Transcript Understanding Our Environment

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 How nature works.
 How the environment effects us.
 How we effect the environment.
 How we can live more sustainably without
degrading our life-support system.
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Human Population
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The human race plays a key role in important issues we
will be discussing the whole year
 Population growth
 Poverty
 Loss of biological diversity
 Pollution
 Global climate change
 Resource use
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The Population Dilemma – exponential growth
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Black Death—the Plague
Time
Hunting and
Gathering
Agricultural revolution
Industrial
Revolution 5
Fig. 1-1, p. 6
 50% of people still trying
to survive off < $3/day
 deplete and degrade
environment
Wealth is becoming
increasingly concentrated
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 Premature extinction of species
 Why is losing biodiversity so
critical?
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 Pollution Natural occurrences
 Biogenic
 Human activities
 Anthropogenic
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 Occurs more in urban areas
 Can contaminate area where
produced or be carried away by
wind or water
 Factors that determine the damage
a pollutant can cause:
 Concentration
 Persistence
 Chemical nature
 Rate of degradation
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 Population growth, resource
use, poverty, and loss of
biological diversity contribute
to climate change
 Global warming
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 Natural capital- Earth’s
resources and ecological
services
 Air
 Water
 Soil
 Forests
 Fishery
 Minerals
 Natural water and air
purification
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NATURAL CAPITAL = NATURAL RESOURCES + NATURAL SERVICES
SERVICES
RESOURCES
Air purification
Air
Water purification
Water
Water storage
Soil
Soil renewal
Nutrient recycling
Land
CAPITAL
=
Life (Biodiversity)
+
Food production
Conservation of
biodiversity
Nonrenewable
minerals
(iron, sand)
Wildlife habitat
Grassland and
forest renewal
Renewable energy
sun, wind, water
flows
Waste treatment
Nonrenewable
energy (fossil fuels,
nuclear power)
Climate control
Population control
(species interactions
Pest Control
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Fig. 1-4, p. 9
 Major causes of problems
1. Population growth
2. Wasteful resource use
3. Poverty
4. Poor environmental
accounting
5. Ecological and
environmental ignorance
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Sustainability: The Integrative Theme
A Path to Sustainability
Natural Capital
Natural Capital
Degradation
Solutions
Trade-Offs
Individuals
Matter
Sound Science
Living sustainably - satisfying people’s needs of the present,
without depleting natural resources to meet the needs of future
generations
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Fig. 1-3, p. 8
Shifts
needed to
bring about
sustainable
revolution
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Fig. 1-18, p. 25
 Never leave it worse than you found it
 Take only what you need
 Sustain diverse living organisms
 Maintains Earth’s capacity for self-
repair
 Decrease waste
 Decrease pollution
 Decrease population
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 A measure of human demand on earth’s ecosystems
 Looks at consumption of:
 Energy
 Food
 Building material
 Water
 Other resources
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 Go to http://www.earthday.org/footprint-calculator and
complete the Ecological Footprint Quiz
 Go to
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environ
ment/freshwater/change-the-course/water-footprintcalculator/ and complete the Water Footprint Quiz
 Copy and paste results from the above two footprints
in to one email and sent to [email protected]
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