The impact of deforestation

Why population growth matters to the future of forests

The world's forests provide goods and services essential to human and planetary well-being. But forests are disappearing faster today than ever before. Due both to deforestation and human population growth, the current ratio of forests to human beings is less thn half what it was in 1960. Yet we not only need more forests, we need forests more than ever before–to protect the world's remaining plant and animal life, to prevent flooding, to slow human-induced climate change, and to provide the paper on which education and communication still depend. More efficient consumption of forest products and eventual stabilization of human population–a prospect that appears more promising today as birthrates decline–will be needed to conserve the world's forests in the coming millennium.

Half of the world's original forest cover is gone, a loss that reflects humanity's intensive use of land since the invention of farming. Of the forest that remains, less than one-fourth could be considered relatively undisturbed by human activity. The vast primeval forests of Europe and Asia survive today only as patchwork remnants of secondary growth, much of it vulnerable to logging, encroachment by development, pollution, fire and disease.

Forests are currently expanding in much of the industrialized world, while shrinking in most of the developing world. In just the first five years of the 1990s, 65 million hectares of forest–an area the size of Afghanistan– were converted to other uses in developing countries. By contrast, the industrialized countries gained 9 million hectares of forested land, an area about the size of Hungary. The pattern of forest loss in developing countries today differs from past losses in Europe and elsewhere in two key respects: human populations are much larger than before, and the pace of deforestation is more rapid. In the last four decades, an area half the size of the United States has been cleared of tropical forests, while population in developing countries has doubled to 4.7 billion. Among the most encouraging trends for the future of forests is the fact that fertility and birthrates are now declining in developing countries, leading demographers to revise downward their projections of future population growth.

Population dynamics are among the primary underlying causes of forest decline. Poverty, corruption, inequitable access to land and wasteful consumption practices also influence the decisions of governments, corporations and individuals to cut and clear forests. The interaction of these forces is most evident in areas such as South Asia, Central America and sub-Saharan Africa, where poverty, rapid population growth and weak institutions contribute to forest loss and severe environmental degradation.

The dominant force in forest loss is growth in the demand for farmland. Subsistence agriculture is the principal cause of forest loss in Africa, Asia and much of Latin America. Slash-and-burn farming and other traditional techniques were sustainable for centuries when population densities were lower. Today they are a major factor, along with the expansion of commercial farms and livestock grazing areas, in the permanent conversion of wooded land to agriculture. The need to increase food production is expected to accelerate the forest-to-farmland cycle, especially in countries where alternatives for meeting this demand are limited.

Total wood consumption has tripled during the 20th century. Per capita consumption has changed little on a global basis–actually decreasing slightly–but consumption patterns vary widely between countries. A typical American uses 15 times as much lumber and paper as a resident of a developing country. Reducing wood consumption in the industrialized world is unlikely to stop forest loss in developing countries however, since most of the wood consumed comes from trees in the industrialized countries themselves. Nevertheless, the consumption model offered to the rest of the world threatens accelerated forest loss as both populations and economies grow in developing countries.

Commercial logging of tropical forests has doubled since 1960, accounting for 5 million to 6 million hectares of forest loss each year, an area nearly the size of Sri Lanka. This is about one third the forest area lost each year in the developing world. Illegal logging causes a significant, though unquantified, amount of additional forest loss. Logging's biggest role in deforestation, however, is more indirect. Logging roads provide pathways deep into forests that farmers and other settlers then follow, permanently clearing the land for crops and pasture.

Nearly 3 billion people depend on wood as their main source of energy. The production of fuelwood and charcoal accounts for over 90 percent of the wood harvested in Africa, 80 percent in Asia and 70 percent in Latin America. Population growth is closely linked to rising woodfuel demand. The effects of woodfuel scarcity are most severe in impoverished areas, where more modern fuels are inaccessible or unaffordable.

Women and children are the victims of woodfuel scarcity. The search for fuel consumes the time, energy and health of women and their children. As local wood supplies grow scarce, women risk spinal column damage and uterine prolapse from carrying heavier loads over longer distances. Girls are often kept home from school to help their mothers gather wood, depriving them of educational opportunities. Where wood is unavailable, women cook with inefficient fuels such as animal dung or crop wastes, depriving livestock of fodder and soils of natural fertilizer. This endangers both the nutritional and respiratory health of women and their families.

Forest scarcity threatens the use of paper for education, the activity most likely to improve health and economic well-being. 80 percent of the world's population lack access to enough affordable paper and reading materials to meet basic standards for literacy and communication. Reducing paper consumption could help ensure enough paper for all. These efforts are undermined, however, by broader inequalities in access to education and economic opportunity. Closing the "paper gap" between rich and poor nations ultimately depends on government action to increase spending on education, health and social services in developing countries. Future population growth and forest loss will largely determine whether and when this gap can be closed.

Population policies based on human development and the Scale of Global Rights offer the greatest hope for the future of forests. This is not an argument for population "control" but for the social investments that allow couples to choose when to have children and how many to have. Programs linking conservation activities with family planning services show promise for achieving both the sustainable use of forests and greater acceptance of reproductive health services.

Sustainable wood consumption is essential for the future of forests. Individuals and institutions alike should promote the ecologically sound and socially responsible use of forest products. Eco-labeling, or the environmental certification of wood products, could speed the adoption of more sustainable forestry practices. Consumer demand for green-certified paper and other wood products is an important complement to recycling and other efforts to reduce wood consumption.

The well-being of the world's forests is closely linked to the health and well-being of women. Investing in education for girls helps them to contribute to their national economies–and to postpone childbearing until they are ready for a family. Providing credit and other economic opportunities for women creates alternatives to early and frequent childbearing. Finally, better access to quality reproductive health services directly benefits women and their families. These approaches increase human capacity, providing the greatest long-term return to societies, individuals and the environment. Moreover, they are likely to lead to an early peak in world population in the coming century–quite possibly at levels that can co-exist with forests that teem with human and non-human life for centuries to come.

Chapter 18.12     Global Parliament policies concerning the mining industry sector
Article 1:    The ecological accounting and balance sheet for mining

A study made by Earth Government of the ecological accounting and balance sheet for mining has shown that minerals are obtained in a way that:

* uses too much energy
* generates too much pollution and causes significant health and safety problems
* degrades permanently the environment during extraction, refining, and smelting of minerals
* encourages poor regions to yoke their futures

It would be much less costly to recycle discarded materials. It makes no sense to spend so much energy trying to find new mines when there is an enormous amount of useful metal in cities and landfills. For instance, why do we need to keep gold in safety deposit boxes, bank vaults, and jewelry boxes? There is more gold in boxes than in underground mines.

Article 2:    Mines have transformed landscapes and the lives of local people who live near mineral deposits
Mines have transformed landscapes and the lives of local people who live near mineral deposits. Entire communities have been uprooted in order to make way for mine projects. People had to forsake traditional occupations and suffer the effects of living beside a mine that poisons their water supplies or pollutes the air they breathe. Local people who got jobs in a mine had to trade health problems for an income. Prostitution and drug use are serious problems at mining sites.

In fact, mineral dependence reduces economic growth in developing countries. Extracting raw materials for export is far less lucrative than processing the materials or manufacturing finished goods. By extracting minerals, countries are essentially running down their stocks of nonrenewable resources.

Article 3:    Mineral exporting-countries become heavily indebted to international lenders
Mineral exporting-countries become heavily indebted to international lenders and much of what they earn from minerals and other exports never enters the national economy but is used instead to service the external debt. These countries have typically invested little in social services, such as education and health care, and are beleaguered by conflicts over resources and political instabilities.

Article 4:    The final hand-out of public money occurs when mines have to close Even though social, economic and environmental costs of mining are high and mineral prices are low, mining operations are still expanding. Mining firms have profited from direct and indirect subsidies handed out to them by governments. Mining firms benefits a lot from the cheap fuel and from the roads and other infrastructure made available to them. Even more surprising, mining firms do not usually pay royalties or taxes on profits, and governments provide immunity to companies against compensation claims. The final hand-out of public money occurs when mines have to close down or are abandoned, and governments and taxpayers are stuck with cleanup after companies have gone bankrupt or just walked away from poor projects.

