By Richard Leakey, Roger Lewin
Richard Leakey, one of many World's Foremost specialists On Man's Evolutionary prior, Now Turns His Eye To the long run And does not Like What He Sees. To the philosophical the earth is everlasting, whereas the human race -- presumptive keeper of the world's background -- is an insignificant speck in the wealthy movement of existence. it's recognized that nothing upon Earth is ceaselessly; geography, weather, and plant and animal existence are all topic to radical change. On 5 events long ago, catastrophic natural occasions have prompted mass extinctions on Earth. yet at the present time people stand by myself, in dubious distinction, between Earth's species: Homo Sapiens possesses the facility to destroy entire species at will, to set off the sixth extinction within the background of lifestyles. within the Sixth Extinction, Richard Leakey and Roger Lewin consider how the grand sprawl of human existence is inexorably wreaking havoc worldwide. The authors of Origins and Origins Reconsidered, unimpeachable authorities at the human fossil checklist, flip their attention to the main uncharted anthropological territory of all: the long run, and man's position in defining it. According to Leakey and Lewin, guy and his surrounding species are finish items of background and chance. Now, despite the fact that, people have the unique opportunity to acknowledge their effect at the global ecosystem, and consciously steer the end result in order to stay away from triggering an unbelievable upheaval.From the Hardcover variation.
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Extra info for The Sixth Extinction: Patterns of Life and the Future of Humankind
Example text
It has been estimated that some 10-200 million tons of coal uselessly burn annually, and that the same amount again is made inaccessible to mining . Coal fires extend over a belt across the entire north China, whereby over one hundred major fire areas are listed, each of which contains many individual fire zones. They are concentrated in the provinces of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Ningxia. Beside losses from burned and inaccessible coal, these fires contribute to air pollution and considerably increased levels of greenhouse gas emissions and have thereby become a problem which has gained international attention.
Tops are removed from mountains or hills to expose thick coal seams underneath, and the soil and rock removed is deposited in nearby valleys, hollows and depressions, resulting in blocked and sometimes contaminated waterways. In some areas of the world, remediation is often delayed for decades. One of the legacies of coal mining is the low coal content waste forming slag heaps. In addition, all forms of mining are likely to generate areas where coal is stacked and where the coal has significant sulfur content, such coal heaps generate highly acidic, metalladen drainage when exposed to rainfall.
CAIR will permanently cap emissions of SO2 and NOx in the eastern United States. When fully implemented, CAIR will reduce SO2 emissions in 28 eastern states and the District of Columbia by over 70 percent and NOx emissions by over 60 percent from 2003 levels. Overall, the Program's cap and trade program has been successful in achieving its goals. Since the 1990s, SO2 emissions have dropped 40%, and according to the Pacific Research Institute, acid rain levels have dropped 65% since 1976. However, this was significantly less successful than conventional regulation in the European Union, which saw a decrease of over 70% in SO2 emissions during the same time period.
