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Environmental Science and
Resource Management
ESRM R100
Kevin Flint
Wednesdays 4 – 6:50 P.M.
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Black Death—the Plague
Time
Hunting and
Gathering
Agricultural revolution
Industrial
Revolution
Fig. 1-1, p. 6
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Earth's Life-Support System
Air
(atmosphere)
Water
(hydrosphere)
Soil and
rocks
(lithosphere)
Life
(biosphere)
Human Culturesphere
Population
Size
Worldviews
and ethics
Economics
Politics
Fig. 1-2, p. 7
A Path to Sustainability
Natural Capital Natural Capital
Solutions
Degradation
Trade-Offs
Individuals
Matter
Sound Science
Fig. 1-3, p. 8
NATURAL CAPITAL
=
NATURAL RESOURCES
NATURAL RESOURCES
+
NATURAL SERVICES
NATURAL SERVICES
NATURAL SERVICES
NATURAL RESOURCES
Air purification
Air
Water purification
Water
Water storage
Soil
Soil renewal
Nutrient recycling
Land
NATURAL CAPITAL
=
Life (Biodiversity)
+
Food production
Conservation of
biodiversity
Nonrenewable
minerals
(iron, sand)
Wildlife habitat
Grassland and
forest renewal
Renewable energy
sun, wind, water
flows
Waste treatment
Nonrenewable
energy (fossil fuels,
nuclear power)
Climate control
Population control
(species interactions
Pest Control
Fig. 1-4, p. 9
Percentage of World's
18
Population
82
Population
Growth
Wealth and
Income
Resource
use
0.1
1.5
85
15
88
12
Pollution
and waste
75
25
Developed countries
Developing countries
Fig. 1-5, p. 11
Fig. 1-6, p. 11
Fig. 1-7a, p. 13
Fig. 1-7b, p. 13
Fig. 1-7c, p. 13
Environmental Footprint Survey
Environmental Footprint Link
SOLAR
CAPITAL
EARTH
Goods and services
Heat
Human Capital
Natural Capital
Human
Economic
and
Cultural
Systems
Depletion of
nonrenewable resources
Degradation of
renewable resources
Pollution and waste
Fig. 1-10, p. 17
Causes of Environmental Problems
Population
growth
Unsustainable
resource use
Poverty
Not including the
Trying to manage
environmental costs and simplify nature
of economic goods
with too little
and services in their knowledge about
market prices
how it works
Fig. 1-11, p. 17
Fig. 1-12, p. 18
Trade-Offs
Industrial-Medical Revolution
Advantages
Mass production of useful
and affordable products
DIsadvantages
Increased air pollution
Increased water pollution
Higher standard of living
for many
Increased waste pollution
Greatly increased
agricultural production
Soil depletion and
degradation
Lower infant mortality
Groundwater depletion
Longer life expectancy
Increased urbanization
Lower rate of
population growth
Habitat destruction and
degradation
Biodiversity depletion
Fig. 1-15, p. 23
Solutions
Principles of Sustainability
How Nature Works
Runs on renewable
solar energy.
Lessons for Us
Rely mostly on renewable
solar energy.
Recycles nutrients
and wastes. There
is little waste in
nature.
Prevent and reduce
pollution and recycle
and reuse resources.
Uses biodiversity to
maintain itself and
adapt to new environmental conditions.
Preserve biodiversity
by protecting ecosystem
services and habitats
and preventing
premature extinction of
species.
Controls a species’
population size and
resource use by
interactions with its
environment and
other species.
Reduce human births
and wasteful resource
use to prevent
environmental overload
and depletion and
degradation of
resources.
Fig. 1-17, p. 25
Fig. 1-16, p. 24
Current
Emphasis
Sustainability
Emphasis
Pollution cleanup
Pollution prevention
(cleaner production)
Waste disposal
(bury or burn)
Waste prevention
and reduction
Protecting species
Protecting where
species live (habitat
protection)
Environmental
degradation
Increased resource
use
Population growth
Depleting and
degrading natural
capital
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
Fig. 1-18, p. 25
More holistic
More atomistic
Biosphere- or Earth-centered
Ecosystem-centered
Biocentric (life-centered)
Anthropocentric
(human-centered)
Planetary
management
Stewardship
Self-centered
Instrumental
values play
bigger role
Intrinsic
values play
bigger role
Environmental
wisdom
Fig. 26-2, p. 616
Environmental Worldviews
Planetary Management
Stewardship
Environmental Wisdom
• We are apart from the rest of
nature and can manage nature to
meet our increasing needs and
wants.
