1.1 What are some key factors of sustainability? 10/13/17

Environmental science is a study of connections in nature The environment consists of the living and nonliving things around us Humans depend on the environment for air, water, nutrients, shelter, etc. Environmental science is the study of how humans interact with the environment. Natural sciences: biology, chemistry, geology, meteorology Social sciences: geography, economics, political science, ethics

Three fundamental goals of environmental science Learn how life on earth has survived and thrived Understand how humans interact with the environment Find ways to deal with environmental problems and live more sustainably

Ecology and Ecosystems Ecology is the study of how living things interact with the living and non-living parts of their environment. An ecosystem is one or more communities of different species interacting with each other and their environments Environmentalism is a social movement dedicated to protecting Earth and its resources.

Sustainability Sustainability is the capacity of Earth’s natural systems that support life to maintain stability or to adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely. Life has existed for 3.8 billion years on Earth despite major environmental changes. Meteorites Ice ages Sea level change due to global warming Mass extinctions …. But life has persisted Humans evolved about 200,000 years ago and have caused major environmental trauma and even caused a mass extinction!

Factors of Sustainability Scientific Factors Social Factors Solar energy Warms planet Provides energy fueling photosynthesis Indirectly drives wind Biodiversity Provides ways to adapt to environmental changes Nutrient cycling Circulation of nutrients through organisms and the environment Economics Full-cost pricing gives consumers information about the environmental impacts of products Political science Assessment of solutions to environmental problems that benefit the largest number of people and the environment Ethics Our responsibility to future generations is to leave the planet in a condition as good or better than it is now

Sustainability and Natural Capital Natural capital consists of the natural resources and ecosystem services that keep humans and other species alive and support human economies. Natural resources are the materials and energy sources in nature that are essential or useful to humans. Inexhaustible resources are available in a continuous supply. Renewable resources can be replenished by a natural process over hours or centuries Nonrenewable resources exist in a fixed amount or stock and can take millions or billions of years to form.

Ecosystem services Ecosystem services are natural services provided by healthy ecosystems that support life and human economies at no monetary cost

Natural Capital = Natural Resources + Ecosystem Services

Degradation of Natural Capital: “The Tragedy of the Commons” Written by Garrett Hardin and published in 1968. “It is fair to say that most people who anguish over population problem are trying to find a way to avoid the evils of overpopulation without relinquishing any of the privileges they now enjoy. They think that farming the seas or developing new strains of wheat will solve the problem technologically. I try to show here that the solution they seek cannot be found… Populations… tend to grow “geometrically,” or, as we would now say, exponentially. In a finite world this means that the per capita share of the world’s goods must steadily decrease. Is ours a finite world?”

“…We will greatly increase human misery if we do not, during the immediate future, assume that the world available to the terrestrial human population is finite… A finite world can support only a finite population… To live, any organism must have a source of energy (for example, food). This energy is utilized for two purposes: mere maintenance and work…. Maximizing population does not maximize goods [available to the population]… We want the maximum good per person; but what is good? To one person it is wilderness, to another it is ski lodges for thousands. To one it is estuaries to nourish ducks for hunters to shoot; to another it is factory land.”

“The tragedy of the commons develops in this way “The tragedy of the commons develops in this way. Picture a pasture open to all. It is to be expected that each herdsman will try to keep as many cattle as possible on the commons. Such an arrangement may work reasonably satisfactorily for centuries because tribal wars, poaching, and disease keep the numbers of both man and beast well below the carrying capacity of the land… Each herdsman seeks to maximize his gain… he asks “What is the utility to me of adding one more animal to my herd?” The utility has one positive and one negative component.”

“The positive component is a function of the increment of one animal “The positive component is a function of the increment of one animal. Since the herdsman receives all the proceeds from the sale of the additional animal, the positive utility is nearly +1. The negative component is a function of the additional overgrazing created by one more animal. Since, however, the effects of overgrazing are shared by all the herdsmen, the negative utility for any particular decision making herdsman is only a fraction of -1.”

“Adding together the component partial utilities, the rational herdsman concludes that the only sensible course for him to pursue is to add another animal to his herd. And another; and another… But this is the conclusion reached by each and every rational herdsman sharing a commons. Therein is the tragedy. Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit- in a world that is limited. Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.”

Las Cruces, Chile: A success story The Chilean abalone or loco, had become rare due to over- harvesting. The Chilean abalone is a predator of mussels. With very few locos present, the mussel population covered nearly 100% of the shore.

Las Cruces becomes a Preserve In 1982 the area became a preserve and harvesting locos was prohibited. The number and size of locos inside the reserve increased as a result. Four years later, the mussels that previously covered nearly 100% of the area covered less than 5%. After 10 years, locos inside the reserve were producing over a million more eggs than locos outside of the reserve.