Article 5:    There is more gold in boxes than in underground mines
At the end of 2001, it is estimated that all the gold ever mined amounts to about 145,000 tonnes. If we take national gold reserves, then most gold is owned by the USA followed by Germany and the IMF. If we include jewellery ownership, then India is the largest repository of gold in terms of total gold within the national boundaries. In terms of personal ownership, it is not known who owns the most, but is possibly a member of a ruling royal family in the East.

If all the gold was laid around the world, how far would it stretch? If we make all the gold ever produced into a thin wire of 5 microns (millionths of a metre) diameter - the finest one can draw a gold wire, then all the gold would stretch around the circumference of the planet an astounding 72 million times approximately!

In 2001, mine production amounted to 2,604 tonnes, or 67% of total gold demand in that year. Gold production has been growing for years, but the real acceleration took place after the late 1970s, when output was in the region of 1,500tpa. This year’s output will fall short of production levels in 2001. This is partly for specific operational reasons at some of the larger mines (Grasberg and Porgera), along with lower grades at some of the operations in Nevada. The reduction in exploration and development expenditure over the past five years is leading a number of analysts to suggest that, with other operations nearing the end of their lives, global production is likely to drop slightly over the next two to three years – subject always of course to price.

Gold mining is very capital intensive, particularly in the deep mines of South Africa where mining is carried out at depths of 3000 meters and proposals to mine even deeper at 4,500 meters are being pursued. Typical mining costs are US $238/troy ounce gold average but these can vary widely depending on mining type and ore quality. Richer ores mined at the surface (open cast mining) is considerably cheaper to mine than underground mining at depth. Such mining requires expensive sinking of shafts deep into the ground.

The gold-containing ore has to be dug from the surface or blasted from the rock face underground. This is then hauled to the surface and milled to release the gold. The gold is then separated from the rock (gangue) by techniques such as flotation, smelted to a gold-rich doré and cast into bars. These are then refined to gold bars by the Miller chlorination process to a purity of 99.5%. If higher purity is needed or platinum group metal contaminants are present, this gold is further refined by the Wohlwill electrlytic process to 99.9% purity. Mine tailings containing low amounts of gold may be treated with cyanide to dissolve the gold and this is then extracted by the carbon in pulp technique before smelting and refining.

Chapter 18.13     Global Parliament policies concerning the pharmaceutical industry sector
Article 1:   

Chapter 18.14     Global Parliament policies concerning the oil and gas industry sector
Article 1:   Strong evidence that concentrations of CO₂ in the atmosphere are related to global temperatures
There is strong evidence that concentrations of CO₂ in the atmosphere are related to global temperatures. Evidence is from a variety of sources and reflects relationships between gas concentrations and temperatures over a wide range of time scales. Whenever there is an increase in CO₂ concentrations there is also an increase in the temperature of the air and in global precipitation.

Since monitoring began in the 50s, fossil fuels burning was found to be the major contributor of the increase in CO₂ concentrations in the atmosphere and, therefore, of the increase in air temperature causing global warming of the planet. Concentrations have increased approximately 21% since 1958. The average rate of increase since 1958 has been about 0.4%/year, which is an absolute increase of about 1.5 parts per million by volume (ppmv). In year 2005, the predicted value will be 402 ppmv. CO₂ persists for a long time in the atmosphere and has a residence time in the order of decades to a century.

While Canada contributes only about 2% of total global GHG emissions, it is one of the highest per capita emitters, largely the result of its size, climate (i.e., energy demands), and resource based economy. In 1990, Canadians released 21.9 t CO₂ eq of GHGs per capita. Over the 11-year period from 1990 to 2001, this has increased to 23.1 t CO₂ eq of GHGs per capita.

Article 2:   Carbon Dioxide is, by far, the largest contributor to Canada's GHG emissions
Carbon Dioxide is, by far, the largest contributor to Canada's GHG emissions. The following figure shows how little the percentage contributions of the 6 GHGs has changed between 1990 and 2001. CO₂ has only changed in proportion from 77.7% of emissions in 1990 to 78.9% in 2001.

Per capita emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in British Columbia decreased by 6.3% between 1990 and 1999. Total emissions increased by 20% over the same time period. The increase in total GHG emissions was partly due to population growth, but increased emissions from the transportation sector played the largest role. The transportation sector is the single largest source of GHG emissions in British Columbia, producing 42% of the total. If current trends continue, the increase in British Columbia’s total GHG emissions from 1990 to 2010 is expected to be 38%, one of the largest predicted increases in Canada. In 1999, total GHG emissions were 63.5 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, an increase of 10.8 megatonnes or 20% since 1990. Population growth accounts for part of the increase in total GHG emissions; however, the increase in emissions from the transportation sector exceed the population growth rate.Transportation is the single largest source in the province, accounting for 42% of the total emissions. GHG emissions are strongly influenced by energy prices and economic activity. A decrease in GHG emissions in the early 1980s (not shown above) was largely attributed to increasing energy costs and the economic recession.

Article 3:   Use of fossil fuels in transportation, industry, heating and power generation
The use of fossil fuels in transportation, industry, heating and power generation throughout the world has increased steadily over the past 40 years. This has resulted in increases in greenhouse gas emissions, shown here as carbon dioxide levels (the bars on the chart).

Greenhouse gas emissions have increased at the same rate as the overall world economic production, measured by the Gross World Product (GWP). The GWP reflects the increase in worldwide industrialization and human population levels.

CO₂ concentrations in the atmosphere have been measured at an altitude of about 4,000 meters on the peak of Mauna Loa mountain in Hawaii since 1958. The measurements at this location, remote from local sources of pollution, have clearly shown that atmospheric concentrations of CO₂ are increasing. The mean concentration of approximately 316 parts per million by volume (ppmv) in 1958 rose to approximately 369 ppmv in 1998. The annual variation is due to CO₂ uptake by growing plants. The uptake is highest in the northern hemisphere springtime.

The Olduvai Theory describes the ratio of world energy production and world population. It shows that the Life Expectancy of Industrial Civilization is less than or equal to 100 years: 1930 - 2030.

World oil production in billions of barrels per year (Gb/year) was shown to be reaching a peak before the end of this decade and declining quickly thereafter.

World oil production per capita, that is the ratio of world oil prodution and world population in barrels per capita per year (b/c/year) follows very much the same curve of decline within the next 30 to 50 years.

World energy production per capita, that is in barrels of oil equivalent per capita per year (boe/c/year) also follows the same curve of decline unless an alternative energy production is used to replace oil and gas.
Article 4:   Per capita, the US will still be by far the largest polluter on the planet
Per capita, the US will still be by far the largest polluter on the planet. In year 2005, the US will be emitting 8.130 trillion kilogram of CO₂ per year. Worldwide the total emissions will be 30.0 trillion kilograms of CO₂. That is the US will be emitting 8.130 / 30.0 x 100% = 27.1 % of the total CO₂ emissions. Now that the US is manufacturing cars in China we will see a larger increase of pollution due to the US technology being sold abroad.

Article 5:   To become legally and morally responsible and accountable for their products from beginning to end
Over its long past history trade has never evolved to require from the trading partners to become legally and morally responsible and accountable for their products from beginning to end. At the end the product becomes a waste and it needs to be properly dispose of. Now trade must be given a new impetus to be in line with the global concepts of the Global Community. You manufacture, produce, mine, farm or create a product, you become legally and morally responsible and accountable of your product from beginning to end (to the point where it actually becomes a waste; you are also responsible for the proper disposable of the waste). This product may be anything and everything from oil & gas, weapons, war products, to genetically engineered food products. All consumer products. All medicinal products! All pharmaceutical products!

