© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Lecture Presentations prepared by Heidi Marcum Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories 4th Edition Withgott/Laposata Epilogue Sustainable Solutions

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. We depend completely on the environment Society has depleted or degraded resources –Endangering their availability for future generations Humanity must develop solutions that enhance our quality of life –While protecting and restoring the environment A healthy, functioning society needs a healthy, functioning environment –Biodiversity and nature’s goods and services We must adjust our behavior, institutions, and technologies to sustain us and our environment

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. We can develop sustainably Environmental degradation affects the poor the most Sustainability is more than protecting the environment Sustainability means promoting social justice, economic well-being, and environmental quality at the same time

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Sustainability on campus Students at colleges and universities play a crucial role in finding sustainable solutions –Running recycling programs, planting native plants, pushing for curricular changes –Working with faculty and administrators to improve energy and water efficiency, reduce emissions, etc. Almost 700 university presidents have pledged to reduce emissions and ultimately become carbon-neutral These efforts are reducing the ecological footprints of campuses

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Environmental protection is good economics Economic concerns affect our daily decisions –Protecting the environment improves our economic bottom line Reducing resource consumption and waste: –Saves money, creates jobs, spurs innovation Protecting the environment draws people, increases property values, and increases tax revenues In the past 50 years, the economy expanded while the environment was being protected

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Improving our lives while consuming less Economic growth is driven by consumption –We believe that more, bigger, and faster are better Consumption of limited resources cannot continue We can enhance our lives by: –Improving technology and efficiency in industry –Manufacturing systems that are circular and recycle –Modifying our behaviors to minimize consumption

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Continued human population growth is not sustainable Technology has expanded the Earth’s carrying capacity Sooner or later, growth will end, but how? –Through wars, plagues, famine –Or through voluntary means as a result of wealth, education, and empowerment of women The demographic transition may help developing countries, as it helped developed countries Population growth will eventually cease

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Technology can help us toward sustainability Technology has spurred population increase –The agricultural and industrial revolutions –Advances in medicine and health Technology magnifies our impact on Earth Sustainable technologies can reduce our impact –Catalytic converters and scrubbers reduce emissions –Waste is reduced through recycling and wastewater treatment –We are using cleaner, renewable energy

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Strategies for sustainability Redefining economic growth and quality of life –Green taxes, phasing out harmful subsidies, incorporate external costs into pricing Reducing unnecessary consumption Limiting population growth Encouraging sustainable (“green”) technologies Mimicking natural systems and enhancing self-sufficiency Voting and being politically active Think in the long term and promote research and education

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Natural systems and self-sufficiency Environmental systems operate in cycles –They have feedback loops and circular material flows –Output is recycled into input Linear manufacturing pathways can be transformed into circular ones through recycling Local self-sufficiency builds sustainable societies But globalization brings communication and learning –People can “vote with their wallets”

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Decision makers and long-term thinking A person can influence policymakers through: –Voting, attending public hearings, donating to advocacy groups, writing letters, making phone calls Policymakers act for the short-term good –They want quick results that help them get reelected We must base our decisions on long-term thinking –Environmental problems are cumulative, worsen gradually, and need long periods to be solved Short term costs of solving problems result in long-term benefits

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Promoting research and education is vital We can magnify our influence by educating others –Also by serving as role models through our actions Environmental science provides information so we can make wise decisions about issues Scientific research and education can help us find sustainable solutions

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. Time is precious Human impacts are intensifying –Deforestation, overfishing, wetland loss, resource extraction, biodiversity loss, and climate change –We must solve them before we do irreparable harm President Kennedy announced that within a decade there would be a man on the moon – it took only 8 years Humanity faces a challenge more important than any previous one: achieving sustainability –Government, industry, and citizens can contribute We have the ingenuity – we need to rally public resolve and engage governments, institutions, and entrepreneurs

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. We must think of Earth as an island Earth is, indeed, an island –Islands can be paradise, or they can be destroyed Some people speak out for conservation and finding ways to live sustainably amid dwindling resources –Others ignore those calls and continue environmental destruction It would be a tragic folly to let the planet be destroyed –Changing behavior, encouraging sustainability, and using science can help us live sustainably on Earth

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. The Earth is an island