more
months at a time, they hunt the ice edges for seals. This is the last opportunity for them to eat before the summer fasting. But the ice is now melting earlier in the year, and at a faster pace. The bears do not have enough time to hunt all the food they need. Some of the bears are not surviving; mother bears do not produce enough milk. Bears’ weight has decreased by 15% since the 1980s. In next 6 years, mother bears may not have enough fat to reproduce. [67]
There have been four decades of temperature change, (1970-2010) Many animal zones moved 100 miles north. However in the North Pole, there are few places for animals to go. Polar bears have no chance to survive if the coldest point goes bust. There is another problem; feedback loops. The snow reflects sun, which warms the planet. Ice melts, the dark ocean absorbs heat. The dark ocean absorbs more sun than the ice sheets reflect, the temperature rises, so does water vapour. Water vapour absorbs more heat, raising the temperature even higher. Frozen methane at the bottom of the ocean is released, resulting in soaring global temperatures, starting the carbon destructive cycle (Most of this is still frozen for now). That is the reason why the rise in the temperature over this century is predicted to be as high as 6 degrees. “Carbon dioxide alone cannot produce that temperature, it is these feedback loops which enhance it and that is why we are concerned” [66] “Computer models now take in all of these factors, all these models. 99.99% of the scientists have an understanding of what is now going on, the science is overwhelming” [65]
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The List g Asbestos DDT
Methane Hydrogen Cyanide
Gasoline
Carbon Dioxide
Glycol Ethers
Corprative Industry
Ammonia
Wood Dust
Copper
Benzine
Asbestos DDT
Corporation Dumpsites There are many sources of pollution, especially toxins that come from industrial and municipal wastewaters, runoff from farms and urban areas, and the erosion of soils. These toxins can include naturally-occurring chemicals that are present in higher concentrations because of human activities as well as new, manmade compounds such as DDT. Other pollutants include biostimulants from sewage and industrial wastes; oil from runoffs, accidental spills, and oil and gas production; sediments from erosion caused by farming, forestry, mining, and development; plastics and other debris
43
from ships, fishing nets, and containers; thermal pollution from the cooling water that comes from power and industrial plants; human pathogens from sewage, urban runoff, and livestock; and finally, alien species that are introduced into a habitat by ships. [58] The most harmful pollutants have actually come from diffuse sources rather than direct discharges. For example, oil pollution from ships, accidental spills and production activities has been curtailed after a concerted effort by environmentalists and policymakers, but diffuse pollution from various land-based
goes on... Creosote Formaldehyde
Beryllium
Chloroform
Arsenic
Sulphuric Acid
Dioxane
Pesticide Runoff
Herbicides
Mecury Uranium
Various Virus’ Pesticides Acrylonitrile
Creosote Formaldehyde
Chloroform
activities for instance, urban runoff has not. Of these pollutants, nowadays coastal areas are most endangered by the introduction of excess nutrients that overwhelm the local ecosystem. Pollutants from diffuse sources include those released into the atmosphere by fossil-fuel and waste combustion, along with pesticides, toxic-waste products, nutrients, and sediments that enter the water as runoff from the land. According to a Pew report on water pollution, the latter is the primary source of pollution in coastal waters, which is, in turn, where the “most demonstrable effects on living resources occur.” [58] Corporations dump
on equivalent at the minimum 5 million gallons per day of toxins into the bay from benzene to acrylonitrile, mercury, copper, you name it, and they have dumped it. [72]
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Natural gas Petroleum Coal Metal Ores Fish Stone Hydropower Uranium Diamonds Timber Rubber Fertile soil Shale oil
Global Energy
T H E R
E
W I S E S
O
U
U S E R
C
E
O F S
&
R E S O U R C E F U L S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y
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T H E F R U G A L I T Y P R O J E C T So far, humans have had a devastating impact on the planet, ignoring the Earth’s warning signs, choosing instead to listen to corporate companies and world leaders alone. The overwhelming scientific evidence for the global warming argument has been ignored. The challenges that humans face are becoming greater, and much more difficult to solve. This is the environmental age regardless of what you want to think. What does the future look like? We know that several countries, including the USA, China, India and the UK need to turn to greener sources of energy, but can our generation create a stable environment in the time that we have left? Does nature have the answers to restore and protect our atmosphere, thus helping all life forms survive? All of the problems on the earth can link back to humans; if we are the source of these problems, we must provide the solution to them too. There is a common misconception that in order to live sustainably humans need to return to a time where they wore animal skins, and live off roots and berries. The reality is that we do have the technology, but we need to use our understanding of science and technology, along with our understanding of culture; Our culture
must make changes, allowing itself to interact with science and with the world around us in a sustainable fashion. [13] The beauty of the solution is that humans are permitted to reimagine everything of our time; there is barely any one thing that does not require a redesign or a rethought. There are two ways in which this can be viewed; to panic, or to realise the true wonders of the Earth, through our actions. This then brings us onto the next stage. [5] Humanity has reached the point in its history where there are 7 billion people populating the Earth. Humans need to establish new intentions for the future; materials will have to be seen as things that are highly valuable, and are kept in close cycles that is termed “cradle to cradle”, instead of the current system, where fossil fuel takes the planet from its cradle to the grave. Energy needs to be from renewable sources, mainly the sun. Water needs to be clean and healthy, and humans need to treat each other with respect and fairness. So the design itself changes from mass production of things that are essentially destructive, to mass utilisation of things that are inherently assets, instead of liabilities [81] The project aims to help the welfare of the planet as a practical objective; it goes beyond us, to include
the whole ecological realm. Life in its entirety is a project that we design, with the capacity to sustain itself in the long run. Sustainable design does not need to look new; it could be an upgrade of the old materials. The new design could be invisible; it does not have to breach the aesthetic barrier. The form could be anything. It is the internal logic and intelligence inside which is what changes the design. [82] Whether it is a factory design, buildings, roads or even a town, it is much easier to design in isolation, and to superimpose the idea elsewhere on a larger scale. If we were to follow nature’s building system, it works in the opposite way; it operates by bringing all the kingdoms of life together, and then works symphonically to create a beauteous end result. [83] What does nature have to offer? Does it provide the answers to all our problems? What can we do in cohesion with nature to reconnect our two worlds? We need to change our way of thinking.
