1. Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability
Chapter 1

2. Question of the Day
The Earth’s natural capital, which supports and sustains the Earth’s life and economies is composed from what two components?

3. Answer of the Day
The Earth’s natural capital, which supports and sustains the Earth’s life and economies is composed from what two components?
1. Natural Resources
2. Natural Services (p. 7)

4. Key Concepts Population growth and sustainability
2015 World 7.2 b USA 318m China 1.3 India 1.2b
Economic growth and development
Resources and resource use
Pollution
Causes of environmental problems

5. World Population Exponential growth Poverty
Extinction and biodiversity
Climate changes
Good news: possible solutions
Fig. 1-1, p. 1

6. Black Death—the Plague Agricultural revolution
World Population ?
Billions of people
Black Death—the Plague
Time
Hunting and
gathering
Agricultural revolution
Industrial
revolution
Fig. 1-1, p. 1

7. Living More Sustainably
Environment
is the sum total of all living and nonliving things that affect any living organism.
Ecology
studies relationships between living organisms and their environment.
Environmental science
studies how the earth works, how we interact with the earth, and how to deal with environmental problems.

8. Environmental Science
Earth’s Life-support System
AIR (atmosphere)
WATER (hydrosphere)
Soil and rocks (lithosphere)
Life (biosphere)
Human Culturesphere
Population size
Worldviews and ethics
Politics
Economics

9. Living More Sustainably
Environmentalism see p. s9 - 14
a social movement dedicated to protecting the earth’s life support system.
Sustainability
the ability of earth’s systems to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely

10. Path to Sustainability
A Pa t h t o S u s t a i n a b i l i t y
Natural Capital
Natural Capital
Degradation
Solutions
Trade-Offs
Individuals
Matter
S o u n d S c i e n c e
Fig. 1-2, p. 7

11. Natural Capital Earth’s natural capital Capital Financial income
Biological income
Degrading capital
Fig. 1-3, p. 7

12. Natural Capital Stepped Art Fig. 1-3, p. 7 NATURAL CAPITAL =
NATURAL RESOURCES
Air
Water
Soil
Land
Life (biodiversity)
Nonrenewable minerals (iron, sand)
Renewable energy
(sun, wind, water flows)
Nonrenewable energy (fossil fuels, nuclear power) +
NATURAL SERVICES
Air purification
Water purification
Soil renewal
Nutrient recycling
Food production
Pollination
Grassland renewal
Forest renewal
Waste treatment
Climate Control
Population control (species interactions)
Pest control

13. Solutions to Environmental Problems
Trade-offs (compromises)
Individuals matter
Sound science
Environmentally sustainable societies

14. Question of the Day
An environmentally sustainable society meets the basic resource needs of its people without ________________the natural capital that supplies these resources.

15. Economics Economic growth
- is an increase in the capacity of a country to provide people with goods and services.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
- the annual market value of all goods and services produced within a country.
Per capita GDP
- GDP divided by the total population at midyear.

16. Economic development - is the improvement of human living standard by economic growth.
Developed countries – are highly industrialized and have high average per capita GDP
Developing countries – moderately developed and others are low-income countries.

17. Global Outlook Percentage 19 Population 81 0.1 Population growth 1.5
of World's 19
Population 81
0.1
Population
growth
1.5
Wealth and
income 85 15
Resource
use 88 12 75
Pollution
and waste 25
Developed countries
Developing countries
Fig. 1-4, p. 9

18. Human Population Growth
World total
Developing
countries
Population (billions)
Developed
countries
Year
Fig. 1-5, p. 9

19. Economic Development Fig. 1-6, p. 10
Trade-Offs
Economic Development
Good News
Bad News
Global life expectancy doubled since 1950
Infant mortality cut in half since 1955
Food production ahead of population growth since 1978
Air and water pollution down in most developed countries since 1970
Number of people living in poverty
dropped 6% since 1990
Life expectancy 13 years less in
developing countries than in
developed Countries
Infant mortality rate in developing countries over 9
times higher than in developed
countries
Harmful environmental effects of
agriculture may limit future food
production
Air and water pollution levels in
most developing countries too high
Half of world's workers trying to
live on less than $2 (U.S.) per day
Fig. 1-6, p. 10

