Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss-March 21

Seminar Leaders: Caila Sveinson, Caroline Grimes, Jane Hilder, Jesse Ghashti, Jessica Suter, Julieta Cohen, Marla Bigelow, Nichelle Facey

Global Change and the Ecology of Cities- This article discussed the effects urbanization is having on the earth as a whole, such as the changes in land use, the climate, and biodiversity. Today cities are growing to rates never recorded before, which is increasing the already pressing issues of urbanization. The article states that a cities ecological footprint, extends tens to hundreds of times the area that is occupied. This means that cities begin to use and disrupt more of the land surrounding them. There was a study done in attempts to prevent cities from extending beyond their boundaries by building more dense housing within the city. However this encouraged low-density housing sprawl in rural and wild land areas just beyond the city boundaries. Cities are also creating their own microclimates which is a much hotter temperature within the city then the surrounding rural areas, Urban Heat Island Effect. This causes more energy use in summers because of more air conditioning that occurs. These changes that happen at a local scale still impact the entire earths climate causing major shifts in the seasons. Cities have also impacted biodiversity by causing animals to adapt over time to the new temperatures that surround them within the cities. This could cause a major shift in the animals present today to what is seen in the future.1


Urban Growth, Climate Change, and Freshwater Availability- This article discusses the issues with water availability that the world will be faced with in the upcoming decades. As the worlds population growth, more and more people/cities are facing water shortages. By the yeah 2050, there is expected to be an additional 3 billion urban people. It is estimated that, "≈100 million more urbanites will live under perennial shortage under climate change conditions than under current climate." (McDonald et al. 2011,6313) Also more cities will rely on transporting water for greater distances in order to support the needs of the people. Cities will need to invest in water storage techniques, which will still lead to water shortage for a few months a year in different seasons. The water shortage not only affects the people but it also will affect the fish that rely on this water for a habitat. The water storage will decrease biodiversity in the aquatic environments drastically. The article said that there will be ways to solve the water shortage problems, however it will be costly and no one likes to spend money.2


Chicago Fights Extreme Urban Heat With Greener Ideas (Video)- In 1995 Chicago went through a heat wave that caused power shortage for a few days. The temperature got so hot, it caused 700 deaths throughout the city. The Heat Island Effect is when a cities internal temperature is much higher then the surrounding rural temperatures. This difference was 11 degrees in Phoenix and with its surrounding towns. This generally happens because the cement absorbs the heat during the day and continues to release it through out the night. In order to prevent this happening again, Chicago is making drastic changes to the entire cities infrastructure. Chicago is making laws that any new buildings that are built that require public funding are to be LEED certified, if they are built with a green roof then the project is permitted faster, which means money in the pocket faster. Chicago is also creating small changes such as making permeable cement, it allows water to pass through and be absorbed into the soil. This is the natural process that occurs, which also cools the air around it when this water evaporates. Chicago is doing tests with reflective cement and seeing how much heat is reflected. Also on the sides of the streets the water is being caught and used to water plants instead of over filling sewage. Plants are also a great way to reduce heat, they capture it and the air around them is cooler, which saves money with green roofs. Also it absorbs water from rain, therefore not over filling sewage systems.3

4) Heat related deaths 

5) Permeable Cement- Use this in cities?

Seminar Discussion- Should Design and Ecology become synonymous? 
-Designers, unless they take the entire ecology schooling, could never reach the same point in knowledge as ecologists, therefore they should work collaboratively with a ecologist specialist. 
-The two specialists should communicate regularly about projects to get the best of both worlds. 
-In the future they will by default have a much closer relationship and be more commonly be working together, but they should not be made into the same profession.
-Possibly in the future for the university there are two Ecology and Design courses leading more in depth on ecology.
-Is this not a landscape architect?
-In the future possibly the focus will steer away from buildings and be more focused on the surrounding landscape and preserving it. 
-Keep it the way it is with a specialist in both trades is the best thing because they both know in depth everything about their specialty and they can work together to create the best design. 
-People need to collaborate more. 
-Possibly in the future the ecologist and engineer will be more important than the architect and the architect will fade away?
-There is potential value in a position of putting the 2 specialities together.
-There are also multiple types of ecologists that specialize in different fields, therefore teaching an architect everything may not be a good idea, but simply working with the ecologist that specializes in the area needed may be the best route.

Do you think if urban centres were dispersed across the land, the impact we have upon the earth would be reduced?
-The further you spread, the more transportation you will need to accommodate the people. which will in turn increase the amount of pollutants released causing more green house gases. 
-To lessen the affects of cities, design the landscape and city better to accommodate green space and be more environmentally friendly and less harsh. 
-If everyone is dispersed in smaller cities, there will be less industries and less job opportunities. 
-There will always be the one bigger city. People will always move to preferred areas causing the need of a city to expand. 

What are some of the impacts that climate change can have on the hydrologic cycle? 
-The water can dry out making the already dry areas drier. Increased temperature melts polar caps causing less heat to be reflected and also melts the ice caps causing raised sea levels. The higher sea level will also cause flooding which can pollute the ground water that many countries rely on for drinking water. 

Suggest a method for providing water for a city, while protecting native fish species.
-Use the water we have wisely, you do not need clean water for flushing your toilet. Also home recycling water systems to reuse the water on site for another purpose. 
-LEED certified buildings collect storm water however they do not utilize it for fish, could start to?

Which factor is expected to have a more certain effect on water storage? Urban growth or climate change?
Urban Growth. 

Personal Reflection- I believe more emphasis needs to be placed on protecting biodiversity and creating new ways right now that will help us survive in the future climate, which is believed to be a lot warmer. The loss of biodiversity could be detrimental to all ecosystems on earth, however not many people know about it. Different species help support the ecosystems they live in and vice versa, if the species disappear, then the entire ecosystems they live in will also disappear. We are so concerned with preserving nature but if we don't also preserve the biodiversity that inhabits it, then everything we do will have not effect and it will disappear anyway. The climate is changing we all know this, this is the time to become creative and invent new ways to help adapt not only humans but also animals to the new climate we will be faced with. It may be expensive and a lot of people will not be happy about it but they will just have to suck it up and get over it if they want to keep living on earth the way we do. 

1) Grimm , Nacy B., Stanley H. Faeth, Nancy E. Golubiewski, Charles L. Redman, Jianguo Wu, Xuemei Bai, and John M. Briggs. "Global Change and the Ecology of Cities ." Science AAAS. 319. (2008): 756-760. DOI: 10.1126/science.1150195 (accessed March 20, 2013).
2) McDonald, Robert I., Pamela Green , Deborah Balk , Balas M. Fekete, Carmen Revenga, Megan Todd, and Mark Montgomery. "Urban Growth, Climate Change, and Freshwater Availability ." PNAS. 108. no. 15 (2011): 6312-6317. www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10. 1073/pnas.1011615108/-/DCSupplemental. (accessed March 20, 2013).
3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukGN4PyeNoU
4) Galvin , Thomas. Tthomasgalvin.blogspot.ca, "FORGOTTEN NATIONAL TRAGEDY: BILL CLINTON AND 1,000 DEATHS IN THE "CHICAGO HEAT WAVE" OF 1995 ." Last modified 2005. Accessed March 21, 2013. http://thomasgalvin.blogspot.ca/2005_09_08_archive.html.
5) Unknown, . Master Gardeners, "Permeable Pavement Fact Sheet Information for Howard County, Maryland Homeowners." Last modified Unknown . Accessed March 21, 2013. http://mastergardener.umd.edu/local/howard/files/baywise files/PermeablePavingHowardCountyMasterGardeners10_5_11 Final.pdf.