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AP Environmental Science (APES)
UNIT 1 Chapter 1
Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and
Sustainability
What’s the use of a house if you don’t have a
decent planet to put it on?
-HENRY DAVID THOREAU
-
Environmental Science
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT EVS?
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT EVS?
WHERE CAN WE SEE THE TOPICS COVERED
IN EVS?
10 Environmental Stories of 2012
 July 25, 2012:
• Greenland Ice Melt: Nearly entire surface of the
Greenland Ice Sheet turned to slush in a matter
of days; fastest rate of melt ever seen by
satellites. It may be tempting to link to global
warming, but such melts might occur every
150 years. If such rapid thaws become
common, though, they could add to already
rising seas
• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/0
7/120725-greenland-ice-sheet-melt-satellitesnasa-space-science/
10 Environmental Stories of 2012
 July 24, 2012:
• Multiple new fish species discovered in New
Zealand
• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/0
7/pictures/120724-weird-fish-deep-oceansanimals-new-zealand-science/#/deep-sea01-frillshark_18161_600x450.jpg
10 Environmental Stories of 2012
 July 12, 2012:
• Americans found to be least green nation in the
world and feel the least guilty about it says
survey.
• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/0
7/120712-greendex-environment-greensustainable-science-consumers-world/
10 Environmental Stories of 2012
 June 25, 2012: Lonesome George, who was the
last turtle of his kind, died on the Galapagos
Islands.
 June 25, 2012: Sea Levels Rising Fast on the
US East Coast
10 Environmental Stories of 2012
 Ongoing: Places are Disappearing
• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/traveln
ews/2012/06/pictures/120625-summer-vacationstravel-places-world-glacier-everglades/#/travelextreme-airports-bhutan-highaltitude_44635_600x450.jpg
 January 2012: Biofuel Refinery in Central
Georgia; Company called LanzaTech
10 Environmental Stories of 2012
 January 6, 2012: Baby Harp Seals Being
Drowned and crushed by melting ice 
 All Year Long: Fracking
 January 19, 2012: A new
Island born from a volcano
off the coast of Yemen.
 WHAT DID YOU FIND???
CASE STUDY: The Mysterious Neuse River
Fish Killer
 In a few days in 1991, an estimated one billion fish died
in the Neuse River (North Carolina).
 NC State identified the cause to be an aquatic organism,
Pfiesteria.
 Pfiesteria emits a potent toxin that rapidly kills fish and
irritates human systems.
 Researchers found that depending on the environmental
conditions, the organism could have 24 life stages:
• Under normal conditions, it feeds on algae
• When high levels of nutrients and fish population, it turns
carnivorous, emitting the toxin that stunned the fish and
allowed burrowing into the fish body to feed.
• When food became scarce, it could develop a casing and
sink to the river bottom as a cyst able to remain dormant
for decades waiting for a new influx of nutrients.
The Mysterious Neuse River Fish Killer
 The researchers deduced that large influxes of
nutrients into the Neuse had triggered the
change. But where did these nutrients come
from?
• The Neuse flows through a region dominated by
large scale industrial hog farms and agricultural
fields, contributing fertilizer runoff and nutrient
rich waste to the water. The sudden increase in
nutrients caused by these human activities
started the bloom.
• Led to $40 million loss in seafood sales in the
Chesapeake Bay region
The Mysterious Neuse River Fish Killer
 This case shows us that human activities can affect the
environment in complex and unexpected ways.
 The case tells us that EVS can be controversial
• Individuals, commerical interests, media may overstate the
problem, understate it, or disagree with the initial report.
• Because EV findings often impact industry, tourism, or
recreation, they can create conflict between scientific study
and economic interests.
 Most important: Findings in EVS are not always as clear
cut as they appear. Recognize that the process of
science builds on work of previous investigators.
Environmental Science Is a Study of
Connections in Nature
 Interdisciplinary science connecting:
 Natural sciences (ecology, earth science,
chemistry, physics, astronomy)
 Social Sciences (economics, politics, ethics)
 Humanities (history, law, philosophy)
The Critical Concepts
1. SUSTAINABILITY
Humans depend on Earth’s air, water, and soil for our their existence.
