Environment Summary
Climate Change/Global Warming
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11 degree F increase in Earth’s temperature by end of century due to carbon dioxide emissions.
(Dixon)
Global rate of ice melting on glaciers and polar regions could cause 27 cm rise in sea levels.
(Dixon)
Dirty bombs could significantly damage environment over next 30 years. (Dixon)
Arctic Ocean may lose all of its ice by 2040. (Sample)
Nations with more sophisticated environmental monitoring systems could use data to their
advantage, perhaps weakening an enemy by failing to warn it of an oncoming storm or other
catastrophe. They could also fudge their own, or their rivals', carbon output numbers to
manipulate International legislation says forecaster Roger Howard. (Outlook, 2011)
Biodiversity will be at its lowest level due to human-caused extinctions. (Agonist)
Rising sea levels threatens Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound’s wildlife habitat and endangers
many native species. Global warning threatens Chesapeake Bay’s coastal marshes, makes costal
property more vulnerable to flooding, and will make the Bay sicker than it is now. (“Examining
the Impact of Rising Sea Levels,” National Wildlife.)
Green rooftops (rooftop gardens) in Beijing, China will clean the air, limit noise and dust, and
reduce “urban-heat-island effect.” (Steffen 276)
Global warming could be a boon for the Russian economy opening reserves of natural gas and
oil in Siberia and offshore in the Arctic. (Global Trends 2025 52)
o As Arctic tundra melts, though, Russian infrastructure could be damaged necessitating
the development of new technology to access the region’s fossil energy.
Canada would be spared climate related developments, such as intense hurricanes and heat
waves, and open up millions of square miles to development with lengthened growing seasons.
(Global Trends 2025 52)
o Net energy demand for heating/cooling would be decreased. Forests will expand into
the tundra.
o Not all Canadian soil is able to take advantage of the changes in growing season. Some
forest products already are damaged due to pest infestations enabled by warmer
temperatures.
Research suggests that the Arctic could be seasonally ice free by 2013, improving access to vast
energy and mineral resources and opening potentially shorter shipping routes. (Global Trends
53)
Energy
Geothermal:
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Several Norwegian companies and organizations are planning a pilot project that would harness
the geothermal energy from 5,500 meters deep.
o Binary cycle geothermal power plants are currently favored to harness this energy.
Currently, most geothermal energy comes from around 200 meters deep. If successful,
the coalition plans to go two to three times deeper; new technologies would be needed
at those levels, though. (Cohen).
Biofuel:
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Jet fuel uses about 10.5 percent of the United State’s transportation fuel
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planes are becoming more energy efficient.
Consumers could fly less to reduce the amount of oil used in the aviation industry
teleconferencing could be used to reduce air travel. In the U.S., high speed rail could
be an alternative to air travel. (Rauber)
 Some airlines are looking at biofuels to replace jet fuel. This option has its limitations because it
could require large amounts of plants (such as soybeans). (Rauber)
 Biofuel from algae could be a replacement for petroleum with a simpler, less expensive refining
process than oil.
o Being lipids, 30%-60% of algae could be turned into burnable fuel using an olive press.
o Because halophyte algae grow in saltwater, they would not compete with food stocks
for fresh water.
o 250 species can be used as staple food crops and fresh water otherwise used for
farming could go to areas experiencing water shortages.
 Buildings will be more responsive to fluctuations in the surrounding climate using natural
coatings, such as bioluminescent bacteria, that would collect water and sunlight to produce
biofuels and cool the interiors. (World Future Society)
Methane:
 Scientists have discovered how to make methane, an ingredient in natural gas, from carbon
dioxide
o methanogens, the key microorganisms, would produce methane with water, carbon
dioxide, and zaps of electric current. If electricity comes from a renewable resource, a
carbon-neutral resource could be created. (Sasse)
Organic/Plants:
 Researchers are working on transforming more efficient organic materials into biofuels that can
be used for electricity generation and transportation
o some of these materials include: s witchgrass, sugarcane, sewage, medical waste, and
algae. (Sasse)
 Native prairie plants could provide an alternative source of biofuel that doesn’t affect food
supplies. Crop based foods used for fuel, such as corn, could lessen the supplies needed to feed
future populations. Native crops also help to preserve habitats for birds and other animals, and
this helps to maintain biodiversity. (“Tomorrow in brief,” 44.1,)
Nuclear:
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Environmentalist, Jesse Ausubel sees nuclear energy as the energy of the future.
