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Rats brought the plague. Rats increased. Cats died. Caterpillar numbers went up. WHO sent DDT to Borneo. Mosquitoes were wiped out. Caterpillars ate grass roofs. Cats were parachuted in. Cats caught lizards containing DDT. Roaches stored DDT in their bodies. Lizards disappeared. Lizards slowed down. Lizards ate roaches and got DDT. Bad Mosquitoes
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1.Bad Mosquitoes 2.WHO sent DDT 3.Mosquitoes Died 4.Cockroaches stored DDT 5.Lizards at cockroaches 6.Lizards slowed down 7.Cats ate lizards 8.Lizards Disappear 9.Cats die 10.Caterpillar #’s increase 11.Caterpillars ate grass roofs 12.Rats increase 13.Rats spread plague 14.Cats are Parachuted into Borneo
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Environmental Science and Sustainability
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Purpose of Environmental Science – assess the state of the abiotic and biotic interactions and how they affect the overall environmental health of a region, state, nation and the planet giving special consideration to the impact of human behavior
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Maintaining Balance Earth – well suited for life position from the sun – not too hot, not too cold plenty of water enough sunlight to drive photosynthesis atmospheric gases support life minerals and nutrients for growth and development
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Changes disrupt life’s balance 1. 1. human activity - largest agent of environmental change Ex: Use and depletion of natural resources 2. 2. Pollution 3. 3. Extinction of other species 4. 4. Introduction of foreign species – Zebra muscle, kudzu, gypsy moth, Japanese Beetle 5. 5. Alteration of Ecosystems
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Humanity Major Impact – Population Basic Example: 10 gallon aquarium = 10 inches of fish - why? Availability of nutrients and the accumulation of waste - more fish = necessity for more nutrients and the production of more waste
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Human Population: Population Growth – page 4 Estimated Size > Population ClockPopulation Clock rapid growth means impact on human quality of life and environmental health
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Result of a large population = fewer resources per person Poverty Poverty: WHO (World Health Organization) definition = making less than one dollar a day Associations of Poverty: low life expectancy, illiteracy, inadequate access to health services, safe water and balanced nutrition Solutions: Population control May not be culturally or religiously accepted
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Rich Countries Vs. Poor Countries Highly Developed Countries(HDC): 20% of world’s population Ex: US, Canada, Japan, most of Europe Moderately Developed and Less Developed (Poor) Countries(LDC): 80% of world’s population Ex: Bangladesh, Mali, Ethiopia LDC have many people for labor but little economic resources for development - mostly agricultural – lots of poverty and disease - during development, rapid growth of population often causes a depletion in the natural resources
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HDC and LDC disparity HDC use more natural resources per capita than LDC HDC (20% of world population) use over 50% of the resources HDC (20% of world population) use over 50% of the resources Draw two pie charts 1 - Showing relative population sizes of HDC and LDC countries 1 - Showing relative population sizes of HDC and LDC countries 2 – Showing relative resource consumption of HDC and LDS countries 2 – Showing relative resource consumption of HDC and LDS countries
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Unequal Distribution of Resources The world is not homogenous. Resources are clustered in different areas of the world. Resources are clustered in different areas of the world. RESOURCES = $$$$$$
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Steel Production
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Types of Resources Non-renewable – in limited supply and are depleted with use and cannot be replenished by natural processes within a reasonable human time scale Ex: metallic minerals, non-metallic minerals, fossil fuels Renewable – can be replaced by natural processes Ex: fresh water, fertile soil, solar energy, wind energy, clean air, animal populations (barring extinction)
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Renewable vs. Sustainable - - overuse of a renewable resource may cause its depletion - need to be used in a sustainable way – gives time for replenishment
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Resource Consumption - - use of materials and energy - - HDC individuals use a far greater amount of resources than LDC individuals Ex: amount of electricity and water used and waste generated, products consumed and the energy needed to produce it - Overconsumption due to overpopulation Overpopulation: when the level of demand on the resource base results in damage to the environment
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Types of Overpopulation 1. 1. People Overpopulation: too many people for the resources available – even if each person uses a small amount of the resources 2. Consumption Overpopulation: too many resources are used by each person (more than necessary) – consumption oriented lifestyle
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Ecological Footprint - - the average amount of productive land, fresh water and ocean required to supply a person with food, wood, energy, water, housing transportation and waste disposal on a continuous basis
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- Earth contains 11.4 billion hectares (or 28.2 billion acres or 1.2 x 1014 ft 2 ) of productive land and water 1 hectare = 1.87 football fields - divided by the population results in a 1.9 hectares (4.7 acres) per person which is less than the current 2.3 hectare (5.7 acre) ecological footprint - RESULT: - RESULT: ECOLOGICAL DEFICIT which causes forest destruction, degredation of crop land, loss of biological diversity, declines in ocean fishing, and water shortages
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HDC disparity: developing countries such as India have ecological footprints approximating 1 hectare (1.87 football fields) per person. US footprint is about 9.6 hectares. - If all the people in the world lived as US citizens lived, we would need 4 more planets for the necessary supplies - Ecological footprint is not only affected by the population but also by - Ecological footprint is not only affected by the population but also by the level of development. As a nation gets more and more developed it consumes more and more resources per person.
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Impact Determination (IPAT MODEL) - - the level of impact any activity causes can be estimated by the factors that cause it - the number of people involved (P) - - the consumption or amount of resources used per person in that activity (A) - - – known as the affluences - - the environmental effects (T) of the technologies used to obtain and consume the resources - - – this is a measure of the resources needed and wastes produced - thus the impact (I) is the product of these three factors (P x A x T) I = P x A x T
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Ex: Impact of CO 2 emissions by automobile is based on P = amount of people with cars A = number of cars per person T = amount of CO 2 per car - the level of impact varies based on these three factors and continuous fluctuate based on usage and trends Ex: Ex: SUV’s and Hybrid cars
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ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY - one of the goals of environmental science is to develop and educated people in the ways of environmental sustainability - - Sustainability: indefinite use of the environment in a manner that it’s quality does not decline – needs of the human population are met without endangering the welfare of future generations - - Sustainability avoids the Tragedy of the Commons
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Tragedy of the Commons - Its not my land, why should I clean it up? - I didn’t make the mess, why should I bother? - Its not going to hurt me, why should I care? - lack of communal responsibility, lack of foresight, lack of a sense of stewardship
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- when there is no sense of ownership or responsibility, the effort to care for a resource is diminished – thus when a large number of people use the resource (a common resource) without the sense of stewardship (care and sustaining), - when there is no sense of ownership or responsibility, the effort to care for a resource is diminished – thus when a large number of people use the resource (a common resource) without the sense of stewardship (care and sustaining), the common resource will degrade and be unavailable for future use Ex: Generate lots of air pollution now – affect future generations Don’t recycle – impacts availability of resources Don’t recycle – impacts availability of resources
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Need Stewardship – Need Stewardship – shared responsibility for the use and care of the resources of the planet – not for exploitation but a protective and sustainable approach to using the resources and developing new and better ways of meeting our needs Role of Government: Regulate and Control the use of Resources Ex: Fish and Game Commission
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