Human Impacts and Sustainability 8/22/11
What is sustainability? A way of living which balances meeting our own needs, without limiting the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
What are the 3 components of sustainability? Economic Ecological (Natural Capital) Societal/Social
What is Environmental Degradation? Wasting, Depleting and degrading the earth’s natural capital.
What is pollution? A chemical, noise, heat or other agent in the environment that is harmful to the health, survival or activities of humans or other organisms.
How is pollution categorized? Point sources= single identifiable sources – i.e. smokestack, coal burning plant Non-point sources = disperse, difficult to identify – i.e. runoff fertilizers in a river, pesticides blown in the wind
What are the 2 ways we deal with pollution? Output control= clean up Input control = prevention
What is an ecological footprint? A measure of how much a person consumes resources and produces waste and pollution, expressed in area of land.
How is an ecological footprint a measure of sustainability? If a country’s total ecological footprint is greater than its biological capacity to replish renewable resources and absorb pollutants and waste = ecological deficit – NOT sustainable
Summary