Our Ecosystem, Our Responsibility

Interaction is our function. Understanding Global Warming and our role as humans. Humans influencing the planet now more than ever, creating their own sphere, the anthroposphere. Proactive lifestyle will move us in the right direction, a direction toward sustainability, while giving us the hope of another life we are so fortunate to live.

The requirement for life on Earth to succeed is the function of interaction. In ecosystems ecology, all spheres are working together, interacting in there own way to sustain life on this planet. Ecosystems ecology encompasses all these spheres, each contributing in their own way for successful interactions. Botany, a discipline that involves living organisms, could in no shape be able to survive without the greenhouse effect. This effect is keeps the Earth at a warmer state. The fundamentals of chemistry can control life with a slight change in the elements of the atmosphere, which directly influence the greenhouse effect. As people witness today, our own sphere, the anthroposphere, is influencing the composition of the greenhouse effect; further exemplifying that humans have emitted an input of carbon far greater than the output. All these interactions in accordance with many more are playing a crucial role in our own ecosystem’s ecology.

In terms of geologic time scales, our existence is miniscule. Yet, we see a change in the mean global temperature, which directly correlates to our global impact, which is unlike any living thing ever known. Earth systems science aids our exploration through the individual systems of our planet by studying how they interact holistically. With that, questioning how these components will change through space and time. As a scientist in the Earth and Environmental Science (EES) field, these questions can pertain to everyday life. As a climatologist, questioning how temperature change will influence the ice melting and further sea level rise that will ultimately lead to an increase in both. Perhaps as a remediation analyst for Hurricane Katrina, this sea-level rise was a main influence in the damage caused on “The City below sea level”. All components play a part; our job as scientists in the EES field of study the components of the Earth system, answer how they will influence other aspects of the Earth, to predict, study, and analyze our planet.

As previously spoken, the anthroposphere is playing an ever-increasing role. We have been named “top of the food chain”. With this in mind we keep aware that within the past one hundred years, our population has raised greatly. Over-population has aided the carbon input and this is where the human, anthropogenic effects become too great. Overpopulation has placed an unprecedented force that is significantly compromising the Earth’s fixed resources. Practically all activities in life today require fuel and land use. In culmination with overpopulation, these three environmental issues are the most pressing problems our world faces. Undeniably there are other issues which play a part in the way our planet is responding to land use and overpopulation. Climate change and biodiversity are changing the way we have viewed Earth for all of our existence but it is the three issues stated prior that have ultimately lead to the loss of biodiversity and global warming.

Being a part of the anthroposphere, which is so greatly disrupting the planet, our obligation must be to compensate for our mismanagement all these years. Taking a proactive role may not provide an immediate result in the Earth’s system but rather will motivate others to be more aware of the consequences we, and the other interacting spheres will encounter if our present “mass-consumption” pattern does not change. Working with the Environmental Initiative at Lehigh gives the university an opportunity to see what direction we can move. As the Campus Sustainability Intern, making others aware of our Greenhouse Gas Inventory will spark questions and goals on how to make the campus meet the needs of future generations. We all have the opportunity, large or small, to make a contribution to the future because right now, we only have one world.

相互配合是我们的职责。了解全球变暖和我们人类的作用。人类现在比以往任何时候对地球的影响力都更大，他们创建了自己的领域——人类圈。积极的生活方式在给我们提供另一种生活希望（这是我们十分有幸生活的）的同时，还会指引我们向正确的方向前进——朝向可持续性发展。

对地球上的生命延续所提的要求就是相互配合之职责。在生态系统生态环境中，各个领域是相互关联的，每个均以自己的方式相互作用，以维持这个星球上生命的延续。生态系统的生态环境包含所有这些领域，每个均以自己的方式为相互作用的成功贡献了力量。如果没有温室效应，植物学这门研究生物的学科是决不可能存在的。温室效应使地球处于一个更暖的状态。只要大气成分发生一点微小的变化，化学的基本原理就能控制生命，从而直接影响温室效应。正如今天人们所看到的，我们自己的领域——人类圈 ，正在影响温室效应的组成成分；进一步表明人类已经排放的碳输入量远远大于产出量。所有这些相互作用和其它许多因素正在我们自己的生态系统生态环境中发挥着至关重要的作用。

就地质时间表而言，我们的存在（时间）是短暂的。然而，我们却看到全球平均温度发生了变化。全球平均温度的变化直接与我们的全球性影响相关联，这与我们已知的任何生物都不同。地球系统科学通过研究我们这个星球上的各个个体系统如何全面相互作用帮助我们进行探索。于是，探究这些成分将如何随着空间和时间发生变化。作为一个地球与环境科学领域的科学家（EES），这些问题与日常生活息息相关。作为一个气候学家，探究温度变化将如何影响冰雪融化和海平面进一步上升，因为温度变化将最终导致二者的增加。或许作为卡特里娜飓风的一个补救分析师，海平面上升是造成“海平面以下之城”这一巨大损失的罪魁祸首。所有成分都发挥了作用；我们作为地球与环境科学领域的科学家的工作就是研究地球系统的所有成分，对它们将如何影响地球的方方面面作出回答，以预测、研究和分析我们的地球。

正如前面所述，人类圈正在发挥着一个越来越重要的作用。我们已被命名为“食物链的最高统治者”。 考虑到这一点，我们不断意识到，在过去的一百年间，我们的人口增长过多。人口过剩已经对碳输入量的增加起到了助推作用，这正是人类，人为影响变得如此重要的原因。人口过剩已经成为了一个空前的力量，它正极大地危害着地球的固定资源。如今，几乎生活中的一切活动都需要使用燃料和土地。人口过剩的最终结果就是，这3个环境问题成为我们的世界所面临的最紧迫的问题。无可否认，其它问题也在我们的星球应对土地使用和人口过剩的方式中发挥着作用。气候变化和生物多样性正在改变我们为自己的所有存在看待地球的方式，但是正是上面陈述的3个问题最终导致生物多样性的丧失和全球变暖。

人类圈正极大地破坏着地球，作为人类圈的一个组成部分，我们有义务必须为所有这些年的管理不善作出补偿。积极主动的角色可能不会在地球系统产生一个直接的结果，但如果我们不改变当前的“大量消费”模式，它至少可以促使其他人更加意识到我们以及其它相互作用的领域将面对的后果。哈伊大学的环境倡议工作为该大学提供了一个见证我们将何去何从的良机。作为可持续发展的校园实习生，让别人知道我们的温室气体清单，将引发人们对该大学将如何满足子孙后代的需要产生质疑并为其提出目标。我们每个人，无论大小，都有机会为未来作出贡献，因为现在，我们只有一个地球。

我们不改变当前的“大量消费”模式，它至少可以促使其他人更加意识到我们以及其它相互作用的领域将面对的后果。哈伊大学的环境倡议工作为该大学提供了一个见证我们将何去何从的良机。作为可持续发展的校园实习生，让别人知道我们的温室气体清单，将引发人们对该大学将如何满足子孙后代的需要产生质疑并为其提出目标。我们每个人，无论大小，都有机会为未来作出贡献，因为现在，我们只有一个地球。