Final paper by Kimo Umu.
It is estimated that we have 7 billion people that live on earth today. That means that there are 7 billion people that need to be fed and taken care of, which also means gas, water, medicine and land. In today's day and age our production and use of resources have grown because our populations have increased . So because of this increase in populations, places like the US(United States) and CHN(China) that have enormous population density, their supply and demand would be more. In the united states we waste 133 billion pounds of food. That is 30-40 percent of the US food bank.
In the United States we have a population of 300,000,000 people. The United States is one of the largest countries in the world, alongside China and India. China has 1,386 billion people. This amount of people is enormous, but this means for every new person that comes into this world they will need the use of resources for everyday life.
The percentage of the world’s resources used by China is 11% The percentage of resources used by the US is 10%.
Food and water for example are resources it is very important for our way of life and well being to be sustained. As of 2011, food consumption of the US person was up to 1,996 pounds of food per year.
We use 10 billion tons of water in the US and China as of 2015. The U.S has consumed 322 billion gallons per day. China consumes 116,000 gallons of water. At the same time, agriculture – especially intensive agriculture, characterised by monocultures and aimed at feeding farm animals is one of the sectors that generates the highest amount of emissions of CO2(Carbon emissions).( Life Gate.com)
How much fossil fuel is used in the US and China?
As of 2015 the US consumed 140.43 billion gallons of oil
China consumes 19.9 million barrels a day
How much plastic does us and china consume?
China consumes 3 billion plastic bags a year.
According to the EPA, the average American person will produce about 5.91 pounds of trash, with about 1.51 pounds being recycled; 4.40 pounds is the rough average daily waste per person.
Destruction of Mama Earth leading to Climate Change through extractive industries
Fracking
In western states like Texas and Colorado, over 3.6 million gallons of water are needed per fracture.
A local example of climate change and pollution is Medicine Lake, (Something we learned about and marched for in our school- Deecolonize Academy). Medicine Lake is a sacred site for the first nations people located northeast of mount shasta in the mountains of northern california the pit river, Modoc, Shasta, Karuk and Wintu tribes.
In the highlands of Medicine Lake there are efforts being made to use geothermal hydraulic drills to fracture for oil. Fracking would cause the water supply of Medicine Lake to be polluted, this is a major issue since Medicine Lake is the largest water supply to the state. The mountain captures and discharges over 1.2 million acre-feet of snowmelt annually, emerging as the Fall River Springs, the largest spring system in the state.Save Medicine Lake
In conclusion these four issues are related because the high rise in global population causes the increase in pollution due to increased use of everything. For example, plastic bags are used dominantly by China and the US which causes pollution to the ocean and its eco-system, and even though China decreased their use the US still uses more bags than almost any other country.
In addition Climate Change can be very dangerous for everyone’s water and food systems. Digging up fossil fuels could put communities at risk for contamination of water and starve people to death.
Search of Intelligent Life in the Universe, Pollution and Climate Change’
On the green planet (My term for planet earth) we consume more than we produce maybe we're biting of more than we can chew. In our own selfish search for new lands to colonize, like we did to Turtle Island (The Americas) we are looking for planets that have plentiful resources to sustain our way of living.
On the Green Planet we have a population of 7 billion people from different countries with different values but one thing is common they all need self-sustaining resources, but since we're using up these resources. Industries constantly are damaging the Earth, producing products that pollute the earth like oil that cause carbon emissions, plastic damage since oil is used to mak.
One solution to our overwhelming resource issue would be to find other planets similar to our own. An Earth Analog is a term to describe planets that are similar to our own. Earth Analogs could have the same resources like Water, Food, Oil, and Land, it is very important for the human race to consider if we were to make contact with extraterrestrial life.
If humans were to reach an Earth Analog they may encounter extraterrestrial life and it may not be the alien from the X files, we might not be able to see these aliens, they could be microorganisms. We may find microorganisms called extremophiles that can survive in conditions like volcanoes or the deepest parts of this new ocean.
A planet that has self-sustaining resources considerably would be from Mars is 33.9 million miles away making it the closet Earth Analog near us. Mars has water in the forms of ice and vapor also there's water underneath Mars surface. Extracting water from mars would help countries with water issues to help fight against Global Warming that is destroying ice glaciers and fresh water supplies.
I care about the planet because on this green planet are my friends, family, and way of living. I wanted to present to people issues and solutions about the Earth. It's time we made adjustments in the way we live and think and not be so selfish and appreciate the little things.