20. Resources
A resource is anything obtained from the environment to meet our needs and wants.
Perpetual
Renewable
Nonrenewable

21. Perpetual and Renewable Resources
Sustainable yield
- the highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely.
Environmental degradation
Tragedy of the Commons

22. Ecological Footprint
Fig. 1-7, p. 11

23. Per Capita Ecological Footprint Total Ecological Footprint
(Hectares per person)
Country
United States
The Netherlands
India
9.6
3.8
0.8
Total Ecological Footprint
(Hectares)
Country
United States
The Netherlands
India
3 billion
hectares
62 million hectares
880 million
hectares
Fig. 1-7a, p. 11

24. Ecological Footprint Fig. 1-7, p. 11 1.5 Earth's Ecological Capacity
1.2
0.9
Humanity's Ecological Footprint
Number of Earths
0.6
0.3
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Year
Fig. 1-7, p. 11

25. Nonrenewable Resources
Energy resources
Metallic mineral resources
Nonmetallic mineral resources
Economic depletion
Recycling and reuse

26. Question of the Day
Explain what is meant when a nonrenewable resource is economically depleted.

27. Pollution What is pollution? Point and Nonpoint sources
Unwanted effects of pollution
A. They can disrupt or degrade life-support systems of any organisms.
B. They damage human health, wildlife, and property.
C. They can produce nuisances in noise, smells, taste, and sights.

28. Point-source Air Pollution
Fig. 1-8, p. 13

29. Solutions to Pollution
Pollution prevention (input control)
Pollution cleanup (output control)
Disadvantages of output control
Only a bandage
Only moves the pollutant
Very expensive

30. Environmental Problems: Causes and Connections
First step: Understanding the causes
1. Population growth
2. Wasteful resource use
3. Poverty
4. Bad environmental accounting
5. Ecological ignorance
6. An inadequate understanding of how the Earth works

31. Causes of Environmental Problems
Population
growth
Unsustainable
resource use
Poverty
Not including the
environmental costs
of economic goods
and services in their
market prices
Trying to manage and
simplify nature with too
little knowledge about
how it works
Fig. 1-10, p. 14

32. Some Harmful Results of Poverty
Lack of
access to
Number of people
(% of world's population)
Adequate
sanitation
2.4 billion (37%)
Enough fuel for
heating and
cooking
2 billion (31%)
Electricity
1.6 billion (25%)
Clean drinking water
1.1 billion (17%)
Adequate
health care
1.1 billion (17%)
Enough food
for good health
1.1 billion (17%)
Fig. 1-11, p. 14

33. Malnutrition
Fig. 1-12, p. 15

34. Economics and Ethics Affluenza p. 14-15 (negative s and positives)
An unsustainable addiction to overconsumption and materialism exhibited in the lifestyles of affluent consumers.
Globalization and global advertising
Law of Progressive Simplification
“true growth occurs as civilizations transfer an increasing proportion of energy and attention from the material side of life to the nonmaterial side”
Positive environmental effects of affluenza

35. Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Developing Countries X X =
Consumption per person (affluence, A)
Technological impact per unit of consumption (T)
Environmental impact of population (I)
Population (P) X X = X X =
Developed Countries
Fig. 1-13, p. 16

36. Question of the Day
The pollutants we produce come from two types of sources,
Point source and Nonpoint source. Polluted stormwater runoff is a
major cause of water quality problems in streams, rivers, and bays.
This image represents which source?

37. Historical Changes in Human Culture
Hunter-gatherers
Agricultural revolution
Industrial-medical revolution
Information-globalization revolution

38. Eras of US Environmental History
Tribal era (before 1600)
Frontier era ( )
Early conservation era ( )
Environmentalism

39. Is Our Present Course Sustainable?
Different views
Technological optimists
Environmental pessimists

40. Sustainability Revolution
Current
Emphasis
Sustainability
Emphasis
Pollution cleanup
Waste disposal (bury or burn)
Protecting species
Environmental degradation
Increased resource use
Population growth
Depleting and degrading natural capital)
Pollution prevention (cleaner production)
Waste prevention & reduction
Protecting where species live
(habitat protection)
Environmental restoration
Less wasteful (more efficient) resource use
Population stabilization by decreasing birth rates
Protecting natural capital and living off the biological interest it provides
Fig. 1-14, p. 18