o Ausubel’s vision: nuclear power plants would produce electricity during peak daytime
hours and be used at night to make hydrogen,
o uranium could be extracted from the oceans to supply the hundreds of new plants,
o nuclear waste could be disposed of in deep holes in the Earth’s crust; “self-sinking balls”
of waste with shells of tungsten (most likely) would continue to bury themselves several
miles deep,
o hydrogen from the nuclear plants could be used in fuel-cell cars, planes. (Bradley)
Safer and cleaner nuclear reactors in 20 to 30 years. They should help to lessen the dangers
nuclear fission. In the short term, we have Generation III+ reactors, but we can look forward to
Generation IV and V nuclear reactors. Generation IV will have a pebble bed design:
“Tennis-ball-size graphite spheres (pebbles) filled with uranium dioxide fuel capsules are
stacked in the reactor like gumballs, where they start a nuclear reaction. A pump sends
helium into the reactor, where it flows around the pebbles, absorbs heat, and then
drives a turbine.” (Captain)
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Generation V reactors have a traveling wave design:
“Enriched uranium starts the process, releasing neutrons that help convert scrap
depleted uranium (left over from enrichment plants) into plutonium. The plutonium
releases yet more neutrons that convert more depleted uranium into usable fuel.”
(Captain)
Solar:
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A Japanese research company is working on the Luna Ring through which solar energy collected
by photovoltaic panels on the moon could be transmitted via a microwave or laser to receiving
stations on Earth to power cities around the globe. The panels would be constructed by robots
on the moon’s surface. (Tucker)
Roads could be used to harvest the power of the sun. (Bradley )
o Roads could be imbedded with photovoltaics (pv) that could produce energy to power
businesses, cities, and the country eventually.
o LED lights could also be incorporated in panels with the PVs and allow roadways and
parking lots to have changeable signage.
Leaf-like solar devices could be less expensive and more environmentally friendly alternatives to
silicon-based solar cells.
o These “leaves” would be made from a water-based gel and infused with light-sensitive
molecules, and the sun’s rays would stimulate these devices like how plants are
stimulated to make sugars. (“Tomorrow in brief,” 45.1)
Nanomaterials could be used in solar panels and be significantly cheaper than the silicon-based
panels, assuming researchers can achieve or beat the efficiency of silicon-based panels.
(Kessler)
Very thin film can shrink the amount of material in solar cells by up to a hundredfold; these cells
could be used in window curtains. (Oko)
Research is focusing on nanotechnology, electronic paints, and space-based sunlight aggregators
for use in solar power. (Oko)
Waste:
 More trash from the developed world would be shipped to developing countries which would
then close their repositories to foreign waste, prompting the development of more waste-toenergy and recycling techniques. (Cetron)
 Wood waste/landfill waste could be used to make useful products, including fuel. Some of the
products include: mulch, wood-plastic composites and particleboard. (Davis)
Water:
 The ocean’s kinetic energy can be used by wave systems and tidal generators for the production
of electricity. (Oko)
 Researchers are looking at nonconventional sources of hydropower. Energy can be captured
from wave movements, rivers and tides. These are examples of hydrokinetic power. (Rosner)
Wind:
 Designers are looking at vertical-axis wind turbines that could be mounted closer to the ground
and handle wind turbulence efficiently, though it is less efficient than “propeller” turbines. The
vertical-axis turbines are not restricted by the vagaries of wind speed and direction. (Oko)
 Kites could harvest power from the jet stream. (Oko)
 High-altitude (30,000 feet) above-ground wind farms tethered to the ground by nano-tube
cables could take advantage of the greater velocity, more powerful, and more consistent wind
at higher altitudes.
o They could produce 8 – 27 times the power produced at ground level
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Tethers could haul in the turbines in the event of bad weather or for maintenance work
Presents challenges to air traffic – needs minimum of 2 mile no-fly zone . (Alternative
Energy News)
Other:
 Carbon-capture technology could clean up some of the pollutants from coal and gas-fired power
plants. These plants will be used for decades until they’re all replaced, but carbon-capture
technology could clean them up until then. (Rosner)
 Nanotechnology could be used to reduce reliance on fossil fuels if researchers can find ways to
green its manufacturing process and the products. (Kessler)
Farming
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Northern areas of the United States, China, and Japan will see an increase in land productivity
due to increased carbon fertilizer (from increased levels of atmospheric CO2). Southern areas
will suffer from drought with the southern/southwestern United States thrown into
desertification. (Agonist)
Cities could grow their own food in indoor vertical farms, an example of urban farming.