The worst polluters on the planet
Nation	Year 2000 total fuel combustion (trillion kg)	Year 2000 total fuel combustion (Tg CO2 Eq)	Year 2000 metric ton CO2 per person per year
United States	5.645957	5645.957	22.8
Canada	0.516513	516.513	23.5
Russia			17.0
Germany	0.831759	831.759	14.0
Japan	1.159683	1159.683	10.0
China			3.4

The worst polluters on the planet in year 2005
Nation	Year 2005 metric ton CO2 per person per year	Year 2005 population	Year 2005 total fuel combustion (Tg CO2 Eq)	Year 2005 total fuel combustion (trillion kg)
United States	27.1	300,000,000	8130.0	8.1300
Canada	25.2	32,000,000	806.4	0.8064
Russia	17.0	141,553,000	2406.4	2.4064
Germany	15.0	82,560,000	1238.4	1.2384
Japan	13.0	127,914,000	1662.9	1.6629
China	3.5	1,322,173,000	4627.6	4.6276
Total		2,006,3000,000	18871.7	18.8717
Total worldwide				30.0
33% of the world population contributes to 63% of CO2 pollution

Article 6:   The new way of doing business would make the US responsible and accountable of the CO₂ pollution
Applying this new way of doing business would make the US responsible and accountable of the CO₂ pollution created by the car manufacturers in China (and in all othe nations) that use US technology and 'know how'. Carbon emissions coming from a car built in China using US technology and 'know how' are to be added to the US carbon emissions. We estimate that the emissions due to these new cars will create 0.20 trillion kg of CO₂ to the atmosphere.

In year 2005
China alone:
4.6276 - 0.20 = 4.4276 trillion kg of CO₂ per year
United States:
8.130 + 0.20 = 8.330 trillion kg of CO₂ per year

The new way of doing business within the Global Community makes the US by far the worst polluters on the planet.

This makes a lot of sense! You raise a chicken on your land. You want to make sure that by the time your export your chicken to another country it has no disease and is not going to make people sick or kill them. Same idea with exporting technology and know how such as the manufacturing of US cars in China and the pollution that goes along with it destroying the global life-support systems. It is your product and you are responsible and accountable of it. That is the new way of doing business within the Global Community.

Sample of calculations

Per capita greenhouse gas emissions due to total fossil fuel combustion in the US in year 2005:
8130.0 TgCO₂Eq = Gg of gas x GWP x Tg / 1000Gg = Gg of gas x 1 x Tg / 1000Gg

Gg of gas = 8130 TgCO₂Eq x 1000Gg/Tg = 8130 x 10³ Gg CO₂ =
= 8130 x 10³ Gg CO₂ x 10⁹ gm/Gg =
= 8130 x 10¹² gm CO₂ x 1 kg/1000 gm =
= 8.130 x 10¹² kg CO₂ = 8.130 trillion kg of CO₂ =
= 8.130 x 10¹² kg CO₂ x 1 metric ton / 1000 kg =
= 8.130 x 10⁹ metric ton CO₂

Per capita CO₂ emissions in the US in year 2005:
8.130 x 10⁹ metric ton CO₂ / 300,000,000 = 27.1 metric tons CO₂ per person per year

Units

1 kg = 2.205 pounds = 10^-3 metric tons
i inch cube = 0.016387 liter = 16.387cm³
1 pound = 0.45359 kg
1 short ton = 2000 pounds = 0.9072 metric tons
1 m³ = 10³ liters = 35.3145 ft³
1 liter = 10^-3 m³
1 ft³ = 0.02832 ³ = 1728 inch³
1 US gallon = 3.785412 liters
1 barrel (bbl) = 0.159 m³ = 42 US gallons = 158.99 liters
1 meter = 3.28 ft = 39.37 inches
1 acre = 43560 ft² = 0.4047 hectares = 4047 m²
1 tera (T) = 10¹²
1 gega (G) = 10⁹
1 mega (M) = 10⁶
1 peta (P) = 10¹⁵
1 Gg = 1 Gigagrams = 10⁹ grams = 1 billion grams = 10⁶ kg = 1000 metric tons
1 Tg = 1 Teragrams = 1000 Gg
1 QBTUs = one quadrillion Btus = 10¹⁵ Btus = one Quad Btus
Tg CO₂Eq = Teragrams of CO₂ equiuvalent
1 TJ = 1 Terajoule = 10¹² joules = 1 trillion joules = 2.388 x 10¹¹ calories =
= 23.58 metric tons of crude oil equivalent =
= 947.8 million Btus =
= 277,800 kilowatt-hours
motor gasoline
1 metric ton = 8.53 barrels = 1,356.16 liters

Article 7:   We could calculate the effect of the invasion of Iraq by Americans

We could calculate the effect of the invasion of Iraq by Americans.

Iraqi oil production can be as much as 3.7 million barrels/day or 1.35 billion barrels/year. The US has taken away this oil from the Iraqi people to feed its own economy back home and the war industry (approximately 50 million Americans live off the war industry).

1.35 billion barrels x 123 kg/barrel = 0.246 trillion kg CO₂ / year

Counting 4 years of invasion yield 0.984 trillion kg CO₂ / year to be added to the US total of CO₂ greenhouse gas emissions:

8.130 trillion CO₂ emissions + 0.984 trillion = 9.114 trillion CO₂ emissions in year 2005

This shows that the act of plundering Irak of its resources include its gas emissions as well. Makes a lot of sense!

Iraq contains 115 trillion barrels of proven oil reserves along with 100 billion barrels in probable reserves. That will add quite a large amount of CO₂ emissions due to the America alone. We should also add the carbon emissions and greenhouse effect that will be created by the burning of the Iraqi natural gas. Iraq contains 110 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven natural gas reserves, along with roughly 150 Tcf in probable reserves. Iraq can possibly peak to a production of 700 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year. Now if anyone has any doubt about why Americans have invaded Iraq...

Article 8:   We could also calculate the amount of CO₂ emissions due to gasoline alone and the heat produced during the emissions; this heat also increases the temperature of air around the world and adds to the warming of the planet along with the 'greenhouse effect'
We could also calculate the amount of CO₂ emissions due to gasoline alone and the heat produced during the emissions; this heat also increases the temperature of air around the world and adds to the warming of the planet along with the 'greenhouse effect'.

In year 2005 there will be 30 billion barrels of oil produced around the world.

1 barrel of oil = 42 US gallons of oil = 42 gal x 3.785412 liters/gal =
= 158.9873 liters = 0.1589873 m³
1 barrel of Arabian Light crude oil = 0.136 short ton = 0.123 metric ton =
= 123 kg = 0.158987 m³ = 158.99 liters
1 kg = 1/123 x 0.158987 m³ x 10³ liter/m³ = 1.2926 liters
30 billion x 123 kg = 3.690 trillion kg of oil / year

The typical weight of gasoline at 72 degrees F is around 6.25 lb/gal.
30 billion barrels of oil x 42 gal/barrel x 6.25 lb/gal x 0.45359 kg/lb =
= 3.572 trillion kg of gasoline burned every year.
For normal heptane C₇H₁₆ with a molecular weight = 100.204

C₇H₁₆ + 11 O₂     ---------     7CO₂ + 8H₂O

thus 1.000 kg of C₇H₁₆ requires 3.513 kg of O₂ = 15.179 kg of air.

Calculation of the total weight of O₂ used to burn all the crude oil in the world if it was converted to gasoline.

3.572 trillion kg x 3.513 kg of O₂ = 12.5 trillion kg of O₂ burned / year.

Expressing this result in liters:

12.5 trillion kg x 1.293 liter/kg = 16.16 trillion liters of O₂ burned / year
16.16 trillion liters x 10^-3 m³ /liter = 0.01616 trillion m³O₂ burned / year
Heat given up by gasoline:
3.572 trillion kg of gasoline x 43 megajoule/kg =
153.6 trillion megajoules per year = 153.6 x 10¹² x 10⁶ joules/year
= 153.6 x 10⁶ Tj/year = 153.6 x 10⁶ x 947.8 million Btus
= 153.6 x 947.8 x 10¹² Btus = 145,582 x 10¹² Btus
= 145,582 TeraBtus = 145.582 PetaBtus = 145.582 PBtus
= 153.6 x 10⁶ x 277,800 kilowatt-hours = 42.67 Tera kilowatt-hours

These are different ways to express the heat released to the atmosphere by the combustion of gasoline alone. Thus the heating of our atmosphere is not a fake of our imagination. Other calculations such as the greenhouse effect due to CO₂ acting as a greenhouse gas keeping the infrared radiation from escaping into space can be found on the website of the Global Community.

Now there are many other ways we have discovered to choke the air we breathe. Automobile exhausts, coal-burning power plant, factory smokestacks, and other waste vents of the industrial age now pump seven billion metric tons of CO₂ greenhouse gases into the Earth’s atmosphere each year from fossil fuel combustion. Combustion of fossil fuels destroys the O₂ of our air. For each 100 atoms of fossil-fuel carbon burned, about 140 molecules of O₂ are consumed. Other factors put our Oxygen supply at risk.

