Transcript No Slide Title

Sustainability
and
Globalization
II. & III. Natural Capital and its degradation
Sustainability:
“meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs.”
-from the United Nations General Assembly (1987) Report of
the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our
Common Future.
Sustainability is multifaceted, with economic,
social, and environmental elements all vying
for attention, but without a healthy
environment, the other two elements,
economic and social, will have no place.
-paraphrased from Ott, K., 2003.
Natural capital:
In business, capital is:
Assets available for use in the
production of further assets.
On the globe, natural capital is:
The natural resources and services
that keep life on Earth alive and
support the global economy.
Natural resources:
Natural resources are
materials and energy
sources found in nature
that we use:
solar energy, coal, oil,
soil, water, air, trees, fish,
copper, aluminum, etc.
Natural resources:
Natural Resources are either:
renewable
OR
non-renewable
Natural resources:
Renewable resources are replenished
at a rate equal to, or greater than, the
rate at which they are used.
solar, soil, water, air, trees, fish
Natural resources:
Non-renewable resources
are not replenished as fast
as they are used.
coal, oil, copper,
aluminum, etc.
Natural services:
Processes that occur in nature and
replenish renewable resources.
clean the air and water, create soil,
control pests, recycle nutrients, produce
food, etc.
Natural services:
Also called “Ecosystem services”
because they occur within specific
ecosystems.
Ecosystems:
The physical factors
(i.e. water, soil, air)
and biological
entities (plants,
animals) that
interact within a
habitat.
Large marine
wetlands
Ecosystem Services:
Definition: “The benefits that a natural ecosystem
provides, including products, processes that regulate
and maintain the system, and cultural benefits.”
World Resource Institute:
http://pdf.wri.org/esr_definitions_of_ecosystem_se
rvices.pdf
Examples include: Nutrient Cycling, Water
Purification, Biodiversity, Soil Formation,
Food Production, Climate Regulation
Nutrient Cycling:
Nutrients: the elements/molecules
that organisms need to live, grow,
and reproduce.
Nutrient Cycling:
Water cycle – water purification
Carbon cycle – climate regulation
Phosphorus cycle – food production
Nitrogen cycle – food production
Nutrients cycle through the environment
on their own, but human activities
affect the cycles
What are some important aspects of
ecosystems and ways human activities
affect them?
 Example: the nitrogen cycle
 Example: the water cycle
 Example: biodiversity
 Example: mineral extraction and consumption
Nitrogen Cycle:
Nitrogen is an element that is part of
many proteins and vitamins
•Nitrogen cycles from the atmosphere to
bacteria in the soil.
Nitrogen Cycle:
Nitrogen is an element that is part of
many proteins and vitamins
•Nitrogen cycles from the atmosphere to
bacteria in the soil.
•Bacteria change it so that plants can use
it.
Nitrogen Cycle:
Nitrogen is an element that is part of
many proteins and vitamins
•Nitrogen cycles from the atmosphere to
bacteria in the soil
•Bacteria change it so that plants can use
it.
•Animal eat the plants and build their
bodies with it.
Nitrogen Cycle:
• Animal eat the plants and build their
bodies with it.
• Animal waste return Nitrogen to the
soil.
Nitrogen Cycle:
• Animal eat the plants and build their
bodies with it.
• Animal waste return Nitrogen to the
soil.
• Bacteria beak it down to a gas.
Nitrogen Cycle:
• Animal eat the plants and build their
bodies with it.
• Animal waste return Nitrogen to the
soil.
• Bacteria beak it down to a gas.
• The Nitrogen gas returns to the
atmosphere.
Nitrogen Cycle:
Where do we interfere with it?
1. We modify the cycle by adding
nitrogen to the soil in the form of
fertilizer.
2. If we add more than can be taken up by
the plants, then the nitrates end up in
surface and ground water.
Nitrogen Cycle:
Why is this a problem?
1. In surface water, excess nitrogen will
cause algae to grow faster than it can
be removed by natural processes
upsetting the chemical balance in the
body of water (similar to the effect of
excess phosphorus).
Nitrogen Cycle:
Why is this a problem?
2. Nitrates in groundwater used for
human consumption can cause health
problems for babies (born and
unborn) and young by decreasing the
oxygen carrying capacity of blood.
