Transcript G. Tyler Miller’s Living in the Environment 13th Edition Chapter 1 Environmental Issues, Their Causes, and Sustainability.

G. Tyler Miller’s
Living in the Environment
13th Edition
Chapter 1
Environmental Issues,
Their Causes, and Sustainability
Key Concepts
• What are the Major Environmental
Problems
• What are Their Causes
• How Important or Serious are They
• Ways to Live More Sustainably
 Environment
Everything that affects a living organism
during its lifetime
 Ecology
Biological science that studies relationship
between living organisms and their
interaction with the environment
 Environmental Science
Interdisciplinary science that uses concepts
and information from natural sciences and
social sciences to help us understand
1) How the earth works
2) How we are affecting the environment
3) How we deal with environmental problems
Living More Sustainably
Environmentally Sustainable Society
- satisfies the basic needs of its
people into the indefinite future
Food
Clean Water
Clean Air
Shelter
Population Growth
How fast are we growing?
Exponential
Growth
Fig. 1-2 p. 4
World Population
J
curve
Population Growth
Exponential
Growth
Doubling Time
and the
“Rule of 70”
Fig. 1-2 p. 4
“Rule of 70”
70
Percent
growth rate
(%)
=
Doubling
Time
(in years)
Let’s See If the Rule of 70 Works!
• 10% fixed growth rate….what is doubling time?
• 70/10 = 7 year doubling time
100 people to start
(.10)(100) =+10 10% growth
110 total # of people at end of year 1
(.10)(110) =+11
121 end of year 2
(.10)(121) =+12
133 end of year 3
(.10)(133) =+13
146 end of year 4
(.10)(146) = +14
160 end of year 5
(.10)(160) = +16
176 end of year 6
(.10)(176) = +17
193 end of year 7—almost doubled!
The Power of Doubling
(lab)
Economic Growth
refers to an increase in the capacity to
provide people with goods and services.
Economic growth is measured by a county’s
Gross National Product (GNP or GNI)
• Market value ($) of all goods and services
produced within and outside a country during
a year plus net income earned abroad by a
countries citizens
Other Economic Indicators
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
market value ($) of all goods and services
produced within a country during a year
Gross World Product (GWP)
market value ($) of all goods and services
produced in the world during a year
Economic Growth
 Per Capita GNP
• GNP divided by total population at
mid-year
“your piece of the economic pie”
Economic Development
The improvement of living standards by
economic growth.
• Measured by (1) degree of industrialization and
(2) per capita GNI
– Developed Countries
• US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, all of Europe
– Developing Counties
• Most of Africa, Asia, and Latin America
<$2700
$2700-$10,750
>$10,750
per capita GNI
Economic Development
• Positive Aspects
– Global life expectancy has doubled
from 33 to 67 years
– Infant mortality has dropped
– Food production has outpaced
population growth
– Access to safe drinking water has
increased.
Economic Development
• Negative Aspects
– Average life expectancy in developing
countries is 11 years less than in
developed countries
– Infant mortality is 8x higher
– Harmful environmental effects of
industrialized food production may limit
future food production
– Air and water pollution are high in most
developing countries
– Natural resources are being used
unsustainably
Globalization – we are living in an
increasingly integrated world
Economic indicators
Global economy grew
International trade grew
Corporation operating in multiple countries grew
Information and Communication
1 in every 11 people in the world have Internet
access
Environmental Effects
Number of diseases transmitted across international
borders has increased
Pollution transported globally
Resources
 Perpetual
Renewed continuously
 Renewable
Replenished rapidly
 Non-renewable
Exist in a fixed quantity
Renewable Resources
 Sustainable Yield – the highest rate at
which a renewable resource can be used
indefinitely
 Environmental Degradation – process of
exceeding a resources natural
replacement rate
Renewable Resources
Tragedy of the Commons
• Garrett Hardin
• degradation of renewable resources
Non-Renewable Resources
•Energy Resources
•Metallic Resources
•Non-Metallic
Resources
•Reuse
•Recycle
Economic Depletion
Ecological Footprints • the amount of land needed to
produce the resources needed
by an average person in a
country
Ecological Footprints
What’s YOUR
ecological footprint?
Pollution
Where do pollutants
come
from?
• Any addition to air,
What is Pollution?
• Point Sources – single
water, soil, or
identifiable sources
food that
– Smokestack
threatens the
– Drainpipe
health, survival, or
– Exhaust pipe
activities of
• Nonpoint sources –
dispersed sources
humans or other
– Runoff from fields
living organisms
– Pesticides sprayed in
the air
Pollution
What are the effects of pollutants?
a) Disruption of life-support systems for
humans and other species.
b) Damage to wildlife, human health, and
property.
c) Nuisances such as noise, and
unpleasant smells, tastes, and sights.
Dealing With Pollution
 Prevention
(Input Control)
 Refuse
 Replace
 Reduce
 Reuse
 Recycle
 Cleanup (Output
Control)
 Temporary
 Shifts problem
somewhere
else
 Costly
Environmental and Resource
Problems
Major Problems (See Fig. 1-9 p. 12)
•Air Pollution
•Water Pollution
•Biodiversity Depletion
•Food Supply
•Waste Production
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Air Pollution
Global climate change
Stratospheric ozone
depletion
Urban air pollution
Acid deposition
Outdoor pollutants
Indoor pollutants
Noise
Biodiversity Depletion
• Habitat destruction
• Habitat degradation
• Extinction
Major
Environmental
Problems
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Water Pollution
Sediment
Nutrient overload
Toxic chemicals
Infectious agents
Oxygen depletion
Pesticides
Oil spills
Excess heat
Waste Production
• Solid waste
• Hazardous waste
Food Supply Problems
• Overgrazing
• Farmland loss
and degradation
• Wetlands loss
and degradation
• Overfishing
• Coastal pollution
• Soil erosion
• Soil salinization
• Soil waterlogging
• Water shortages
• Groundwater depletion
• Loss of biodiversity
• Poor nutrition
Environmental and Resource
Problems
Root
Causes
Environmental Impact
Fig. 1-11 p. 13
Environmental Impact (I)
PxAxT=I
P = Population
A = Affluence
T = Technology
I = Impact (Environmental)
Environmental Interactions
Fig. 1-12 p. 14
Environmental Worldviews
Planetary Management
• We are in charge of
nature.
• There is always more.
• All economic growth is
good.
• Our success depends on
how well we can
understand, control, and
manage the earth’s life
support systems.
Environmental Wisdom
• Nature does not exist just
for us and we only think we
are in charge.
• There is not always more.
• Some forms of technology
are environmentally
beneficial, some are
harmful.
• Our success depends on
learning how the earth
sustains itself and
integrating these lessons
into how we think and act.
Environmentally-Sustainable
Economic Development
Social
Economic
Social
Economic
Sustainable
Solutions
Environmental
Environmental
Fig. 1-13 p. 17
Traditional
decision making
Decision making in a
sustainable society