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Lovelock formulated the Gaia Hypothesis in journal articles in 1972 [1] and 1974, [2] followed by a popularizing 1979 book Gaia: A new look at life on Earth. An article in the New Scientist of February 6, 1975, [ 42 ] and a popular book length version of the hypothesis, published in 1979 as The Quest for Gaia , began to attract scientific and ...
Of the ~340 W/m 2 of solar radiation received by the Earth, an average of ~77 W/m 2 is reflected back to space by clouds and the atmosphere and ~23 W/m 2 is reflected by the surface albedo, leaving ~240 W/m 2 of solar energy input to the Earth's energy budget. This amount is called the absorbed solar radiation (ASR).
Earth's tectonic evolution over time from a molten state at 4.5 Ga, [11] to a single-plate lithosphere, [24] to modern plate tectonics sometime between 3.2 Ga [25] and 1.0 Ga [26] Primordial heat energy comes from the potential energy released by collapsing a large amount of matter into a gravity well, and the kinetic energy of accreted matter.
How much oxygen does one tree produce each year? Answer: Around 260 pounds. What is the tallest mountain in the U.S.? Answer: Denali, at 20,310 feet tall
Earth Day is on April 22, but really, it should be every day—saving the planet should be a daily occurrence! From conservation to wildlife to politics, test your environmental and historical ...
An example is the calculation of the rotational kinetic energy of the Earth. As the Earth has a sidereal rotation period of 23.93 hours, it has an angular velocity of 7.29 × 10 −5 rad·s −1. [2] The Earth has a moment of inertia, I = 8.04 × 10 37 kg·m 2. [3] Therefore, it has a rotational kinetic energy of 2.14 × 10 29 J.
Assuming that the Earth is a sphere of uniform density (which it is not, but is close enough to get an order-of-magnitude estimate) with M = 5.97 × 10 24 kg and r = 6.37 × 10 6 m, then U = 2.24 × 10 32 J. This is roughly equal to one week of the Sun's total energy output.
Renewable energy sources are even larger than the traditional fossil fuels and in theory can easily supply the world's energy needs. 89 PW [32] of solar power falls on the planet's surface. While it is not possible to capture all, or even most, of this energy, capturing less than 0.02% would be enough to meet the current energy needs.