• We have an ethical
responsibility to be caring
managers, or stewards,
of the earth.
• We are a part of and totally
dependent on nature and nature
exists for all species.
• Because of our ingenuity and
technology we will not run out of
resources.
• We will probably not run out of
resources, but they should not be
wasted.
• The potential for economic
growth is essentially unlimited.
• We should encourage
environmentally beneficial forms
of economic growth & discourage
environmentally harmful forms.
• Our success depends on how
well we manage the earth's life
support systems mostly for our
benefit.
• Our success depends on how
well we manage the earth's life
support systems for our benefit
and for the rest of nature.
• Resources are limited, should
not be wasted, and are not all
for us.
• We should encourage earth
sustaining forms of economic
growth & discourage earth
degrading forms.
• Our success depends on
learning how nature sustains
itself and integrating such lessons
from nature into the ways we
think and act.
Fig. 26-3, p. 617
Solutions
Developing Environmentally
Sustainable Societies
Guidelines
Learn from & copy nature
Do not degrade or deplete the earth's
natural capital, and live off the natural
income it provides
Strategies
Sustain biodiversity
Eliminate poverty
Develop eco-economies
Build sustainable communities
Take no more than we need
Do not reduce biodiversity
Do not use renewable resources faster
than nature can replace them
Use sustainable agriculture
Try not to harm life, air, water, soil
Do not change the world's climate
Depend more on locally available renewable
energy from the sun, wind, flowing water, and
sustainable biomass
Do not overshoot the earth's
carrying capacity
Emphasize pollution prevention and waste
reduction
Help maintain the earth's capacity
for self-repair
Repair past ecological damage
Leave the world in as good a shape
as—or better than—we found it
Do not waste matter and energy resources
Recycle, reuse, and compost 60–80% of
matter resources
Maintain a human population size such that
needs are met without threatening life
support systems
Emphasize ecological restoration
Fig. 26-6, p. 622
Ask a question
Do experiments
and collect data
Interpret data
Formulate hypothesis
to explain data
Well-tested and
accepted patterns
in data become
scientific laws
Do more experiments
to test hypothesis
Revise hypothesis
if necessary
Well-tested and
accepted
hypotheses
become
scientific theories
Fig. 2-2, p. 29
Source of Energy
Electricity
Very high temperature heat
(greater than 2,500°C)
Nuclear fission (uranium)
Nuclear fusion (deuterium)
Concentrated sunlight
High-velocity wind
Relative
Energy Tasks
Energy Quality
(usefulness)
Very high-temperature heat
(greater than 2,500°C) for
industrial processes and
producing electricity to run
electrical devices (lights,
motors)
High-temperature heat
(1,000–2,500°C)
Hydrogen gas
Natural gas
Gasoline
Coal
Food
Mechanical motion to move
vehicles and other things)
High-temperature heat
(1,000–2,500°C) for
industrial processes and
producing electricity
Normal sunlight
Moderate-velocity wind
High-velocity water flow
Concentrated geothermal energy
Moderate-temperature heat
(100–1,000°C)
Wood and crop wastes
Moderate-temperature heat
(100–1,000°C) for
industrial processes, cooking,
producing
steam, electricity, and
hot water
Dispersed geothermal energy
Low-temperature heat
(100°C or lower)
Low-temperature heat
(100°C or less) for
space heating
Fig. 2-13, p. 44
Chemical
energy
(photosynthesis)
Solar
energy
Waste
Heat
Mechanical
energy
(moving,
thinking,
living)
Chemical
energy
(food)
Waste
Heat
Waste
Heat
Waste
Heat
Fig. 2-14, p. 45
System
Throughputs
Inputs
(from environment)
High-quality energy
Matter
Outputs
(into environment)
Unsustainable
high-waste
economy
Low-quality energy (heat)
Waste and pollution
Fig. 2-15, p. 46
Inputs
(from environment)
Energy
Matter
System
Throughputs
Outputs
(into environment)
Energy
conservation
Waste
and
pollution
Low-quality
Energy
(heat)
Sustainable
low-waste
economy
Pollution
control
Matter
Feedback
Waste
and
pollution
Recycle
and
reuse
Energy Feedback
Fig. 2-16, p. 47