Losses of biomass through deforestation and the cutting down of tropical forests put our supply of oxygen (O₂ ) gas at risk. The Earth's forests did not use to play a dominant role in maintaining O₂ reserves because they consume just as much of this gas as they produce. Today forests are being destroy at an astronomical rate. No O₂ is created after a forest is put down, and more CO₂ is produced in the process. In the tropics, ants, termites, bacteria, and fungi eat nearly the entire photosynthetic O₂ product. Only a tiny fraction of the organic matter they produce accumulates in swamps and soils or is carried down the rivers for burial on the sea floor. The O₂ content of our atmosphere is slowly declining. The content of the atmosphere decreased at an average annual rate of 2 parts per million. The atmosphere contains 210,000 parts per million.

In the Earth's Atmosphere, the volume % of O₂ in dry air is 20.98, in order words the abundance percent by volume is 20.98%, or again the abundance parts per million by volume is 209,800. The weight % of O₂ at surface level is 23.139%. We are concerned here with the troposphere. We can calculate the volume of the troposphere. The equatorial diameter of the Earth is 12,756.3 km, the radius is therefore 6378.15 km. The troposphere is the atmospheric layer closest to the planet and contains the largest percentage of the mass of the total atmosphere. It is characterized by the density of its air and an average temperature decrease with height. The troposphere starts at the Earth's surface extending at most 16 km high. The troposphere is this part of the atmosphere that is the most dense and which contains approximately 80% of the total air mass. As you climb higher in this layer, the temperature drops from about 17 to -52 degrees Celsius. The air pressure at the top of the troposphere is only 10% of that at sea level (0.1 atmospheres). The density of air at sea level is about 1.2 kilograms per cubic meter. This density decreases at higher altitudes at approximately the same rate that pressure decreases (but not quite as fast). The total mass of the atmosphere is about 5.1 × 10¹⁸ kg, a tiny fraction of the earth's total mass.

Volume of the Earth. 4 x ¶(6378.15)³ /3 = 10.8687 x 10²⁰ m³
Radius from the centre of the Earth to the top of the troposphere:
= 6378.15 + 16 = 6394.15 km
Volume to the top of the troposphere.
4 x ¶(6394.15)³ /3 = 10.9506 x 10²⁰ m³
Volume of the troposphere.
[10.9506 - 10.8687 ] x10²⁰ m³ = 8.14 x 10¹⁸ m³ Total mass of the troposphere.
Assuming the density of the air is constant throughout the volume (the density is not constant as it decreases rapidly with height; it is 1.225 kg/m³ on the Earth’s surface and 0.1654 kg/m³ at the top of the troposphere, 16 km):

[1.225 kg/m³ ] x 8.14 x 10¹⁸ m³ = 9.97 x10¹⁸ kg of air in the atmosphere
[0.1654 kg/m³ ] x 8.14 x 10¹⁸ m³ = 1.346 x10¹⁸ kg
Take an average: [9.97 - 1.346 ] x10¹⁸ kg / 2 = 4.31 x10¹⁸ kg of air.
The mass of the O₂ is found knowing that the weight % of O₂ at surface level is 23.139% (but there again this value can hardly be used for the entire volume as the weight % changes with height).

[4.31 x10¹⁸ kg] x 23.139/100 = 1.0 x10¹⁸ kg O₂
Mass of O₂ in the troposphere = 1.0 x10¹⁸ kg

Now it was obtained above here that there are 12.5 trillion kg of O₂ burned / year. Assuming that the combustion of gasoline could go on forever, the number of years before we run out of O₂ can be calculated.

[1.0 x10¹⁸ kg] / 12.5 x 10¹² kg/year = 80,000 years

If the combustion rate of 5 billion gallons of gasoline per year was to go on forever, it would take 80,000 years before we run out of O₂. Of course, this value should be corrected to include all other forms where O₂ is lost or burned.

These calculations are obviously not right as they do not take into account several factors that change with height. More importantly, these calculations do not reflect the impact of the combustion CO₂ on the atmosphere and impact on the climate. Certainly the losses of biomass through deforestation and the cutting down of tropical forests should be included. A rough estimate is more in the range of one thousand years at the most. Even one thousand years is wrong as life on Earth will hardly survive the kind of climate change humanity has already started with the burning of O₂ and deforestation. It is wrong because the burning of fossil fuels(same thing as saying the burning of O₂ to produce CO₂) is creating a global warming of the planet which in turn forces the climate to change. The climate change has already started and is likely to be tough on us and all life within a few decades.

Article 9:   We could also calculate the total estimated resources of oil, coal, and natural gas will run out in less than a hundred years
In any way the total estimated resources of oil, coal, and natural gas will run out in less than a hundred years. We will run out of fossil fuels in about 60 years down the road. The following figure expresses the abundance of Oxygen in the air over time.

A bad situation will occur when several cities close to one another have no forests West of them to photosynthesize the Oxygen people need. The air will not have the time to replenish itself quickly enough and air mixing will not be happening fast enough. People gradually become ill and die of a lack of Oxygen.

Despite its small concentration, CO₂ is a very important component of Earth's atmosphere, because it traps infrared radiation and enhances the greenhouse effect of water vapor, thus keeping the Earth from cooling down. The initial carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the young Earth was produced by volcanic activity; this was necessary for a warm and stable climate conducive to life. Volcanic activity now releases about 145-255 million tons of carbon dioxide each year. Volcanic releases are about 1% the amount which is released by human activities. Atmospheric CO₂ has increased about 30 percent since the early 1800s, with an estimated increase of 17 percent since 1958 (burning fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum is the leading cause of increased man-made CO₂ , deforestation the second major cause).

Article 10:   Global warming findings predict that increased amounts of CO₂ tend to increase the greenhouse effect and thus cause a man-made global warming

Global warming findings predict that increased amounts of CO₂ tend to increase the greenhouse effect and thus cause a man-made global warming. The widespread opinion that there is currently a warming phase and that the increased carbon dioxide amounts are a major contributor to it has led to widespread support for international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol which aim to regulate the release of CO₂ into the atmosphere.

Article 11:   Various scenarios of future emissions due to human activities predict that increased atmospheric concentrations equivalent to a doubling of CO₂ by 2100 is unavoidable
Various scenarios of future emissions due to human activities predict that increased atmospheric concentrations equivalent to a doubling of CO₂ by 2100 is unavoidable, and a tripling or greater by that time is a distinct possibility.

The magnitude of the natural greenhouse effect can be determined by observations of the atmosphere's radiation balance and surface temperatures, and is currently estimated to warm the planetary surface by about 33°C. Both the atmospheric concentrations and current anthropogenic emissions of other greenhouse gases are orders of magnitude smaller than that of carbon dioxide. However, per unit of emission, these gases have a much larger climatic effect than carbon dioxide. Each kg of CFCs and fully fluorinated compound emitted today, for example, can have an accumulated global warming potential (GWP) over the next century many thousands times greater than that of a kg of CO₂. To-date, global increases in concentrations of methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, CFCs and other minor gases have added about 70% to the climatic effects of CO₂ increases alone. Continued emissions of these gases in the future will significantly advance the timing of climate forcing equivalent to a doubling of CO₂, perhaps before 2050.

Article 12:    There are other trace greenhouse gases that are causing the greenhouse effect
In addition to CO₂, there are other trace greenhouse gases that are causing the greenhouse effect. These other greenhouses gases (not including CO₂ and water vapour) contribute collectively about the same amount of warming as does CO₂! Recently, the concentration of many of them has been increasing as rapidly or more rapidly than that of CO₂ (which has been increasing at about 0.4%/yr).

Methane (CH₄) is another very important greenhouse gas. While it is present in lower concentrations in the atmosphere than CO₂(about 1.7 ppmv vs about 402 ppmv for CO₂), it is very effective at causing warming because it absorbs radiation of a different wavelength than CO₂.

Mole for mole, methane is about 25 - 30 times more effective at causing warming than is CO₂. Methane currently contributes about 1/4 the

warming effect that CO₂ does. About 80% of atmospheric methane has originated from biological sources.

