All these conflicting reports... what is the TRUE state of the environment???

It seems that there are so many conflicting reports about the state of the Earth's environment today -- depending on what country you're in, whether you ask the government or private sector, whether you ask someone of conservative or liberal bias. But I want to know the truth! I want to know what science actually says about these issues! So I thought that maybe ATS could help me find the truth.

I care about the Earth's environment, but I don't want to waste my time on that which isn't really a problem. In other words, I don't want to operate on irrational fears based on nothing but emotionalism. I want to operate on science, reason, and fact. Can you help me?

(Just so you know, at this time I do recycle paper, plastic, and aluminum cans. I never throw away anything that's perfectly good either -- for example, the old 19" TV I replaced recently with my new 27" TV was still perfectly good, so I donated it to a local orphanage.)

These are the issues I'm trying to learn the truth about, but even with Google and the Internet, it's a difficult task!

(1) land use -- Are we covering over the world in concrete? Are we turning all our farmland into malls and shopping centers? This issue perplexes me most of all. I've read that as much as 50% of the US is urbanized... whereas other sources say it's as little as 3%. Most people couldn't tell one way or another, since they spend most of their lives living in that (3%-50%) anyway...

(2) global warming (or the new Ice Age) -- Is the Earth really getting warmer... and if so, is it even humanity's fault? Some say it's totally our fault and that "The Day After Tomorrow" will be within our lifetime; others say that a single volcano eruption spews more CO2 into the atmosphere than all human industry could do in several years worldwide. Others say we're actually heading towards another Ice Age, and the human caused emissions are the only thing keeping us all from being frozen over right now.

(3) raw materials -- Are we really about to permanantly run out of clean air, clean water, farmland (with good soil), wood, oil, rubber, copper, silicon, and carbon? If this is so, why doesn't the marketplace reflect this?

(4) overpopulation -- Is the Earth really overpopulated by humans? I have serious doubts about this one myeself. A glance at a global population map in any World Atlas shows serious high population density in Europe, China, and India, with fair population density in the US, Mexico, Brazil, and southwestern Russia. The rest of the world seems fairly vacant in comparison. Besides, who gets to define where the line of "overpopulation" is?

I'm sure there are other issues I've missed here. Please add them! And thanks for your helpful comments and knowledge!

and the human caused emissions are the only thing keeping us all from being frozen over right now.

Or you could also say that human caused emissions are speeding up the Ice-Age Interglaicial Age Heat Age Cycle, where things will on average get warmer, but it won't be a steady warmth, infact it will cause greater Climate Change leading to erratic and very unpredicatble weather(like the weather we've been seeing in North America and Europe lately) leading us headlong into another 100,000 yr ice age that will force alot of western society to gradually move south every year as the polar ice caps start to grow again.

My personal theory that is based on observation not science, is that we are gonna have more problems dealing with the current shortages of Cheap Oil, Concrete and Water is gonna play way more havoc in the short term than any climate change(assuming a calamaty doesn't happen anytime soon)

thers say that a single volcano eruption spews more CO2

It actually spews much more ash than C02 and it actually blocks a fairly significant portion of light reaching the surface ALL OVER THE PLANET. Look up Mt. St Helens, it caused way lower than average temperatures for at least 3 years after the explosion/eruption.

Concrete! How could I forget concrete? Aren't wood and concrete both infinitely renewable raw materials -- at least, theoretically? What other raw materials can't the industrialized world live without?

Here's one website I found in my reasearch:

biology.usgs.gov...

According to this website (which is run by the USGS and uses their data), the approximate percentage of the total land area of the U.S. that is urbanized (which is, for all practical purposes, also covered in concrete) is about 3%. Not too bad, IMO!

Urbanized land includes all city areas, roads, parking lots, factories, military areas, and even landfills... (Landfills, by the way, appear to take up 0.1% of the total land area of the U.S.)

Also, 40% of the total land area of the U.S. is used as pasture land for livestock; and 15% of the total land area of the U.S. is used for crop lands for food (interestingly, 12% is for food for the livestock, and only 3% is the food for us humans).

Interesting statistics! Does anyone else have any other sources I can look up in my research? Or perhaps comments on that which I just found? Hopefully that solves the mystery of land use... unless someone knows something else?

Ah man I had this long reply all written up then my Comp Crashed Well I'll keep it short and to the point.

The reason why there is an acute shortage of Concrete right now is basically China and India are using up it faster than we can make the stuff. Here is the link.
Chinese Demand Outstrips Global Supplies

Here are some more links with good search functions check them out.

New Scientist.com
Space.com
Nasa Homepage

Originally posted by sardion2000

thers say that a single volcano eruption spews more CO2

It actually spews much more ash than C02 and it actually blocks a fairly significant portion of light reaching the surface ALL OVER THE PLANET. Look up Mt. St Helens, it caused way lower than average temperatures for at least 3 years after the explosion/eruption.

That blocking of sunlight is much more because of aerosol particles which stay years in atmosphere. (instead of months like ash)

volcano.und.nodak.edu...
www.volcanolive.com...
volcano.und.nodak.edu...

Toba caused very big effects.
zyx.org...
www.volcanolive.com...



There's not enough data to say what results from increasing atmosphere's CO2 amount, it could lead to giant green house effect or then make ice age worse.