by George P. Nassos
Scientists have claimed that the earth is around a half billion years old. But human beings have been on this earth for only about 200 million years based on evolution or about 6,500 years based on Adam and Eve in the Chirstian bible. Either way we have been on this earth a long time, and the earth provided all the needs for a decent life. This was the case until perhaps some 50 years ago when it was observed that global warming was beginning as a result of the industrial revolution. The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary pollutant causing an increase in the atmosphere temperature, was typically at 287 parts per million (ppm) but was beginning to increase. James Hansen, then head of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, testified before Congress in 1988 that if the concentration of CO2 increases above 350 ppm, we will be in trouble. Today, it is at 425 ppm and continuing to rise.
Another environmental issue that is negatively affecting the planet is the overconsumption of natural resources. The Global Footprint Network has been evaluating the generation and consumption of the biocapacity of about 200 countries for over 60 years. In 1971, the global consumption of ecological resources was about equal to what was generated in the same year. Since then, consumption has exceeded the quantity generated every year, and we are now consuming the equivalent of 1.8 earths. A metric was developed called Earth Overshoot Day which is the day when humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for the year. In 1971, it was December 29 but Earth Overshoot Day in 2025 was July 24. So, we are rapidly increasing the overconsumption of our resources.
The decline in the quantity and quality of freshwater is another major issue confronting the world. About 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by water but 97.5% of it is saline. Of the remaining 2.5%, a large amount is in the form of ice caps and glaciers or groundwater. Only 0.3% is available for industrial, agricultural and human consumption which has been gradually increasing. Now with the planning of new data centers around the world, consumption of water will definitely increase as these data centers consume water for cooling.
Contributing to climate change, the overconsumption of natural resources and water degradation is the growth in the global population. During the time of Jesus Christ, the world population was about 200 million. It took almost 1800 years to reach a one billion population but only 120 more years to add another billion when we reached two billion in 1927. It took only 95 more years to quadruple the population to eight billion in 2022. Today we are at 8.3 billion people, and we are adding 10 million people every seven to eight weeks.
As indicated, all four of these issues have continued to change in a negative way. But let’s look at what happened in 2020 which was impacted by Covid-19. Residents of India could see the towering peaks of the Himalayas from Punjab for the first time in 30 years. With a decline in tourism, the Venice canals in 2020 were crystal clear. Global emissions were down 5.8%, the largest decline since World War II. In the U.S., CO2 emissions were down 11% from the previous year. Most of these declines were due to the decrease in the transportation sector.
With respect to global consumption of natural resources, Earth Overshoot Day was August 22 which was 24 days later than the previous year. This was due primarily to pandemic induced lockdowns, but people were also shopping for groceries in a more efficient manner.
Water consumption also decreased because of a decrease in power consumption, fabric manufacturing, and agricultural production. With people working from home, there was probably a decrease in water consumption in office buildings and other manufacturing facilities.
The population growth slowed down because young married couples were having second thoughts about having children and raising them in a declining environmental world. Also, there was less dating which resulted in less children.
The bottom line of this analysis is that 2020 resulted in an improvement in four major environmental issues. Carbon emissions declined, there was a better use of our natural resources, freshwater consumption declined as did the growth of the global population. I consider what happened in 2020 as a message from God. He told us to use 2020 as an example of life on earth. We can still have a good life without destroying the earth that He created for us. We must implement sustainability strategies as much as possible to respond to His message.