Growth of Cities Endangers Global Environment, According to New Analysis

[웃 910]

Manhattan at sun set

Growth of Cities Endangers Global Environment, According to New Analysis

ScienceDaily (Aug. 19, 2011) — The explosive growth of cities worldwide over the next two decades poses significant risks to people and the global environment, according to a meta-analysis published August 19 in PLoS ONE.

Researchers from Yale, Arizona State, Texas A&M and Stanford predict that by 2030 urban areas will expand by 590,000 square miles -- nearly the size of Mongolia -- to accommodate the needs of 1.47 billion more people living in urban areas.

"It is likely that these cities are going to be developed in places that are the most biologically diverse," said Karen Seto, the study's lead author and associate professor in the urban environment at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. "They're going to be growing and expanding into forests, biological hotspots, savannas, coastlines -- sensitive and vulnerable places."

Urban areas, they found, have been expanding more rapidly along coasts. "Of all the places for cities to grow, coasts are the most vulnerable. People and infrastructure are at risk to flooding, tsunamis, hurricanes and other environmental disasters," said Seto.

The study provides the first estimate of how fast urban areas globally are growing and how fast they may grow in the future. "We know a lot about global patterns of urban population growth, but we know significantly less about how urban areas are changing," she said. "Changes in land cover associated with urbanization drive many environmental changes, from habitat loss and agricultural land conversion to changes in local and regional climate."

The researchers examined peer-reviewed studies that used satellite data to map urban growth and found that from 1970 to 2000 the world's urban footprint had grown by at least 22,400 square miles -- half the size of Ohio.

"This number is enormous, but, in actuality, urban land expansion has been far greater than what our analysis shows because we only looked at published studies that used satellite data," said Seto. "We found that 48 of the most populated urban areas have been studied using satellite data, with findings in peer-reviewed journals. This means that we're not tracking the physical expansion of more than half of the world's largest cities."

Half of urban land expansion in China is driven by a rising middle class, whereas the size of cities in India and Africa is driven primarily by population growth. "Rising incomes translate into rising demand for bigger homes and more land for urban development, which has big implications for biodiversity conservation, loss of carbon sinks and energy use."

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

We just need to kill a couple billion people. Apres Vous!

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Let me know when we start destroying cities. I'll buy several 1-800-Got Junk? franchises.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Let me know when we start destroying cities. I'll buy several 1-800-Got Junk? franchises.

I really hope that the money they confiscte from my earnings is not used to fund a study that says "The problem is cities" Or if they do come up with this astounding conclusion, they ought to at least give us a list of which cities to destroy

[Sofiyya 1,687]

I really hope that the money they confiscte from my earnings is not used to fund a study that says "The problem is cities" Or if they do come up with this astounding conclusion, they ought to at least give us a list of which cities to destroy

I'd start with sanctuary cities

[웃 910]

Let me know when we start destroying cities. I'll buy several 1-800-Got Junk? franchises.

I don't know how those types of companies stay in business.

First foreclosure I did the garage was pretty full of junk (actual pic):

I called a couple of those scam companies and they wanted about $400 to $500 and that was the estimate (probably would have been much higher). All you do is search for junk removal on craigslist and you'll see many guys that do it. Ended up paying one guy $100 or $125 to do the job.

On the second house the garage was just as full but I learned a few tricks. Over the weeks of reconstruction I would drive over there the night before the garbage gets picked up and take about 8 or 9 full contractor bags to the curb. In this particular city they are pretty good. They took toilets, doors, bags with nails, cabinets, just about anything.

By the end we had a half a garage of kitchen cabinets...Brought a table saw over and sliced and diced for a couple hours....Packed up the pieces of wood into about 20 contractor bags, and over the course of 2 or 3 weeks just kept bringing the garbage to the curb.

Moral of the story is either do it yourself or pay a guy no more than $150 (most likely found on craigslist). You call one of those "professional companies" and you'll pay over $500 easy...I don't know who the hell would spend so much money to take their garbage out. It's insane.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

I don't know who the hell would spend so much money to take their garbage out. It's insane.

People do. 1-800-Got Junk has made its high school drop out owner a very rich man. God bless America!

[웃 910]

Stupid People do that don't mind paying $500 to $700 for a $0 to $150 job. 1-800-Got Junk has made its high school drop out owner a very rich man. God bless America!

fixxed

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Stupid People do that don't mind paying $500 to $700 for a $0 to $150 job. 1-800-Got Junk has made its high school drop out owner a very rich man. God bless America!

God bless stupid people. Lazy ones, too!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I don't know how those types of companies stay in business.

First foreclosure I did the garage was pretty full of junk (actual pic):

I called a couple of those scam companies and they wanted about $400 to $500 and that was the estimate (probably would have been much higher). All you do is search for junk removal on craigslist and you'll see many guys that do it. Ended up paying one guy $100 or $125 to do the job.

On the second house the garage was just as full but I learned a few tricks. Over the weeks of reconstruction I would drive over there the night before the garbage gets picked up and take about 8 or 9 full contractor bags to the curb. In this particular city they are pretty good. They took toilets, doors, bags with nails, cabinets, just about anything.

By the end we had a half a garage of kitchen cabinets...Brought a table saw over and sliced and diced for a couple hours....Packed up the pieces of wood into about 20 contractor bags, and over the course of 2 or 3 weeks just kept bringing the garbage to the curb.

Moral of the story is either do it yourself or pay a guy no more than $150 (most likely found on craigslist). You call one of those "professional companies" and you'll pay over $500 easy...I don't know who the hell would spend so much money to take their garbage out. It's insane.

Those guys on Craigs List that take away trash on the cheap eventually get caught dumping it illegally in watersheds, wetlands and other areas with little traffic. The fees paid for the proper disposal of these materials rules out doing on the cheap legitimately.

You may consider saving more money by changing your own oil and dumping the waste oil in the storm sewer. All about the same result. Thanks for your concern about the environment. Try the same with anti-freeze, it is a real taste treat for the local wildlife. And hey, you can save a ton by using those cheap unlicensed guys to charge up the old AC unit.

Make sure that stuff you are giving to those fly by nighters doesn;t have your name on it. People that care about the environment will often clean up these illegal dumps and then turn over the names of people they find in the trash they pick up.

While I am not a big government guy I do believe it is the government's job to protect us from selfish morons who would dump their trash illegally on public property to save a few bucks.

Sleep well.

Edited August 21, 2011 by Gary and Alla

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

People do. 1-800-Got Junk has made its high school drop out owner a very rich man. God bless America!

Rich people are bad. They should be taxed so they are not encouraged to start businesses and get rich.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

They should be shot for financing cities.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Two posts containing personal attacks have been removed. Surely you can discuss this without resorting to insults.

[IR5FORMUMSIE 850]

Two posts containing personal attacks have been removed. Surely you can discuss this without resorting to insults.

You would think that, wouldn't you. :rofl:

[mawilson 2,133]

I called a couple of those scam companies and they wanted about $400 to $500

They are getting your junk - shouldn't they be paying you?