1. Introducing Environmental Science and Sustainability1
Introducing Environmental Science and Sustainability

2. The Environment (Earth)
Life has existed on earth for 3.8 billion yrs
Earth well suited for life

3. Human Impacts on Environment: Population
Earth’s Human Population is at 7.5 billion
Growing exponentially
Hans Rosling- Won’t Exceed 11 Billion

4. Global Fertility
From Worldbank.org

5. Population and Poverty
1 in 4 people live in extreme poverty

6. Global Poverty
From Worldbank.org

7. Gap Between Rich and Poor
Highly Developed Countries (HDC)
Complex industrialized bases, low population growth, high per capita incomes
Ex:

8. Gap Between Rich and Poor
Less Developed Countries (LDC)
Low level of industrialization, very high fertility rate, high infant mortality rate, low per capita income
Ex:

9. The World by Income
From Worldbank.org

10. Types of Natural Resources
Non Renewable Resources
Renewable Resources
* Note:

11. Consumption Unsustainable Consumption
Occurs when the level of demand on a country’s resources damages or depletes the resource enough to reduce the quality of life for future generations
Developing Countries
Developed Countries
Stats: HDC
86% Al
76% timber harvested
68% energy produced
61% meat eaten
42 % of fresh water consumed
Generate 75% world pollution and waste

12. Consumption
From Worldbank.org

13. Ecological Footprint
The average amount of land, water and ocean required to provide that person with all the resources they consume
Earth’s Productive Land and Water
11.4 billion hectares
Amount Each Person is Allotted (divide Productive Land & Water by Human Pop.)
1.68 hectares
Average Global Ecological Footprint of each person
2.87
– The Living Planet Report (Global Footprint Network)

14. Ecological Footprint
Humans have an ecological overshoot

15. World Footprint (global hectares)

16. Ecological Footprint Comparison

17. Environmental effect of technologies
IPAT Model
Measures 3 factors that affect environmental impact (I)
I = P A T
Environmental Impact
Number of people
Affluence per person
Environmental effect of technologies

18. Environmental Sustainability

19. Environmental Sustainability
The ability to meet current human need for natural resources without compromising the needs of future generations

20. Tragedy of the Commons Garrett Hardin (1915–2003)
Solving Environmental Problems is result of struggle between:
Short term welfare
Long term environmental stability and societal welfare
Common pool resources
Garrett used Common Pastureland in medieval Europe to illustrate the struggle

21. Sustainable Development- Systems Concept
Economic development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising future generations

22. Environmental Science
An interdisciplinary study of human relationship with other organisms and the earth
Biology
Ecology
Geography
Chemistry
Geology
Physics
Economics
Sociology
Demography
Politics

23. Earth System and Environmental Science
A set of components that interact and function as a whole
Global Earth Systems
Climate, atmosphere, land, coastal zones, ocean
Ecosystem
A natural system consisting of a community of organisms and its physical environment

24. Earth Systems and Environmental Science
Negative feedback
Change triggers a response that counteracts the changed condition

25. Feedback Positive feedback
Change triggers a response that intensifies the changing condition

26. Scientific Method

27. Controls and Variables in Experiment
A factor that influences a process
The variable may be altered in an experiment to see its effect on the outcome
Control
The variable is not altered
Allows for comparison between the altered variable test and the unaltered variable test

28. Five Steps to Addressing An Environmental Problem
Five steps are idealistic
Case Study: Lake Washington

29. Assessing Environmental Problem Case Study: Lake Washington
Large, freshwater pond
Suburban sprawl in 1940’s
10 new sewage treatment plants dumped effluent into lake
Effect = excessive cyanobacteria growth that killed off fish and aquatic life

30. Assessing Environmental Problem Case Study: Lake Washington
Scientific Assessment
Aquatic wildlife assessment done in 1933 was compared to the 1950 assessment
Hypothesized treated sewage was introducing high nutrients causing growth of cyanobacteria
Risk Analysis
After analyzing many choices, chose new location (freshwater) and greater treatment for sewage to decrease nutrients in effluent

31. Assessing Environmental Problem Case Study: Lake Washington
Public Education/Involvement
Educated public on why changes were necessary
Political Action
Difficult to organize sewage disposal in so many municipalities
Changes were not made until 1963!
Evaluation
Cyanobacteria slowly decreased until (gone)

32. Assessing Environmental Problem Case Study: Lake Washington
Results