Earth has had a head start in saving up it’s resources.
• Think of Earth as a bank that has been saving for years.
We have altered the planet in many ways. We must understand our
effects and identify ways to respond to those changes.
Earth’s population reached 7 billion last year. How many people can
our planet support? And at what quality?
2. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE vs.
ENVIRONMENTALISM
Environmentalism is a social movement seeking to protect the
environment.
The Crictical Components
3. The 5 Subthemes of EVS
A. Natural Capital:
•
•
Natural Resources (Materials and energy needed
to sustain life; water, air ,soil, etc)
Natural Services (Functions of nature like
recycling nutrients)
B. Humans Can Alter Natural Systems and
Degrade Natural Capital
C. Finding Solutions to these Changes
D. Trade-Offs in the Solutions
E. Individuals Matter!
The Critical Concepts
4. POPULATION GROWTH
 Since 1800, the human population has exploded
 Since 1800, technology has followed the same
course.
 With increased amounts of needs, increased
amounts of stress have been placed on the
environment
 It is impossible for millions of people to inhabit
an area without altering it.
• Ex: 1880 fewer than 6000 people lived in LA
• In 2009, LA’s population was 3.8 million.
How rapidly is the human population
growing?
 It took 60,000 years to
reach 1 billion
 It took 130 years to reach
2 billion
 It took 30 years to reach
3 billion
 It took 17 years to reach
4 billion
 It took 12 years to reach
5 billion
 It took 10 years to reach
6 billion
 48% of earth’s land area
has been modified by
man.
Tale of 2 Kings Playing Chess
King Shihram was a tyrant who oppressed his subjects. One of his subjects, a wise man
named Sissa ibn Dahir who invented the game of chess for the king to play to show
him that a king needed all his subjects and should take good care of them.
King Shihram was so pleased that he ordered that the game of chess should be
preserved in the temples, and said that it was the best thing he knew of to train
generals in the art of war
Then King Shihram asked Sissa ben Dahir what reward he wanted. Sissa said that he
would take this reward: the king should put one grain of wheat on the first square of a
chessboard, two grains of wheat on the second square, four grains on the third
square, eight grains on the fourth square, and so on, doubling the number of grains of
wheat with each square (an exponential rate of growth).
"What a dummy!" thought the king. "That's a tiny reward; I would have given him much
more." Everything went well for a while, but the king was surprised to see that by the
time they got halfway through the chessboard the 32nd square required more than
four billion grains of wheat, or about 100,000 kilos of wheat.
Now Sissa didn't seem so stupid anymore. Even so, King Shihram was willing to pay up.
But as the slaves began on the second half of the chessboard, King Shihram gradually
realized that he couldn't pay that much wheat - in fact, to finish the chessboard he
would need as much wheat as six times the weight of all the living things on Earth.
What Is an Environmentally Sustainable
(durable) Society?
 Our lives and economies depend on energy
from the sun (solar capital) and on natural
resources and natural services (natural capital)
provided by the earth.
 Living sustainability means living off the earth’s
natural income without depleting or degrading
the natural capital that supplies it.
The Critical Concepts
 We must accommodate and adapt to change in
sustainable ways
 Scientists monitor Earth’s systems for signs of
stress using the following indicators:
•
•
•
•
•
A. Biological Diversity (genetic, species, ecosys)
B. Food Production
C. Global Temperature and CO2 Concentrations
D. Human Population
E. Resource Depletion
Indicators of Earth Health
Biodiversity:
 High genetic diversity= Better response to
change
 High species diversity= More resilient and
productive
• For example, tropical rainforests and their vast
array of medicinal and useful products
 High number of healthy and productive
ecosystems= healthier overall environment
Indicators of Environmental Health
 Food Production
• Higher ability to produce food means that there is
a healthy soil supporting the continuous
production.
• Food shortages can also lead to higher food
prices globally.
• Why can’t food production keep up with growing
population?
