Welcome to class, let’s play The rules: No talking; you may not consult with other people. “Claim” any number of red candies by writing the number and your initials on a scrap of paper. I will collect all the claims and you will receive the number of candies you claimed IF the total claimed does not exceed the total number of candies in the bag. Also, if the claims do NOT exceed the # in the bag, the following prizes will be awarded: First choice of prize for the largest claim Second choice of prize for the 2nd largest claim Third choice of prize for the 3rd largest claim Display the (pre-counted) bag of M&Ms where it’s clearly visible to all students. Have small pieces of paper and pens available (1 per student) Prizes: package of cookies, chips, or a candy bar
Debriefing Questions: What was your thinking in making your “claim”? Who owned the bag of candy? How could you establish ownership of candy? By making a claim. Eat your claim – will discuss later
Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability Chapter 1
TOP TEN COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST POPULATION # Country 2000 Population 2017 Population Growth % Pop 2000 - 2017 2050 Expected Pop. 1 China 1,268,301,605 1,388,232,693 9.5 % 1,301,627,048 2 India 1,006,300,297 1,342,512,706 33.4 % 1,656,553,632 3 United States 282,162,411 326,474,013 15.7 % 398,328,349 4 Indonesia 214,090,575 263,510,146 23.1 % 300,183,166 5 Brazil 174,315,386 211,243,220 21.2 % 232,304,177 6 Pakistan 152,429,036 196,744,376 29.1 % 290,847,790 7 Nigeria 123,945,463 191,835,936 54.8 % 391,296,754 8 Bangladesh 128,734,672 164,827,718 28.0 % 193,092,763 9 Russia 147,053,966 143,375,006 - 2.5 % 129,908,086 10 Mexico 99,775,434 130,222,815 30.5 % 150,567,503
Core Case Study: Living in an Exponential Age Impact of human exponential growth on: Loss of animal and plant species Loss of resources
What Is an Environmentally Sustainable Society? Our lives and economies depend on energy from the sun (solar capital) and on natural resources and natural services (natural capital) provided by the earth. Living sustainability means living off the earth’s natural income without depleting or degrading the natural capital that supplies it.
Environmental Science Is a Study of Connections in Nature Interdisciplinary science connecting information and ideas from Natural sciences, with an emphasis on ecology Social sciences Humanities
Environmental Science: How the environment affects us How we affect the environment How to deal with environmental problems How to live more sustainably
Global Climate Change
Environmentalism vs Environmental Science
Natural capital: supported by solar capital Sustainability Natural capital: supported by solar capital Natural resources Natural services Ex. nutrient cycling Degradation of natural capital through human activities Scientific solutions, but not easy
We must live off natural income. Environmentally Sustainable Societies Protect Natural Capital and Live off Its Income We must live off natural income.
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 the earth's life support systems. Sound easy?
There Is a Wide Economic Gap between Rich and Poor Countries Country’s economic growth: measured by gross domestic product (GDP) Changes in economic growth per person: measured by per capita GDP Purchasing power parity (PPP) plus GDP are combined for per capita GDP PPP (amount of goods/services a country’s average citizen could buy in the US) Compare developed with developing countries (pg 11)
Emphasize environmentally sustainable economic development 2 views Continue conventional economic growth resulting in “trickle down” to those in poverty Emphasize environmentally sustainable economic development OR What do you think each of these means? Which view do you favor?
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.
"Man" by Steve Cutts
Resources Perpetual resource Directly available for use Not directly available for use Perpetual resource Solar energy
Renewable resource E.g., forests, grasslands, fresh air, fertile soil Sustainable yield Highest rate a resource can be used without reducing supply Environmental degradation 21
Overexploiting Shared Renewable Resources: Tragedy of the Commons Three types of property or resource rights Private property Common property Open access renewable resources Tragedy of the commons – degradation of common property and open access renewable resources Solutions?
The Candy Example Suppose the candies in the bowl are fish in an ocean fishery. The decline of fisheries world-wide is a significant problem. Who owns the ocean fishery? How does a fisherman establish ownership (property right) to fish? Suppose the fishermen know that the fish stock is declining and the fishery will collapse. How will they change their behavior? What is the cost to each fisherman of conserving? How could we change the rules of the game to provide incentives for conservation? Sockeye salmom
What are your thoughts of the tragedy of the commons? When a resource is not owned, nobody has a clear incentive to protect it. What are your thoughts of the tragedy of the commons? Explain why hallways and classrooms in schools tend to be littered at the end of the school day No one seems to own the hallways. Students are tempted to treat them as long wastebaskets. – the same idea could pertain to water
Solutions Use shared resources at rates well below their estimated sustainable yields Reduce use Regulate use Both Convert open-access to private ownership (not practical, think fish in the ocean)
Some Resources Are Not Renewable Nonrenewable resources Energy resources Metallic mineral resources Nonmetallic mineral resources Reuse Recycle
Our Ecological Footprints Are Growing Ecological footprint concept Biological capacity Ecological footprint
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
What Is Pollution and What Can We Do about It? Preventing pollution is more effective and less costly than cleaning up pollution.
Pollution Comes from a Number of Sources Sources of pollution Point E.g., smokestack Nonpoint E.g., pesticides blown into the air Main type of pollutants Biodegradable Nondegradable Unwanted effects of pollution
We Can Clean Up Pollution or we can Prevent It Pollution cleanup (output pollution control) Pollution prevention (input pollution control)
Why Do We Have Environmental Problems? Population growth Wasteful and unsustainable resource use Poverty Exclusion of environmental costs of resource use from market prices of goods and services 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.
Poverty Has Harmful Environmental and Health Effects Population growth affected Malnutrition Premature death Limited access to adequate sanitation facilities and clean water
Affluence Has Harmful and Beneficial Environmental Effects Harmful environmental impact due to High levels of consumption Unnecessary waste of resources Affluence can provide funding for Developing technologies to reduce Pollution Environmental degradation Resource waste
Views about Environmental Problems Planetary management worldview Stewardship worldview Environmental wisdom worldview
Nature has sustained itself for billions of years by using solar energy, biodiversity, population control, and nutrient cycling— there are lessons from nature that we can apply to our lifestyles and economies if we pay attention, and learn.