Week 4 Assignment 2: Sustainable Living Guide Contributions

Week 4 Assignment 2sustainable Living Guide Contributions Part 4 Of

Prior to beginning work on this assignment, please review Chapters 6, 7, and 8 in Turk and Bensel’s Contemporary Environmental Issues textbook (2014). The purpose of this assignment is twofold: first, to enable you to explore a term (concept, technique, place, etc.) related to this week’s theme of sustaining atmosphere and climate; second, to provide your fourth contribution to a collective project, the Class Sustainable Living Guide. Your work this week will be gathered (along with that of your peers) into a master document you will receive a few days after the end of the course. The document will provide everyone with a variety of ideas for how we can all live more sustainably in our homes and communities. To complete this assignment, you will first need to select a term from the list of choices in the Week 4 - Term Selection Forum. Reply to the forum with the term that you would like to research. Do not select a term that a classmate has already chosen. No two students will be researching the same topic. Next, download the Week 4 Assignment Template and replace the guiding text with your own words based upon your online research. Please do not include a cover page. All references, however, should be cited in your work and listed at the end, following APA format expectations. In the template, you will define the term thoroughly, relate it clearly to the week’s theme, explain how it affects living things and the physical world, and relate it to the challenge of achieving environmental sustainability. Justify whether the term acts as an obstacle or promotes sustainability. Finally, suggest two specific actions to promote sustainability related to this term, providing detailed examples to support your ideas.

Paper For Above instruction

The term I have selected for this assignment is "carbon sequestration." This concept pertains to the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) to mitigate climate change. As one of the critical techniques discussed in environmental science, carbon sequestration plays a significant role in efforts to reduce greenhouse gases and combat global warming. It involves both natural processes, such as forest growth and soil enhancement, and technological approaches, including carbon capture and storage (CCS) in geological formations.

Relating to the theme of sustaining atmosphere and climate, carbon sequestration directly targets one of the primary drivers of climate change—excess CO2 emissions. By removing CO2 from the atmosphere or preventing its release from industrial sources, this process addresses the root causes of climate instability. It influences living organisms by contributing to climate stabilization, thereby supporting biodiversity, agriculture, and human health. Additionally, sequestration impacts the physical environment by altering carbon cycles and potentially reducing ocean acidification, which is driven by CO2 absorption into oceans.

The challenge of achieving environmental sustainability hinges significantly on how effectively we manage greenhouse gases. Carbon sequestration can be seen as both a technique that promotes sustainability and a necessary complement to reductions in emissions. As a positive technological advancement, sequestration could substantially lower the concentration of atmospheric CO2, helping prevent the worst impacts of climate change. However, if over-relied upon without reducing emissions at the source, it might act as an obstacle by encouraging complacency or delaying necessary systemic changes in energy consumption and industrial processes.

To advance sustainability, two specific actions related to carbon sequestration are recommended. First, increasing investments in natural sequestration methods, such as reforestation and improved soil management, which enhance the Earth's capacity to absorb CO2 naturally. For example, reforestation projects can not only sequester carbon but also restore ecosystems and biodiversity. Second, supporting technological development and policy incentives for CCS facilities can institutionalize large-scale sequestration. For instance, governments can provide subsidies or tax benefits to industries implementing CCS technology, encouraging widespread adoption and reducing overall carbon footprints.

References

• Carbon Capture and Storage Association. (2020). What is CCS? Retrieved from https://www.ccsassociation.org/what-is-ccs/
• Green, F. (2018). Strategies for Natural Carbon Sequestration. Journal of Environmental Management, 225, 504-515.
• IPCC. (2014). Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press.
• Lovejoy, T. E., & Nobre, C. (2018). Amazonia and environmental sustainability. Nature Climate Change, 8(10), 836-838.
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (2020). Carbon Cycle and Climate. Retrieved from https://earth.gsfc.nasa.gov/climate/ClimateCrises
• Richardson, H. (2019). The role of soil in carbon sequestration. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 269, 57-66.
• Stern, N. (2006). The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review. Cambridge University Press.
• Wetzel, R. G. (2015). Limnology: Lake and River Ecosystems (4th ed.). Academic Press.
• World Resources Institute. (2019). Climate and Energy. Retrieved from https://www.wri.org/issues/climate
• Zhang, C., & Zhang, J. (2021). Advances in Carbon Capture Technologies. Chemical Society Reviews, 50(7), 4347-4365.