Reading Assignment #4 1 Also prepare to present your works for about 5 minutes (3-5 slides)

Engineering & Developing Communities Appropriate technology – A technology (or design) is appropriate “when it is compatible with local, cultural, and economic conditions (i.e., the human, material and cultural resources of the economy), and utilizes locally available materials and energy resources, with tools and processes maintained and operationally controlled by the local population” (Conteh, 2003, p. 3). 2

Terminology: measure vs. metric vs. indicator EPA categories of indicator outcomes: – Adverse Outcomes Indicator (AOI) – Resource Flow Indicator (RFI) – System Condition Indicator (SCI) – Value Creation Indicator (VCI) Sustainability models and metrics 3 Technical Approaches to Quantifying Sustainability

Measure – a value that is quantifiable against a standard at a point in time (e.g., area size) Metric – a standardized set of measurements or data related to one or more sustainability indicators Indicator – a measurement or metric based on verifiable data that can be used to communicate important in formation to decision makers and the public about processes related to sustainable design or development Index – Several individual indicators may be combined to form more complex tools that make up a sustainability index. A sustainability index is a numerical-based scale used to compare alternative designs or processes with one another. 4

EPA Sustainability Indicators 5

6

7 Sustainable systems are Illustrated by those systems that balance eco-centric, techno-centric, and socio-centric concerns.

8 Adverse Outcomes Indicator (AOI) Resource Flow Indicator (RFI) System Condition Indicator (SCI) Value Creation Indicator (VCI) EPA Sustainability Indicators

Measuring the rate resource consumption/sustainability by country Examples of sustainability models (1)IPAT Model (2)Ecological Footprint

The Impact of Population The IPAT Equation: – Impact = I – Population = P – Affluence = A (linkage to HDI) – Technology = T 10 Model developed by Paul Ehrlich and John Holdren ’s

Environmental Impact Population Consumption per person Technology impact per unit of consumption × × Environmental impact of Population I = P × A × T

The IPAT Equation The Impact term: anything that contributes to diminishing the sustainable rate of resource consumption and waste discharge. – Types: Depletion, Pollution Emission, Disturbances – Degree of severity – Scale of impact – Scale of the area directly affected 12

Impact Types 13 Severity – Critical: potentially lead to irreversible changes – Significant: depletion of non-fossil fuel resources, smog – Less Significant: radionuclide contamination, oil spills, depletion of landfill capacity Scale: – Global: climate change, ozone layer depletion – Regional – Local

Environmental Impact

How Are Our Ecological Footprints Affecting the Earth? Concept 1-2 As our ecological footprints grow, we are depleting and degrading more of the earth’s natural capital.

Cultural Changes Have Increased Our Ecological Footprints 12,000 years ago: hunters and gatherers Three major cultural events – Agricultural revolution – Industrial-medical revolution – Information-globalization revolution Current need for a sustainability revolution

IPAT vs. Ecological Footprint The product of the affluence (A) and technology (T) terms in the IPAT Equation can be visualized as the per capita demand on ecosystem resources. This demand is sometimes quantified as an ecological footprint. Ecological footprint accounting, based on the biological concept of carrying capacity, tracks the amount of land and water area a human population, needed to produce the resources the population consumes and to absorb its waste, under prevailing technology. The biocapacity (supply) represents the area able to regenerate resources and assimilate waste 17

Ecological footprint: the amount of biologically productive land and water needed to provide the people in a region with indefinite supply of renewable resources, and to absorb and recycle wastes and pollution. Our Ecological Footprint, by M. Wackernagel and W. Rees Ecological Footprints: A Model of Unsustainable Use of Resources

Ecological Footprint 19

Ecological Footprint

carbon footprint built-up land forest cropland & pasture fisheries Energy Settlement Timber & paper Food & fiber Seafood

Ecological Footprint Comparison Measure of the biologically productive land and water needed to support each person. 1 hectare = 100 acres or 10,000 square meters (about 100 football fields) hecto : 100

Natural Capital Use and Degradation (2008) Fig. 1-13, p. 16

Ecological Footprint

Number of planet Earths we need (9/29/2016)

Ecological Footprint 26

Ecological Footprint (2006) - HDI 27

Ecological Footprint (2008) 28

Ecological Footprint Comparison gha (global hectares) /person Biocapacity—the amount of resources its ecosystems can supply each year (2.1) Unsustainable: footprint > biocapacity

Ecological Footprint 30

Environmental Impact The contrast between less developed or developing and highly developed countries is overwhelming. Population size versus Affluence I = P × A × T I = Environmental impact P = Population A = Affluence T = Technology

GLOBAL OUTLOOK: What are the world’s trends?

Percent of World’s Developing countries Developed countries Population Population growth Wealth and income Resource use Pollution and waste

Environmental Impact

The Nine Planetary Boundaries

Regime-Shifts in Ecosystems Climate change Nitrogen & Phosphorus overload

Regime-Shifts in Ecosystems Land & freshwater use Ocean warming, Overfishing, Nutrient overload

What do you think? If all people on Earth had the same consumption habits as Americans do, how many Earths would be needed to provide what the world’s population would consume? a. 1 Earth b. 2 Earths c. 6 Earths d. 20 Earths

Did you know that the ecological footprint in the U.S. is about… 9.7 hectares per person, whereas the planet has a capacity of only 1.8 hectares per person? If everyone lived the lifestyle of the average American we would need more than 5 planets.

Ecological Footprint Comparison

US Life Style is Unsustainable Between 1900 and 1989 U.S. population tripled while its use of raw materials grew by a factor of 17. With less than 5 percent of world population, the U.S. uses a third of the world’s paper, a quarter of the oil, coal and aluminum, and 19 percent of the copper. The U.S. ranks highest by a considerable margin in most consumer categories as well.

US Life Style is Unsustainable Americans account for only five percent (5%) of the world’s population but create half of the globe’s solid waste. National Geographic’s Greendex found that American consumers rank last of 17 countries surveyed in regard to sustainable behavior Population, Consumption, and Climate A Conversation with Al Bartlett