Doomed Final Research Paper – pdf

Above is a link to my final project for which I chose a research paper/essay covering the causes and effects of global climate change as well as a proposition for an increase in the implementation of nuclear energy technology. A very clear indicator of the drastic consequences stemming from climate change is the increase in number of natural disasters occurring around the globe. If you haven’t noticed this trend then you’d probably be surprised to find out that the frequency of natural disasters has increased tenfold since the 1960s, from 39 recorded incidents in 1960 to 396 in 2019. Within the United States, hurricanes have been barraging the southern and eastern regions while historically devastating fires have been scorching the west coast. Globally, we see many other indicators of negative human influence in our natural systems, some of the most notable include global temperature rise, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets, glacial retreat, sea level rise, ocean acidification, and as aforementioned an increase in natural disasters in by several orders of magnitude.

I have several motivations for selecting this topic, with the primary one being that it is undoubtedly the most crucial problem we face in this century and I believe that promoting discussion of the matter and its potential solutions is essential in, not only aligning our understanding of the topic but, accomplishing action. We cannot continue to rely on the burning of fossil fuels to create our electricity when it is literally the source of the anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gas we are trying so desperately to reduce and eliminate. Around 80% of the United State’s total energy consumption comes from fossil fuel usage, with about 20% coming from nuclear and renewable sources. Though it is clear we need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels for energy, it is uncertain how we intend to do so. Below are charts displaying relevant statistics that are discussed in the paper.

Additionally, the environment devastation readings from week 2 inspired me to write a memo in which I discussed similar themes on a broader level to the ones present in my paper. I remember reading the Summary for Policymakers on the Synthesis report from IPCC5 and being baffled at the numbers they were giving me. I went on in that memo to change my answer to the  “Are we doomed?” from a no to a yes. Specifically, it was the fact that our carbon budget is 1.5 degrees celsius of which the climate has already seen an increase of 0.8 degrees, and even if we eliminated all further anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases the Earth would realize another 0.8 degrees from the lagging effects of recent decades. I embrace that overwhelming sense of urgency I felt when reading those statistics, I think that feeling is an effective reminder as well as motivator.

Here is an existential take on the Earth and science and how we as humans can use science to save the Earth. We cannot allow for the miracle of life to vanish from this Solar System and possibly the entire Universe; We cannot ruin a place as heavenly perfect as the Earth. All the life cycles and ecosystems working in harmony seems too good to be true and yet we all have been blessed with an opportunity to witness and appreciate the Earth and all its beauty. The existence of life outside of our solar system is uncertain, there is a real possibility that within this Universe life is unique to Earth. If that were the case, it would be an unimaginable tragedy for life to be lost in the human pursuit for expansion. I also have previously expressed my belief in that the proposition to populate mars, popularized by Elon Musk, is ridiculously unreasonable and straight-up outlandish. Just the existence of this notion takes away attention and resources from creating real solutions to the problems we currently face. It would be a far better use of money to fight climate change now than to prepare for a migration to Mars, where the atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide. All you need is to take one look at an astronomical ladder to fully grasp the incomprehensible distances that separate us and the lack of available technologies to cover those distances. It is very clear to me that the Earth is our only home which is why solving the issue of climate change is frighteningly important.

The scope of the paper includes the existential discussion of Environment Destruction, obviously, as well as touching on nuclear energy-related existential threats. In a world where my proposition is followed and nuclear energy is heavily implemented then the existential threats of nuclear annihilation and environment destruction would be very much so inter-related. Despite me explaining the necessity of a safe transition to nuclear energy in the paper, an expansion of nuclear energy is bound to increase the overall risk of nuclear annihilation given that there would be so many more reactors.

It’s difficult for me to necessarily infer the implications of what increasing the implementation of nuclear energy would have for the U.S. In an ideal setting, it would imply that the U.S. has a secure way of generating carbon-free electricity while maintaining a safety standard as to not put as at risk. Realistically, the road would be filled with many challenges, and I could see public outcry being one of them. The accidents at Chernobyl and Fukishima left nuclear energy with a generally negative public perception. I think you would find that the average individual greatly overestimates the danger of nuclear power plants. For reference per 1 terawatt-hour of energy there are roughly 33 deaths for brown coal and 0.07 for nuclear energy. This is no perfect measure of danger, but it is sill relevant to the fact that nuclear may not be as dangerous as most people believe. Besides the existential topics from class, my first body paragraph offers an unrelated existential discussion following my interpretation of life on Earth. Although the section doesn’t directly relate to the existential topics in our class, it is indirectly related for me because it is the perspective through which I see the world. And if I had to pick what I believed to be the single most important idea in my paper it would be my interpretation of our life on Earth and what to make of it. Thank you for reading my final project, I think this was a great capstone to my time here at the University of Chicago. The ability to address existential topics is underrated.