Planetary Boundaries During The Holocene Era

The biosphere consists of a compound infusion of gases; the main components are oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. The concentration of these gases have been changing for many years. For the most part, this is influenced by human activity. In a persistent effort to improve the quality and longevity of life, humans (particularly in industrialized societies) have tendencies to negatively impact the environment, and at the same time, we strive to replenish what we have nearly depleted to balance the scale.

Does the high level of Carbon Dioxide (C02) possibly harm the Earth’s planetary biosphere, or has it already done so; in fact, many worldwide scientists have protested that the Earth is at its ‘tipping point’ but no efforts have been adapted to save the biosphere? A support of this controversial topic; congressional meeting and testimony, is from one of the top U.S. climate scientists, James Hansen to Former Vice President Al Gore, with an emphasis on the cause of C02. Beyond the ozone layer is atmospherically holey, Earth’s temperature is rising, and the climate changing conversely, one that people trivialized the most is: Global warming. Increasingly, subject to concern not only via online discussion, magazine and

Sustainability is currently a global concern. In recent years scientists have publicised theories that the Earth will not be able to cope with the exponential growth of pollution and resource consumption.

Aerosol loading and Chemical pollution seem to be issues that are furthering environmental damage. In the articles it says these should be considered planetary boundaries. Why are they still not considered planetary boundaries?

Chapter Seven details ocean acidification and the extinction of coral reefs, which is entirely possible by the end of the

Human activity has begun to create its own geochemical signatures and thus its own global markers through various activities. The production of phosphorus through mining has doubled the weathering rate of phosphorus released during the Holocene period. This has led to the argument that human processes have had the largest impact on the nitrogen cycle in the past 2.5billion years. However, these dramatic changes have stratigraphic consequences. The Greenland Ice Sheat Project 2 ice core has shown that the greatest decline in Nitrogen values occur between the 1950s and 1980s. This decrease in Nitrogen levels shows a distinct difference from the Holocene levels indicating the beginning of a new epoch, the Anthropocene

G., Cong-Qiang, L., WeiDong, Z., Minella, M., Vione, D., Kunshan, G., & ... Hiroshi, S. (2016). Reviews and Syntheses: Ocean acidification and its potential impacts on marine ecosystems. Biogeosciences, 13(6), 1767. doi:10.5194/bg-13-1767-2016

Increased terrestrial influx could have served as nutrients for algae and plankton and stimulated high bioproductivity at surface water. The oxygen in surface water would have been over-consumed by respiration and decaying of marine organisms, which was thought to trigger marine anoxia (Algeo et al., 1995). In this process, lighter isotope of carbon was preferentially taken up by aquatic organisms and therefore removed from the system, producing heavy carbon anomalies (Wang et al., 1996). Consequently, positive excursions in δ13C values were observed across the F-F boundary (Figure 2). In addition, higher bioproductivity would bring about elevated burial rate of organic carbon (Wang et al., 1996; Chen et al., 2002)

United States’ President Ronald Reagan once said, “Preservation of our environment is not a liberal of conservative challenge, it’s common sense (Ronald).” Although throughout history countless of prominent figures in society have set the issue of the well being of our planet as a top priority, the majority of the world population has come to ignore it until now, when it has directly affected their lives. Around the entire globe, droughts, floods, food shortages, poverty, and the overall deterioration of our planet. Although larger developed countries, such as the United States and China, have taken numerous small steps to improve conditions within their own countries further steps must be taken to preserve the only planet the human

Planetary boundaries serve as natural thresholds for which humans cannot cross if they wish to continue living on planet earth. Although conditions are currently in the Holocene, which refer to a stable interglacial period, rapid human exploitation including CO2 emissions and land usage are driving us out (Rockstrom and Klum 2015). If human exploitation continues at such a rapid rate we will be pushed past the threshold and into a period which has never occurred in history. Planetary boundaries are important to understand because scientists cannot fully predict what may happen if we do go past them and they set natural guidelines that must be followed if we wish to preserve the planet. In conclusion, planetary boundaries are a very serious

In recent years, the controversial subject of global warming has been more predominantly brought to our attention. Is the threat of global warming real? Is it man-made or is this just a natural cycle of earth? Does it really affect earth’s inhabitants? Should action be taken against it? If so, what kind and to what extent? It cannot be only a coincidence that the alarmingly rapid climate change coincides perfectly with the increased amount of pollutants that humans release into the environment. The once stable climate has in recent years begun to skyrocket, thus altering the delicate structure of earthly life. This proves to be hazardous to the future of the planet; some people worry that many of the resources the environment provides that

Environmental issues have been a cause of a lot of debate in the recent past. Governments and nongovernmental organizations have been in constant consultations on how to help protect the environment. Apparently, as a result of man’s many actions, the natural environment is getting torn apart so quickly that the coming generations will not enjoy this kind of environment, unless a

the world’s environment as a threat, but as another opportunity and soon implemented a responsible

Climate change, a term used interchangeably with global warming, is a phenomenon that has commanded the attention of the academic community for some time now. This issue stands at the forefront because unlike more local or regional based environmental issues, climate change has the potential to negatively alter the natural systems of the entire planet (Byg & Salick, 2009). With the world population recently climbing to over seven billion people, many researchers are questioning the natural ecosystem's ability to support the global population (Hanna & Osborne-Lee, 2011). Theoretically, humans will reach a point in which the regenerative capacity of the planet will no longer support the physical requirements of the population; if that point has not been crossed already.

Over the past century there have been rapid and noticeable changes in environmental conditions on Earth. These changes can be traced in various geospheres: alterations of the gaseous composition of the atmosphere, major decreases in global ice volume (Cryosphere), in both: land- and water based glaciers with consequent rise of sea-level (Hydrosphere), increase in the frequency and severity of geohazards (Lithosphere) etc. Triggering mechanisms for those changes include both: natural fluctuations of environmental processes brought about by heliophysical, cosmophysical and tectonic factors as well as rapidly increasing contribution coming from human anthropogenic activities via alterations of natural biogeochemical cycles.