Chapter 1: Environmental Problems, Causes and Sustainability

Key Concepts  Growth and Sustainability  Resources and Resource Use  Pollution  What are the root Causes of Environmental Problems  What are the root Causes of Environmental Problems  What is Environmental Science?

*Environment: Everything that surrounds and affects an organism The natural world as well as the things produced

I. ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES: Interdisciplinary Science that… 1.) Help us understand how the earth works 2.) Learn how we are affecting the earth’s life support systems 3.) Propose and evaluate solutions to the environmental problems we face.

MAJOR GROUPS CONCERNED WITH ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (see page 3 in textbook) 1.) ECOLOGIST 2.) ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST 3.) CONSERVATION BIOLOGIST 4.) ENVIRONMENTALIST 5.) PRESERVATIONIST 6.) CONSERVATIONIST 7.) RESTORAIONIST

Consensus Science Suggests that issues such as global climate change, deforestation, and species loss SHOULD be taken as a serious problem.

II. ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS A. Three categories: 1) NATURAL RESOURCE DEPLETION 3) EXTINCTION 2) POLLUTION

1. RESOURCE DEPLETION -DEPLETION: -A large part of these resources has been used. - Natural resources: (sunlight, air,water, soil, plants, minerals, animals, fossil fuels, etc) -Two categories: RENEWABLE and NON-RENEWABLE

NON-RENEWABLE – resources that cannot be replaced RENEWABLE – resources that can be continually replaced

Chevron Advertisement

ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY Satisfies the basic needs for… food, water, air, and shelter Resources that can be used in the indefinite future without being depleted Does not prevent future generations from meeting these needs

2. POLLUTION -A poisoning, intentional or not, of our air, water, or soil.

Pollution Sources Point Sources- where pollutants come from single identifiable sources. Ex: exhaust pipe of an automobile. Nonpoint sources- come from dispersed sources often hard to identify. Ex: runoff of fertilizer from farmlands, golf courses, and lawns.

3. EXTINCTION Condition where a species completely disappears from the earth *Most species are becoming extinct due to habitat loss Giant Ground Sloth Do Do Bird Mammoth Passenger Pigeon

Air Pollution Global climate change Stratospheric ozone depletion Urban air pollution Acid deposition Outdoor pollutants Indoor pollutants Noise Biodiversity Depletion Habitat destruction Habitat degradation Extinction Water Pollution Sediment Nutrient overload Toxic chemicals Infectious agents Oxygen depletion Pesticides Oil spills Excess heat Waste Production Solid waste Hazardous waste Food Supply Problems Overgrazing Farmland loss and degradation Wetlands loss and degradation Overfishing Coastal pollution Soil erosion Soil salinization Soil waterlogging Water shortages Groundwater depletion Loss of biodiversity Poor nutrition Major Environmental Problems

III. ROOT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS Almost all environmental problems can be traced back to… 1) POPULATION CRISIS- Number of people grows too quickly for the earth to support. 2) CONSUMPTION CRISIS- People are using up, polluting, wasting things faster than can be replaced.

Population Growth  Linear Growth  Exponential Growth- starts slow then becomes very rapid  Doubling Time/ Rule of 70 Fig. 1-2 p. 4 Fig. 1-3 p. 5 * The current world population for mid- year 2007 is estimated at 6,602,224,175

World Population Billions of people ? ? ? million years Hunting and gathering Black Death–the Plague Time Industrial revolution Agricultural revolution B.C.A.D. Fig. 1.1, p. 2

ACTUAL WORD POPULATION TREND United States Birth rate: births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 2.07 children born/woman (2003 est.)

A Global Perspective: Many environmental problems affect the entire world... Examples: Pollution in the American Midwest falls on Canada as acid rain Destruction of tropical rainforests increases CO 2 worldwide

Ecological Footprint United States The Netherlands India Country Per Captia Ecological Footprint (Hectares of land per person) Country Total Ecological Footprint (Hectares) United States The Netherlands India 3 billion hectares 94 million hectares 1 billion hectares Fig. 1.10, p Hectare = 2.5 Acres

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT LINKS

ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT -Use of economic rewards and incentives -Increased economic penalties -Shift to prevention vs. excess

Sustainable Development Chapter 1: videos – Play on Windows Media Player

Story of Change(Season 2)