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A big lump of dirt The mineral material from which a soil forms is called parent material. Rock, whether its origin is igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic, is the source of all soil mineral materials and the origin of all plant nutrients with the exceptions of nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon. As the parent material is chemically and physically weathered, transported, this is a test article so please do not care to read this is a test article soit is deposited text. andthisprecipitated, please do not care to read this text. this transformed into a soil. is a test article so please do not[86] care to
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nc
Manganese
Manganese
Zinc
Zinc
Phosphorus
Hydrogen Phosphorus
Carbon Hydrogen Carbon
Sulfur
nitrogen
Phosphorus Oxygen
Sulfur
nitrogen
Molybenum
Oxygen
Copper
Molybenum Copper
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n
agnesium
The Trees of Life Potassium
Chlorine
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Boron
Sixteen nutrients are essential for plant growth and reproduction. They are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, Iron sulfur, calcium, magnesium, iron, this is a test article so please do not care to read this text. this is a test article so boron, manganese, copper, zinc, please do not care to read this text. this molybdenum, and chlorine. is a test article so please do notNearly care to read this text. this is a test article so all plant nutrients are taken up in please do not care to read this text. this is a test please not careas to ionic formsarticle fromsothe soil do solution read this text. this is a test article so cations or do asnot anions. Plants please care to read thisrelease text. this is a test article so please do not care to bicarbonate and (OH-) read this text. thishydroxyl is a test article so please do not care to read this text. this anions or hydrogen cations from is a test article so please do not care to read thisin text. is a testto article so their roots anthiseffort cause please do not care to read this text. this nutrient be freed from is a testions articleto so please do not care to read this text. this is a test article so sequestration on colloids and so please do not care to read this text. this Potassium is a test article so please do notwhere care to forced into the soil solution read this text. Magnesium they can be picked up. Nitrogen is available in soil organic material, but is unusable by plants until it is made available by that material’s Boron decomposition by micro-organisms into cation or anion forms [87]
The Trees of Life
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the Mycelium Network It is wise to consider mushrooms in a different light. They are not your average source of food. Apart from playing a key role in maintaining your immune system, in mycological formats, they infuse all landmasses and soils together, can hold up to thirty times their own mass, and are known as the grand molecular disassemblers of nature. As well as fusing soil together mycelium, they can also make soil. It has been discovered that the mycelium network beneath trees carries nutrients from one plant or type of soil over to other trees which need it so they are basically the mother to natures life. These are not the typical hallucinogenic mushroom, nor the humble Portobello mushroom; but a far more intricately detailed form of mushroom. Mushrooms are very fast in their growth, and from the start to the end of the month, the mushrooms are already at a large scale in size. Mushrooms produce strong antibiotics. Surprisingly, humans are more closely
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related to fungi than any other kingdom, sharing the same pathogens. Fungi do not like to rot from bacteria, hence the best antibiotic properties are found in fungi. After they sporulate, they do rot, but this leads to a sequence of beneficial microbes forming, that are essential for the health of the forest. They give rise to trees that create the debris fields that feed the mycelium. After the mushroom rots, the nutrients return to the soil. In a single cubic inch of soil, there can be over eight miles of these mycelium cells, inhaling oxygen, and exhaling carbon dioxide, just as humans do. As they fuse soil, they give out water. Within the mycelium cells, microbial communities begin to form, this
helps prevent soil erosion. Paul Stamets proposed that the mycelium network is the Earth’s equivalent to the internet.
When you change something, it tries to rectify the situation. Fungi were the first organisms to venture onto land 1.7 billion years ago. A few million years later, plants followed. They were able to survive by grabbing rocks, using their oxalic acids and other acids and enzymes and turning them into soil. Mushrooms sequester carbon in the form of calcium oxalates which in term are used to turn stones into soil. Ancient fungi, known as prototaxities existed 420 million years ago. They were the tallest plants on earth, towering over other life forms. After the asteroid extinction impact, fungi inherited the earth. Fungi do not rely on light, using radiation as an energy source. The great use of mushrooms that we should not forget is they can break down petroleum waste and other such fossil matter, and turns them into fungal sugars, as well as obliterating diseases such as ecoli. [88] This humble little fungus is fully capable of restoring entire environments so when we think about the serious degradation of the soils, massive waste problems with all these supposed non degradeable items can be decomposed with a little something growing possibly in your back garden. There is a little magic to these mushrooms and not the ones you smoke in this case.
Microbes
Protozoas
Mycofilteration
Mycofilteration
Heavy Metals
Viruses
Bact e r i a BREAKS DOWN
HARMFUL WASTE
Pollutants
Microbes
Protozoas
Heavy Metals
Viruses
Bacteria
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