Earth's Greatest Enemies?
Climatologist James Lovelock (http://www.jameslovelock.org/), originator of the Gaia hypothesis, once said that Earth's greatest enemies were the Three C's: cars, cows, and chainsaws because of their contributions to destabilizing the planetary climate.
For this assignment you will answer the following questions to show your ability to find connections among the environmental issues that you have learned about in this course and that is covered and interconnected within Unit 2 - Climate Change in particular.
Be mindful of plagiarism, if directly quoting a source, be sure to properly cite it. Usage of Artificial Intelligence/ChatGPT to complete writing assignments is not allowed. Indication of overt plagiarism or usage of AI/ChatGPT will result in a zero grade for the assignment.
Number your responses, in question/answer format, so I can see you have addressed each part. You must refer to and cite specific evidence from Unit 2 or another source to support each of your responses.
Links to 1) Describe, in your own words, what is the Gaia hypothesis? (5 points)
2) What and how do each of these things contribute to the changing of Earth's atmosphere and climate? Each contributing factor is worth 5 points x 3 = 15 points and needs to include two points of information/contributing factors for each. For each, be sure to directly reference at least one specific statement or example from the textbook in support of your answer.
- cows?
- cars?
- chainsaws?
Reminders:
- Loss of land plants because of human activities will not result in a reduction of atmospheric oxygen because most of planetary photosynthesis and its resulting oxygen production is in the oceans.
- Be sure to back up your explanations with some research before addressing these topics. Be sure to read relevant sections of your textbook (as needed) and look online.