Basic Treatment of PEuT
- 11 Jul 06, 03:58 PM
Hello all of you - thank you for your blogs. We read them all and in part this series is being informed by you. Here's a basic treatment of the series. We already have some trips behind us (UK & Greenland). We're off to Madagascar, the US, Sweden and the north country of the UK in the next 2-4 weeks, hopefully bringing back new and important stories for you. I'll populate the treatment with specific stories very soon, probably when we're back.
Planet Earth under Threat
A landmark Radio series on ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 4
Presented by Gabrielle Walker
Broadcast in November & December (2006), January & February (2007
Monday 20th November at 21.00 (GMT) for 8 consecutive weeks, then repeated on Tuesdays, starting 16th January at 11.00 (GMT)
Programme 1
Evidence from the Earth
Whatβs the actual evidence for climate change? What are the major threats to the biosphere? Are extinctions really happening? Whatβs Manβs role? What does the future hold? A powerful introduction offering βmust listenβ insights into the series and embracing other relevant global warming and conservation broadcasts happening at about the same time (climate chaos, PE the Future, Saving PE, Planet Earth + on-line global warming event)
Programme 2
Life on the Move
Animals & plants are moving. As climate changes, so do key aspects of their current niche. There are examples of whole species shifts on land and in the sea, fragmentation of habitats and changes in survival rates of species. Implications?
Programme 3
Natures Calendar
With global warming induced climate change the Earth is seeing places wetter, dryer, hotter and colder than before β with significant implications for animal and plant life histories. Many of the major life events of life (reproduction, migration, hibernation, feeding, rearing) occur at specific times dictated ultimately by seasonal natural resources. How is life responding (in survival terms) to a shift in Natures on the ground calendar?
Programme 4
Ice
Everyone is watching ice as an indicator of things to come. The North and South polar ice sheets are measurably melting pouring freshwater into the oceans and starting the process of building a new ecosystems. To what extent is this a window on things to come? Implications?
Programme 5
The conundrum of Biodiversity
We hear this word βbiodiversityβ β what is it a measure of? And why does it matter? Global warming seems to be driving down the diversity of animals and plants on the Earth, but canβt life respond in an appropriate way? Whatβs the problem? Why should we be so worried about it?
Programme 6
The Planets & The irascible Ape
There are scientists who frame our current epoch in Earth history as the βAthropoceneβ, a time in which the fundamental trait is that of human impact You can argue that human-induced global warming started c.110,000 years ago in Africa with the discovery of fire. Most believe that once the big wheels of industrialisation started, our contribution to global warming had begun in earnest. Or, you could argue global warming is part of a big planetary cycle of which the human contribution is simply not worth bothering about. What do we need to know to understand the relationship between the two?
Programme 7
Fighting Global warming
To what extent is the phrase: βglobal warming is the biggest threat to our planet, by farβ true? This programme looks at the measures conservation is taking today to protect our natural world from the ravages of climate change/global warming.
Programme 8
Global Warming - A Message for the Human Race
This programme tracks the global warming arguments and tries to take a peep into the future. We go on a journey from science, through ethics to morality. Is global warming a moral issue and if so, what type of leadership does the human race need to preserve our nest, the Earth.
Locations recordings from:
UK
Greenland
Madagascar
USA
Fiji
Sweden
Australia
Studio & Line interviews
We will let you know who weβre talking to, but we plan to include:
Universities from around the world
Non Governmental Organisations from around the world
Independent Scientists
Governmental representatives/advisors (UK/US planned)
From both location recordings and lines interviews content will include:
Animal behaviour
Animal & Plant ecology
Biodiversity
Ice & planetary science
Subsistence living of indigenous peoples
Ethics & Morality
Conservation
Economic development and environmental costs
Anthropology
Comments Post your comment
It seems clear that we are experiencing climate change. However:
1) I unerstand that the average temperature has risen about 1 degree over the past 100 years. How do we know so accurately what the temperature was 100 years ago?
2) I believe that CO2 produced by man accounts for only 5% of total CO2 emissions. If this is the case, can we really influence climate change to the extent that is being sugessted?
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Jon, from what I understand, although human CO2 emissions are only about 5% of the total, the natural feedback system is very finely balanced -- and those same human emissions are about 20 times greater than the slack that the system can absorb.
If you balance a pair of weights on a scale, it doesn't make any difference how large the balanced weight is. If you then dump more weight on one side, the scales crash down on that side. Even if the weight you added is just 5% of the total...
At least, that's how I visualise it.
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This may be related, but I have noticed a general lowering of atmosphere ionisation in the upper altitudes over the years. I do note a solar 11 year cycle. I have used this ionisation layer to reach extream radio ranges in the VHF region. Is something happening way above the ozone layer to deplete the "E" ionsiation. The Ionosphere can be found out about in the folowing URL link.
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wieght loss wieght loss
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