• In some places, productivity has declined due to
soil degradation, crop disease, and poor weather
conditions. Demand is also outpacing supply.
• We also currently use more grain to feed livestock
than ourselves.
Indicators of Environmental Health
 Average Global Surface Temperature
• Life exists on earth due to the climate
• What maintains this constant temperature?
• The most important greenhouse gas is CO2
 Carbon Dioxide Concentrations
• Since 1800’s, CO2 and other greenhouse gases have
risen.
• Global temperatures have shown an overall growth as
well.
 Many scientists believe that the increase in CO2 in the
air is ANTHROPOGENIC (derived from human sources)
• Combustion of Fossil Fuels
• Net loss of Forests that would otherwise store CO2
Indicators of Environmental Health
 Human Population
• We reached 7 billion last year. As it continues to
grow, it places demands on natural systems as
each person requires food, water, and others
• In 24 hours, 364,000 people are born, 152,000
people die= 212,000 added to the population
 Resource Depletion
• Because of population growth, necessary
resources are becoming depleted. Pollution and
land degradation, waste, and air pollution
• Some resources cant be renewed or reused.
• Some are being used faster than replaced.
Types of resources
 PERPETUAL - renewed
continuously
• SOLAR ENERGY
• WIND, TIDES,
FLOWING WATER
 RENEWABLE - can be
replenished fairly rapidly
• AIR, WATER, SOIL,
BIODIVERSITY
 NONRENEWABLE - exist
in a fixed quantity
• FOSSIL FUELS
• METALLIC MINERALS
• NONMETALLIC
MINERALS
Final Note on Resource Depletion
 Development: Improvement in human well being
through economic advancement
• As economies develop, resource consumption
also increases (more jobs, more money, more
cars)
 UN says:
• Developed Nations (USA, Canad, Australia,
Europe, and Japan) use most of the resources
• 20% of the world population:
• 87% of the world’s autos
• 58% of the world’s energy usage
Developed Countries






Highly industrialized
High per capita GNI
Have 20% of world’s population
Have 85% of world’s wealth and income
Use 88% of its natural resources
Generate 75% of its pollution & waste
Developing Countries






Low to moderate industrialization
Low per capita GNI
Most are in Africa, Asia, and Latin America
Have 80% of the world’s population
Have 15% of its wealth and income
Use only 12% of its natural resources
POPULATION GROWTH, ECONOMIC
GROWTH, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
 Economic growth provides people with more goods
and services.
• Measured in gross domestic product (GDP) and
purchasing power parity (PPP).
 Economic development uses economic growth to
improve living standards.
• The world’s countries economic status (developed
vs. developing) are based on their degree of
industrialization and GDP-PPP.
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
Can We Continue at this Rate of Resource
Consumption?
 Easter Island (Island in the South Pacific)
•
•
•
•
•
Once covered in trees and grasses
Humans settled & multiplied
Cut trees to build homes and boats
Overused the islands soil and water
By 1870s, the trees were gone. Without the trees
to hold the soil, massive erosion occurred.
• Loss of soil led to lowered food production
• Civilization collapsed
http://www.ted.com/talks/jared_diamond_on_why_s
ocieties_collapse.html
Lessons to Learn from Easter Island
 Environmental systems must not be damanged
beyond their ability to recover
 Renewable resources must not be depleted
faster than they can regenerate
 Nonrenewable resources must be used
sparingly
 We must learn from the PAST and practice
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
The Tragedy of the Commons
 1968 - Garrett Hardin
 “If I don’t use it, someone else will”
 Overusing that which belongs to all or us
• Air, water, ocean
• Called COMMON PROPERTY OR FREEACCESS RESOURCES
Wants vs. Needs
 What is a “Want”? What is a “Need”?
 The Ecological Footprint: Calculation used to
assess whether we are living sustainably by
measuring the impact of a person or country on
world resources.
• An individual’s calculation is a measure of how
much that person consumes, expressed in area
of land. How much of the Earth’s resources are
needed to support your lifestyle?
• If our lifestyle demands more than is available,
we are living unsustainably.
