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Environmental problems Their causes and Sustainability What do you want the world to be? Before you can begin the journey down this path, you have to have an idea: of what the world was what the world is today… and most importantly what the world is going to look like years from now. Sustainability The capacity of the earth’s natural systems and human cultural systems to survive, flourish and adapt to the changing environment Consider this: The earth is one big pot of “soup, ” as long as the pot is full we are happy. But as we offer the “soup” to everyone and quit adding things to the pot… one day that pot is going to be empty. Environmental science vs. Environmentalism Environmental science – is how all the natural processes (living and nonliving) of the earth work together to form the environment that we live in. Important – we have to understand these processes so we can keep the lifestyles we are used to living as well as other species and their way of living Environmentalism – social movement dedicated to protecting the earth’s life support systems for all forms of life. More political and ethical then scientific. Three principles of Sustainability Reliance of solar energy How would we live without the sun? Biodiversity Everything on this earth plays a part, even if we don’t know the part, every living thing on the planet interacts with each other and provides natural services. Chemical cycling Everything is part of a cycle and has to be replenished through the earth. Key Components Natural Capital - Natural resources and services that keep us alive. You can relate this to economics – this is what we have, so we can either lose it or make more of it. Natural Resources – materials and energy that are useful to us Renewable vs. non-renewable Natural Services – processes that support life and human economics Purification of air and water, renewal of topsoil Key Components cont. Degradation of Natural Capital If resources are being used faster than we can replace them, how are we supposed to keep growing as a species? Clearing mature forests, taking up more groundwater Soup example – If we keep inviting people over for soup, we will run out. Hence if we don’t make enough, have enough ingredients some people will not have soup. Key components cont. Solutions The hard part – we as a people can create all the scientific solutions necessary. But there is the political aspect of it – who is going to enact it, regulate it, and enforce it? There are always trade-offs – if you give us ______, we can do ________. Tree farms and timber companies Resources Perpetual – A continuous supply that last billions of years Renewable – a supply that takes several days to several hundred years. Nature can replace but it takes time. Nonrenewable – a fixed quantity. Takes millions to billions of years to renew. Resources cont. Reuse – we can save products and continue to use them Recycle – break materials down into materials that can be used over again It takes energy to create things. We have to become more efficient at producing materials and not wasting the energy from the first time. Differences in countries Economic Growth – nation’s output of goods and services. Gross national product (GDP) – annual market value of ALL goods and services – foreign and domestic – operating in a country. Per capita GDP – GDP/ total population (at mid-year) Basically every country has an output of resources and services that determines where their country lies compared to other countries based on monetary units Comparison More developed countries US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and most of Europe High average income World Bank – 19% of the population use about 88% of the resources and makes about 75 % of the waste Less developed countries Most of Africa, Asia, and Latin America Can be broken down: Middle income moderately developed countries – China, India, Brazil Low income least developed countries – Congo, Haiti, Nigeria Our Ecological Footprint Question: At the rate of growth we as a world are experiencing, are we going to have the resources to sustain our way of living? Natural Capital Degradation – wasting, depleting and degrading the earth’s natural capital. Renewable forests are shrinking, desertification, rivers are running dry etc. 2005 study says that 60% of the earth’s natural resources have degraded in the past 50 years. Pollution A basic environmental problem that enters all environments Two sources of pollution Point sources – single identifiable sources Smoke stacks, exhaust stacks Non Point Sources – pesticides blown over the land into air and run offs, trash from land into lakes and streams Pollution cont. Biodegradable pollution Materials that can break down over time – sewage (human), newspapers. Non biodegradable pollution Chemicals and products that cannot break down by natural processes – lead, mercury, arsenic. Unwanted effects of Pollution They can disrupt or degrade life supporting systems for humans and other species They damage wildlife, health and property They create nuisances such as noise, smells, tastes and sights So what can we do about this? How are we supposed to control what we as humans do to help alleviate the stress placed on the environment? Two Methods Pollution Clean-up Pollution Prevention Problems Back end fixing 1. temporary solution 2. remove from one part of the enviro. but adds to another part 3. if pollutants become to dispersed at harmful levels, then it costs too much If you can eliminate the pollutants first or reduce them in the beginning, then it is easier to fix in the long run. Tragedy of the Commons Three types of property rights Private property Common property Open access property 1968 biologist Garrett Harden said “If I do not use this resource, someone else will. The little bit that I use is not enough to matter, and anyway, it is a renewable resource.” So does this make sense? What is the difference? Who carries a larger footprint? Ecological footprints The amount of biologically productive land and water needed to provide the people in a given area with an indefinite supply of renewable resources and to absorb and recycle the wastes and pollution produced by such resource use. Wow… now who wants to say that in a simple fashion? Footprints cont. If a country’s footprint is larger than its biological capacity, it is said to have an ecological deficit. IPAT A model developed in the 1970’s showing how certain variables determine the impact on the environment. I = Impact P= Population size A = Affluence T= Technology I = P*A*T Lesser developed countries with a lower per capita – population size and resources are factors About 1.4 billion people live on $1.25 a day ~ half of the world live on about $2.25 a day More developed countries – pollution and resource depletion are the factors that determine the impact In general – the world at this moment, based on estimates and scientists, the world is over consuming. Three things that have changed our footprint Remember we have only been around for about 200,000 years… barely a burp compared to how long the earth has been here We started as hunters and gatherers Agricultural Revolution ~12,500 ya Industrial Revolution ~ 275 ya Information- globalization Revolution ~ 50 ya Should we start the Sustainability Revolution? 4 basics Things we know Population is growing exponentially – J curves from Biology Slight decline since 1963 We consume tons of food, water and raw materials along with energy and produce lots of pollution and waste We know that certain countries like to live a certain lifestyle that shows the wealth. Pros and cons to this… let’s discuss. 4 basics cont. We know that from 2008 World Study – 1.4 billion people live in extreme poverty. Malnutrition, mass degradation of resources not properly managed What we assume is free is really not – economics says this, There is no such thing as a free lunch… except in this case Earth pays Cutting down trees means good for us, bad for the environment, fishing means we get to eat but about the fish population. We are mostly looking to maximize profits rather then look at long term effects environmentally. Lack of access to Number of people (% of world's population) Adequate sanitation facilities 2.6 billion (38%) Enough fuel for heating and cooking 2 billion (29%) Electricity 2 billion (29%) Clean drinking water 1.1 billion (16%) Adequate health care 1.1 billion (16%) Adequate housing Enough food for good health 1 billion (15%) 0.86 billion (13%) Fig. 1-13, p. 18 People matter Planetary management We are separate from and in charge of nature. Nature exists to meet our needs and we can use our ingenuity and tech to manage everything indefinitely. World Stewardship We can and should manage the earth, but we should have an ethical responsibility to be caring towards the Earth. Encourage beneficial forms of economic growth, and discourage environmental harmful ones. Environmental Wisdom We are part of and very much dependent on nature. Nature exists for all species, not just humans. Questions Are we the most important beings on this planet or are just one of Earth’s millions life-forms? Do we have an ethical obligation to pass on to the future generations the natural world we have today in at least the condition that we live on right now? Do we have an obligation to protect other species from becoming extinct?