Trade-off da – gdi 2011 1 Earth Science D/A 2

GEOSS ! – Disasters

Earth, wind, fire and water are environmental forces that make life on Earth possible. They are also responsible for many of the world’s natural disasters. Natural disasters are extreme, sudden events caused by environmental factors and can injure people and damage property. In the last century alone, the death toll from combined natural disasters has reached ten million people, often thousands at a stroke. Shifting external forces cause hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and blizzards. In one day, there may be five hurricane-force storms brewing, at least 15 volcanoes actively erupting, as well as four major earthquakes, plus a handful of tornadoes at any given moment! The deadliest and most destructive storms on Earth, hurricanes and tornadoes continue to fascinate us with their awesome force. The tropical cyclone, known also as a hurricane or typhoon, is a massive storm that develops over water. About 40 such storms wreak havoc on the planet each year. Heat sets up ocean currents and evaporates vast quantities of water at the equator. This creates hot moist air, which is driven to the cooler poles in a process that works like atmospheric air conditioning. Given a spin by Earth’s rotation, the storm steadily builds, drawing energy from the moist, tropical air. Winds increase, causing severe damage to the land and property. More accurate prediction is the best hope for avoiding loss of life.

GEOSS ! – Resources

GEOSS key to resource stabilization & management
GEO 11 (Group on Earth Observations, Copyright 2011, http://www.earthobservations.org/geoss_en.shtml, accessed 6-22-11, JG)

Exploiting the full potential of energy resources is of critical importance to all countries. This trillion-dollar economic sector includes coal, oil and gas as well as renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydropower. Key concerns for both governments and the private sector include reliable access to energy, the efficient management of energy resources, improved technologies for stabilizing or reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the need to report energy emissions levels to the UN Climate Change Convention and other bodies. The Global Earth Observation System of Systems is helping governments and companies to manage energy resources more effectively. GEOSS provides the information they need for evaluating the potential for producing renewable energy and assessing the risks and potential of carbon capture and storage systems designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. GEOSS also provides data and information for monitoring and forecasting fluctuations in hydropower, solar, ocean and wind energy sources; assessing and predicting the environmental impacts of energy exploration, extraction, transportation and consumption; reducing weather-related and other risks to energy infrastructure; matching energy supply and demand; and informing other aspects of energy-policy planning in both developing and developed countries.
Resource destabilization causes extinction level resource wars
Wooldridge 9 (Frosty Wooldridge, Free lance writer @ Cornell University, 2009, http://www.australia.to/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10042:humanity-galloping-toward-its-greatest-crisis-in-the-21st-century&catid=125:frosty-wooldridge&Itemid=244, accessed 6-22-11, JG)

It is clear that most politicians and most citizens do not recognize that returning to “more of the same” is a recipe for promoting the first collapse of a global civilization. The required changes in energy technology, which would benefit not only the environment but also national security, public health, and the economy, would demand a World War II type mobilization -- and even that might not prevent a global climate disaster. Without transitioning away from use of fossil fuels, humanity will move further into an era of resource wars (remember, Africom has been added to the Pentagon’s structure -- and China has noticed), clearly with intent to protect US “interests” in petroleum reserves. The consequences of more resource wars, many likely triggered over water supplies stressed by climate disruption, are likely to include increased unrest in poor nations, a proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, widening inequity within and between nations, and in the worst (and not unlikely) case, a nuclear war ending civilization.

Directory: 2011
2011 -> Enterprise Network Management iPost: Implementing Continuous Risk Monitoring at the Department of State
2011 -> Voices of the Old Sea Norman Lewis
2011 -> Malevil Robert Merle
2011 -> The Elephant Keeper’s Children Peter Hoeg
2011 -> January 1: Ecstasy zZz January 2: King of Anything Sara Bareillis
2011 -> Tracks, Mixes, Masters, and More!: Analyzing Preservation Priorities for Multitrack Recordings
2011 -> Department of Electrical Engineering 2011 Annual Report
2011 -> Jv packet •Mars Colonization Affirmative •Mars Colonization Negative
2011 -> Asian Pacific Mathematical Olympiad(apmo)
2011 -> Registration Form (Rev. 8-86) omb no. 1024-0018

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