Download Chapter 1

Introduction to
AP
Environmental
Science
Chapter 1
Today’s objective
 Students
will understand the origin, nature,
and extent of current environmental issues
Perspectives of Environmental
Science
 Neil
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Degrasse Tyson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1kg82f2Wc
Around 2:07 talks about trip to the moon
related to environmental science
 Disturbed:
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http://whsapesrunion.weebly.com/unit-1.html
Lyrics and video
 Nature:

Another Way to Die
Julia Roberts
http://natureisspeaking.org/mothernature.html
At your table
 Discuss
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the three things we just saw?
Are all three valid?
What are possible opposing viewpoints
shown?
Do you feel we have a responsibility to be
environmentally conscious? Why or why not
and to what extent?
Environmental Science

Study of human interaction with earth, how earth
works, how we deal with environmental problems
 Combines
biology, chemistry, geology,
geography, econ, physics, politics, ethics,
demography, political science
Three words commonly
misused on the APES exam
 Economic

Monetary aspect
 Environmental

All living/nonliving things that affect any
organism
 Ecological

Relationships between living things and
their environment
Sustainability

Major theme of the course


Sustainable society: meets basic needs of
its people in a just and equitable manner
without degrading the natural capital that
supplies these resources.
Leaves resources available for future
generations.
What is Natural Capital?

Natural Capital: The natural resources and
natural services that keep us and other
species alive AND support our economies.
Not fixed
 Has changed over millions of years in response to
environmental changes
 Degradation
 In order to be sustainable we must understand that
certain human activities degrade natural capital

What is Solar Capital?
 Sun
 Supports



natural capital
Warms earth
Photosynthesis
Indirect forms of solar energy
 Wind
 Flowing
 Biofuels
water
NATURAL CAPITAL = NATURAL RESOURCES + NATURAL SERVICES
NATURAL RESOURCES
NATURAL SERVICES
NATURAL SERVICES
NATURAL RESOURCES
Air purification
Air
*Natural
Resources:
materials and
energy in
nature
Water purification
Water
Water storage
Soil
Soil renewal
Nutrient recycling
Land
NATURAL CAPITAL
*Natural
Services:
function of
nature (these
essential
services are
provided at
no cost)
=
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
How do we degrade natural
capital?
One of the main ways we degrade
natural capital is simply in our efforts to
supply resources to an ever growing
population!
 Clocks:
http://www.poodwaddle.com/clocks/wo
rldclock/

Types of population growth
 Exponential
 Logistic
Living in an Exponential Age
 Human
population growth: J-shaped curve
Figure 1-1
Exponential vs. Linear
 Exponential
growth is currently occurring with our
population
 Starts
increasing slowly, then rapidly
 10,000
years ago: 5 million
 World Pop.Today: 7.1 billion
 By 2100: 9-10 billion
1,250
$1,024,000
growth
 straight
line
1,000
Thousands of dollars
 Linear
Exponential growth
($1,000 invested at 10%
Per year interest)
750
Linear growth
(saving $1,000
Per year)
$70,000
10
0
10
20
30
40
Years
50
60
70
Fig. 1.2, p. 4
Slid e 2
Most Populous Countries in the
World
2013

RankCountry Population
World 7,021,836,029
1.
China 1,361,521,576
2.
India
1,251,695,616
3.
United States
322,370,752
4.
Indonesia
255,759,408
5.
Brazil
212,346,064
6.
Pakistan 199,085,840
7.
Nigeria 183,528,800
8.
Bangladesh
168,957,744
9.
Russia 136,009,984
10. Japan 126,919,656

Read more: World's 50 Most Populous Countries: 2012 | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/world/statistics/most-populous-countries.html#ixzz2cVPgIlKX
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11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Mexico 118,689,160
Philippines
109,615,912
Ethiopia
103,134,200
Vietnam
94,348,832
Egypt 88,487,392
Turkey 82,523,056
Iran 81,824,272
Germany
80,854,408
Congo, Dem. Rep.
79,375,136
Thailand
68,118,744
Growth Rates
 Growth
rate is slowing but still exp. growing
 1963-2006: 2.2%
 2006: 1.23%
 Today: ~1.14%
 97% of projected inc. in the world’s pop. will be in developing
countries
 Growth rate = birth rate – death rate
Carrying Capacity

The maximum size of a population an area can support
and maintain over a period of time
Carrying Capacity
 Carrying
capacity of the Earth for people
is around 12 billion. What may affect that
number?
Impact of Human Pop. Growth
 Extinction
of organisms: 0.1 – 1 % exponential rate per
year
 Losing habitat leads to less biodiversity
 Ex. Coral reefs, wetlands, grasslands, forests
 What
other things could increase the rate of extinction
besides habitat loss?
World Population reached
1 billion in 1804
2 billion in 1927 (123 years later)
3 billion in 1960 (33 years later)
4 billion in 1974 (14 years later)
5 billion in 1987 (13 years later)
6 billion in 1999 (12 years later)
World Population May Reach
7 billion in 2013 (14 years later)
Actually,
we hit 7
billion
people
on
October
31st
2011!
This is
an old
estimate
8 billion in 2028 (15 years later)
9 billion in 2054 (26 years later)
Fig. 1.3, p. 5
 Memorize
 World
this for the AP test:
population: about 7 billion +
 U.S. population: about 320 million
Doubling Time

Rule of 70

divide 70 by the percent growth rate and you will find
how long it takes the population to double.

