Environmental Issues and the Anthropocene

Environmental Issues

• Environmental issues are a significant concern, encompassing societal objectives, material contingencies, and socio-ecological transitions.
• Engineers, managers, and designers play a crucial role in these transitions.
• Climate change, biodiversity collapse, resource scarcity (particularly energy), and social consequences of these issues must be integrated into analyses and decisions.
• Training future engineers is crucial to address these challenges effectively.

Rating

• Final exam: 50%, single assignment, January 2025.
• Comics: 25%, group assignment, due November 18, 2024.
• Presentation of a poster: 15%, group assignment, due during course 4.
• Writing an article summary: 10%, single assignment, to be returned by the end of course 2.

The Anthropocene

• The Earth has experienced significant climate variations throughout its history.
• Natural climate variation is one aspect emphasized in relation to the Anthropocene topic.
• The Anthropocene is a defining period in Earth's history where human activities significantly impact Earth's systems.

Lesson 1 Summary

• Anthropocene includes natural climate variations.
• The lesson introduces the concept of the Anthropocene.

Before You Begin

• The session prompts students to reflect on recent environmental events.

Natural Variations in Climate

• Climate variations result from many factors, including solar radiation, reflective power (albedo), tilt of the Earth, orbital variations, and atmospheric composition.
• The tilt of the Earth influences regional seasons, with high tilt linked to interglacial periods and low tilt correlating with ice ages. The period for these changes is approximately 41,000 years.
• Orbital variations have an approximate period of 100,000 years and are linked to marked ice ages.
• Precession, or the changing tilt axis, affects the reversal of seasons and has a period of approximately 26,000 years.

Climate History

• Data illustrate glacial-interglacial cycles over the past 450,000 years, showing fluctuations in temperature.

Natural Variations in Climate - Components

• Solar radiation: The amount of energy received from the sun is a key factor.
• Regional variation: Differences in temperature and weather patterns across different parts of the Earth are explained.
• Atmospheric circulation: Global atmospheric flow patterns affect temperature and precipitation.
• Albedo: Describes the reflectivity of Earth's surface. Increased albedo leads to more reflected sunlight, lowering temperatures.
• Land use choices: Human activities including deforestation can affect local albedo, affecting climate.

Milankovitch Cycles

• Milankovitch (1879-1958) identified cycles related to Earth's orbit and tilt that significantly influence climate change over vast timescales.
• The cycles include eccentricity (orbit's shape change, 100,000 years), obliquity (tilt change, 41,000 years), and precession (axis wobble, 26,000 years).

Writing an Article Summary

• Students will summarize an article on radiative forcing.
• The summary should be between 100 and 250 words.
• Download the template from Moodle, fill it out, and submit a PDF named (SPE_NX_LASTNAME_FIRSTNAME_SUMMARY).
• Submission deadline is October 17th, 23:59.
• Not following instructions will result in a 0 score on the assignment.

The Great Acceleration

• Multiple graphs demonstrate how various factors have increased over time and their potential connection to environmental concerns.

Planetary Boundaries Model

• The model outlines global thresholds that must not be exceeded to maintain a healthy ecosystem.
• Several planetary boundaries have already been crossed, implying a significant risk to the global environment.

This quiz explores critical environmental issues including climate change, resource scarcity, and the socio-ecological transitions required for future engineering. It emphasizes the role of engineers, managers, and designers in addressing these challenges within the context of the Anthropocene epoch. Students will assess societal objectives and material contingencies to develop effective solutions.