BIOLOGY 157: LIFE SCIENCE: AN ENVIRONMENTAL APPROACH (Resources, Solid Wastes and Recycling)

RESOURCES DEFINITION anything obtained from the ecosystem to meet human needs and wants ANYTHING and EVERYTHING can be considered a RESOURCE ( minerals, water, fuels, food, farm land, living space, air, germplasm, other species, etc.) Categories of Resources - Renewable - Potentially Renewable - Non-renewable

HOW TO USE A RESOURCE Different individuals and groups have varying opinions as to what to do with a particular resource (e.g. Land) - leave it undisturbed - build on it - farm it - mine it to get what is under it Most times there is no ONE best choice. Usually it is relative. We all have REAL needs!

SOLID WASTE, RESOURCE USE, POLLUTION The U.S. has about 4.5% of the world’s population. The U.S. produces at least 33% of the world’s solid waste. Is this a disproportionate ratio? Ecological Footprint

U.S. SOURCES OF SOLID WASTE

U.S. SOURCES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE

U.S. MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE

U.S. WASTE FATE JAPAN

WHY RESOURCE WASTE MUST BE REDUCED Nowhere to put the wastes generated by resource use it depletes precious and limited resources it causes ecosystem damage it produces health hazards or has the potential to do so

ECOSYSTEM DAMAGE FROM RESOURCE USE I This can occur from the: extraction of the resource modification / manufacturing of the resource transport of the raw resource / finished product use of the resource / product trashing of the resource / product

ECOSYSTEM DAMAGE FROM RESOURCE USE II

ARE MINERALS NON- RENEWABLE? In reality minerals (iron, copper, gold, silver, etc.) are NOT destroyed. They do tend to be dissipated and / or converted to unusable / unavailable forms (they go from ‘high quality’ to ‘low quality’). Thus in a PRACTICAL sense they ARE non- renewable.

MINERAL RESERVES RESERVE a known deposit from which a usable mineral can be extracted at current prices (obviously this can vary over time) DEPLETION TIME OF A RESERVE the time it takes to use the major portion (80%) of the reserve

DISTRIBUTION OF MINERAL RESOURCES IS UNEVEN

APPROACHES TO THE TRASH PROBLEM AND CONSERVING RESOURCES (I) ‘FRONTIER’ TYPE APPROACH - find a better way / place to dispose of the waste - doesn’t address conservation SOMEWHAT ‘SUSTAINABLE’ APPROACH - tries to reduce waste and extend resource life by getting the most from the materials; this reduces the amount that must be trashed, detoxified ~ reuse the item ~ recycle its materials ~ produce energy from the spent resource ~ compost it

APPROACHES TO THE TRASH PROBLEM AND CONSERVING RESOURCES (II) A MORE ‘SUSTAINABLE’ APPROACH in addition to those strategies used in the SSA, this approach tries to use less of our resources over the long term by: 1) increasing product lifespan (build things better, stronger, etc.) 2) where possible reduce the amount of materials in a product or use renewable materials or more “ecosystem friendly” materials 3) reduce consumption by a variety of techniques (increase purchase cost, increase disposal cost, education to do things differently, etc.)

RESOURCE DEPLETION CURVES

RESOURCE RECOVERY --- URBAN

PAPER RECYCLING Europe as a whole (2003) % In 2003, 70% in: Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland Japan (2003) % U.S % but 30% of that shipped overseas (more than half to China)

‘PROPER’ WASTE PRIORITIES

WHAT TO DO WITH WASTES There will always be SOME wastes! Immobilization / detoxification of wastes Landfill (sanitary, secure) Deep mines or wells (salt formations for nuclear wastes ?????) Ocean Dumping N.I.M.B.Y.

SOME QUESTIONS TO ANSWER FROM CHAPTERS 11 & 13 What defines a mineral? Energy wise, is it better to produce new aluminum from an ore, or recycle aluminum scrap? What about glass? Do you think there are any ‘brownfields’ in the Delaware Valley area?