Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

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Chapter 1

• Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and
  Sustainability

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What is Environmental Science?

• The goals of environmental science are to learn
• Ecology- how nature works.
• Ecos means house or home in Greek
• Humans-
• how the environment effects us.
• how we effect the environment.
• Sustainability- how human society can thrive
  indefinitely without degrading our life-support
  system.

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One Key to the 21st CenturyHuman Population
Sao Paulo, Brasil
city
favela a.k.a. slum
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Global Human Population Trend
Time to ? ? 200,000 years 130 years 30
years 14 years 13 years 12 years
12 years 12 years
Year Human Pop. Earth 1800 1 billion 1930 2
billion 1960 3 billion 1974 4
billion 1987 5 billion 1999 6
billion 2011 7 billion
What would a line graph of this data look like?
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Core Case Study Living in an Exponential Age

• Human population growth J-shaped curve

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ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
Earth's Life-Support System
Human Culturesphere
Water (hydrosphere)
Air (atmosphere)
Population Size
Worldviews and ethics
Soil and rocks (lithosphere)
Life (biosphere)
Politics
Economics
Fig. 1-2, p. 7
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Ethics
Ecology
Philosophy
Political science
Biology
Environmental Science
Economics
Chemistry
Demography
Physics
Geology
Anthropology
Geography
Fig. 1-2, p. 7
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Environmentally Sustainable Societies

• meets basic needs of its people in a just and
  equitable manner without degrading the natural
  capital that supplies these resources.
• Natural capital can be thought of as stuff you
  can use

See book Figure 1-3 p. 8
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Environmentally Sustainable Societies
See book Figure 1-3 p. 8

• Write the heading Natural Capital, then make
  two columns under that called Natural Resources
  Natural Services
• List all of the natural resources natural
  services in figure 1-3 under the appropriate
  heading. (10 min)

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Sustainability The Integrative Theme

• Sustainability is the ability of earths various
  systems to survive and adapt to environmental
  conditions indefinitely.
• The steps to sustainability must be supported by
  sound science.

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A Path to Sustainability
Natural Capital Degradation
Individuals Matter
Trade-Offs
Solutions
Natural Capital
Sound Science
Supported by
Fig. 1-3, p. 8
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Global Outlook

• Comparison of developed and developing countries.

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Developed vs Developing Countries
Developed Developing The BRIC (rich)__
(poor) (in the middle) N.
America Africa Brazil W. Europe most of
Asia Russia Japan most of S. India Australia
C. America China Mexico
S. Korea
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Developed vs Developing Countries
Developed Nations 1.2 billion people 3 of
pop growth by 2050 use 88 of worlds
resources Developing Nations 5.8 billion
people 97 of pop growth by 2050 use 12
of worlds resources
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Fig. 1-9b, p. 14
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Fig. 1-9a, p. 14
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Fig. 1-6, p. 11
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Percentage of World's
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Population
82
0.1
Population Growth
1.5
85
Wealth and Income
15
88
Resource use
12
Pollution and waste
75
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Developing countries
Developed countries
Fig. 1-5, p. 11
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Fig. 1-6, p. 11
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Key Terms GDP GDP-PPP

• GDP Gross Domestic Product
• Total dollar value of all goods and services in
  one country in one year
• GDP per capita Average value of all goods
  services per person in a country
• GDP/population
• PPP Purchasing Power Parity
• An adjustment that reflects the fact that some
  things cost WAY less in developing nations
• Per capita GDP-PPP The average amount of goods
  services in one country per person, adjusted for
  differences in price

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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 worlds countries economic status (developed
  vs. developing) are based on their degree of
  industrialization and GDP-PPP.

