Quick Question 8/30/11

Despite a 22-fold increase in economic growth since 1900, almost 1 in every 2 people in the world try to survive on an income of less than $3 (U.S) per day.

How does this fact affect our environment? Explain your response.

Key Vocabulary

•

Environment - a sum of all the conditions surrounding us that influence life.

•

Environmental science the field that looks at interactions among humans and nature.

•

System a set of interacting components that influence one another by exchanging energy or materials.

•

Ecosystem- the living and non-living components of a particular place on earth.

Environmental Scientists Monitor Natural Systems for Signs of Stress

• Ecosystem services- environments provide life supporting services such as clean water, timber, fisheries, crops.

• Environmental indicators- describe the current state of the environment.

• Sustainability- living on the Earth in a way that allows us to use its resources without depriving future generations of those resources.

Humans Alter Natural Systems

• Humans manipulate their environment more than any other species.

World Population

The current human population is 6.8 billion. Over a million additional people is added to the Earth every 5 days.

Fig. 1-1 p. 5

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Exponential Growth

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Doubling Time/ Rule of 70

Population Growth

Fig. 1-4, p. 8

Example:

If the growth rate of the China is 10%, the rule of 70 predicts it would take 7 years (70/10) for China to double in size.

Economic Growth

– provides people with goods & services needed

•

GDP (Gross Domestic Product) a.k.a. Gross National Income (GNI)

– market value for goods and services produced in a country •

Per Capita GDP

– used to measure the standard of living; GDP divided by the total population at midyear •

Economic Development

– improving the standards of living in a country through growth of economies.

Economic Development

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Developed Countries high industrialization; high per capital GDP (Europe, US, Canada, Japan)

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Developing Countries moderate to low per capital GDP and levels of industrialization (India, parts of Africa and South America); represent 97% of the projected increase in the world population.

Globalization

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Social – technology, human mobility allow more people to interact with one another.

(Facebook- Iran)

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Economic – international trade

(oil, diamonds)

Environmental Effects of Globalization The world is more interconnected; share in resources and responsibility to sustaining the environment

(Kyoto Protocol)

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Perpetual

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Renewable

normal human life span

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Non-renewable

Non-renewable resources are considered economically depleted when the cost of extracting them outweighs the value. Solutions include finding more of the resource, recycling and reusing, wasting and using less, developing substitute products, or waiting millions of years for more to be produced!

Renewable Resources

 Sustainable Yield – highest rate a renewable resource can be used

indefinitely

without reducing/depleting the available supply  Environmental Degradation – when we exceed the sustainable yield and natural replacement rate of a resource; available supply starts to shrink

Tragedy of the Commons when no regulation or limits on shared renewable resources, people get greedy and overuse. (national parks, air & ocean pollution)

As economies develop, resource

consumption also increases.

Fig. 1-7 p. 10

Ecological Footprint

What’s your ecological footprint???

Ecological footprint

– a measure of how much of the earth’s natural capital and biological income you use, expressed in amounts of land and water

www.myfootprint.org

Connection between consumption and environmental problems

Affluenza-

unsustainable addiction to overconsumption and materialism

(US and other developed countries)

However, not all affluent countries have to degrade the environment. These countries have more money to create new technologies that can help improve environmental quality.

Easter Island, in the South Pacific *

Believed that the collapse of the civilization was due to overuse of natural resources.

Major Environmental & Resource Problems Biodiversity Depletion

• Habitat destruction • Habitat degradation • Extinction

Air Pollution

• Global climate change • Stratospheric ozone depletion • Urban air pollution • Acid deposition • Outdoor pollutants • Indoor pollutants • Noise

Water Pollution

• Sediment • Nutrient overload • Toxic chemicals • Infectious agents • Oxygen depletion • Pesticides • Oil spills • Excess heat

Major Environmental Problems 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

Five Root Causes to environmental problems

How does poverty affect the environment?

Developing countries:

- Focused on necessities

(food, water, fuel)

- desperate for land to grow food, leads to depletion or degradation of forests, soil, wildlife etc. - not worried about long term environmental effects - Live in areas with high levels of air & water pollution - take jobs where they can find them without worrying about unsafe conditions - Affect population growth  have many children to help with work and increase economic security.

Biological Diversity

• Genetic Diversity- A measure of the genetic variation among individuals in a population. Populations with high genetic diversity are better able to respond to environmental change than populations with lower genetic diversity.

• Species diversity- The number of species in a region or in a particular type of habitat. Individuals in a species can breed and produce fertile offspring.

• Ecosystem diversity- A measure of the diversity of ecosystems or habitats that exist in a particular region.

Greenhouse gases - gases in our planets atmosphere that act like a blanket, trapping heat near Earth's surface. The most important greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide. Anthropogenic- caused by human activities.

Human Well-Being Depends on Sustainable Practices

• Sustainable development balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations.

• In order to live sustainably: 1) Environmental systems must not be damaged beyond their ability to recover.

2) Renewable resources must not be depleted faster than they can regenerate.

3) Nonrenewable resources must be used sparingly.

Defining Human Needs

• People in developed nations might say that they "need" electricity.

• People in the developing world have never heard of this modern convenience.

• Basic human needs- air, water, food and shelter.

The Scientific Method

What are Our Greatest Environmental Problems?

      

Disease Overpopulation Water Shortages Climate Changes Biodiversity Loss Poverty Malnutrition

Experimental Science Presents Unique Challenges

• There is no "control" planet to compare the Earth with. • It is difficult to decide what is better or worse for the environment than something else.

• Environmental science has so many interacting parts, it is not easy to apply one system to another.

• Human well-being is a concern because people that are unable to meet their basic needs are less likely to be interested in saving the environment.

Solutions

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Current Emphasis (Reactive)

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Sustainability Emphasis (Proactive)

•Pollution clean up •Bury/burn wastes •Protecting species •Environmental degradation •Increased resource use •Population growth •Depleting/degrading natural capital • Pollution prevention • Waste prevention/reduction • Species habitat protection • Environmental restoration • More efficient resource use • Decrease birth rates (pop. Stabilization) • Protecting natural capital and living off interest it provides

Environmental Worldviews –

different views on how serious the Earth’s environmental problems and how they should be dealt with  Planetary Management worldview “we are in charge of species and we are the most important ones; we will not run out of because we can invent more”  Stewardship worldview “we are the most important species but we have ethical responsibility to care for others; probably not run out of resources, but shouldn’t waste them.”     Environmental Wisdom worldview “Nature exists for all species and we are not in charge. Resources are Limited, should be shared and not wasted. Encourage Earth’s sustainability”.