Transcript Environment

Environmental Science
A Study of Interrelationships
Thirteenth Edition
Enger & Smith
Chapter 1
Environmental Interrelationships
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Environmental Interrelationships
Outline
 1.1 The Nature of Environmental Science
 1.2 Emerging Global Issues
 1.3 Human Well-Being and the Environment
1.1 The Nature of Environmental
Science
 Environmental science is interdisciplinary, and
includes scientific and social aspects of human
impact on the world.
• It is a mixture of traditional science, individual and
societal values, and political awareness.
1.1 The Nature of Environmental
Science
 Environment is
everything that affects
an organism during its
lifetime.
Environmental science
Interrelatedness Is a Core Concept
 The study of environmental science is so
interesting, frustrating, and challenging because
of the interrelatedness among seeming
unrelated factors.
 Tug on anything at all and you’ll find it
connected to everything else in the universe.
John Muir
 Charles Darwin proposed that seed production
in red clover was related to the number of cats in
the area.
Interrelatedness Is a Core Concept
 The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone
National Park has resulted in many changes.
 31 wolves were introduced in 1995.
 In 1996 there were about 320 wolves.
 The wolves have caused water flow changes in
the park, increases in willow and aspen trees, as
well as songbirds, foxes, certain rodents, hawks,
and owls.
 Coyote and elk have declined.
Interrelatedness Is a Core Concept
 The Yellowstone wolves are connected to social,
economic, and political realms of human activity.
 It was important to environmentalists and
biologists to restore the wolf to its former habitat.
 Ranchers could lose money if wolves killed
livestock.
 The farm lobby fought long and hard in congress
to prevent the reintroduction.
 A fund was developed to pay ranchers for cattle
killed by wolves.
An Ecosystem Approach
 An ecosystem is a region in which the organisms
and the physical environment form an interacting
unit.
 The task of an environmental scientist is to
recognize and understand the natural interactions
that take place, and to integrate these with the
uses humans must make of the natural world.
1.2 Emerging Global Issues
 Environmental
change threatens
people’s health,
physical security,
material needs, and
social cohesion.
1.2 Emerging Global Issues
 The World Commission on Environment and
Development (Brundtland Commission)
concluded 25 years ago that “humanity has the
ability to make development sustainable.”
Environmental Governance
 Trade, economic development, good
governance, transfer of technology, science and
education policies, and globalization have
become even more central to sustainable
development.
 Development strategies need to maintain the
ecosystem needs on which long-term
development goals depend.
• Hurricane Katrina in 2005 demonstrated the link
between destruction of coastal wetlands and
vulnerability to storms.
Environmental Governance
 Most social and political decisions are made with
respect to political jurisdictions, but
environmental problems do not necessarily
coincide with these artificial human made
political boundaries.
• Air pollution generated in China affects air quality in
western coastal states in the United States and in
British Columbia, Canada.
• Air pollution generated in Juarez, Mexico, causes
problems in the neighboring city of EI Paso, Texas
Environmental Governance
 Eight U.S. states, two
Canadian provinces,
and hundreds of local
jurisdictions impact
environmental
decisions in the Great
Lakes on pollution,
exotic species,
fishing, and land use.
1.3 Human Well-Being and the
Environment
 The end point of development is human wellbeing.
 Human well-being and the quality of the
environment are strongly interrelated.
• Environmental changes have impacts on human
wellbeing.
Defining Human Well-Being
 Resources people have, such as money and
other assets. The environment is seen only as a
means to promote economic growth.
 How people feel about their lives, including the
cultural importance that environment has for life
satisfaction.
 What people are able to be and to do. This
multidimensional view focuses on what the
environment allows individuals to be and to do.
Defining Human Well-Being
 Ecosystem services include
• Provisioning services: food, water
• Regulating services: flood control, disease control
• Cultural services: spiritual, recreational, and cultural
benefits
• Supporting services: nutrient cycling
 The world’s poorest people depend primarily on
environmental goods and services for their
livelihoods.
Environment and Health
 The World Health Organization estimates that 13
million deaths worldwide could be prevented
every year by environmental improvement.
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Cancer
Malaria
Coronary Heart Disease
Diarrhea
Environment and Health
 Urban air pollution
affects health in
almost every region
of the world.
Environment and Security
 Security means having stable and reliable
access to resources and the ability to be secure
from natural and human disasters.
 Scarcity of water or other resources can lead to
armed conflicts.
Environment and Globalization
 Globalization of trade
has led to the spread
of exotic species.
• Zebra Mussel in North
America
Environment and Globalization
 The first worldwide meeting of heads of state
directed toward the environment took place at the
Earth Summit (United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development) in Rio de Janeiro
in 1992.
• Most countries at the conference signed agreements on
sustainable development and biodiversity.
Environment and Globalization
 In 1997, representatives from 125 nations met in
Kyoto, Japan for the Third Conference of the
United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change.
• The Kyoto Protocol is viewed as one of the most
important steps to date in environmental protection
and international diplomacy.
Environment and Globalization
 The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was
completed in 2005.
• As the human population grows, it puts pressure on
the natural ecosystems of the world.
• Most ecosystems are being negatively affected.
• Food production has increased at the expense of soil
loss due to erosion, conversion of natural ecosystems
to managed systems, and overconsumption of water.
Energy and the Environment
 Threat of inadequate and insecure supplies of
energy at affordable prices.
 Threat of environmental damage due to
overconsumption of energy.
Energy and the Environment
 Global increases in
carbon dioxide
emissions are
primarily due to fossil
fuel use.
• Fossil fuels met 82%
of the world’s energy
demand in 2010.
10 Things You Can Do to Protect Your
Environment
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1. Reduce driving
2. Save electricity
3. Recycle
4. Conserve water
5. Safely dispose of hazardous waste
10 Things You Can Do to Protect Your
Environment
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6. Eat locally
7. Donate reusable items
8. Buy in bulk
9. Learn how to avoid the use of insect
repellants
 10. Be an informed and active citizen
Summary
 Environmental science involves science,
economics, ethics, and politics in arriving at
solutions to environmental problems.
 Because ecosystems do not coincide with
political boundaries, a regional approach to
solving environmental problems is ideal.
 Each region of the world has certain
environmental issues that are of primary
concern because of the mix of population,
resource use patterns, and culture.