SKY
SEAS
SEAS
LAND
PEOPLE
EARTH + EARTHLINGS
Facts and insights about how the many systems of the Earth connect and interact,
about the forces that trigger changes in their inner workings and in the climate,
and what we as inhabitants of the Earth can do to ensure that this planet will continue to enable us to have a life.
about the forces that trigger changes in their inner workings and in the climate,
and what we as inhabitants of the Earth can do to ensure that this planet will continue to enable us to have a life.
Facts and insights about how the many systems of the Earth connect and interact,
about the forces that trigger changes in their inner workings and in the climate,
and what we, as inhabitants of the Earth, can do to ensure that this planet will continue to enable us to have a life.
THE FUNDAMENTALS
THE INSIGHTS
↓
MUST‑KNOW
The Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old. Throughout its life so far, it has gone through significant changes caused by inner and outer events. Just in the last 500 million years, there have been five mass extinctions of various species of life, caused by natural events such as volcanic activity or asteroid impacts. On the other hand, modern humans (homo sapiens) have existed only in a tiny fraction of the most recent segment (about the last 0.0067 percent) of Earth’s life, but human activity already impacts the health of this anciently powerful body of enormous mass.
In our current days, human activity has reached such scale that has transformative impact on this same enormous body of Earth. These impacts are measurable, and some of them are tangibly noticeable even within one human lifetime. This means, knowledge about the Earth and its inner workings is of utmost importance—not only for scientists, but also (to some extent) for people in the general population; because that’s the only way humans (the only sapient species with complex reasoning) can understand the impacts of their deeds and everyday habits, and make sound decisions for both their immediate lives and for lives in the future.
TID
BIT
Food waste & food loss generate ~ 4.4 billion tons of greenhouse gas (CO2e) annually (this is the carbon‑dioxide equivalent of all related gases), from more than 1 billion tons of food. This equals about 15‑40% of all food produced globally (percentages vary by source). Rotting food is a primary generator of methane (CH4); an invisible, odorless gas, 28‑80 times more potent than carbon‑dioxide.
The key difference between food waste and food loss: Food waste is primarily a consumer responsibility, food loss is industry responsibility. Food waste is the discarded food people don’t eat, and mainly happens in developed nations. Food loss occurs during harvesting, production, processing, due to concerning manufacturing methods, know‑how, and technology; and is predominant in the third‑world and developing world.
OCEAN
BIT
The sustenance of human life is largely attributable to tiny microscopic organisms, called phytoplankton, that reside in the ocean and in other bodies of water. Even though they are indiscernible by the naked eye, and their lifespan is only a few days, their activities are immensely powerful. Just by producing food for themselves through the process of photosynthesis, they generate oxygen as a result.
Moreover, phytoplankton stores underwater an immense amount of carbon‑dioxide that we humans generate (more than the amount plants and forests store collectively). On top of that, phytoplankton also supports the aquatic food web as well as the land‑based food supply for humans. In other words, we are are dependent on a tiny microorganism, of which most people in the world are not even aware.