Methane is produced by:

* rice paddies
* anaerobic bacterial fermentation where oxygen is scarce, as in swamps and landfills (smelly)
* intestinal tracts of cattle and termites
* bacterial action following the melting of permafrost
* extraction and use of fossil fuels

The largest single source is wetlands; followed by mining, processing and use of coal; extraction and use of oil and natural gas; "enteric fermentation" (mainly cattle); and rice paddies.

Increases in methane are also related to production and use of fossil fuels. About 20% of total global methane emissions are related to fossil fuel production and use. It leaks from oil and gas exploration, recovery, and distribution (about 90% of natural gas is CH₄), and it is also released in coal mining. Methane is formed as plant material turns into coal, and some of it is retained in the coal and nearby rock and then released when the coal is mined.

Methane has direct warming effects on its own, and it also contributes to the production of CO₂, ozone, and water vapor in the atmosphere, which contribute about as much warming as the methane itself. Methane has approximately a 12 year atmospheric residence time, which is shorter than that of CO₂ (which is about 100 years) or halocarbons, which are also about 100 years.

Halocarbons (chlorofluorocarbons and HCFC's) are also trace greenhouse gases. Many are involved in more than one environmental problem (for example, tropospheric ozone causes problems in its own right and also contributes to excess warming; CFC's deplete stratospheric ozone and also contribute to warming). Climate change models must take all greenhouse gases into account. The only source of these compounds is anthropogenic, as they are not naturally occurring. They are synthetic chemicals. They are halogenated carbon compounds, such as CFC11 (CFC13 or Freon) They all contain carbon and halogens, such as Cl (chlorine), F (fluorine), or Br (bromine), and, in the case of the HCFC's, they also contain H (hydrogen). They are (or were until recently, in some cases) used in refrigeration, aerosols, for puffing foams, as solvents for cleaning in the electronics industry, and in automobile air conditioners.

An HCFC known as R-22 has been the refrigerant of choice for residential heat pump and air-conditioning systems for more than four decades. Unfortunately for the environment, releases of R-22 that result from system leaks contribute to ozone depletion. In addition, the manufacture of R-22 results in a by-product that contributes significantly to global warming.

Article 13:    Montreal Protocol
Under the terms of the Montreal Protocol, participants agreed to meet certain obligations by specific dates that will affect the residential heat pump and air-conditioning industry:

January 1, 2004:
In accordance with the terms of the Montreal Protocol, the amount of all HCFCs that can be produced nationwide must be reduced by 35% by 2004. In order to achieve this goal, participants such as the U.S. are ceasing production of HCFC-141b, the most ozone-damagingof this class of chemicals, on January 1, 2003. This production ban will greatly reduce nationwide use of HCFCs as a group, making it likely that the 2004 deadline will have a minimal effect on R-22 supplies.

January 1, 2010:
After 2010, chemical manufacturers may still produce R-22 to service existing equipment, but not for use in new equipment. As a result, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system manufacturers will only be able to use pre-existing supplies of R-22 to produce new air conditioners and heat pumps. These existing supplies would include R-22 recovered from existing equipment and recycled.

January 1, 2020:
Use of existing refrigerant, including refrigerant that has been recovered and recycled, will be allowed beyond 2020 to service existing systems, but chemical manufacturers will no longer be able to produce R-22 to service existing air conditioners and heat pumps.

Of course it is impossible for any government to enforce the above schedule of events. A lot more R-22 will be produced by people who have no sense of reality and no understanding of the problem they are causing. If they did understand and keep making R-22, they are very bad people and should be taken to the Earth Court of Justice. Unfortunately for them, their crime is against the global life-support systems and, therefore, is considered to be the worst crime on the Scale of Human and Earth Rights. They will face the worst punishment.

In addition to their effects on stratospheric ozone, these are important greenhouse gases. They are tremendously effective at producing warming because, even though they are present in low concentrations in the atmosphere, they absorb heat radiation of different wavelength than CO₂. Mole for mole, Halocarbons are 12,000 - 15,000 times more effective at causing global warming than is CO₂. Their concentrations in the atmosphere have been monitored since the late 1970's and they increased steadily and rapidly over most of that time at rates of 3-5% per year. Both production and emissions fell precipitously from 1989 on, as result of international treaties intended to halt destruction of stratospheric ozone, and now their concentrations in the atmosphere are actually beginning to decline as well. Because these compounds are very long-lived (atmospheric residence times on the order of 75 - 120 years), the decline in atmospheric concentrations lagged greatly behind the decline in emissions.

Replacements for CFC's (largely hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC's) and hydrofluorocarbons – (HFC's)) are also greenhouse gases, but are expected to make a relatively small contribution to the global warming potential contributed by other greenhouse gases. Current models predict that warming due to all halocarbons (CHC's , halons, and their replacements) will be at most 4-10% of the total expected greenhouse warming by 2100.

Article 14:    missing carbon mystery
Notice anything wrong here? 30 trillion kg into the atmosphere and only a total of 23 trillion kg accounted for! The remaining 7 trillion kg represents the "missing carbon mystery!" If 40-50% of the carbon emissions stay in the atmosphere and 15-30 % go into the oceans, what happens to the remaining 20 - 35%?

There are several ways the oceans can take CO₂. Mixing and the biological pump are two of them. For now let us focus on how CO₂ is taken by the terrestrial system. through the biological carbon cycle.

Historically, CO₂ taken up in the biological carbon cycle was approximately equal to the CO₂ released. The global production of carbon fixed by plants was then equal to the global ecosystem respiration that comprised respiration by plants plus respiration by all other living things on land. On a global basis, there was no net flux of carbon to or from the atmosphere, and there was not net change in carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems (globally). Unfortunately, human activities have recently been converting forested landscapes to grazed, cultivated, or urban landscapes.

The biological carbon cycle on Earth was then balanced.

No net gain or loss of CO₂, and the biomass of the Earth was constant.

However, during the carboniferous era, a net increase in biomass (carbon storage). Much of the biomass became our fossil fuels.

Today there is a net loss of biomass through:

a) deforestation and land use conversion
b) worldwide burning of fossil fuels

Article 15:    Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis, is the process by which green plants and certain other organisms use the energy of light to convert carbon dioxide and water into the simple sugar glucose. In so doing, photosynthesis provides the basic energy source for virtually all organisms. An extremely important byproduct of photosynthesis is Oxygen, on which most organisms depend.

Photosynthesis occurs in green plants, seaweeds, algae, and certain bacteria. These organisms are veritable sugar factories, producing millions of new glucose molecules per second. Plants use much of this glucose, a carbohydrate, as an energy source to build leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds. They also convert glucose to cellulose, the structural material used in their cell walls. Most plants produce more glucose than they use, however, and they store it in the form of starch and other carbohydrates in roots, stems, and leaves. The plants can then draw on these reserves for extra energy or building materials.

Article 16:   Virtually all life on earth, directly or indirectly, depends on photosynthesis as a source of food, energy, and Oxygen
Virtually all life on earth, directly or indirectly, depends on photosynthesis as a source of food, energy, and Oxygen, making it one of the most important biochemical processes known. It is a part of the global life-support systems and is a right that needs protecting at all costs. The right and responsibility that human beings have in protecting photosynthesis has the highest importance on the Scale of Global Rights.

Forests contribute to absorbing carbon dioxide and act as CO₂ sinks. Conversely, deforestation largely in tropical countries is a source of CO₂ to the atmosphere. CO₂ releases from deforestation are about 1/6 of sources from fossil fuel combustion. Not all the CO₂ is absorbed by the atmosphere; part of the CO₂ is absorbed by oceans, and part by forests through the process of photosynthesis.

Water vapour and clouds are some the most important atmospheric constituents of climatic significance that cause about two-thirds of the Earth's natural greenhouse effect. Changes in the concentrations of water vapour has major influences on the radiative fluxes of both incoming sunlight and outgoing heat radiation. Such changes are largely controlled by the response of the hydrological cycle to other forces upon the thermal properties of the climate system, and hence are not primary causes for change. Indeed, the most significant atmospheric components that can be changed by both natural and human influences external to the climate system are other greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide and methane, and aerosols.

Many studies have been made on the change of the Earth’s climate. The above discussion has been useful in understanding the fundamentals of the models of climate change. Now is time to look at results obtained so far.

