University of Minnesota Moment: Earth Surface Transformation

Transcription

[Announcer]: I’m Rick Moore with the University of Minnesota Moments. News reports abound that the world’s climate is changing and that forests and many animal species are disappearing at an alarming rate. Steven Manson, a U of M professor of geography, is taking a closer look at the phenomenon. Data he is gathering not only document but also suggest reasons for the transformation of our environment.

[Manson]: When you look at the last, say, couple hundred years of human habitation of the Earth, we’ve seen this situation where there’s virtually no land surface on the Earth that’s been untouched by humans. And currently we modify about 50% of the ice-free surface of the Earth, whether it’s obvious ways such as agriculture and building cities, or less intensive ways such as logging and things like timber extraction.

[Moore]: One of Manson’s studies looks at the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. His newer research will examine the metropolitan area of the Twin Cities.

[Manson]: Arguably here in the Twin Cities if we were to take a little bit closer look at how we zone properties- you know, do we want to have houses on very large lots, or do we want to have houses on smaller lots in tighter clusters.  And these land use decisions will have different effects on, say, run offs into lakes, or how much land cover is available for certain types of bird species or butterflies or what have you, and the very same decisions are made by the farmers of Mexico.

[Moore]: That’s Steve Manson for the University of Minnesota Moment.