Footprints
 Is the world’s footprint growing or shrinking?
• Global Human Footprint is 14 billion hectares, or
125% of the Earth’s total usable land.
• Why there are shortages around the world
• If every human lived as an American, we would
require the equivalent of 5 Earths.
 What happens to the resources as the footprint
changes?
How Are Our Ecological Footprints
Affecting the Earth?
As our ecological footprints grow, we are depleting
and degrading more of the earth’s natural capital.
Our Ecological Footprint
 Humanity’s ecological
footprint has exceeded earths
ecological capacity.
Figure 1-7
Total Footprint (million hectares) and
Share of Global Ecological Capacity (%)
2,810 (25%)
United States
2,160 (19%)
European Union
2,050 (18%)
China
India
Japan
780 (7%)
540 (5%)
Fig. 1-7a, p. 13
Case Study: China’s New Affluent Consumers
 Affluence- the rapid unsustainable consumption of
resources associated with lifestyles of citizens in
developed countries.
As of June, 2011, the current population of China was
1,336,391,137 and they are adding 44,000 people every
day! In 1950, the population in China was 562,579,779
As they grow, they will require more resources
Experts Have Identified Five Basic
Causes of Environmental Problems
1. Population growth
2. Wasteful and unsustainable resource use
3. Poverty:
 Leads to more children to support family
 Malnutrition (lack of nutrients)
4. Harmful environmental costs of goods and
services not reflected in their market prices
 Companies don’t pay the EV cost of resource
use
 Companies receive tax breaks and subsidies
5. Insufficient knowledge of how nature works
Lack of
access to
Number of people
(% of world's population)
Adequate
Sanitation
Enough fuel for
heating and
cooking
Electricity
2.4 billion (37%)
2 billion (31%)
1.6 billion (25%)
Clean drinking
Water
1.1 billion (17%)
Adequate
health care
1.1 billion (17%)
Enough food
for good health
1.1 billion (17%)
Fig. 1-12, p. 18
Connections: I= P x A x T
 Model developed by Paul
Ehrlich and John
Holdren- 1970’s
 Population x Affluence x
Technology =
Environmental Impact
 P = number of people
 A = number of units of
resources used /person
 T = Env. Degredation &
pollution/unit of resource
used
 I = environmental impact
of population
Results
 Developing countries have more people but use
less resources / person
 Developed countries have less people but use
more resources/person
 Ends up that both have effects on environment
Why Do We Have Environmental
Problems?
 People with different environmental worldviews
often disagree about the seriousness of
environmental problems and what we should do
about them.
What Are Four Scientific Principles of
Sustainability?
 Nature has sustained itself for billions of years
by using solar energy, biodiversity,
population control, and nutrient cycling—
lessons from nature that we can apply to our
lifestyles and economies.
 COPY NATURE!!!!
 It is estimated that we have 50-100 years to
make changes in our lifestyles and economies in
order to maintain sustainability. What changes
do you think are necessary? Are we obligated to
make these changes?
WORKING TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY
 Using Environmental Indicators to Make a Better City
• City Planners apply environmental science to the urban
planning process.
• Ex: San Francisco, CA
• In 1997, the city adopted a sustainability plan to go along
with its newly formed Dept of Environment.
• The San Francisco Sustainability Plan focuses on 10
environmental concerns:
• Air Quality, Biodiversity, Solid Waste, Transportation
• Energy/Climate Change/Ozone Depletion
• Food and Agriculture, Hazardous Materials
• Human Health, Parks, Open Spaces, Streetscapes
• Solid Waste, Water and Wastewater
WORKING TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY
 For each of the 10 concerns, the plan sets out a
series of 5 year and long term objectives as well
as the actions required to achieve them
 To monitor effectiveness, the city chose specific
indicators for each of the concerns.
 13 years later, the indicators show:
• Solid waste recycled from 30% to 70%
• Largest urban composting program in the US
• Air quality “Unsafe Days” from 27 in 2000 to 10 in
2006.
• Americans Top 5 Cleanest Cities
• SustainLane: “Most Sustainable City in the US”