1-3 Why Do We Have Environmental/Sustainable Problems? (pause for group discussion)

1-4 What Is an Environmentally Sustainable Society? (pause for group discussion)

1-3 Why Do We Have Environmental/Sustainable Problems? (pause for group discussion) Concept 1-3 Major causes of environmental problems are population growth, wasteful and unsustainable resource use, poverty and affluence, and exclusion of environmental costs of resource use from the market prices of goods and services.

Causes of Environmental Problems Overpopulation Waste of resources Poverty & Affluence Affluence

Causes of Environmental Problems Not including environmental costs of economic goods and services in their market prices Trying to manage and simplify nature with too little knowledge of how nature works.

1. Exponential Growth of Human Population J-shaped curve of growth changes to an S-shaped curve Figure 1.18: Exponential growth: The J-shaped curve represents past exponential world population growth, with projections to 2100 showing possible population stabilization as the J-shaped curve of growth changes to an S-shaped curve. (This figure is not to scale.) (Data from the World Bank and United Nations, 2008; photo L. Yong/UNEP/Peter Arnold, Inc.) Fig. 1-18, p. 21

Core Case Study: Exponential Growth Slow start, rapid increase Human population 1999 ~ 6 billion 2007 ~ 6.7 billion people 2012 ~ 7 billion Projections 225,000 people per day Add population of U.S. < 4 years 2050 ~ 9.2 billion people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exponential_growth

Core Case Study: Exponential Growth Resource consumption, degradation, depletion Possible results Huge amount of pollution and wastes Disrupt economies Loss of species, farm land, water supplies Climate change Political fallout

2. Affluence Has Harmful and Beneficial Environmental Effects Harmful environmental impact due to High levels of consumption High levels of pollution Unnecessary waste of resources Affluence can provide funding for developing technologies to reduce Pollution Environmental degradation Resource waste

3. Poverty Has Harmful Environmental and Health Effects Population growth affected Malnutrition Premature death Limited access to adequate sanitation facilities and clean water

Extreme Poverty Figure 1.19: Extreme poverty: This boy is searching through an open dump in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for items to sell. Many children of poor families who live in makeshift shantytowns in or near such dumps often scavenge most of the day for food and other items to help their families survive. Fig. 1-19, p. 22

Harmful Effects of Poverty Figure 1.20: These are some of the harmful effects of poverty. Questions: Which two of these effects do you think are the most harmful? Why? (Data from United Nations, World Bank, and World Health Organization) Fig. 1-20, p. 22

4. Prices Do Not Include the Value of Natural Capital Companies do not pay the environmental cost of resource use Goods and services do not include the harmful environmental costs Companies receive tax breaks and subsidies Economy may be stimulated but there may be a degradation of natural capital

Environmentally Unfriendly Hummer Figure 1.22: This Hummer H3 sport utility vehicle burns a great deal of fuel compared to other, more efficient vehicles. It therefore adds more pollutants to the atmosphere and, being a very heavy vehicle, does more damage to the roads and land on which it is driven. It also requires more material and energy to build and maintain than most other vehicles on the road. These harmful costs are not included in the price of the vehicle. Fig. 1-22, p. 24

5. Trying to manage and simplify nature with too little knowledge of how nature works.

Different Views about Environmental Problems and Their Solutions Environmental ethics: what is right and wrong with how we treat the environment Planetary management worldview We are separate from and in charge of nature Stewardship worldview Manage earth for our benefit with ethical responsibility to be stewards Environmental wisdom worldview We are part of nature and must engage in sustainable use

1-4 What Is an Environmentally Sustainable Society? Concept 1-4 Living sustainably means living off the earth’s natural income without depleting or degrading the natural capital that supplies it.

Environmentally Sustainable Society Satisfies the basic needs of the people without depleting or degrading its natural capitals and therefore preventing current and future generations from meeting their basic needs. Live off the natural income replenished by soils, plants, air and water and not depleting the natural capital that supplies this income. (like retirement?)

Sustainability Rules Renewable resources - e.g., groundwater, biomass - must be used no faster than the rate at which they regenerate. Nonrenewable resources - e.g., minerals, fossil fuels - must be used minimally (zero waste) and no faster than renewable substitutes for them can be put into place. Pollution and wastes must be emitted no faster than natural systems can absorb them, recycle them, or render them harmless. Avoid creating toxic and hazardous waste. Daly, H., From a Failed Growth Economy to a Steady-State Economy (link is external), in The Encyclopedia of Earth, 2009 “If resources could be created out of nothing, and wastes could be annihilated into nothing, then we could have an ever-growing resource throughput by which to fuel the continuous growth of the economy. But the first law of thermodynamics says NO. Or if we could just recycle the same matter and energy through the economy faster and faster we could keep growth going. The circular flow diagram of all economics principles texts unfortunately comes very close to affirming this. But the second law of thermodynamics (link is external) says NO.”

What is sustainability? The achievement of the best possible quality of life for me. A reconciliation between resource use and distribution. The eradication of poverty and disease. D. Human society functioning in a way that is socially just and living within the limits of natural systems.

All of these natural resources BUT one are renewable All of these natural resources BUT one are renewable. Which is not renewable? Forest trees B. Fertile soil C. Minerals D. Solar energy

Where does most of the energy needed to produce food in modern, large scale agriculture come from? The sun The soil Oil Wind power There is no need for energy when growing food

One Sustainability Paradigm Endurable tolerable Fairness, just Overlapping Themes of the Sustainability Paradigm A depiction of the sustainability paradigm in terms of its three main components, showing various intersections among them. Source: International Union for the Conservation of Nature http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/iucn_future_of_sustanability.pdf Capable of living Workable

Three Pillars of Sustainability https://www.e-education.psu.edu/eme807/node/575

Another Sustainability Paradigm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weak_and_strong_sustainability A diagram indicating the relationship between the three pillars of sustainability, suggesting that both economy and society are constrained by environmental limits. Life Support

Compare Sustainability Paradigms