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Chapter 1 Environmental Problems, Their Causes and Sustainability

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Title: Chapter 1 Environmental Problems, Their Causes and Sustainability


1
Chapter 1Environmental Problems, Their Causes
and Sustainability
2
Environmental Science vs. Environmentalism
  • Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary
    study
  • Environmentalism is a philosophy and social
    movement dedicating to protecting the earth and
    environmental conservation

3
What is the environment and why study it?
  • Everything around us living and nonliving
  • We depend on it for survival
  • Environmental science is an interdisciplinary
    study of how humans interact with their
    surroundings
  • Ecology is big component

4
Sustainability
  • The capacity of the earths natural systems and
    human cultural systems to survive, flourish and
    adapt to changing environmental conditions into
    the very long-term future
  • Earth has been sustained for 4.5 billion years
  • Life on earth 3 billion years

5
How has life on Earth sustained itself?
  • Three Principles of Sustainability
  • Reliance on sun (photosynthesis, warms earth,
    atmospheric and oceanic circulation)
  • Biodiversity - variety of organisms providing
    food, shelter, renewal of topsoil, pest control,
    air purification, fertilization, etc.)
  • Nutrient Cycling circulation of carbon,
    nitrogen and others from soil, water and
    organisms

6
Natural Capital
  • Natural resources and natural services that keep
    us and other forms of life alive and support our
    human economies

7
  • Natural Capital Natural Resources Natural
    Services
  • Resources materials and energy that are useful
    or essential to humans air, water, soil, wind,
    solar energy, etc.
  • Services processes in nature that support life
    air purification, renewal of topsoil

8
Resources
  • Perpetual- continuous supply sun, wind
  • Renewable dont use it faster than nature can
    renew it forests, grasslands, fish populations,
    fresh water, etc.
  • Nonrenewable exist in a fixed amount can be
    renewed but takes a long time fossil fuels,
    metals, etc.

9
We are living unsustainably
  • Environmental Degradation we are wasting,
    degrading and depleting the earths natural
    capital at an accelerating rate
  • Examples?
  • Forests shrinking
  • Soil eroding
  • Glaciers melting
  • Sea level rising
  • Rivers drying
  • Coral reefs disappearing
  • Biodiversity decreasing

10
(No Transcript)
11
Pollution What is it? Examples?
12
Pollution
  • Presence of a substance, heat, noise that is
    harmful to the health or survival of humans or
    other organisms

13
Point vs. Nonpoint Source Pollution
14
Activity marine debris timeline
15
Types of Property
  • Private property individuals or companies own
    the rights to land, minerals or other resources
  • Common property rights to certain resources are
    held by large groups of individuals (ex National
    parks)
  • Open access renewable resources atmosphere,
    underground water supplies, open ocean

16
  • Many common property and open access renewable
    resources have been degraded.
  • Biologist Garrett Hardin (1968) called this the
  • Tragedy of the Commons
  • If I dont use this resource, someone else will.
    The little bit that I use or pollute is not
    enough to matter and anyway, its a renewable
    resource.
  • Okay until the number of users gets too big. So
    whats the answer?

17
http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worldbalance/material
.html
18
Ecological Footprint
  • Amount of biologically productive land and water
    needed to provide an indefinite supply of
    renewable resources and to absorb and recycle the
    wastes and pollution produced by such resource use

19
If ecological footprint is greater than
biological capacity (biocapacity) there is an
ecological deficit.
20
Homework www.myfootprint.org estimate your
own ecological footprint
21
Read p 21-22. Which has more harmful
environmental effects, affluence or poverty?
Explain
22
Environmental Sustainability
  • Living off the earths natural income without
    depleting or degrading the natural capital that
    supplies them.
  • Natural income renewable resources (plants,
    animals, soil)
  • Considerable evidence that were living
    unsustainably (remember your ecological
    footprint?)

23
  • How do we globally live sustainably?
  • What are the challenges we face in trying to do
    so?
  • Can a few make a difference?

24
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world. Indeed,
it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret
Mead, anthropologist
25
  • 50-100 years to make a shift in living
    unsustainably to living sustainably.
  • Three principles of sustainability (general
    themes in this class)
  • Rely on renewable energy from the sun, wind,
    water
  • Protect biodiversity
  • Reduce production of waste and pollution as to
    not degrade nature
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