How the Environment Relates to Us

"The  combustion  of  fossil  fuels,  through  direct  emissions  and  through  secondary  climate change impacts, poses a threat to human and environmental health globally through increased  air and water pollution, sea level rise, climate‐driven extreme weather events, and accelerated loss of  species and habitats."-100% Athens Clean and Renewable Resolution

Our Environmental Impact

Human activity makes up the largest portion of emissions, primarily due to the combustion of fossil fuels. The main sources of anthropocentric greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from the following sector:

• Transportation: makes up the largest share of GHG emissions due to the burning of fossil fuels for cars, trucks, ships, and planes
• Electricity: makes up the 2nd largest share of GHG emissions primarily due to the burning of coal and natural gas 
• Industry: results from the burning of fossil fuels for energy and chemical reactions necessary to produce goods from raw materials 
• Commercial and Residential: burning of fossil fuels for heat and waste management in businesses and homes, there is also an environmental cost that arises from construction materials too
• Agriculture: GHGs are released from enteric fermentation and waste storage from livestock as well as the use of both organic & non-organic fertilizers
• Land Use & Forestry
  • Deforestation causes the release of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere, which were previously stored in trees, soil, and other vegetation

Georgia’s Environmental Landscape

“In order to avoid long-lasting and irreversible changes to the earth’s ecosystems, human health and well-being, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that net human-caused carbon dioxide emissions need to decrease by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 globally, reaching ‘net zero’ around 2050.” 

Georgia Drawdown has begun to develop a list of 21 high-impact solutions, including electricity generation and transportation solutions, to reduce emissions “to the point that levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere begin to decrease."

Click the photo to get more information from the Ray C. Anderson Foundation