Lesson 1: Fundamental Issues in Environmental Science

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Lesson 1 Fundamental Issues in Environmental
Science

• Big Question Why Is Science Necessary to Solve
  Environmental Problems?

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How to Use the Online Lessons

• The primary purpose of the online lectures are to
  review, reinforce, and add to material covered in
  the book. Material you receive in these online
  lessons is just as likely to be on exams as other
  material in the book. Some material,
  particularly UW, local and regional examples, and
  timely material, may be only on this site.
• The best way for you to use the class materials
  is to read the each book chapter first, then view
  the lessons.

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What is "Environmental Wisdom"?

• Environmental Wisdom must include the little
  and the big pictureand must include people.
• Visit and research the following sites
• Wikipedia article on Coffee
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee
• CoffeeResearch.org Coffee Production Statistics
• http//www.coffeeresearch.org/market/production.ht
  m
• Where the Hell Is Matt?
• http//www.wherethehellismatt.com/?fbidZIotVystLi
  I
• What does the information on these sites tell us
  about something as simple as coffee, travel,
  dancing, and people in the world in relationship
  to Environmental Science?

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Sustainability

• In the past 35 years, the number of people in the
  world more than doubled, from 2.5 billion to over
  6.6 billion. Visit this site for current
  dataU.S. Census Bureau http//www.census.gov/ma
  in/www/popclock.html
• Our rapidly increasing population underlies all
  environmental problems because most environmental
  damage results from the very large number of
  people on Earth.

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Sustainability

• Use it, but dont use it up
• Other uses of the term "sustainability"
• sustainable society
• sustainable economy
• sustainable development
• sustainable architecture
• More on sustainability at Wikipedia
  Sustainability http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susta
  inability

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Earths Carrying Capacity

• How many people can Earth sustain?
• Carrying capacity is usually defined as the
  maximum number of individuals of a species that
  can be sustained by an environment over the long
  term.

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A Global Perspective

• Today our actions are experienced worldwide.
• Life makes Earths environment unlike that of
  other planets.
• The Gaia hypothesis proposes that the global
  environment has been profoundly changed by life
  throughout the history of life on Earth, and that
  these changes have improved the chances that life
  on Earth will continue.
• See the Wikipedia article Think Globally, Act
  Locally.

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Cities Affect the Environment

• We are becoming an urban species, and our effects
  on the environment are more and more the effects
  of urban life.
• We must look more closely at the effects of
  urbanization.
• Even as this happens, we cherish the concept of
  time in non-urban environments more than ever.

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People and Nature

• Principle of environmental unity everything
  affects everything else
• We depend on nature for many natural service
  functions
• For a lot more information (and propaganda) on
  the impacts of overconsumption, see the
  International Buy Nothing Day Web site
• http//www.ecoplan.org/ibnd/ib_index.htm

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Science and Values

• Before we decide what kind of environment we
  want, we need to know what is possible.
• Science is a process of discovery.
• Sometimes changes in ideas are small.
• Sometimes a science undergoes a fundamental
  revolution in ideas.

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Science is one way of looking at the world.

• It begins with observations about the natural
  world.
• From these observations, scientists formulate
  hypotheses that can be tested.
• Science does not deal with things that cannot be
  tested by observation, such as the following
• the ultimate purpose of life
• the existence of a supernatural being or
• standards of beauty or issues of good and evil.
• Ideas are scientific if it is possible to
  disprove them.

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What is Environmental Science?

• A group of sciences that attempt to explain how
  life on Earth is sustained, what leads to
  environmental problems, and how these problems
  can be solved.
• Often linked with nonscientific fields that have
  to do with how we value the environment (such as
  Deep Ecology).
• Deals with many topics that have great emotional
  effects on people.

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Placing a Value on the Environment

• Utilitarian justification
• values the environment it is useful economically
  or for survival.
• Ecological justification
• Values the larger life-support functions of the
  environment.
• Aesthetic justification
• values beauty.
• Moral justification
• based on ones view of right and wrong, and
  extending inherent rights beyond humans.

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Solving Many Environmental Problems Involves
Systems and Rates of Change

• A system is a set of parts that function together
  to act as a whole, like a city (streets,
  buildings, sewer systems) or a river (water
  sources, animals and plants in and along the
  river.

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Positive Feedback Off-road Vehicles (ORVs) and
Erosion

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Some situations involve both positive and
negative feedback

• Example changes in human populations of large
  cities

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Exponential growth

• Exponential growth is an important outcome of
  positive feedback
• Exponential growth is incompatible with
  sustainability

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Environmental Unity

• It is impossible to change only one thing
  everything affects everything else
• Changes in one part of a system often have
  secondary and tertiary effects within the system
  and effects on adjacent systems
• See Wikipedia Butterfly Effect and Wikipedia A
  Sound of Thunder. Also see "The Butterfly
  EffectReal?"

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Changes and Equilibrium in Systems

• When the input to a system is equal to the
  output, the system is said to be in a steady
  state
• Steady state is a dynamic equilibrium because
  something is still happening

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• If input is less than the output, the storage
  compartment will shrink
• Groundwater extraction
• If input exceeds
• output, the storage
• compartment will
• expand
• Groundwater
• pollution

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• To effectively manage natural systems, we need to
  understand
• the types of disturbances and changes that are
  likely to occur
• the time periods over which changes occur
• the importance of each change to the long-term
  productivity of the system.

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Biota Biosphere and Sustaining Life

• Biota all living things (animals and plants,
  microorganisms) within a given area
• Biosphere the region of Earth where life exists
• What is needed to sustain life?
• there must be several species within a system
  that includes air and water to transport
  materials and energy an ecosystem

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Ecosystems

• A community of organisms and their local
  nonliving environment in which matter (chemical
  elements) cycles and energy flows
• Vary in size, from the smallest puddle of water
  to a large forest, or the entire global biosphere
• Ecosystem borders may be clearly or vaguely
  defined

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Environmental characteristics thatmake solving
problems harder

• Lag time is the time between a stimulus and a
  systems response to that stimulus
• If there is a long delay between stimulus and
  response, then the resulting changes are much
  more difficult to recognize

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Exponential Growth and Long Lag Time

• Exponential growth and long lag time may allow a
  population to eventually exceed the carrying
  capacity, resulting in overshoot and a decline
  collapse in the population.
• Some environmental changes may be irreversible
  over time periods of hundreds or thousands of
  years

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Ecological Footprint

• Ecological footprint - the total area each person
  requires based on the resources used and the
  waste produced.
• We may be consuming about 20 more of Earths
  biological productivity than is replaced each
  year.
• Take the Ecological Footprint Quiz to determine
  your own ecological footprint.

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The Precautionary PrincipleWhen in Doubt, Play
It Safe

• It can be difficult to prove with absolute
  certainty how human activities lead to local and
  global environmental problems.
• When there is a threat of serious environmental
  damage, we should not wait for certain scientific
  proof before taking steps to prevent potential
  harm.
• How much proof do we need before acting?
• We need to examine the benefits and costs of
  taking a particular action versus taking no
  action.
• The Precautionary Principle is a proactive tool.
• More information on the Precautionary Principle.

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Chapter 1 Fundamental Issues in Environmental
Science

• Questions? E-mail your TA. eschelp_at_u.washington.ed
  u