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Effects of Solar Electromagnetic Radiation on the Terrestrial Environment

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Physics of the Sun

Part of the book series: Geophysics and Astrophysics Monographs ((GAAM,volume 26))

Abstract

Solar electromagnetic radiation is surely the most important and pervasive resource of our terrestrial environment. It is the primary and ultimate source of energy for a multitude of natural processes whose functioning has led to life on Earth as we know it. The human race is now at a crossroads in its search for self-realization and self-improvement. Our population has more or less reached the carrying capacity of our planet. This capacity, of course, is not a firm number. Better social organization and technological improvements would increase the numbers Earth can support. However, growth beyond a doubling of present population could place impossible strains on our natural ecosystems and resource base (cf., e.g., Ehrlich et al., 1977). Therefore, it seems likely that the global population cannot grow from its current 4.5 billion to much more than 10 billion or so. This demographic transition from a growing to a steady-state human population may be the most profound change in human civilization since the transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural economies 10 000 years ago (Sassein, 1980).

The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, 80307, USA

    Robert E. Dickinson

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  1. Robert E. Dickinson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Space Science and Astrophysics, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA

    Peter A. Sturrock

  2. High Altitude Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA

    Thomas E. Holzer  & Dimitri M. Mihalas  & 

  3. Astronomy Department, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Roger K. Ulrich

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© 1986 Reidel Publishing Company

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Dickinson, R.E. (1986). Effects of Solar Electromagnetic Radiation on the Terrestrial Environment. In: Sturrock, P.A., Holzer, T.E., Mihalas, D.M., Ulrich, R.K. (eds) Physics of the Sun. Geophysics and Astrophysics Monographs, vol 26. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5255-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5255-3_5

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  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-5255-3

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