“This is the first time in the history of mankind that we are setting ourselves the task of intentionally, within a defined period of time to change the economic development model that has been reigning for at least 150 years, since the industrial revolution. That will not happen overnight and it will not happen at a single conference on climate change, be it COP 15, 21, 40 - you choose the number. It just does not occur like that. It is a process, because of the depth of the transformation.” YearsFirstsDoeHas BeensHappensProcessNumbersEconomicMankindRevolutionDevelopmentPeriodsModelsFirst TimeTasksTransformationClimateDepthClimate ChangeSettingSettingsDefinedYou ChooseCopConferencesEconomic DevelopmentIndustrial Revolution Author:Christiana Figueres
“In some parts of the world, what you are doing is already apparent.According to the World Health Organization, the warming of the planet caused an additional 140,000 deaths in 2004, as compared with the number of deaths there would have been had average global temperatures remained as they were during the period 1961 to 1990. This means that climate change is already causing, every week, as many deaths as occured in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.” WorldMeanHas BeensNumbersWeekPlanetsPeriodsOrganizationClimateClimate ChangeAverageTerroristSeptemberTemperatureSeptember 11Terrorist AttacksWorld HealthSeptember 11 2001World Health Organization Author:Peter Singer
“Certainly whatever climate change and global warming means, we've got a big issue here. Right now, this civilization or this period that we're in is probably going to need the resources off our planet, perhaps the resources from the asteroids, perhaps there will be some on the moon, perhaps some on Mars that we can utilize for our own uses here.” NeedsMeanUseBigsIssuesPlanetsPeriodsCivilizationRight NowMoonResourcesClimateClimate ChangeGlobal WarmingMarsOur PlanetAsteroids Author:Edgar Mitchell
“There are definitely recurring themes in humanity's relationship with our environment. The biggest is probably adaptation, because humans are incredibly good at adapting to new environments in relatively short periods of time. The ancestors of Homo sapiens started leaving Africa over one million years ago, moving from warm, tropical climates into the freezing wilderness of Europe and the desert ecosystems of the Middle East.” YearsHumansMovingHumanityMillionsEnvironmentMiddlePeriodsEuropeYears AgoClimateLeavingWarmEastDesertThemeWildernessAncestorMiddle EastAdaptationOur EnvironmentHomo SapiensEcosystemsAdaptingFreezingTropicalRecurringNew EnvironmentRecurring Themes Author:Annalee Newitz
“The early Triassic was a period when the planet was recovering from the worst mass extinction it had ever known - that was the end Permian extinction, where climate change caused in part by mega-volcanic eruptions wiped out ninety-five percent of life on Earth. It took about ten or twenty million years for the planet's ecosystems to stabilize. During that time you saw a lot of weird, out-of-balance ecosystems where, for example, crocodile-like predators ripped the crap out of each other along the coasts.” YearsEndsEarthKnownMillionsFiveSawsWorstExamplePlanetsBalancePeriodsTenMassPercentTwentiesClimateClimate ChangeCrapCoastNinetyExtinctionEcosystemsPredatorRippedRecoveringCrocodilesEruptionMegaMass ExtinctionVolcanic Eruptions Author:Annalee Newitz
“A lot of what is done by the climate lobby is anti-science. But there is some science behind it. Like, there are greenhouse gases, and they do contribute to warming. But if you look at the last, say, 160 years, the first 80 of that period, they went up about four-tenths of a degree. And now, the second 80 that CO2 has increased by, what, 30 percent or something, it's gone up five-tenths of a degree. And there's been in the last 30 or 40 years, there's been no real increase in storms or bad weather.” IfsYearsFirstsLooksRealDoneLastsBehindsGoneFiveFourPeriodsDegreesPercentIncreaseClimateStormWeatherGreenhousesGreenhouse GasesCo2Bad Weather Author:Charles Koch