Transcript Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

BIOL1040 Environmental Science
Introductions
BIOL1040 Environmental Science
http://people.nnu.edu/jocossel/BIOL1040/BIOL1040_index_2012.htm
Environmental Problems,
Their Causes, and
Sustainability
Chapter 1
WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCE?
Environmental science is a
study of connections in nature
• Environment…
• Science…
• Ecology…
• Environmentalism…
WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES
OF SUSTAINABILITY?
Three principles of sustainability
Sustainability has certain key
components
• Life depends on ________________,
________________and ______________.
• Many human activities can degrade natural
capital.
• Solutions are being found and implemented.
• Sustainability begins at personal and local
levels.
Key natural resources and
services
Solar
energy
Natural Capital
Natural Capital = Natural Resources + Natural Services
Air
Renewable
energy (sun,
wind, water
flows)
Air purification
Climate control
UV protection
(ozone layer)
Life
(biodiversity)
Population
control
Water
Water purification
Pest
control
Waste treatment
Nonrenewable
minerals
(iron, sand)
Soil
Soil renewal
Land
Food production
Nutrient
recycling
Nonrenewable
energy
(fossil fuels)
Natural resources
Natural services
Fig. 1-3, p. 9
Nutrient cycling
Organic
matter in
animals
Dead
organic
matter
Organic
matter
in plants
Decomposition
Inorganic
matter in soil
Fig. 1-4, p. 10
Some resources are renewable
and some are not
• Humans depend on resources to meet our needs.
• A perpetual resource is …
• A renewable resource is …
• Sustainable yield is …
Some resources are renewable
and some are not
• Some resources are not renewable.
– Nonrenewable resources exist in fixed
quantities.
–
–
–
• Sustainable solutions: 3Rs
Rich and poor countries have
different environmental impacts
• Developed countries include the high
income ones
– e.g.
• Developing countries include the low
income ones
– e.g.
HOW ARE OUR ECOLOGICAL
FOOTPRINTS AFFECTING THE
EARTH?
We are living unsustainably
• Environmental, or natural capital,
degradation is occurring.
• We have solutions to these problems that
can be implemented.
Degradation of normally
renewable natural resources
Natural Capital Degradation
Degradation of Normally Renewable Natural Resources
Climate
change
Shrinking
forests
Decreased
wildlife
habitats
Air pollution
Soil erosion
Species
extinction
Water
pollution
Aquifer
depletion
Declining ocean
fisheries
Fig. 1-5, p. 11
Pollution comes from a number
of sources
• Point sources are …
• Nonpoint sources are …
• We can ____________ or ____________.
• Which is “better”?
Why?
The tragedy of the commons: overexploiting
shared renewable resources
• In 1968, the biologist Garrett Hardin called
the degradation of openly shared
resources the tragedy of the commons.
• Reducing degradation.
– Reduce use by government regulations.
– Shift to private ownership.
Ecological footprints: our
environmental impacts
• Ecological footprint is …
• Per capita ecological footprint is …
Ecological footprints: our
environmental impacts
• Ecological deficit means the ecological
footprint is ________ than the biological
capacity to replenish resources and
absorb wastes and pollution.
• Humanity is living ________________.
• Footprints can also be expressed as …
Total Ecological Footprint (million
hectares) and Share of Global
Biological Capacity (%)
United
States
2,160 (19%) European Union
United States
2,810 (25%)
European Union
China
India
Japan
Per Capita Ecological
Footprint (hectares per
person)
China
2,050 (18%)
780 (7%)
India
9.7
4.7
1.6
0.8
Japan
540 (5%)
4.8
Number of Earths
2.5
Unsustainable living
2.0
1.5
Projected footprint
1.0
Ecological
footprint
0.5
0
1961
1970
1980
1990
2000
Sustainable living
2010
2020
2030
2040
2050
Year
Fig. 1-8, p. 14
I=PxAxT
WHY DO WE HAVE
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS?
Causes of Environmental Problems
Population
growth
Unsustainable
resource use
Poverty
Excluding
environmental costs
from market prices
Fig. 1-10, p. 16
The human population is growing
exponentially at a rapid rate
• Human population is increasing at a fixed
percentage so that we are experiencing
doubling of larger and larger populations.
• Human population in 2009 was about
____ billion.
• Based on the current increase rate there
will be ____ billion people by 2050.
• We can slow population growth.
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
Billions of people
?
3
Industrial revolution
2
Black Death—the Plague
2–5 million
years
8000
Hunting and
gathering
6000
4000
2000
Time
B. C.
1
2000
0
2100
A. D.
Agricultural revolution
Industrial
revolution
Fig. 1-11, p. 16
Affluence has harmful and
beneficial environmental effects
• Wealth results in high levels of …
• Average American consumes _____ times as
much as the average consumer in India.
• “Shop-until-you-drop” affluent consumers are
afflicted with a disorder called ___________.
• Affluence has provided what positives?
Poverty has harmful environmental
and health effects
• How do you know if you are “poor”?
• One in every five people live in extreme
poverty (<$
), and more are
susceptible.
Poverty has harmful environmental
and health effects
• Poverty causes harmful environmental and
health effects.
–
–
–
–
–
Lack of
access to
Number of people
(% of world's population)
Adequate
sanitation facilities
2.6 billion (37%)
Enough fuel for
heating and cooking
2 billion (29%)
Electricity
2 billion (29%)
Adequate
health care
1.1 billion (16%)
Adequate
housing
1 billion (14%)
Enough food for
good health
1 billion (14%)
Clean
drinking water
900 million (13%)
Fig. 1-13, p. 18
Malnutrition
Prices of goods and services due not include
harmful environmental and health costs
•
•
• ________________ may increase
environmental degradation.
• There are ways to include harmful costs of
goods and services.
–
–
People have different views about
environmental problems and their solutions
• Each individual has their own environmental
worldview—
• Environmental ethics are …
• ______________________________ holds
that we are separate from and in charge of
nature.
People have different views about
environmental problems and their solutions
• _____________________ holds that we
can and should manage the earth for our
benefit, but that we have an ethical
responsibility to be caring and responsible
managers.
• ______________________ holds that we
are part of, and dependent on, nature and
that nature exists for all species, not just
for us.
WHAT IS AN ENVIRONMENTALLY
SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY?
What is an environmentally
sustainable society?
• Environmentally sustainable societies protect
natural capital and live off its income.
–
–
• We can work together to solve environmental
problems.
–
–
Three Big Ideas
1.
2.
3.