Introducing Environmental Science and Sustainability Chapter 1

Sustainability Web Definitions: Social and environmental practices that protect and enhance the human and natural resources needed by future generations to enjoy a quality of life equal to or greater than our own. A strategy by which communities seek economic development approaches that also benefit the local environment and quality of life....

Systems Perspective G What is this and what other perspective might we have had at one time?

Earth Ages

Extreme Poverty G 1:2 earn less than two dollars a day G Poverty G 1:2 earn less than two dollars a day G Poverty

Increasing Human Numbers

Old World At Night How many is too many?

Could We All Live In… 1. Could we all live in Georgia? - 43,560 Square feet in an acre or 91% of a football field minus the end zones acres in a square mile - 57,906 square miles in Georgia Georgia = 37,059,840 Acres Texas = 172 Million and change US Population = 304 Million 2. 11,000,000 acres of land devoted to farms in Georgia 3. 23,631,000 acres devoted to timber in Georgia

Hectares of Land Required Ecological footprint One U.S. Child has a 1:12 Ratio of consumption

Overpopulation Vs Consumption

Resources

The Middle Class  Why is a middle class significant?

Environmental Impact IPAT Model I = P A T

New Model IPAT I = P x A x T 1 I = P x A T 2 Ray C. Anderson

Tragedy of Commons Sustainability and the Tragedy of the Commons Garrett Hardin In England and Wales, a common (or common land) is a piece of land over which other people—often neighboring landowners—could exercise one of a number of traditional rights, such as allowing their cattle to graze upon it. - HOA

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Scientific Method - relative to our study "The greatest invention of the nineteenth century was the invention of the method of invention." -- A.N. Whitehead (1926) Steps: 1.Observation and description of a phenomena 2.Formation of a hypothesis 3.Use hypothesis to predict phenomena - experiment - null hypothesis 4.Independent testing by others 5.Share your results - publish A theory can never be proven only disproved

Environmental Science Hypothesis: Burning will increase frequency of prairie wildflowers. Which is the: control group, IV, DV

Experimentation Independent Variable (IV): The Independent part is what you, the experimenter, changes or enacts in order to do your experiment. X axis Dependent Variable (DV): The dependent variable is what changes when the independent variable changes. There can be more than one dependent variable. Y Axis Control Group: Control Group: A trial in an experiment where all factors are kept from changing. Constants: unchanging qualities

Lake Washington & Pugent Sound What was done here, and what was the case used to demonstrate?