Download Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

Environmental Problems,
Their Causes, and
Sustainability
Chapter 1
Key Concepts
• Sustainability Principles, Natural capital,
Resources
• Ecological Footprint, Pollution
• Causes of Environmental Problems: $,
Overpopulation
• A Sustainable Future?
Section 1-1
WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF
SUSTAINABILITY?
Environmental science is a
study of connections in nature
•Environment includes all living and nonliving things
with which an organism interacts.
•Environmental science Interdisciplinary study of
how the earth works, our interaction with the earth,
and ways to deal with environment problems and
live more sustainably.
•Ecology studies relationships between living
organisms, and their interaction with the
environment.
•Environmentalism is a social movement dedicated
to protecting life support systems for all species.
Nature’s survival strategies follow
three principles of sustainability
1. Life depends on solar energy.
2. Biodiversity provides natural services.
3. Chemical/nutrient cycling means that
there is little waste in nature.
4. Population control?
Three principles of sustainability
Sustainability has certain key
components
•Know: Life depends on natural capital
(= natural resources + natural services).
•Accept: Human activities can degrade
natural capital.
•Do: Sustainable solutions exist.
Key natural resources and
services
Stepped Art
Natural Capital
NATURAL SERVICES
NATURAL CAPITAL
=
NATURAL RESOURCES
+
NATURAL RESOURCES
Air purification
Air
NATURAL CAPITAL
=
= ecosystem services
Water purification
Water
Soil renewal
Soil
Nutrient recycling
Land
Food production
Life (biodiversity)
Nonrenewable minerals
(iron, sand)
Pollination
+
Grassland renewal
Forest renewal
Renewable energy
(sun, wind, water flows)
Waste treatment
Nonrenewable energy
(fossil fuels, nuclear
power)
Population control
(species interactions)
Climate Control
Pest control
Nutrient cycling
Resources are required to meet
our needs
1. Renewable
a. Perpetually Renewable
- sun, wind,
flowing water
b. {Potentially} Renewable - fresh air,
water, soils, forests, food
(“potentially renewable”= can be depleted if used beyond
sustainable yield)
2. 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 :(
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 depletion- Exhaustion of about 80% of estimated
supply of nonrenewable resource.
• Sustainable solutions: Reduce, reuse, recycle.
Rich and poor countries have
different environmental impacts
•Developed countries (MDC) include the
high income ones
•e.g. United States, Canada,...
•Developing countries (LDC) include the low
income ones
•e.g. China, India.
Section 1-2
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
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 pollution1. Disrupt life support
systems
2. Damage wildlife, human health and property
3. Create nuisances (noise, smell, taste, sight)
Point-source Air Pollution
Solutions to Pollution
• Pollution prevention (input control)
• Pollution cleanup (output control)
• Disadvantages of output controltemporary bandage, can transfer to other areas, costly
Ecological footprints: our
environmental impacts
•Ecological footprint is the amount of
biologically productive land and water
needed to supply a person or country with
renewable resources and to recycle the
waste and pollution produced by such
resource use.
•Per capita ecological footprint is the
average ecological footprint of an individual
in a given country or area.
The tragedy of the commons: overexploiting
shared renewable resources
•In 1968, the biologist Garrett Hardin called
the degradation of openly shared resources
(clean air, water, fish, pasture, etc.) the Tragedy of
the Commons: “If I don’t use this resource,
someone else will.”
•Reducing degradation.
•Reduce use by government regulations.
•Shift to private ownership.
Ecological footprints: our
environmental impacts
•Ecological deficit means the ecological
footprint is larger than the biological capacity
to replenish resources and absorb wastes
and pollution.
•Humanity is living unsustainably.
•Footprints can also be expressed as
number of Earths it would take to support
consumption.
Total and per capita ecological
footprint of selected countries
current global footprint requires 1.3 planets
30% higher than carrying capacity
Sustainable???
1.0 hectare = 2.47 acres
IPAT is another environmental
impact model
•In the early 1970s, scientists Paul Ehrlich
and John Holdren developed the IPAT
model.
•I (environmental impact) =
P (population size) x
A (affluence/person) x
T (technology’s beneficial and harmful effects).
I=PxAxT
Section 1-3
WHY DO WE HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS?
Experts have identified four basic
causes of environmental problems
1. Population growth.
2. Unsustainable resource use.
3. Poverty.
4. Excluding environmental costs from
market prices.
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 6.8
billion. It is over 7 billion now.
•Based on the current increase rate there
will be 9.6 billion people by 2050.
•We can slow population growth.
Exponential growth
World’s Population Growth = 1.2%
(83 million people added per year = 9,474 / hour)
Click for Current Word Population
Historical Changes in Human Culture
• Hunter-gatherers - 200,000 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
Population (billions)
Human Population Growth
World total
Developing
countries
Developed
countries
Year
97% of
projected
increase
expected in
developing
world
Global Outlook
(2006 data)
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
Economic Development
TradeOffs
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
(2006 data)
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
Prices of goods and services due not include
harmful environmental and health costs
•Profit often is first concern.
•Consumers do not know impacts.
•Government subsidies may create problems.
•So…
• Shift to beneficial government subsidies.
• Tax pollution and waste heavily while reducing taxes on
income and wealth.
Affluence has harmful and
beneficial environmental effects
•Wealth results in high levels of consumption and
waste of resources :(
•Average American consumes 30 times as much as
the average consumer in India
•“Shop-until-you-drop” affluent consumers are
afflicted with a disorder called “affluenza”.
•Affluence has provided better education, scientific
research, and technological solutions, which result
in improvements in environmental quality (e.g., safe
drinking water). :)
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
Poverty has harmful environmental
and health effects
•Poverty occurs when the basic needs for
adequate food, water, shelter, health, and
education are not met.
•One in every five people live in extreme
poverty (<$1.25/day), and more are
susceptible.
Poverty has harmful environmental
and health effects
•Poverty causes harmful environmental and
health effects:
•Environmental degradation caused by need for
short-term survival.
•Malnutrition.
•Inadequate sanitation and lack of clean
drinking water.
•Severe respiratory disease.
•High rates of premature death for
children under the age of 5 years.
Harmful effects of poverty
People have different views (or ethics) about
environmental problems and their solutions
•Planetary management worldview: we are
separate from and in charge of nature.
•Stewardship worldview: manage the earth,
but be caring and responsible.
•Environmental wisdom worldview: that we
are part of, and dependent on, nature and
that nature exists for all species.
Section 1-4
WHAT IS AN ENVIRONMENTALLY
SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY?
Environmentally Sustainable
Society
• A society that manages economy &
population size without doing irreparable
environmental harm.
• Does not deplete natural capital
• Individuals matter!
• Think: Income analogy
• Remember BIG 3 IDEAS: SUN,
BIODIVERSITY, CYCLES
Sustainability Revolution
Current
Emphasis
Sustainability
Emphasis
Pollution cleanup
Waste disposal
(bury or burn)
Protecting species
Environmental
degradation
Increased resource
use
Population growth
Depleting and
degrading natural
capital)
Pollution prevention
(cleaner production)
Waste prevention
& reduction
Protecting where
species live
(habitat protection)
Environmental
restoration
Less wasteful
(more efficient)
resource use
Population stabilization by
decreasing birth rates
Protecting natural capital
and living off the biological
interest it provides
END