Chapter 1 outline

I. CHAPTER 1: Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability Core Case Study: Living in an Exponential Age Exponential growth 2007 ? 6.7 Billion People 1-1. What Is an Environmentally Sustainable Society? Environmental Science Interdisciplinary How Earth works, how we interact with Earth, how to deal with environmental problems & how to live more sustainably Ecology Ecosystem Environmentalism Sustainability ? ability of Earth?s various natural systems to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely Our lives depend on energy from the sun and natural resources Human activities can degrade natural capital Scientific search for solutions Resolve conflicts by making trade-offs Individuals matter F. Solar Capital 1. Direct (Solar Energy) 2. Indirect (Wind and Water Flow) G. Natural Capital 1. Resources (essential or useful to humans) a. Perpetual b. Renewable c. Nonrenewable 2. Resource Services a. Nutrient Cycling b. Air and water purification H. Sustainable societies 1. Protect your capital, live off natural income 1-2. How Can Environmentally Sustainable Societies Grow Economically? A. Wide Economic Gap between Rich and Poor Countries 1. Economic Growth ? Increase in nation?s output of goods and services 2. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) 3. Per Capita GDP 4. Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) 5. Economic Development ? improving living standards by economic growth 6. Developed Countries a. Highly industrialized b.18% of world population c.85% of world wealth and income d.88% of natural resource usage 7. Developing Countries a.82% of world population b.15% of world wealth and income c.12% of natural resource usage d.90% of the projected increase in world population 8. Poverty (2 children in US use resources of 60 to 200 in the poorest nations) a. Nearly ˝ of world?s population b. Survive on $1 to $2 per day c. High risk living conditions 1) Pollution 2) Disasters 3) Disease 4) Premature Death from preventable ailments 1-3. How are Our Ecological Footprints Affecting the Earth? 1. Resources must meet human needs and wants 2. Perpetual 3. Potentially renewable a. Biomass b. Water, air and soil c. Sustainable yield d. Causes of environmental degradation 1) Agricultural runoff 2) Urbanization 3) Erosion 4) Deforestation 5) Reduction of species 6) Habitat elimination 4. Nonrenewable (Exist in Fixed Quantities) a. Energy resources 1) New deposits can be found 2) Reserves can be depleted 3) Finding substitutes is key b. Metallic & Nonmetallic Mineral Resources 1) Recycle 2) Reuse c. Economic Depletion d. Energy resources 1) Once burned useful energy is gone 2) One million years to produce what is burned per year e. Solution 1) Find more 2) Waste less 3) Substitute 5. Ecological Footprint a. Area per person required to produce renewable resources b. USA = 24 acres per person (nearly double the country?s biological capacity) 6. ?Tragedy of the Commons? (Supplement 6, page S31) a. As much as ?Law? allows b. Degradation of free-access resources Case Study: China?s New Affluent Consumers (p. 13) 7. Cultural Changes and Sustainability a. Hunter ? Gatherers 1. 60,000 to 176,000 years ago 2. Expert knowledge and understand of environment 3. Exploited environment to survive a) Tools and fire b) Small population c) Low resource use/person d) Contributed to extinction e) Did not subdue or dominate other forms of life f) Low global environmental impact b. Agricultural Revolution 1) 10,000 to 12,000 years ago 2) Domesticated wild animals 3) Cultivated wild plants a) Slash and burn b) Shifting cultivation (1) Did not specialize in one crop (2) Alternate planting and fallow land (3) Subsistence agriculture 4) Muscle power 5) Population size and density low 6) Plentiful land c. Industrial Revolution 1) England 275 years ago 2) US in 1800?s 3) Shift to Non Renewable fuels 4). Large scale production of man made goods 5) Factory towns became cities 6) Little concern for the workers 7) Powered Farm Equipment, fertilizers and plant breeding a) Increased crop yield b) Increased biodiversity c) More food = longer life span = sharp rise in human population d. Information and Globalization 1) Increasing and rapid access to information a) Science information doubles is 12 years b) General information doubles in 2 years 1-4. What is Pollution and What Can We Do about It? A. Threatens health or survival B. Point Source 1. Single identifiable source 2. Easier and Cheaper C. Non Point Source 1. Dispersed and difficult to identify 2. Degradable pollutants a) Human waste b) Sewage c) Fertilizer runoff D. Harm 1. Fish kills (less diversity) 2. Acid Rain 3. Disease 4. Nuisance E. Solution 1. Input controls (Prevention) 2. Output controls (Cleanup) a. Temporary bandage b. Remove from one place to another c. Once dispersed it costs too much to clean d. Overwhelmed by population growth & development e. Overall Ineffective 1-5. Why Do We Have Environmental Problems ? A. Five basic causes 1. Population Growth 2. Wasteful and unsustainable resource use (Affluenza) 3. Poverty a. Malnutrition b. Poor sanitation and inadequate safe drinking water 4. Failure to include environmental costs in market prices 5. Too little knowledge of how nature works a. Environmental Worldview b. Environmental Ethics (beliefs about right or wrong) c. Planetary management worldview d. Stewardship worldview e. Environmental wisdom worldview 1-6. What are Four Scientific Principles of Sustainability? A. Reliance on Solar Energy B. Biodiversity C. Population Control D. Nutrient Cycling E. Individuals make a difference F. Sustainable Society 1. No irreparable environmental harm 2. Does not deplete Natural Capital 3. Protects future generations G. Working with the earth 1. Sustaining biodiversity 2. Taking no more than we need 3. Slowing population and poverty 4. Sustaining resources H. Lester Brown predicts environmental revolution 1. Stabilize human population 2. Shift away from fossil fuels 3. Driven by restructuring of global economy