Nutrient Cycling:
Water cycle – water purification
Carbon cycle – climate regulation
Phosphorus cycle – food production
Nitrogen cycle – food production
These cycle through the environment
on their own, but we play a part in
them and we modify them.
Nitrogen Cycle
Water Cycle:
An Ecosystem Service that renews
the renewable resource of clean
water.
Water Cycle:
• Only about 0.024% of the earth’s
water is readily available for life to use.
Water Cycle:
• Only about 0.024% of the earth’s
water is readily available for life to use.
• Most of the Earth’s water is in the
oceans and too salty to use.
Water Cycle:
• Only about 0.024% of the earth’s
water is readily available for life to use.
• Most of the Earth’s water is in the
oceans and too salty to use.
• As water moves through the water
cycle, it is cleaned and brought within
our reach.
The Water Cycle is Global:
The Water Cycle purifies:
• Evaporation only moves the water
molecule to the atmosphere
• Salt and other dissolved chemicals are
left behind.
• Precipitation returns the water to land.
The Water Cycle purifies:
• Bacteria can break down some waste in
streams and in groundwater.
• Groundwater is naturally filtered as it
moves through soil and rock
How we modify it:
• We use freshwater for agriculture and
industry.
• We pollute parts of the region the water
cycles through.
How we modify it:
We use
freshwater
faster than it
can be
replenished,
e.g.,
Sea of Aral
Photo by NASA
2009
Today, the Aral Sea is
only 10% of its
original size
1989
2003
Photos by NASA
How we modify it:
• We use freshwater faster than it can be
replenished.
• Clearing land for agriculture and
urbanization causes more run-off and
less water soaking into the ground to
replenish the groundwater supply—and
leads to more flooding.
We pollute parts of the cycle:
• Oceans: affects the biodiversity, but only
water is evaporated into the atmosphere.
We pollute parts of the cycle:
• Oceans: affects the biodiversity, but only
water is evaporated into the atmosphere.
• Streams and lakes: can cleanse through
natural processes only if they are not
overloaded with pollutants.
We pollute parts of the cycle:
• Oceans: affects the biodiversity, but only
water is evaporated into the atmosphere
• Streams and lakes: can cleanse through
natural processes only if they are not
overloaded with pollutants.
• Groundwater: Slow to cleanse, best to
prevent from occurring
Biodiversity as an
Ecosytem service:
• Biodiversity is the variety of the species
on the Earth.
• Also, within species there is genetic
variation.
Benefits of Biodiversity:
• Supplies us with food, medicine,
building materials and energy.
• Preserves quality of water, air and soil.
• Controls disease and pests.
Threats to Biodiversity:
• Lost of habitat:
caused by: agriculture, urbanization,
climate change, pollution
• Introduced species (Invasive species)
Intentional
Unintentional
Threats to Biodiversity:
• Introduced species (Invasive species)
– Kudzu
Photo: Kentucky Division of Forestry
Threats to Biodiversity:
• Introduced species (Invasive species)
– Gypsy moth
Photos: Illinois Dept of Agriculture
Non-renewable Resources:
• If it isn’t grown, it’s mined.
• Mineral resources include:
• copper, iron, lithium, silicon…
Non-renewable Mineral Resources:
• Appear plentiful to us in the USA because
we import what we don’t supply.
• If world-wide demand increases, there will
be less to import.
• New technology increases demands for
minerals, which are not mined in the US.
Non-renewable Mineral Resources:
• New technology increases demands for
minerals, which are not mined in the US.
• Lithium is not mined in the US.
• But demand is increasing as lithium is
used in batteries for electric cars.
• Lithium is mined in China.
Non-renewable Mineral Resources:
• Reducing use where possible and
recycling are needed to make nonrenewable mineral resources sustainable.
• Effect of mining on the environmental is
not fully included in the cost of
extracting these resources.
Non-renewable Energy Resources:
• Gas, oil, coal, uranium
• In US we are aware that we import much
of our oil.
• Effect of extracting and using on the
environmental is not fully included in the
cost of these resources.
The effect
of
extracting
oil on the
environment is
not fully
included
in the
cost.