Transcript WFSC 420 Lesson 1 - Hillsborough Community College

Environmental Science: Toward a
Sustainable Future
Chapter 1:
Toward a Sustainable Future
Dr. Craig Kasper
Office: BSCI 207E
Phone: 813-253-7881
Email: [email protected]
Text:
Class Schedule: Tuesday, Thursday (11:00A12:40P), BSCI 102
Environmental Science/Florida (J. N. Ehringer) An
educational CD ROM
Introduction


The global environmental picture
Three strategic themes



Sustainability
Stewardship
Sound science
Introduction

Three integrative themes




Ecosystem capital
Policy/politics
Globalization
The environment in the 21st century
The Lessons of Easter Island

Society fails to care for the environment and
sustain it.

Population increases beyond carrying capacity.

Disparity between rich and poor widens.
How to Prevent a Global Version of the
Easter Island Disaster




Understand how the natural world works
Understand how human and natural systems
interact
Accurately assess the status and trends of crucial
natural ecosystems
Establish long-term sustainable relationships with
the natural world
The Global Environmental Picture

Rapid human population growth and
increasing consumption per person

Decline of ecosystems

Global atmospheric changes

Loss of biodiversity
Rapid Human Population Growth
Ecological Footprint

Lower Fraser Valley
Canadians require an
area 19 times larger
than their home
region to provide
food, clothing,
energy, and shelter.
Indicators of Decline of Vital
Ecosystems

Depleted water supplies

Agricultural soils degraded

Oceans overfished

Forests cut faster than they can grow
Conceptual Framework for Millennium Ecosystem Project
Global Atmospheric Changes
Contributors to Loss of Biodiversity

Habitat alteration

Exploitation

Pollution
Three Strategic Themes



Sustainability: interactions with the natural
world that we should be working toward
Stewardship: the ethical and moral
framework of our actions
Sound science: the basis for our
understanding of how the world works
Unifying Themes
Four Dimensions to Sustainable
Solutions




Environmental
Social
Economic
Political
How Stewardship Is Demonstrated

Recognition that a trust has been given

Responsible care for something not owned

Desire to pass something on to future
generations
Environmental Justice or Racism?

Placement of waste sites and hazardous
facilities in nonwhite communities
Components to the Structure of Sound
Science

Data: measurable

Theories: explanations

Shaping principles: uniformity of nature,
quantifiability
Assumptions of the Process of Science


Causes and effects are explainable.
We have tools and capabilities to
understand basic principles and natural
laws.
Scientific
Method
True or False: Concerning the Process
of Science…

There are no controversies or arguments among scientists.

Progress in science can be slow.

We are continually confronted by new observations.

Some observed phenomena may not lend themselves to
simple experiments.
True or False: Concerning the Process
of Science…



Science is incapable of providing absolute proof for any
theory.
The process of science can be used to test value
judgments.
The validity of science is based on the ability to do
experiments.
“Junk Science”



Presentations of selective results…this
happens all the time!
Public distortions of scientific works…also
common.
Publication in quasi-scientific journals. (If you
say it to enough people, often enough…it
becomes “truth” or at least confabulation.
Ecosystem Capital: Goods and Services
Policy and Politics

Human decisions that determine what happens to the
natural world and the political processes that lead to
those decisions.

Purpose of public policy is to promote the common good.

Does this always work??
Globalization

The accelerating interconnectedness of
human activities, ideas, and cultures.




Health improvements
Global markets
Improved crop yields
Dilution (or destruction) of cultural and religious
ideals.
Globalization






Environmentally friendly consumer goods
Economic reorganization of the world
Worldwide spread of emerging diseases
Dispersion of exotic species
Trade in hazardous wastes
Spread of persistent organic pollutants
The Environment in the 21st Century

The big issues





Corporate accountability
Globalization and WTO
Trade and subsidies
Climate and energy
Development priorities and aid
The Environment in the 21st Century

If we do not change direction, we will end
up where we are heading.
Questions?
Next time…
Read Chapter 2 and be ready
to discuss it.