Article 17:   Important findings obtained from research done so far

There are important findings obtained from research done so far:

* a doubling of CO₂ will affect the average surface temperatures to be between 2.0 and 5.5°C;

* the rate of average global warming due to increasing greenhouse concentrations is in the range of 0.5 to 1.0°C per decade;

* both the oceans and land surfaces will warm up, land areas warm more than oceans; greatest warming being in high northern latitudes in winter;

* in winter, higher latitudes will see more precipitation and soil moisture;

* in response to melting land ice and increasing ocean temperatures, global sea levels are expected to rise about 3 to 10 cm/decade;

* terrestrial and ocean ecosystems will experience increasing stress; many species will not be able to adapt fast enough to change done by global warming; changes in ocean temperatures and circulation patterns will alter fish habitats, causing collapse of some species and migration of others;

* land use conversion (deforestation and others) and increased forest fires in stressed ecosystems and the gradual decay of Arctic permafrost will cause large increases in greenhouse gas emissions from natural ecosystems; these factors will accelerate further the global warming;

* changes in global precipitation will cause droughts and increased aridity in some agricultural regions, wetter conditions and increased flooding in others; distribution of global food supply will be affected and developing nations will find more difficult to produce or obtain food;

* as ocean surfaces warm up, frequency and severity of extreme regional weather systems will be more frequent and cause intense rainfall, droughts and heat spells, severe storms, including hurricanes, especially in mid-latitude regions; and

* climate sensitive diseases will follow the warming.

Article 18:   Two fundamental types of response to the risks of climate change
There are two fundamental types of response to the risks of climate change:

1. reducing the rate and magnitudes of change through mitigating the causes, and

2. reducing the harmful consequences through anticipatory adaptation.

Mitigating the causes of global warming implies limiting the rates and magnitudes of increase in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, either by reducing emissions or by increasing sinks for atmospheric CO₂. We know that stabilizing emissions of greenhouse gases will not stabilize concentrations. While slowing the rate of increase in atmospheric concentrations, such actions will still likely lead to a doubled CO₂-type environment within this century. Considering the residence time of various greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, a reduction of 10% in methane emissions would be required to stabilize methane concentrations, reductions in excess of 50% would be required to stabilize CO₂ and N2O emissions, and virtual elimination of emissions would be needed to stabilize concentrations of very long-lived gases such as fully fluorinated compounds.

Scientists will also need to become more involved in assessing the viability of response options aimed at storing excess carbon in terrestrial or ocean systems. Land use changes from agricultural to forest ecosystems can help to remove carbon from the atmosphere at rates of 2 to 20 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year for periods of 50 years or more, until a new ecosystem equilibrium is reached. Similarly, soil conservation practices can help build up carbon reservoirs in forest and agricultural soils.

Proposals to extract CO₂ from smoke stacks and dispose of it in liquid form in underground reservoirs or deep oceans also need careful evaluation in terms of long-term feedbacks, effectiveness and environmental acceptability. However, much remains to be learned about the biological and physical processes by which terrestrial and ocean systems can act as sinks and permanent reservoirs for carbon.

Article 19:   The Global Community has created a global ministry to help humanity be prepared to fight the harmful consequences of a global warming
The Global Community has created a global ministry to help humanity be prepared to fight the harmful consequences of a global warming through anticipatory adaptation. The global ministries on climate change and emergencies have now been developed and are operating.

The ministries have developed:

1. policy response to the consequences of the global warming, and

2. strategies to adapt to the consequences of the unavoidable climate change.

Article 20:   It is a priority for businesses to apply for one ECO, your Certified Corporate Global Community Citizenship (CCGCC)
It is a priority for businesses to apply for one ECO, your Certified Corporate Global Community Citizenship (CCGCC) , a unique way to show the world your ways of doing business are best for the Global Community. You can obtain the citizenship after accepting the Criteria of the Global Community Citizenship and following an assessment of your business.The process shown here is now standardized to all applicants. You are then asked to operate your business as per the values of the citizenship.

Chapter 18.15     Global Parliament policies concerning the production and manufacturing of plastic products
Article 1:    Plastic, an all-around product the cause of wars and of a global environmental and social nightmare
Article 2:     People are concerned about the future because the basic raw materials for plastic are petroleum and/or natural gas
Article 3:     What is in plastics that we are not told about?
Article 4:     Collecting plastic packaging at curbside fosters the belief that, like aluminum and glass, the recovered material is converted into new packaging.
Article 5:     What to do? Just say no to plastics.
Article 6:     Plastics made from plants
Article 7:     Conclusion
Article 8:     Seven common misconceptions about plastics and alternatives

Article 1:     Plastic, an all-around product the cause of wars and of a global environmental and social nightmare

Plastic is an all-around product. Plastic can be flexible or rigid; transparent or opaque. It can look like leather, wood, or silk. It can be made into toys or heart valves. Plastics today play an important part in cutting-edge technologies such as the space program, bullet-proof vests and prosthetic limbs, as well as in everyday products such as beverage containers, medical devices and automobiles. Altogether there are more than 10,000 different kinds of plastics. See a short list at the end.

The basic raw materials for plastic are oil and/or natural gas. These fossil fuels are sometimes combined with other elements, such as oxygen or chlorine, to make different types of plastic.

Plastics are polymers. What is a polymer? The most simple definition of a polymer is something made of many units. Think of a polymer as a chain. Each link of the chain is the "-mer" or basic unit that is usually made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and/or silicon. To make the chain, many links or "-mers" are hooked or polymerized together.

Even though the basic makeup of many polymers is carbon and hydrogen, other elements can also be involved. Oxygen, chorine, fluorine, nitrogen, silicon, phosphorous and sulfur are other elements that are found in the molecular makeup of polymers. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) contains chlorine. Nylon contains nitrogen. Teflon contains fluorine. Polyester and polycarbonates contain oxygen. There are also some polymers that, instead of having a carbon backbone, have a silicon or phosphorous backbone. These are considered inorganic polymers.

Polymers are divided into two distinct groups: thermoplastics and thermosets. The majority of polymers are thermoplastic, meaning that once the polymer is formed it can be heated and reformed over and over again. This property allows for easy processing and facilitates recycling. The other group, the thermosets, can not be remelted. Once these polymers are formed, reheating will cause the material to scorch.

Every polymer has very distinct characteristics, but most polymers have the following general attributes.

1.     Polymers can be very resistant to chemicals. Consider all the cleaning fluids in your home that are packaged in plastic. Reading the warning labels that describe what happens when the chemical comes in contact with skin or eyes or is ingested will emphasize the chemical resistance of these materials.

2.     Polymers can be both thermal and electrical insulators. A walk through your house will reinforce this concept, as you consider all the appliances, cords, electrical outlets and wiring that are made or covered with polymeric materials. Thermal resistance is evident in the kitchen with pot and pan handles made of polymers, the coffee pot handles, the foam core of refrigerators and freezers, insulated cups, coolers and microwave cookware. The thermal underwear that many skiers wear is made of polypropylene and the fiberfill in winter jackets is acrylic.

3.    Generally, polymers are very light in weight with varying degrees of strength. Consider the range of applications, from toys to the frame structure of space stations, or from delicate nylon fiber in pantyhose or Kevlar, which is used in bulletproof vests.

4.     Polymers can be processed in various ways to produce thin fibers or very intricate parts. Plastics can be molded into bottles or the bodies of a cars or be mixed with solvents to become an adhesive or a paint. Elastomers and some plastics stretch and are very flexible. Other polymers can be foamed like polystyrene (StyrofoamTM) and urethane, to name just two examples. Polymers are materials with a seemingly limitless range of characteristics and colors. Polymers have many inherent properties that can be further enhanced by a wide range of additives to broaden their uses and applications. In addressing all the superior attributes of polymers, it is equally important to discuss some of the difficulties associated with the material. Plastics deteriorate but never decompose completely. Plastics make up 9.5 percent of our trash by weight compared to paper, which constitutes 38.9 percent. Glass and metals make up 13.9 percent by weight.

Recycled plastics are used to make polymeric timbers for use in picnic tables, fences and outdoor toys, thus saving natural lumber. Plastic from 2-liter bottles is even being spun into fiber for the production of carpet.

Recycled plastics are used to make polymeric timbers for use in picnic tables, fences and outdoor toys, thus saving natural lumber. Plastic from 2-liter bottles is even being spun into fiber for the production of carpet.

