Environmental Issues, Their Causes & Sustainability Chapter One

Environment, Ecology, & Environmental Science Environment - all external conditions and factors that affect living organisms Ecology - study of relationships between living organisms and their environment Environmental Science - examines the effect of humans on the earth’s environment –How the earth works –How to deal with the problems we face –It is an interdisciplinary science - natural and social sciences.

How rapidly is the human population growing? It took 60,000 years to reach 1 billion It took 130 years to reach 2 billion It took 30 years to reach 3 billion It took 17 years to reach 4 billion It took 12 years to reach 5 billion It took 10 years to reach 6 billion 48% of earth’s land area has been modified by man.

Population Growth rate % change over time Positive and negative rates –More births than deaths each year –For every 5 babies born each second, two people die –Negative rates- high mortality rates, emigration

Exponential Growth development at an increasingly rapid rate in proportion to the growing total number or size; a constant rate of growth applied to a continuously growing base over a period of time Also called Geometric Growth –Follows a geometric pattern of increase –2,4,8,16,32, etc.

Makes a J- curve Called this because of its shape To find Doubling Time Use Rule of 70 Divide Percent increase into 70 Human population is growing in this manner

Arithmetic Growth Increases at a constant amount per unit of time 1,3,5,7, etc. Also called Linear Growth Graph will be a sloping straight line Food production is increasing in this manner

Environmentally Sustainable Society Satisfies the basic needs of the people without depleting or degrading its natural resources 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.

Population and Sustainability Overpopulation is root cause of many environmental problems –Depletion of water –More land needed to grow food and house our families –More pollution is generated by our growing industrialization –Mass extinction from habitat loss

Carrying Capacity The number of people earth can support without using resources faster than the planet can replenish them A population that exceeds the carrying capacity CANNOT be sustained –Not enough food, water, other vital resources What is our carrying capacity ? It depends on several factors: type and quantity of available resources, how those resources are distributed, the amount of resources each person uses

Ecological Footprint The amount of land needed to produce the resources needed by the average person in a country. –Ecological footprint of people in developed countries is large compared to people in developing countries. –If all people in the world consumed what we do in the U.S. it would take three planets to support them.

United States The Netherlands India Country Per Capita Ecological Footprint (Hectares of land per person)

Capital Wealth – to an economist Solar capital – energy from the sun –Direct sunlight and indirect forms such as windpower, hydroelectric, and biomass Natural capital – (natural resources) air, water, soil, biodiversity, etc. Also called natural resources. Our existence depends completely on the sun and the earth.

What is economic growth? An increase in a country’s capacity to provide goods and services for its population’s use. Its measured by Gross National Income (GNI) Used to be called Gross National Product Market value of all goods and services produced within a country for final use during a year. Usually calculate per capita GNI - GNI divided by total population

Gross Domestic Product – GDP – the market value in current dollars of all good and services produced within a country during a year. Gross World Product – GWP – market valut in current dollars of all goods and services produced in the world during a year Per capita GNI in purchasing power – GNI PPP/total population at mid-year. A way to compare people’s economic welfare among countries.

What is economic development? Improvement of living standards by economic growth

Developed Countries Highly industrialized High per capita GNI Have 20% of world’s population Have 85% of world’s wealth and income Use 88% of its natural resources Generate 75% of its pollution & waste

Developing Countries Low to moderate industrialization Low per capita GNI Most are in Africa, Asia, and Latin America Have 80% of the world’s population Have 15% of its wealth and income Use only 12% of its natural resources

Development The change from a largely rural society, mainly agricultural, illiterate, and poor with a rapidly growing population to one that is mostly urban, industrial, educated, and wealthy with a slow-growing population..

Globalization The process of global social, economic, and environmental change that leads to an increasingly integrated world. –Economic indicators - global economy has grown and there are many transnational corporations –Information & communication - many people have Internet access –Environmental effects - diseases and pollutants transported across international borders & global climate change

RESOURCES RESOURCE - anything obtained from the earth to meet human needs and wants –Food, water, shelter, manufactured goods, transportation

Types of resources PERPETUAL - renewed continuously –SOLAR ENERGY –WIND, TIDES, FLOWING WATER RENEWABLE - can be replenished fairly rapidly –AIR, WATER, SOIL, BIODIVERSITY NONRENEWABLE - exist in a fixed quantity –FOSSIL FUELS –METALLIC MINERALS –NONMETALLIC MINERALS

Sustainable yield The highest rate at which a potentially renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply. Environmental degradation - results when a resource’s natural replacement level is exceeded.

The Tragedy of the Commons Garrett Hardin “If I don’t use it, someone else will” Overusing that which belongs to all or us –Air, water, ocean –Called COMMON PROPERTY OR FREE- ACCESS RESOURCES

Nonrenewable resource Exist in fixed amounts in the earth’s crust and can be completely used up –Include energy resources such as coal, oil natural gas & uranium –Metallic mineral resources - iron, copper –Nonmetallic mineral resources - salt, sand, clay Mineral - hard, crystalline material formed naturally Also called exhaustible resources

Economic depletion When 80% of a mineral is used up and it becomes more expensive to retrieve it than the mineral is worth. Five choices at this point: –Reduce or use less, reuse or recycle existing supply - does not apply to nonrenewable energy sources- use less or try to find a substitute or do without.

Recycling - collect and reprocess resource into new products. Reuse - Use resource over & over again. Cannot recycle nonrenewable energy sources Reserve - known deposit from which a useable mineral can be extracted at a profit at current prices.

Pollution Any addition to air, water, soil or food that threatens the health, survival, or activities of humans or others Can be natural such as a volcano or anthropogenic - due to human activities POINT SOURCES - come from a single identifiable source - a wastewater treatment plant NONPOINT SOURCES - come from sources that are difficult to identify.

Solutions to Pollution CLEANUP - usually only temporary PREVENTION - the best way - slow or eliminate pollutant reaching environment.

Key Environmental Problems FIVE ROOT CAUSES Overpopulation Waste of resources Poverty 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.

Connections Model developed by Paul Ehrlich and John Holdren- 1970’s Population x Affluence x Technology = Environmental Impact P = number of people A = number of units of resources used /person T = Env. Degredation & pollution/unit of resource used I = environmental impact of population

P x A x T = I

Results Developing countries have more people but use less resources / person Developed countries have less people but use more resources/person Ends up that both have effects on environment

Environmental worldview - how people think the world works, their role, and right and wrong behavior (environmental ethics) Planetary management worldview- humans are the most important and should manage the planet Environmental wisdom worldview - we are a part of nature and resources are limited. We must manage.