# Presentation: 145445

## International Year of Planet Earth

**International Year of Planet Earth**

- Launch Event12-13 February 2008 UNESCO, Paris Theme 2***Earth resources: Threat or Treat?***

***Science, Society, and the Future of Earth’s Resources***Mark Myers, Director, U.S. Geological Survey

## Humans become agents of environmental change

*Ecological equilibrium disturbed*

- Human-induced changes on a global scale
- “Anthropocene epoch”
- Approaching thresholds of ecosystems
- Threats to earth resources

## Night light produced largely from fossil fuels

*An index of human power in the environment*

- NASA

## So far in the Anthropocene...

**Humans have already transformed 40-50% of  the ice-free land surface on earth. **
**Humans now use 54% of the available fresh water on the globe. **
**Humans are now an order of magnitude more important at moving sediment than the sum of all other natural processes operating on the surface of the planet.**

## Energy and Mineral Resources

**Global competition**
**Growing population, expanding economies heighten demand**
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**Environmental consequences of development, extraction, use**

- Water Quality and Availability

**Water a limited resource, global issue**
**Diminished by climate change, population growth, agricultural use**
** **
**Transboundary issues**
**U.S. supports UNESCO initiatives for sustainability**

- Biological Resources

- Increased desertification
- Increased floods
- Loss of biodiversity
- Loss of reef building corals

- Understanding Earth Systems

- All earth resources interrelated.
- Climate change, population growth accelerate difficulties, complexity
- USGS science strategy based on systems approach

## USGS Science Strategy Directions

**Understanding Ecosystems and Predicting Ecosystem Change**

**Climate Variability and Change**

**Energy and Minerals for America’s Future**

**A National Hazards, Risk, and Resilience Assessment Program**

**The Role of Environment and Wildlife in Human Health**

**A Water Census of the United States**

**Data Integration and Beyond**

## Ecosystem Structure

- Rock and Soil

- Fungi

- Climate

- Animals and
- Vegetation

## Ecosystem Mapping

## Ecosystem Analysis

- Integrated Science in the Everglades

**Global Seismic Network **
**International Polar Year**
**International Council for Science **
**UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP)**
**Global Earth Observations System of Systems (GEOSS)**
**A Satellite Image Atlas of Endangered World Heritage Sites (UNESCO)**
**Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET, U.S.)**

- USGS International Science - examples

*In alliance with valued partners*

## Famine Early Warning (FEWS)

**(08-08-00)**

*Environment Monitoring*

**UNESCO Director General and U.S. Ambassador to UNESCO to lead workshop with US agency heads**
**27 June 2008**
**Washington, DC**
**Goal: to accelerate U.S. contributions to address water resources and water quality problems in developing countries **

- UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP)

## Living for the Future

**Systems approach helps reveal nature of earth systems**
**Climate change, population growth are difficult issues**
**We are all at risk**
**Many near-term decisions will influence the future health of the planet**