An option for plastics that are not recycled, especially those that are soiled, such as used microwave food wrap or diapers, can be a waste-to-energy system (WTE).

The controlled combustion of polymers produces heat energy. The heat energy produced by the burning plastics not only can be converted to electrical energy but helps burn the wet trash that is present. Paper also produces heat when burned, but not as much as plastics. On the other hand, glass, aluminum and other metals do not release any energy when burned.

To better understand the incineration process, consider the smoke coming off a burning object and then ignite the smoke with a Bunsen burner. Observe that the smoke disappears. This is not an illusion, but illustrates that the by-products of incomplete burning are still flammable. Incineration burns the material and then the by-products of the initial burning.

Polymers affect every day of our life. These materials have so many varied characteristics and applications that their usefulness can only be measured by our imagination. Polymers are the materials of past, present and future generations.

Plastic wrap helps keep meat fresh while protecting it from the poking and prodding fingers of your fellow shoppers. Plastic bottles mean you can actually lift an economy-size bottle of juice. And should you accidentally drop that bottle, it is shatter-resistant. In each case, plastics help make your life easier, healthier and safer.

Plastics help make portable phones and computers that really are portable. They help major appliances - like refrigerators or dishwashers - resist corrosion, last longer and operate more efficiently. Plastic car fenders and body panels resist dings, so you can cruise the grocery store parking lot with confidence.

Modern packaging -- such as heat-sealed plastic pouches and wraps -- helps keep food fresh and free of contamination. That means the resources that went into producing that food aren't wasted. It's the same thing once you get the food home: plastic wraps and resealable containers keep your leftovers protected.

Doing more with less helps conserve resources in another way. It helps save energy. In fact, plastics can play a significant role in energy conservation. Just look at the decision you're asked to make at the grocery store check-out: "Paper or plastic?"

Not only do plastic bags require less total energy to produce than paper bags, they conserve fuel in shipping. It takes five trucks to carry the same number of paper bags as fits in one truckload of plastic bags.

Plastics also help to conserve energy in your home. Vinyl siding and windows help cut energy consumption and lower your heating and cooling bills. People of many cities have access to a plastics recycling program. The two common forms of collection are: curbside collection - where consumers place designated plastics in a special bin to be picked up by a public or private hauling company and drop-off centers - where consumers take their recyclables to a centrally located facility. Most curbside programs collect more than one type of plastic resin. Once collected, the plastics are delivered to a material recovery facility or handler for sorting into single resin streams to increase product value. The sorted plastics are then baled to reduce shipping costs to reclaimers.

Reclamation is the next step where the plastics are chopped into flakes, washed to remove contaminants and sold to end users to manufacture new products such as containers, clothing, carpet, plastic lumber, etc.

Source reduction is gaining more attention as an important resource conservation and solid waste management option. Source reduction, often called "waste prevention" is defined as "activities to reduce the amount of material in products and packaging before that material enters the municipal solid waste management system."

Source reduction activities reduce the consumption of resources at the point of generation. In general, source reduction activities include:

*     Redesigning products or packages so as to reduce the quantity of the materials used, by substituting lighter materials for heavier ones or lengthening the life of products to postpone disposal.
*     Using packaging that reduces the amount of damage or spoilage to the product.
*     Reducing amounts of products or packages used through modification of current practices by processors and consumers.
*     Reusing products or packages already manufactured.
*     Managing non-product organic wastes (food wastes, yard trimmings) through backyard composting or other on-site alternatives to disposal.

Article 2:     People are concerned about the future because the basic raw materials for plastic are petroleum and/or natural gas

People are concerned about the future because the basic raw materials for plastic are petroleum and/or natural gas, and production of these resources is already peaking and declining. It is estimated that 50 years down the road the world will be out of oil and gas and so what will we use to make plastics.

The concern about "running out of oil" arises from misunderstanding the significance of a petroleum industry measure called the Reserves/Production ratio (R/P). This monitors the production and exploration interactions. The R/P is based on the concept of "proved" reserves of fossil fuels. Proved reserves are those quantities of fossil fuels that geological and engineering information indicate with reasonable certainty can be recovered in the future from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions. The Reserves/Production ratio is the proved reserves quantity divided by the production in the last year, and the result will be the length of time that those remaining proved reserves would last if production were to continue at the current level. It is important to note the economic and technology component of the definitions, as the price of oil increases ( or new technology becomes available ), marginal fields become "proved reserves". We are unlikely to "run out" of oil, as more fields become economic. Note that investment in exploration is also linked to the R/P ratio, and the world crude oil R/P ratio typically moves between 20-40 years, however specific national incentives to discover oil can extend that range upward.

Crude oil	Proved reserves	R/P ratio
Middle East	89.4 billion tonnes	93.4 years
USA	3.8	9.8
USA - 1995 USGS data	10.9	33.0
Total world	137.3	43.0
Coal	Proven reserves	R/P ratio
USA	240.56 billion tonnes	247 years
Total world	1,043.864	235 years
Natural gas	Proven reserves	R/P ratio
USA	4.6 trillion cubic meters	8.6 years
USA - 1995 USGS data	9.1	17.0
Total world	141.0	66.4

Crude oil is a limited resource. It is estimated that there is a total of 2390 billion barels of crude oil on Earth. Estimates of undiscovered reserves range from 275 to 1469 billion barels.

About 77% of crude oil has already been discovered, and 30% of it has been used so far. From 1859-1968 200 billion barels of oil have been used, and since then oil production has stabilized to 30 billion barels per year. It is estimated that oil reserves will become scarce by 2050s. Most of oil is concentrated in the Near East - around 41%. North America, Russia, and Antartic are also rich in crude oil.

As part of a scenario without oil and gas or not much of those resources for our use the world will have to sustain itself and do things in a more natural or austere way. Such as, no plastic hoses replaceable for watering gardens. If this were not a serious enough challenge, it turns out that plastics are full of poisons that kill living things including people. Think of it as a permanent, toxic oil spill. The dangers of plastics have been ignored and suppressed for decades, but the recent news on the extent that plastics are killing sea animals and birds will finally raise the human health issue through the environmental focus.

About 125 billion kilograms of raw plastic pellets are produced annually worldwide and turned into a tremendous variety of products, from cars and computers to packaging and pens (see a short list of plastic products below). People think of oil mainly as the strategic fuel for their cars, and some Americans justify a foreign policy that kills for oil. If they knew how dependent they were on massive amounts of plastic from oil and natural gas for other basic modern products, the war cry could be louder.

Plastics, cheap energy, clean drinking water and almost all other key resources are about to become sharply limited within the next two generations. This limitation is brought about by the world's growing population rapidly depleting resources.

Did you know that you should not have plastics in contact with your food and water at all? And with your skin – what do you do about touching plastic hoses in your garden that spew plastic-tainted water on your food plants? If you thought plastics were safe for your own self anyway, it turns out you were wrong.

Article 3:     What is in plastics that we are not told about?

Lead, cadmium, mercury, dioxins, PCBs and other cancer causing petrochemicals. You might want to consider never again walking barefoot on your PVC-floor kitchen or bathroom.

The Global Community Assessment Centre (GCAC) has added diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) – a compound used to make plastics flexible – to the list of known reproductive toxicants. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) typically contains up to 40 percent DEHP. The chemical, which leaches out of PVC products such as blood-storage bags and intravenous tubing, can disrupt the normal development of mail reproductive organs in animals. Manufacturers should label affected products to be sold in the world as containing a reproductive poison.

There has been a plastics-industry conspiracy to keep the health consequences quiet. The PVC industry has known about the carcinogenicity of VCM (a component of polyvinyl chloride) since about 1970.

Plastics debris and minute plastic particles floating in huge expanses of the Pacific Ocean are six times as prevalent weight-wise than the plankton there. Birds and fish eat plastics constantly, and starve to death. Even worse, the extremely high concentration of toxic chemicals adhering to the plastics eaten by the animals goes into their fat cells. As the poisons go up the food chain and accumulate, this in one reason we can no longer safely eat tuna. However research is still needed on how much of a food-fish's toxicity derives from plastic as opposed to general pollution and non-plastic sources. Poisoned sea animals are all over the world, due to the easy migration of chemicals through the air and bodies of water. This is why Eskimos often have dangerously high levels of PCBs in their breast milk.

