Human Caused Hazards and Pollution "When you fully understand the situation, it is worse than you think." Barry Commoner

Only after the last tree has been cut down, Only after the last river has been poisoned, Only after the last fish has been caught, Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten. -Cree prophecy

Pollution Definition: any material or product produced by humans in quantity and disposed of in such a way that it interferes with the health of living organisms and the processes of Earth.

History of pollution Pollution has been with us for 1000s of years, ever since humans settled in villages and towns. Before this time nomadic tribes never stayed in one place long enough to contaminate the environment.

History By the time of the ancient Greeks, Romans there were serious problems with pollution (human and animal waste) in the cities. This pollution at least was biodegradable and decomposed over time and could be recycled by natural processes. Most cities were located by rivers that were used to remove the sewage.

History If an area did become too polluted for humans to live in, then they would move to another location. This pattern continued throughout most of Europe and North America until the 1700’s

Modern Pollution Modern pollution dates from the Industrial Revolution (1750-1850) During this time people left the rural areas and the population of the cities of North America and Europe exploded. The people of these cities produced waste at rates that could not be handled by rivers.

Modern Pollution The Industrial Revolution also saw the rise of modern technologies that used fossil fuels (coal then oil) instead of human, animal, wind, water or wood power for energy. Although pollution was increasing it was believed that since the environment (water and air) was not alive it could absorb anything that humans could put in with no negative effects.

Most Europeans and Americans believed that God gave them the right to treat the Earth as they wished based on the following Bible verse… Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule … over all the earth. So they believed that they could treat the Earth however they wanted.

Europeans also did not see Earth as a series of living systems do did not think that they could do any permanent damage to the environment.

Modern Pollution In the past 100 years technology has found or invented 1000’s of new compounds that have had serious environmental consequences.

Global Hazards Until 100 years ago there was almost no human activity that could cause more than local damage to Earth and the environment. Scientific and technological knowledge has increased dramatically in this time This progress has given the people of MDCs the best standard of living in human history BUT has produced more pollution than all of the rest of history combined.

Global Hazards However we now produce so much waste that we are in danger of destroying the global ecosystem as we know it- and live in it!!

Pollution as a global hazard Global hazards and disasters have three identifying features: They affect people in many areas of the world. Their effects are long term i.e. hundreds, thousands or even millions of years They cause permanent damage or serious contamination to important parts of the natural environment.

Pollution as a global hazard Modern pollution is the result of two factors: 1.New technologies that Nature either did not create (e.g.nuclear) or hid deep in the environment (e.g.fossil fuels) and cannot safely dispose of. 2.Increasing population that has resulted in more people using more resources and creating too much waste for the environment to handle.

Pollution as a global hazard Some examples of global hazards are Global warming Ozone depletion Desertification Wetland destruction Toxic waste Deforestation ETC!!!

Pollution as a global hazard Today North Americans are the world’s greatest producers of waste. http://www.nationmaster.com/cat/Environment http://www.redefiningprogress.org/publications/footprintnations2004.pdf http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/11/15/24111692.PDF air and waste categories

Ecological Footprint

Pollution and GAIA Gaia theorists say that the reason most of the substances that cause modern pollution are buried deep in the Earth is in order to protect the biosphere/LIFE from their harmful effects. e.g. It requires modern technology to access radioactive materials, most heavy metals and fossil fuels all of which are heavy pollutants and toxic to all parts of the biosphere.

Rachel Carson 1907-64 “Before there was an environmental movement, there was one brave woman and her very brave book “

"There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings ... Then a strange blight crept over the area and everything began to change ... There was a strange stillness ... The few birds seen anywhere were moribund; they trembled violently and could not fly. It was a spring without voices. On the mornings that had once throbbed with the dawn chorus of scores of bird voices there was now no sound; only silence lay over the fields and woods and marsh."

Rachel Carson 1907-64 Her book Silent Spring (1962) became a bestseller and warned the public about the long term effects of misusing pesticides. The title of her book described a time when there would be no birds left to announce the return of spring. This image had a profound impact on the consciousness of people all over North America and Europe and is generally seen as the starting point of ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT In 1999 TIME magazine named her one of the most influential people of the 20th century

Barry Commoner 1917- TIME Cover 1970

Barry Commoner One of the first scientists to express concerns about technology and the environment In the early 1950’s Commoner led the fight against nuclear testing This led to the development of the FOUR LAWS OF ECOLOGY Published in his book The Closing Circle: Nature, Man and Technology (1980)

FOUR LAWS These laws are: Everything is related to everything else Everything must go somewhere Nature knows best There is no such thing as a free lunch.

IN CONCLUSION In summing up his work, Commoner says humans need to realize that: Nothing ever goes away AND Sooner or later, wittingly or unwittingly, we must pay for every intrusion on the natural environment.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT The SOLUTION?? SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT See handout:THresholds http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/index.htm