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Showing posts from January, 2018

The croplands are in the world

This map below shows cropland distribution across the world in a nominal 30-meter resolution. usgs.gov Croplands cover 1.53 billion ha while pasture for animal grazing covers another 3.38 billion ha, a total of 38% of the earth's ice-free land.  Agriculture has already converted 70% of the world's grassland, 50% of the savanna, 45% of the temperate deciduous forest, and 27% of the tropical forest biome. Total land used for agriculture since 10,000 BC, measured in ha (hectares). Source: ourworldindata.org  In 2025, the total global cropland area is expected to be 1.56 billion ha. Via www.vividmaps.com

Projected impact of climate change on agricultural yields

Change in agricultural productivity between 2003 and the 2080s.

The road to 2040

The Government has announced that it plans to ban the sale of Petrol and Diesel-engine cars from 2040, so what does this mean for you and will the UK be ready to make the switch in time? The move aims to improve the quality of the air that we breathe. It is estimated that poor air quality poses the largest risk to public health in the UK. As a result, the Government believes that ridding the roads of old diesel cars is key as they are among the worst generators of Nitrogen dioxide (N02). What is nitrogen dioxide (N02) and why is it bad? Oxides of nitrogen include nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitrogen oxide (NO): NO reacts in the atmosphere to form nitrogen dioxide (N02) which can have adverse effects on health. High levels of NO can affect a bunch of respiratory problems such as: - The worsening of Asthma. - Acid rain. - The increase of sensitivity to allergens. Dutch Bank ING produced a report called'Breakthrough of electric vehicles threatens European car in

The affordability of water around the world

Index calculated by median housegold income divided by cost of water.

The demise of the bison

Artist David Buckley Borden created the amazing map showing the extermination of the American Bison. Via: david buckleyborden.tumblr The declining range of the bison throughout North America (William Hornaday, 1889) Via cornell.edu

The seas of plastic: from land to sea, contribution of coastal regions to the 5 gyres and other accumulation zones

Plastic pollution in the oceans represents a major global environmental challenge. At a global scale, man-made debris has been observed to accumulate in remote areas of the ocean in large circulating gyres. The source of this plastic is assumed to be mostly land-based, however little is known about the relative contribution of different land-based sources to each gyre. By modeling and tracking the paths of plastic particles from land to sea we can estimate the relative sizes of each gyre. Also, the model reveals the relative contributions of the different source regions to each of the gyres. These relationships are visualized here and allow to compare the contributions by source and gyre. Source: dumpark.com

Roadless forest

80.7% of the ourt planets population lives within one hour of a city, but accessibility varies by wealth. In high-income countries, 90.7% of the population lives within an hour of a city compared to just 50.9% in low-income countries.

Change in nighttime light pollution since 1991

The map depicts the change in average nighttime light pollution throughout the past twenty-five years.  Source: https://www.reddit.com/user/coolsteve11

Raw materials that fuel the green revolution

Even though green energy comes from renewable sources like the sun and the wind - it still requires massive amounts of finite resources to make it all work. To get off fossil fuels, we will need massive amounts of these other metals and minerals. visualcapitalist.com

Tree Cover Density of Europe

Tree cover data by USGS. Bathymetry data by GEBCO. Hillshade by Natural Earth. Source: www.jakumbarian.com

Carbon dioxide emissions (metric tons per capita) annually in European countries

Carbon dioxide emissions (metric tons per capita) annually in European countries.