70/1.23(current growth rate approx.) = 57 yrs
What have we learned so far?
 In
your notes, summarize today’s
presentation
 What information did you find new?
 What was most interesting??
Did we meet our objective?
Students will understand the origin, nature,
and extent of current environmental issues
Populations and Economy
 Developed

- highly industrialized
20% population, 85% wealth, 88% resources,
75% pollution and waste, high GNP per
capita
 Developing
- low to moderate
industrialization

80% population, 15% wealth, 12% resources,
15% pollution and waste, low GNP per
capita
Resources
 Renewable
- can be replenished in a
lifetime (wind)
 Potentially
renewable - can be renewable
if we change our current habits (soil)
 Nonrenewable
Earth (minerals)
- only a fixed amount on
Resources
Perpetual
Direct
solar
energy
Nonrenewable
Winds,
tides,
flowing
water
Fossil
fuels
Metallic
minerals
Nonmetallic
minerals
(iron,
copper,
aluminum)
(clay,
sand,
phosphates)
Renewable
Fresh
air
Fresh
water
Fertile
soil
Plants and
animals
(biodiversity)
Fig. 1.11, p. 11
Per Captia Ecological Footprint
(Hectares of land per person)
Country
10.9
United States
5.9
The Netherlands
India
1.0
Fig. 1.10a, p. 11
Calculations
 With
a partner, calculate the ecological
footprint of each of the countries listed.
 Are there any surprises?
 Can you explain the results?
Country
Total Ecological Footprint
(Hectares)
3 billion
hectares
United States
The Netherlands
India
94 million hectares
1 billion
hectares
Fig. 1.10b, p. 11
Major Environmental Degradation of
Potentially Renewable Resources
 Urbanization
 Salinization
of soil
 Wetland destruction
 Groundwater depletion
 Livestock overgrazing
 Poor soil management
 Deforestation
 Pollution
 Reduction of biodiversity
Production rate of resource
Area under curve
equals the total
amount of the
resource.
Economic depletion
(80% used up)
Time
Fig. 1.12, p. 13
Pollutants
 Point
source vs. nonpoint source
 concentration
- ppm, ppb, ppt
 persistence
- degradable, slowly
degradable (DDT) or nondegradable
$
Always less expensive to prevent, instead
of trying to clean up.
Causes of Environmental
Problems







Rapid population growth
wasteful use of resources
degradation of earth’s life support systems
poverty
failure to encourage environmentally and
economically sustainable growth
lack of full cost pricing
human urge to “conquer” mother nature
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Air Pollution
Global climate change
Stratospheric ozone
depletion
Urban air pollution
Acid deposition
Outdoor pollutants
Indoor pollutants
Noise
Biodiversity Depletion
• Habitat destruction
• Habitat degradation
• Extinction
Major
Environmental
Problems
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Water Pollution
Sediment
Nutrient overload
Toxic chemicals
Infectious agents
Oxygen depletion
Pesticides
Oil spills
Excess heat
Waste Production
• Solid waste
• Hazardous waste
Food Supply Problems
• Overgrazing
• Farmland loss
and degradation
• Wetlands loss
and degradation
• Overfishing
• Coastal pollution
• Soil erosion
• Soil salinization
• Soil waterlogging
• Water shortages
• Groundwater depletion
• Loss of biodiversity
• Poor nutrition
Fig. 1.13, p. 14
Major Environmental Problems
 Air
Pollution
 Water Pollution
 Biodiversity Depletion
 Food Supply Problems
 Waste Production
•
Rapid population growth
•
Unsustainable resource use
•
Poverty
•
Not including the environmental
costs of economic goods and
services in their market prices
•
Trying to manage and simplify
nature with too little knowledge
about how it works
Fig. 1.14, p. 15
Developing Countries
X
Population (P)
X
X
X
Consumption
per person
(affluence, A)
=
Technological impact per
unit of consumption (T)
X
X
=
Environmental
impact of population (I)
=
Developed Countries
Fig. 1.15, p. 15
What needs to happen to be
sustainable
 Switch
to pollution prevention, not
cleanup
 switch to waste prevention and recycling
 protecting habitats instead of species
 environmental restoration of degraded
areas
 lower resource use (less wasteful)
 ZPG - stabilized population
What have we learned so far?
 In
your notes, summarize today’s
presentation
 What information did you find new?
 What was most interesting??
Did we meet our objective?
Students will understand the origin, nature,
and extent of current environmental issues