Sustainable Development

In preparation for the sustainable development competition at Plymouth University, I have been researching into sustainable development, both on a small scale and on a larger scale.


Ways of reducing energy loss from the home include:

• cavity wall insulation
• solid wall insulation
• floor insulation
• loft insulation
• draught proofing
• tank and pipe insulation
• double glazing and secondary glazing

All of these ways can not only help the environment, but also save money. Many solutions are inexpensive, with grants offered to help with the costs of some techniques.

Alternatively, on a larger scale, it is possible to generate your own electricity:

• biomass
• ground source heat pumps
• small scale hydro
• small scale wind
• solar photovoltaic (solar PV)
• solar water heating

Colorado RIver

The Colorado River in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, and drains a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The natural course of the river flows into the Gulf of California, but the heavy use of the river as an irrigation source for the Imperial Valley has dessicated the lower course of the river in Mexico such that it no longer consistently reaches the sea.

Here are some interesting facts about the Colorado River:

• it is approximately 2,330 km long
• it drains 629,100 km²
• the total flows of the river range from 570 m³/s in droughts to 28,000 m³/s in severe floods.
• the Colorado River basin is home to fourteen native species of fish

Wikipedia has some excellent background information on the Colorado River, and includes some information on the importance of the river to the wildlife.

The ecosystems were damaged by the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam in 1963. The construction of the dam has not only affected the river's physical characteristics, but has adversely affected the ecology of the Grand Canyon.

Flash floods that would at one time scour the canyon clean and deposit fresh sand along the beaches no longer occur. The water temperature, which used to get as warm as 80 degrees F, is now icy-cold all year and averages around 42 degrees F, which has caused some of native fish that used to inhabit the river tobecome extinct and still others are endangered. The introduction of the Rainbow Trout, a non-native species has caused problems, as it thrives in the colder waters and makes it even more difficult for the native fishes to survive.

Other changes, including the extraction of water from the Colorado's channel, have also had an impact on the river. In the upper Colorado River basin states, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico, 90% of the water used is spread on land irrigated for crops, leaving 10 % for urban and other uses. Of the 1.6 million acres irrigated in the upper basin, feed for livestock is raised on 88% of the irrigated land. In the lower basin states, California, Arizona, and Nevada, 85% of water goes to agricultural purposes. Rapidly growing cities such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, and areas of southern California, all of which use some Colorado River water, still only account for less than 15% of these three states' water use.

I've also tracked down this site, which has some really detailed and useful information about the Colorado River.

Global methane rise slowing down

The rise in concentrations of the greenhouse gas methane in the atmosphere has slowed down considerably in recent years, this article reports.

Definitions

I stumbled across this link, which you might find useful, as it is a list of key words and their definitions, and covers many areas of the topics we have studied so far in Physical Geography.

Ecosystems

At the moment in our geography lessons, we are studying ecosystems. Towards 1950, the ecologists elaborated the scientific notion of ecosystem, defining it as the unit of study of ecology. The ecosystem is a unit formed by biotic factors (or alive members like vegetables and the animals) and abiotic factors (components that lack life, like for example minerals and water), in which vital interactions exist, energy flows and the matter circulates.

S-cool! have useful revision information about ecosystems, including key terminology, energy flow, and the nutrient cycle.

Also, why not take a look at the section on food webs and ecosystem interactions, containing info on material cycling and of course, food chains and webs.

You may also be interested in looking at this section, which compares deciduous forest ecosystems with coniferous forest ecosystems; or this section on seres; or these on the tropical rainforest and its management.

Some definitions are also provided by this section on ecosystems.

Climate threat to mobile species

This article reports that some of the world's most spectacular migratory animals will be severely affected by climate change.

Monitoring deforestation

Here is an article that reports a new technique for measuring the state of the world's forests has been developed, and shows the future may not be as bad as previously feared.

Here are some interesting forest facts:

Forests cover 30% of the world's total land area
Deforestation rate: 13m hectares per year
Iceland has three native tree species, Brazil has 7,780
The world's trees store 283 gigatonnes of carbon, 50% more than there is in the atmosphere

Titan

A cave believed to have the biggest chamber in Britain has been unearthed in the Peak District in Derbyshire, according to reports. Titan's main shaft is 460ft (140m) deep, as high as the London Eye, sculpted out of limestone by rain water over millions of years.

Coral reefs and climate change

Coral reefs and mangroves are being degraded by global warming, pollution and coastal developments, according to this report. To help vulnerable marine ecosystems survive the impact of climate change, stategies have been published by conservationists.