T119 Geology and Society Division at 20 I: How Geology Shapes Society – Past, Present, and Future

Monday, 16 October 2023
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
333

TRANSITIONING TO LOW-CARBON, PRODUCTIVE, PROSPEROUS AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITIES: INTERDISCIPLINARY GEOLOGY FOR THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Paper number: T119-14
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 4:50 PM – 5:05 PM

Authors

Abstract

Past, Present, Future: Vegetation evolves on earth. Lots of it! Vegetation absorbs carbon, gets buried, forms fossil fuels. Atmosphere evolves to have less carbon, temperatures cool. People evolve and build society and economy based on fossil fuels in ways that make some people very rich and powerful. Emitted carbon changes atmosphere. Everyone and everything get hot. Quite hot – ouch!! People fight. Poor people suffer more than rich people. People build a society and economy built on low-carbon energy sources using other earth resources (e.g., MN nodules essential to deep sea ecosystems). Atmosphere evolves. People go extinct for reasons other than heat (if it holds that complex organisms tend to go extinct after less time than simple organisms). The earth goes on ...

Three Truisms: Living people have to make a living. No generation wants human extinction to be blamed on them by whoever might be left. Broadly adopted individual action accumulates to global consequences (that’s how we got hot!).

NSF FEWtures Project: Use local renewable energy to power local ammonia production and water treatment AND strengthen rural agricultural societies and economies (which feed the rest of us; no farms, no food). Reduce carbon (up to 30% of carbon comes from agriculture). Stabilize fertilizer prices (will miss some low prices but avoid high prices; $400 to $1500/T ammonia in 2022). Increase local production of ammonia which is also an energy vector (e.g., marine fuel). Use water better in arid regions (best opportunities seems to be feed lots and water produced by fossil fuel production). Evaluate using the central Arkansas River basin (CARB) of Kansas, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, and Texas. (Replace 248,188 MT of traditional ammonia with green ammonia). Communicate opportunities and risks to stakeholders (Largely farmers. Design user-oriented, visually appealing decision support system(s)). Place in global context using GCAM.

Conclusion: Interdisciplinary geology rocks!

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 55, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2023AM-394488

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