SL Geography

Patterns in Environment Quality and Sustainability

Hey y'all!

     How is your week going so far? Well, in our SL Geography class we have recently started a new unit called the Patterns in Environment Quality and Sustainability. Everything in this unit is geared towards Global Warming; so it talks about how our environment is changing due to various reasons. First, the atmosphere and change is the first subheading in the chapter, and it talks about how the atmosphere system functions in terms of the energy balance between solar system and long-wave radiation. The chapter introduces the causes and effects of the atmosphere and change, such as Global Warming (Definition: The increase in temperatures around the world that have been noticed over that last 50 years or so, and in particular since the 1980s), the Greenhouse Effect (Definition: The process by which certain gases such as water vapor, CO2, methane, and CFCs, allow short-wave radiation from the sun to pass through the atmosphere and heat up the earth, but trap an increasing proportions of long-wave radiation from the earth, which leads to the warming of the atmosphere), and the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect (Definition: The increasing amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere as a result pf human activities, and their impact on atmospheric systems, including global warming). Furthermore, the next subheading is soil and change: degradation. Soil degradation is the decline in quality and quantity of soil due to the loss of soil fertility. An example of this can be the Dust Bowl which took place in the 1930s, in which much of the land in the US lost its liveliness and the agricultural production dropped. The result of this was that people and animals had to migrate out of desperation, or they died due to lack of food and other necessities.

     We will keep you updated as we progress further into the chapter. The information in this chapter makes me feel sad for all the harm that we've done to the environment. Due to such human activity, we are ruining this beautiful place called Earth, that has been created for us. We must realize what we are doing, and stop before it is too late! What is your take on our treatment of the environment?

- Felicinda J.