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NATURAL RESOURCES

• Perpetual On a human time scale are continuous.
• Example solar energy
• Renewable On a human time scale can be
  replenished rapidly (e.g. hours to several
  decades).
• Examples trees, water, fish, soil
• Nonrenewable On a human time scale are in fixed
  supply.
• Examples copper ore, fossil fuels,
  uranium

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NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES

• 3 types of non-renewable resources
• 1. metals 2. non-metalS 3.
  energy
• 
  -coal
• 
  -oil
• 
  -natural gas
• -nuclear fission

gypsum
copper ore
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RESOURCES The Tragedy of the Commons

• Common property or Free access Resources clean
  air, open ocean fish, migratory birds, gasses
  of the lower atmosphere (troposphere)
• Tragedy of the Commons- If I do not use this
  resource, someon else will. The little bit I use
  or pollute is not enough to matter, and such
  resources are renewable
• The original Commons -the common fields that were
  in the middle of each midieval town

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Solutions to The Tragedy of the Commons

• Use free-access resources well below their
  estimated sustainable yields
• Reduce population
• Regulate access (government regulations)
• Both
• Convert free-access resources to private
  ownership
• Logic- people take better care of things they own
• Fallacy- companies may degrade the resource for
  short-term profits (forests, mining, etc.)

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Nonrenewable Resources

• Exist as fixed quantity
• Becomes economically depleted.
• Recycling and reusing extends supply
• Recycling processes waste material into new
  material.
• Reuse is using a resource over again in the same
  form.

Figure 1-8
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Our Ecological Footprint

• Humanitys ecological footprint has exceeded
  earths ecological capacity.

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Total Footprint (million hectares) and Share of
Global Ecological Capacity ()
2,810 (25)
United States
2,160 (19)
European Union
2,050 (18)
China
780 (7)
India
Japan
540 (5)
Fig. 1-7a, p. 13
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Footprint Per Person (hectares per person)
9.7
United States
4.7
European Union
1.6
China
0.8
India
4.8
Japan
Fig. 1-7b, p. 13
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Earths Ecological Capacity
Number of Earths
Humanity's Ecological Footprint
If everyone consumed resources at US rates, we
would need five more planets!
Year
Fig. 1-7c, p. 13
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POLLUTION

• Anything found at high enough levels in the
  environment to cause harm to organisms.
• Point source
• Nonpoint source

Figure 1-9
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Point Source PollutionPollution from a single,
identifiable source
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Non-Point Source PollutionPollution from
diffuse, widespread sources.
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Non-Point Source PollutionPollution from
diffuse, widespread sources.
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SOURCES OF POLLUTION FOR TEXAS RIVERS, STREAMS, RESERVOIRS AND BAYS 
                                                                                                                                            
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Pollution

• Pollutants can have three types of unwanted
  effects
• Can disrupt / degrade life-support systems.
• Example Soil salinization
• Can damage health and property.
• Examples Breathing ground-level ozone
• Stream pollution from mining
• Can create nuisances such as noise and unpleasant
  smells, tastes, and sights.
• Examples Hercules wood chip pile smell
• Light Pollution

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3 Greatest Environmental Impacts, in order

1. Agriculture
2. Transportation
3. Heating cooling buildings

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS CAUSES AND CONNECTIONS
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Environmental Problems Causes Connections
SOLAR CAPITAL
EARTH
Goods and services
Heat
Human Economic and Cultural Systems
Human Capital
Depletion of nonrenewable resources
Degradation of renewable resources
Natural Capital
Pollution and waste
Recycling and reuse
Red Unintended Consequences!
Fig. 1-10, p. 17
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS CAUSES AND CONNECTIONS

• The major causes of environmental problems are
• Population growth- Global (2011) 1.2
• Unsustainable resource use
• Poverty
• Poor environmental accounting not paying the
  true cost of using environmental capital
• Ecological ignorance we dont deeply understand
  how the earth works

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Natural capital degradation

• The exponential increasing flow of material
  resources through the worlds economic systems
  depletes, degrades and pollutes the environment.

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Causes of Environmental Problems
Ecological Ignorance Trying to manage and
simplify nature with too little knowledge
about how it works
Poor Environmental Accounting Not including
the environmental costs of economic goods and
services in their market prices
Poverty
Unsustainable resource use
Population growth
Fig. 1-11, p. 17
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Solutions Pollution Prevention vs. Pollution
Cleanup

• Problems with relying on cleanup
• Temporary bandage without improvements in
  pollution control technology.
• Often just moves a pollutant from one part of the
  environment to cause problems in another.
• Pollutants at harmful levels can cost too much to
  reduce them to acceptable levels.

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Solutions Pollution Prevention vs. Pollution
Cleanup

• Old sayings that support pollution prevention
  over cleanup
• A stitch in time saves nine
• An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

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Poverty and Environmental Problems

• 1 of 3 children under 5, suffer from severe
  malnutrition.

