Transcript An Intro to Resource Management

Resource Management
An Introduction
OUR “SPACESHIP”
• Imagine you are a first-class passenger on a
spaceship hurtling through space at 100,000
km/h
• You are in a group that makes up 15% of the
ship’s population, but as part of this group,
you own 85% of the food, fresh water and
other resources.
• There is one super computer that runs the
ships life support system, but everyone has
access to it
OUR “SPACESHIP”
• Everyone on board has access to bombs
and other weapons that if used, could
destroy the entire ship.
• The water supply has been contaminated
due to a breakdown in the ship's waste
expulsion system.
• Food supplies are running out.
• Toxic gases are filling up the cabin of the
ship where people spend their time.
OUR “SPACESHIP”
• Many passengers who make up 85% of the
population on the ship are crowded into the
economy section of the craft and are
seriously ill, and only a few of them are
getting proper medical attention.
• The spaceship has an overall destruct system
and an increasing numbers of technologists –
but… some are mentally unstable and have
gained access to the controls of the destruct
OUR “SPACESHIP”
• What would you do in order to keep the
ship stable and fully functioning?
• List your 5 top priorities in order of
importance
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
THIS IS OUR “SPACESHIP”!
“You get out there in space and say to yourself: that’s home. That’s the only
home we have, and the only one we’re going to have for a long time”
-- Edgar Dean Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut
“There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew.” - Marshall McLuhan
THE COMPONENTS OF
OUR EARTH
1. The Atmosphere
is the mixture of
gases surrounding
the Earth. It has
several layers:
- Thermosphere
– Mesopause
– Mesosphere
– Stratopause
– Stratosphere
– Tropopause
– Troposphere
THE COMPONENTS OF
OUR EARTH
• 2. The
Hydrosphere is the
part of the Earth
composed of water
(including clouds,
oceans, seas, ice
caps, glaciers, lakes,
rivers, underground
water supplies, and
atmospheric water
vapour).
THE HYDROSPHERE
• Approximately 71% of the Earth is
covered by water.
– 97% of this water is in the oceans
•(salt water)
– 3% is freshwater
•77% of freshwater is locked in ice
•22% of freshwater is in the ground
•<1% of freshwater is in lakes, rivers,
and wetlands !
THE HYDROSPHERE
– The Water Cycle
THE COMPONENTS
OF OUR EARTH
3.The Lithosphere is the solid
outer crust of the earth, made up
of the continental crust, oceanic
crust and part of the upper mantle.
The lithosphere is approximately
100km thick.
THE LITHOSPHERE
THE COMPONENTS OF
OUR EARTH
4. The Biosphere
is the life zone of
the Earth and
includes all living
organisms,
including humanity,
and all organic
matter that has not
yet decomposed.
THE BIOSPHERE
The biosphere is
structured into a
hierarchy known as
the food chain
whereby all life is
dependent upon
the first tier (i.e.
mainly the primary
producers that are
capable of
photosynthesis).
What’s it all about?
Resource Management
is recognizing the value
of our ecology and
natural resources and
how interconnected
they are with human
activity, our economies
and the goal of a
sustainable future.
Resource Management
Key Terms
 Ecology - the study of how organisms
interact with each other and their physical
environment
 Biodiversity - the variety of life on our
planet, (measurable as the variety within
species, between species, and the variety of
ecosystems)
Resource Management
Key Terms
 Carrying Capacity - the maximum number
of individuals of a given species that a site
can support during the most unfavorable
time of year, without causing deterioration of
the site
 Ecological Footprint - a calculation that
estimates the area of Earth required to
supply the resources that an individual
demands, as well as to absorb the wastes
that the individual produces
Resource Management
Key Terms
 Sustainable Development - Development
that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs
 Global Commons - natural assets outside
national jurisdiction i.e. that no one country
has rights to (e.g., oceans, outer space,
Antarctica (for now!), fresh water (should
be?!), etc.