Sustainability The ability of earth’s various natural systems and human cultural systems and economies to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely

What is an environmentally sustainable society? Our lives and economies depend on energy from the sun and on natural resources and natural services provided by the earth Living sustainably means living off the earth’s natural income without depleting or degrading the natural capital that supplies it

How can environmentally sustainable societies grow economically? Societies can become more environmentally sustainable through economic development dedicated to improving the quality of life for everyone without degrading earth’s life support systems

How are our ecological footprints affecting the earth? As our ecological footprints grow, we are depleting and degrading more of the earth’s natural capital Renewable vs. nonrenewable resources Sustainable yield Tragedy of the Commons

What is pollution and what can we do about it? Pollution is anything released into the environment by human activities that is harmful to the health ecosystems Preventing pollution is more effective and less costly than cleaning up pollution point source vs. nonpoint source biodegradable vs. nondegradable

Why do we have environmental problems? Major causes of environmental problems are population growth, wasteful resource use, poverty, negative external costs of resource use, attempts to manage nature with insufficient knowledge People with different environmental worldviews often disagree about the seriousness of environmental problems and what we should do about them

Affluence and Poverty Poverty occurs when people are unable to meet their basic needs for food, shelter, health, education. poverty, population growth, and environmental degradation are closely linked developed nations consume natural capital at a disproportionate rate

What is your environmental worldview? Why should we care about the environment? Are we the most important things on the planet or are we just one part? Do we have an obligation to protect earth’s other species? Do we have an obligation to conserve natural capital for future generations?

What are the four scientific principles of sustainability? Nature has sustained itself for billions of years by using solar energy, biodiversity, population control, and nutrient cycling- lessons from nature that we can apply to our lifestyles and economies.

Sustaining Biodiversity Why should we care about biodiversity? What role do humans play in species extinction? How can we protect species from extinction resulting from human activities? What should be our priorities for sustaining biodiversity and ecosystems?

Sustaining Natural Resources What environmental problems arise from food production? How can we produce food more sustainably? Will we have enough usable water? How can we use mineral resources more sustainably?

Energy and Sustainability What are the advantages and disadvantages of nonrenewable energies? What are the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energies? Why is energy efficiency and important energy resource?

Sustaining Environmental Quality How do our patterns of energy use and consumption negatively impact our environment? How do changes in our environment that result from human activity threaten human health and prosperity? What can we do to protect and preserve our natural capital?

Sustaining Human Society How can we put values on natural capital, pollution control, and resource use? How can we use economic tools to deal with environmental problems? How can reducing poverty help us to deal with environmental problems? How can we make the transition to more environmentally sustainable economies?