geological epoch - human impact on Earth

Anthropocene: are we facing a new geological epoch?

Are we facing a new geological epoch? Many scientists say we are. The latest one who has talked about “Anthropocene” is Dr Colin Waters, principal geologist at the British Geological Survey and one of the authors of a study recently published on “Science”. This paper shows that the impact humanity is having, and has already had, on the Earth is so strong as to cause remarkable changes and to push the world into a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene.

The changes affect not only the atmosphere, the oceans and the ice, but also wildlife and flora. These alterations are the result of a substantial acceleration in technological change and in the world population growth: it took until 1800 for the world population to reach 1 billion people, but after the industrial revolution the population growth rate increased significantly and in less than 2 centuries world population surpassed 7 billion people. Such a strong growth has led to an inevitable increase in energy demand and in the consumption of natural resources. Indeed, the Earth Overshoot Day – the date on which humanity’s resource consumption for the year exceeds Earth’s capacity to regenerate those resources that year – in 2015 occurred on August 13: from that day on we have consumed more than what the planet could supply. The Earth Overshoot Day has been calculated for several years and every year it occurs earlier: in 2014 it occurred on the 17th of August and in 2000 on the 4th of October. According to Global Footprint Network’s calculations, to satisfy humanity’s resource demand we would need 1.6 Earths. As said, this disequilibrium between demand and available resources has led, and is still leading, to a series of significant climate and environmental changes.

Push toward extinction

The extinction rate of numerous fauna and flora species accelerated considerably and in the last century around 400 species have become extinct. Scientists warn of a sixth mass extinction which would see 75% of species extinct in the next few centuries.

Global warming

The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is constantly increasing and today is around 400 ppm, 120 ppm more than the 280 ppm carbon dioxide level of 1800. In addition, there is a constant rise in temperature and many scientific organizations, NOAA and NASA included, recently confirmed that 2015 was the warmest year ever recorded (since modern record-keeping began in 1880), with an increase of 0.13 °C compared to 2014. Find here an interesting Earth’s long-term warming trend from 1880 to 2015: http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-noaa-analyses-reveal-record-shattering-global-warm-temperatures-in-2015

Pollution in oceans and waterways

According to a recent paper by Ellen MacArthur Foundation – founded by Ellen MacArthur, record-breaking sailor – it is expected that there will be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050. Plastic demand and production has increased twentyfold since 1964, but just 5% of plastics are recycled effectively today, whereas the 40% end up in landfill and more than the 30% in fragile ecosystems, often in oceans. Data say that every year at least 8m tonnes of plastics leak into the ocean, that is to say 1 refuse truck every minute. These changes are the result of human action on Earth, and in this sense mankind is defined by scientists as the “major geological force”.

Read more here:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/07/human-impact-has-pushed-earth-into-the-anthropocene-scientists-say

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jan/19/more-plastic-than-fish-in-the-sea-by-2050-warns-ellen-macarthur

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jan/24/plastic-new-epoch-human-damage

The Geoclima story as told by President Paolo Ferraris

In a recent interview conducted by Carlo Tomaso Parmegiani and published on the 11th of January in the main Italian national newspaper “Corriere della Sera”, president Paolo Ferraris told the story of Geoclima, from the beginning through the turning points that led Geoclima to become an established business in the design and manufacture of standard, as well as non-standard air conditioning and refrigeration equipment.

 

ferraris

“I was the technical and production manager in a company operating in the refrigeration industry – Ferraris says – which mainly dealt with the German market with great success. Due to an unfortunate change of management, in 1992 the company fell into a crisis and ended up being leased by an entrepreneur. After having given it my all for many years, working more than 14 hours a day, I did not agree with the new path undertaken by the new leadership. On the strength of my experience, I found several people that were willing to invest in my proposal to establish a new company in the air conditioning industry. The investors trusted me and became founding members of Geoclima”.

From the very beginning, at Geoclima we have focused on the development of customized solutions.

 

“In 2005, when in Italy the HVAC industry fell into a crisis due to the loss of competitiveness, we were facing growth problems: I wanted to expand, but I needed more commercial know-how. So, I started a partnership with Zamil, a Saudi company operating in 25 different sectors with 12 thousands employees and a turnover of 1,5 billion dollars. Zamil was looking for a European mid-sized company as a “technology centre”. Geoclima have designed some cutting-edge products for Zamil, who produced and sold them to the Arabian market, giving us the opportunity to find new clients in North Africa, America, India, Bangladesh and Australia”.

The partnership with Zamil is still going strong today, with different projects developed together:
https://www.geoclima.com/portfolio-item/middle-east-zamil-air-conditioners/
https://www.geoclima.com/portfolio-item/whirlpool-india/
https://www.geoclima.com/ahu-accu-packages-for-saudi-ministry-of-defence/

 

“We embraced new high efficiency technologies ensuring around 20-25% of energy saving compared with traditional systems. Of course, this leads to an increase in the price of our products, but our clients know that they can amortize the investment within a couple of years and then, during the entire life cycle of the equipment (10 to 15 years), large savings are made”.

 

Today Geoclima has more than 110 employees, spanning the globe from Italy to Australia. Our turnover has surpassed EUR 38 million and we are expanding further into the Air Conditioning markets in 2016.

international events MCE and ARBS 2016

Great events on the 2016 agenda!

The year 2016 has just begun and we are getting ready for several major and international events for Geoclima.

From the 15th to the 18th of March, Geoclima will be back in Milan for the 40° MCE (Mostra Convegno Expocomfort). MCE is the leading European exhibition for the HVAC industry.

Furthermore, Geoclima will be an exhibitor at ARBS (Air conditioning Refrigeration Building Services) in Melbourne from the 17th to the 19th of May. ARBS is Australia’s largest trade exhibition for the Air conditioning and Refrigeration industry.

We look forward to your visit in Milan or Melbourne, where we are sure you will find our latest equipment interesting and industry leading.

Keep in touch for upcoming news!