Transcript 5.1chapter1Notes2008

Environmental Problems,
Their Causes, and
Sustainability
Chapter 1
Key Concepts

Population growth and sustainability

Economic growth and development

Resources and resource use

Pollution

Causes of environmental problems
World Population
(78 million people added per year = 8,900 / hour)
Billions of people
World’s Population Growth = 1.2%
?
Black Death—the Plague
Time
Hunting and
gathering
Agricultural revolution
Click for Current Word Population
Industrial
revolution
Fig. 1-1, p. 1
Stepped Art
Fig. 1-3, p. 7
Natural Capital
NATURAL CAPITAL
=
NATURAL RESOURCES
+
NATURAL RESOURCES
NATURAL CAPITAL
Air purification
Air
Water purification
Water
NATURAL CAPITAL
=
NATURAL SERVICES
Soil renewal
Soil
Nutrient recycling
Land
Food production
Life (biodiversity)
Pollination
+
Grassland renewal
Nonrenewable minerals
(iron, sand)
Forest renewal
Renewable energy
(sun, wind, water flows)
Climate Control
Nonrenewable energy
(fossil fuels, nuclear
power)
Pest control
Waste treatment
Population control
(species interactions)
Environmentally Sustainable
Society

A society that manages economy &
population size without doing
irreparable environmental harm.

Does not deplete natural capital

Income analogy
Economics

Economic growth= increase in capacity of country to provide goods
and services

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) = annual market value of
goods and services produced in a country

Per capita GDP = GDP/Population

Economic development= improvement of living standards via
economic growth

Developed and developing countries
Global Outlook
Percentage
of World's
19
Population
81
Population
growth
Wealth and
income
Resource
use
Pollution
and waste
0.1
1.5
85
15
88
12
75
25
Developed countries
Developing countries
Fig. 1-4, p. 9
Population (billions)
Human Population Growth
World total
Developing
countries
97% of
projected
increase
expected in
developing
world
Developed
countries
Year
Fig. 1-5, p. 9
Economic Development
Trade-Offs
Economic Development
Good News
Bad News
Global life expectancy
doubled since 1950
Life expectancy 13 years less in
developing countries than in
developed Countries
Infant mortality cut in
half since 1955
Infant mortality rate in developing
countries over 9
times higher than in developed
countries
Food production ahead of population
growth since 1978
Air and water pollution down in most
developed countries since 1970
Number of people living in poverty
dropped 6% since 1990
Harmful environmental effects of
agriculture may limit future food
production
Air and water pollution levels in
most developing countries too high
Half of world's workers trying to
live on less than $2 (U.S.) per day
Fig. 1-6, p. 10
Resources

Perpetually Renewable - sun, wind, flowing
water

{Potentially} Renewable - fresh air, water,
soils, forests, food
(“potentially renewable”= can be depleted if used beyond
sustainable yield)

Nonrenewable - fossil fuels, metals, …
economic depletion
Renewable Resources
(Potentially Renewable)

Sustainable yield= highest rate renewable resource
can be used indefinitely w/out reducing supply

Environmental degradation= depletion of
renewable resource is faster than renewal

Tragedy of the Commons = overuse of freeaccess resources (clean air, water, fish, pasture,…)
“If I don’t use this resource, someone else will.”
Ecological Footprint
1.0 hectare = 2.47 acres
current global footprint requires 1.2 planets
21% higher than carrying capacity
Sustainable???
Fig. 1-7, p. 11
Nonrenewable Resources(exist in fixed quantity in earth’s crust)

Energy resources- coal, oil, natural gas

Metallic mineral resources - iron, copper, aluminum

Nonmetallic mineral resources - salt, clay, sand

Economic depletionExhaustion of about 80% of estimated supply of nonrenewable
resource.

Recycling and reuse
Pollution

Definition: any addition to air, water, soil or food that
threatens health, survival or activities of humans or
other organisms

Point sources- single identifiable sources
(smokestack, drainpipe, exhaust pipe)

Nonpoint Sources - dispersed and difficult to
identify and control (fertilizer / pesticide runoff, windblown pesticides, …)

Unwanted effects of pollution
1. Disrupt life support systems
2. Damage wildlife, human health and property
3. Create nuisances (noise, smell, taste, sight)
Point-source Air Pollution
Fig. 1-8, p. 13
Solutions to Pollution

Pollution prevention (input control)

Pollution cleanup (output control)

Disadvantages of output controltemporary bandage, can transfer to other areas, costly
Environmental Problems:
Causes and Connections

First step: Understanding the causes

Poverty and population growth

Premature death among the poor
Causes of Environmental Problems
Causes of Environmental Problems
Population
growth
Unsustainable
resource use
Poverty
Not including the
environmental costs
of economic goods
and services in their
market prices
Poor
Environmental
Accounting
Trying to manage and
simplify nature with too
little knowledge about
how it works
Ecological
Ignorance
Fig. 1-10, p. 14
Some Harmful Results of Poverty
Lack of
access to
Number of people
(% of world's population)
Adequate
sanitation
Enough fuel for
heating and
cooking
Electricity
2.4 billion (37%)
2 billion (31%)
1.6 billion (25%)
Clean drinking
water
1.1 billion (17%)
Adequate
health care
1.1 billion (17%)
Enough food
for good health
1.1 billion (17%)
Fig. 1-11, p. 14
Malnutrition
Fig. 1-12, p. 15
Economics and Ethics

Affluenza= unsustainable addiction to over-consumption
and materialism

Globalization and global advertising= it takes 27
tractor trailer loads of resources to support one American

Law of Progressive Simplification-shift from material
to non-material

Positive environmental effects of affluenza- In
many developed countries, environ quality is improving
Affluenza Diagnosis
“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things
they don’t want to impress people they don’t like.” - W. Rogers
a.
I am willing to work at a job I despise so I can buy lots of stuff
b.
When I am feeling down, I like to go shopping to make myself feel
better.
c.
I would rather be shopping right now.
d.
I owe more than $1,000 on my credit cards.
e.
I usually make only the minimum monthly payments on my credit
card bills.
f.
I am running out of room to store my stuff.
If you agree with 2 or more of the statements above, you
could be suffering from Affluenza
Measuring Environmental Impact
I = PAT
Developing Countries
X
Population (P)
X
X
Developed Countries
X
Consumption per
person
(affluence, A)
X
X
=
Technological
impact per unit of
consumption (T)
=
Environmental
impact of
population (I)
=
Fig. 1-13, p. 16
Historical Changes in Human Culture

Hunter-gatherers - 60,000 years ago - 12,000 yrs ago

Agricultural revolution- began between 10k & 12k years
ago

Industrial-medical revolution- began 275 years ago

Information-globalization revolution- 50 years ago
Eras of US Environmental History

Tribal era (10K yrs before Euro Settlement) respect for land

Frontier era (1607-1890)Euro Colonists- Conquer Nature

Early conservation era- (1832-1870)
Alarm form resource depletion- Urged protection of Wilderness

Environmentalism (1870-present)Resource conservation, public health and environmental protection
Sustainability Revolution
Current
Emphasis
Sustainability
Emphasis
Pollution cleanup
Pollution prevention
(cleaner production)
Waste disposal
(bury or burn)
Waste prevention
& reduction
Protecting species
Protecting where
species live
(habitat protection)
Environmental
degradation
Environmental
restoration
Increased resource
use
Less wasteful
(more efficient)
resource use
Population growth
Population stabilization by
decreasing birth rates
Depleting and
degrading natural
capital)
Protecting natural capital
and living off the biological
interest it provides
Fig. 1-14, p. 18