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Number of people( of world's population)
Lack ofaccess to
Adequate Sanitation
2.4 billion (37)
Enough fuel for heating and cooking
2 billion (31)
Electricity
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
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Resource Consumption and Environmental Problems

• Underconsumption- Globally, about 50 live on
  less than 2 per day
• Overconsumption
• Affluenza unsustainable addiction to
  overconsumption and materialism.

The Hungry Ghost
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CULTURAL CHANGES AND THE ENVIRONMENT

• Agricultural revolution (8,000 to 10,000 years
  ago)
• Allowed people to stay in one place (first
  villages cities).
• Industrial-medical revolution (mid-1700s)
• Led shift from rural villages to urban society.
• Science improved sanitation and disease control.
• Greatly decreased death rate (effect on
  population?)
• Information-globalization revolution (late 1900s)
• Rapid access to information.

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Trade-Offs
Industrial-Medical Revolution
Advantages
DIsadvantages
Mass production of useful and affordable products
Increased air pollution
Increased water pollution
Higher standard of living for many
Increased waste pollution
Greatly increased agricultural production
Soil depletion and degradation
Lower infant mortality
Groundwater depletion
Longer life expectancy
Habitat destruction and degradation
Increased urbanization
Lower rate of population growth
Biodiversity depletion
Fig. 1-15, p. 23
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SUSTAINABILITY ANDENVIRONMENTAL PARADIGMS

• Technological optimists
• suggest that human ingenuity will keep the
  environment sustainable, no matter what.
• Environmental pessimists
• overstate the problems where our environmental
  situation seems hopeless.

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SUSTAINABILITY ANDENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS

• Planetary Management Worldview- We are separate
  from nature, and nature exists to serve our
  increasing needs and wants.
• economic growth is seen as unlimited.
• all environmental challenges will be easily met
  via new technologies.

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SUSTAINABILITY ANDENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS

• Stewardship Worldview- We can manage the earth
  for our own benefit, but we have an ethical
  responsibility to be caring and responsible
  stewards of the earth.
• Encourage beneficial forms of economic growth
• Discourage earth-degrading forms of economic
  growth

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SUSTAINABILITY ANDENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS

• Environmental Wisdom Worldview-
• We are part of and totally dependent on nature
  nature exists for all species.
• Encourage earth-sustaining forms of economic
  growth
• Discourage earth-degrading forms of economic
  growth
• Our success depends on learning how the earth
  sustains itself and basing how we think and act
  on this knowledge

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Aldo Leopolds Environmental Ethics

• Individuals matter.
• land is to be loved and respected is an
  extension of ethics.
• We abuse land because we regard it as a
  commodity
• anything is right when it tends to preserve the
  integrity, stability,and beauty of the biotic
  community

(Which worldview is this?)
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Four Scientific Principles of Sustainability
Copy Nature
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Reliance on Solar Energy
Biodiversity
Population Control
Nutrient Recycling
Fig. 1-16, p. 24
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Solutions
Principles of Sustainability
How Nature Works
Lessons for Us
Runs on renewable solar energy.
Rely mostly on renewable solar energy.
Recycles nutrients and wastes. There is little
waste in nature.
Prevent and reduce pollution and recycle and
reuse resources.
Preserve biodiversity by protecting ecosystem
services and habitats and preventing premature
extinction of species.
Uses biodiversity to maintain itself and adapt
to new environ- mental conditions.
Controls a species population size and
resource use by interactions with its
environment and other species.
Reduce human births and wasteful resource use to
prevent environmental overload and depletion and
degradation of resources.
Fig. 1-17, p. 25
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Current Emphasis
Sustainability Emphasis
Good news It only takes 5-10 of a population to
bring about major social change
Pollution cleanup
Pollution prevention
Bad news This change in emphasis is going to be
very challenging
Waste disposal (bury or burn)
Waste prevention
Protecting species
Protecting habitat
Environmental degradation
Environmental restoration
More good news the change is already starting to
happen very rapidly.
Increasing resource use
Less resource waste
Population growth
Population stabilization
Depleting and degrading natural capital
Protecting natural capital
Fig. 1-18, p. 24