(Ehrenberg)
Scientists are working on changing the current annual grain crops into perennial plants.
Perennial plants, with their larger root systems, could help preserve the soil and allow farming in
marginal areas. (Glover)
As of 2009, the specialty-crop industry (ex: apples, grapes, pears, and other delicate produce)
was valued at $55 billion. There has been a decline in human assistance. Robots or mechanized
farmers could harvest these crops. (Rosner)
Broccoli is one of the healthiest foods, but most broccoli has to be shipped from long distances
to reach areas where it isn’t easily grown. Ninety percent of the broccoli sold on the Eastern
Seaboard is shipped from California and Mexico, and this has negative environmental effects.
Researchers are developing new strains of broccoli that can tolerate climate on the East Coast.
Researchers hope to have a $100 million dollar East Coast industry over the next ten years.
(“Tomorrow in brief,” Futurist. 45.2)
Through the use of genetically engineered crops and a range of food substitutes, shortages of
food in many regions are increasingly mitigated. (Sustainable Earth)
Environmentalists could embrace genetically modified crops if they are used as a carbonreduction technology. Stewart Brand says, for example, that crops that are modified to grow
without being tilled could prevent carbon on the soil from being released into the atmosphere.
(Outlook, 2011.)
Crops could be genetically modified to grow in any climate condition. Scientists believe they’ve
isolated the “thermometer” gene that allows plants to adapt to and sense temperature changes.
Changing this gene could adapt crops to climate change. (Outlook, 2011 )
Sustainable and Planned Cities
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Experimental city outside Abu Dhabi – Masdar City (Vidal)
o Driverless electric cars.
o 45 m. wind tower shows energy consumption.
o Houses with rammed earth and steel walls insulated with argon gas.
o Energy use is closely monitored and controlled.
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Fujisawa, Japan (The Independent)
o Sustainable Smart Town.
o Pre-installed solar power generators and home-use storage battery systems across the
town, including, homes, various facilities, and public zones.
o “Green axis” of parks and vegetation.
o Electric vehicles.
o Welfare facilities for the elderly.
o Reduced flow toilets.
Huangbaiyu, China (World Changing 275-276)
o Biomass gasification for energy.
o Village-wide water recycling.
o All material either biodegradable or reusable.
o Walls 1.6 ft. thick, pressed earth blocks lined with straw from local agricultural production
that would otherwise go to waste.
o Network of neighborhoods linked by parks that serve to channel storm water while
preserving existing streams and wetlands and maintaining the water cycle for the local
ecosystem.
o All homes and workplaces within five-minute walk from schools and transportation
o Six cities of similar design are planned.
Water
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Desalination could become one of the world’s largest industries because of water shortages.
(Conway)
By 2025 half the world population could face water shortages due to climate change, population
growth, and increased demand for fresh water. (Halal)
Because of the recent events in Japan, there are concerns about the availability of freshwater.
However, Japan leads the world in water filtration.
o Recently, a new water purification technology has emerged. It involves electro-filtration
through silver nanowire fiber. This nanowire mesh, connected to a power source,
would zap bacteria and pathogens. It is more effective and less energy-intensive than
some other filtration methods. The nanowire is too expensive for poor areas of the
world, but a Taiwanese chemist has patented a process that allows for mass production
of the nanowires. If effective, it would significantly reduce the cost of production and
make it a practical option for poor regions. (Tucker )
Fog-catching arrays can collect water from fog droplets and channel it into reservoirs to supply
irrigation systems in arid areas, and water for homes and possibly, villages. (Steffen 192-193)
Permeable pavement allows rainwater to filter through to the botanical life that would
ordinarily be robbed of necessary moisture while still providing a firm surface for cars, bicycles,
and pedestrians. (Steffen 194)
By 2040 3.5 billion people will run short of water. (Cetron)
In some parts of the U.S., water shortages might limit economic growth. (Cetron)
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