About 100,000 whales, seals, turtles and other marine animals are killed by plastic bags each year worldwide Plastic from petroleum does not biodegrade. It breaks down, especially with UV radiation, into finer and finer particles. This makes plastic and the lingering toxicants easier to ingest. Some plastic particles, such as the "nurdles" pictured above that are used as raw material for making plastics, are confused by sea creatures and birds to be eggs or other prey.

A fourth of the planet's surface area has become an accumulator of floating plastic debris. What can be done with this new class of products made specifically to defeat natural recycling?

But land animals have problems with plastic as well. Aside from the human animal, many species are threatened by trash as well as development of wild land into human industrial communities and suburbs.

The stomach contents of dead birds contain plastic objects, so we can assume that land birds are also dying from plastic ingestion.

The many kinds of plastics and their additives such as heavy metals and DEHP (the plasticizer to be warning-labeled in the world) make recycling problematic. Additionally, plastic does not recycle well due to the properties of its fibers, and if more than a small amount of recycled plastic is put into new production of plastics, the result is an inferior and unprofitable product. It is a fraud upon the public that the "chasing arrows" on plastic containers imply recyclability and recycled content. The types of plastics and varieties of containers that can actually be recycled are few. What's more, the plastics industry including soft-drink corporations have been let off from collecting or recycling their poisonous garbage. Apart from some lower-grade materials, such as park benches, carpets and some garments made from recycled plastic, utilization of recycled plastics is mostly a myth.

Article 4:     Collecting plastic packaging at curbside fosters the belief that, like aluminum and glass, the recovered material is converted into new packaging.

Collecting plastic packaging at curbside fosters the belief that, like aluminum and glass, the recovered material is converted into new packaging. In fact, most recovered plastic packaging is not made into packaging again but into new secondary products such as textiles, parking lot bumpers, or plastic lumber – all unrecyclable products. This does not reduce the use of virgin materials in plastic packaging.

Curbside collection does not reduce the amount of plastic landfilled. If establishing collection makes plastic packages seem more environmentally friendly, people may feel comfortable buying more. Curbside plastic collection programs, intended to reduce municipal plastic waste, might backfire if total use rises faster than collection. Since only a fraction of certain types of plastic could realistically be captured by a curbside program, the net impact of initiating curbside collection could be an increase in the amount of plastic landfilled. Furthermore, since most plastic reprocessing leads to secondary products that are not themselves recycled, this material is only temporarily diverted from landfills.

The Global Community promotes a 40 cent payment for each plastic bag used at retail, which will go into environmental clean up and education against plastics from petroleum. This would make a dent in the problem, but you'll want to see more done, and fast, the more you find out about plastics.

Article 5:     What to do? Just say no to plastics.

How many of those plastic containers do we really reuse, anyway? And now that we know plastic is unsafe, we need to fight for a consensus that plastics have had their day, at least in allowing further spread.  The demise of petroleum supply that some analysts anticipate shortly will have to be the form of action to permanently cap the plastics plague. Meanwhile, or in anticipation of the collapse ahead of petroleum civilization, doing more than trying to reject plastics means changing our lifestyle toward simpler, less materialistic living.

Every time we use a new plastic bag they go and get more petroleum from the Middle East and bring it over in tankers. We are extracting and destroying the Earth to use a plastic bag for 10 minutes. What could be more important, when an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion bags are used annually worldwide?

Just to consider one product, bicycles: they are a sustainable alternative to cars, so we cannot ignore the plastics component of bikes. Tires for bikes (and cars) were once made out of the rubber plant, and that has to recommence. Rubber (from the tree) is not a plastic, although plasticizers are put into plastics for pliability.  Petroleum has become indispensable to almost every aspect of modern society's operation. The trend is the other direction, as more and more parts for bicycles (and cars) are made of plastic.

As the petroleum-driven economy's machinery churns along and eats up the Earth and the biosphere, people who bother to think about plastics assume that nonpetroleum sources are around the corner. However, a focus on recycling plastics misses the greater reality in front of our noses which is the health issue, as we have seen.

Article 6:     Plastics made from plants

Plastics made from plants, unlike petroleum-plastics, offer biodegradability which helps to relieve the problem of solid-waste disposal, but degradation gives off greenhouse gases, thereby compromising air quality. Plant-based plastics using fermentation are technologically simpler to produce than plastics grown in corn, potatoe, eggplant or other vegetables but they compete with other needs for agricultural land. However, beyond the threat to the environment and our health posed by genetically modified organism, the corporations – by engaging in agricultural strip mining for making biomass for plastics or alcohol fuels – would further degrade land that is already losing topsoil at a rate hundreds of times faster than nature normally would allow.

Recent research, however, has raised doubts about the utility of these approaches. For one, biodegradability has a hidden cost: the biological breakdown of plastics releases carbon dioxide and methane, heat-trapping greenhouse gases that international efforts currently aim to reduce. What is more, fossil fuels would still be needed to power the process that extracts the plastic from the plants, an energy requirement that we discovered is much greater than anyone had thought. After calculating all the energy and raw materials required for each step of growing plastic, it was discovered that this approach would consume even more fossil resources than most petrochemical manufacturing routes. Production of plastic from plants will inevitably emit more greenhouse gases than do many of its petrochemical counterparts. However, it appears that both emissions and the depletion of fossil resources would be abated by continuing to make plastics from oil while substituting renewable biomass as the fuel.

However, how many million acres need to be planted to yield quantities of vegetable plastic for the global economy? We need to question the alleged socioeconomic needs of petroleum substitutes, and ask how many millions of people are supposed to use these materials for how many decades. But the bigger question is, don't people need to eat the potatoes and eggplant we can grow? The land needs to be used for other essential purposes, rather than growing plastic parts for unnecessary motor vehicles or kitchen equipment, for example. Monocrops are against species diversity.  However, regardless of what people may wish as policy to satisfy their material wants, the energy to produce massive quantities of biomass for non-food purposes will not be available without abundant, cheap petroleum resources.

The real alternative to oil, lead and plastics is no car, because even "clean cars" are monumentally polluting, contrary to green propaganda.

An effective approach to fighting plastics means reducing petroleum consumption across the board. We need to do so anyway, as the world peak in global oil extraction is happening about now. Natural gas is getting tighter in supply as well. There will not be a set of alternatives ready to substitute for astronomically high oil and gas prices, because of lack of planning in corrupt, materialist societies. Maximum energy conservation of nonrenewable resources is essential. For example, bike carts need to be a major industry. Highway building must stop immediately. People must do without cars, refrigerators, computers, etc. It's either drastic reductions or complete collapse of the petroleum-driven economy, along with more poisons into the environment and our bodies. The choice is ours. So, for starters our reusable shopping bags (that we stash in bike saddle-bags!) are going to get more use. We cannot wait for reforms when the pace of modern life makes us  miss opportunities to survive. The 40 cent deposit on plastic bags will do wonders, but must be in the spirit of a revolution for conservation. 

Opening our minds to a new way of living will make it easier to free ourselves from the twin unfounded assumptions that we will always need and have plastics, and that they can be safe "enough.".

Article 7:     Conclusion

1.     Plastic packaging offers advantages such as flexibility and light weight, but it creates problems including consumption of fossil resources, pollution, and high energy use in manufacturing; accumulation of wasted plastic in the environment; migration of polymers and additives into foods; and an abundance of public misinformation about plastics issues.

2.     Curbside collection of discarded plastics is expensive and has limited benefits in reducing environmental impacts, diverting resources from waste, or achieving mandated recycling goals.

3.     It is likely that establishing plastics collection would increase consumption by making plastic appear more ecologically friendly both to consumers and retailers.

Article 8:     Seven common misconceptions about plastics and alternatives

-     Plastics that go into a curbside recycling bin get recycled.
-     Curbside collection will reduce the amount of plastic landfilled.
-     A chasing arrows symbol means a plastic container is recyclable.
-     Packaging resins are made from petroleum refineries’ waste.
-     Plastics recyclers pay to promote plastics’ recyclability.
-     Using plastic containers conserves energy.
-     Our choice is limited to recycling or wasting.

Alternatives

Reduce the use – source reduction.
Reuse containers.
Require producers to take back resins.
Legislatively require recycled content.
Standardize labeling and inform the public.