1. Despite a 22-fold increase in economic growth since 1900,
Quick Question 8/25/10
Despite a 22-fold increase in economic growth since 1900,
almost 1 in every 2 people in the world try to survive on an income of less than $3 (U.S) per day.
How does this fact affect our environment? Explain your response, including how it impacts developing nations.

2. Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability
G. Tyler Miller’s
Living in the Environment
14th Edition
Chapter 1

3. Key Concepts Growth and Sustainability Resources and Resource Use
Pollution
Causes of Environmental Problems

4. Living More Sustainably
Ecology- studies relationships between living organisms and their environment.
Environmental Science- study of how the Earth works and human interactions with Earth; develops methods and solutions to environmental issues.
Sustainable Society- manages its economy
and population size without doing irreparable
environmental harm; doesn’t overload/deplete resources,
replenishs resources, while still satisfying the needs
of its population over a specified period of time.

5. What Keeps Us Alive? Capital – Life and economies depend on it
Solar Capital- energy from the sun; creates renewable energy such as wind power, hydropower, and biomass.
- Biomass uses solar energy that has been changed to chemical energy and then stored in biological form, such as wood.
Natural Capital- use of natural resources such as air, soil, wildlife, minerals, and ecological services.
- Biological income from fish, grasslands, and underground water can be sustained, IF we don’t deplete it!

6. NATURAL CAPITAL Figure 1-2 Page 7 Water Energy Air Soil Minerals
SOLAR ENERGY
RESOURCES
Water
Energy
Air
Soil
Minerals
NATURAL CAPITAL
Nutrient Recycling
Pollution Control
Biodiversity
Pest & Disease Control
Population Control
Climate Control
Waste Treatment
SERVICES

7. Population Growth Exponential Growth Fig. 1-4, p. 8
Doubling Time/ Rule of 70
Example: If the growth rate of the China is 10%, the rule of 70 predicts it would take 7 years (70/10) for China to double in size.

8. World Population
Fig. 1-1 p. 5

9. Economic Growth – provides people with goods & services needed
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) a.k.a. Gross National Income (GNI) – market value for goods and services produced in a country
Per Capita GDP – used to measure the standard of living; GDP divided by the total population at midyear
Economic Development – improving the standards of living in a country through growth of economies.

10. Economic Development Positive Aspects Negative Aspects
Developed Countries- high industrialization;
high per capital GDP (Europe, US, Canada, Japan)
Developing Countries- moderate to low per capital GDP and levels of industrialization
(India, parts of Africa and South America); represent 97% of the projected increase in the world population.
Positive Aspects
Negative Aspects

11. Positive and Negative Aspects of Economic Development
Longer life expectancy
Decrease in infant mortality
Greater food production than actual food needs (abundance)
Decrease in air/water pollution
Decrease in poverty overall
Negative:
- high infant mortality
(8 x’s higher than developed nation)
- High pollution levels
- Soil, water and forest resources are rapidly depleted affects future food production
- wages are very low with poor working conditions
- shorter life expectancy

12. Social – technology, human mobility allow
Globalization
Social – technology, human mobility allow
more people to interact with one another.
(Facebook- Iran)
Economic – international trade
(oil, diamonds)
Environmental Effects of Globalization
The world is more interconnected; share in resources
and responsibility to sustaining the environment
(Kyoto Protocol)

13. Resources anything from the environment that we use to meet our needs.
Perpetual
Renewable-
normal human life span
Non-renewable
Fig. 1-6 p. 9

14. Non-Renewable Resources
Energy Resources – oil, coal, natural gas
Metallic Resources- copper, iron, aluminum, gold
Non-Metallic Resources- salt, clay, sand
Non-renewable resources are considered economically depleted when the cost of extracting them outweighs the value. Solutions include finding more of the resource, recycling and reusing, wasting and using less, developing substitute products, or waiting millions of years for more to be produced!

15. Renewable Resources Sustainable Yield – highest rate a
renewable resource can be used indefinitely
without reducing/depleting the available supply
Environmental Degradation –
when we exceed the sustainable yield and
natural replacement rate of a resource;
available supply starts to shrink
Tragedy of the Commons- when no regulation or limits on shared renewable resources, people get greedy and overuse.
(national parks, air & ocean pollution)

16. Ecological Footprint
Fig. 1-7 p. 10

17. What’s your ecological footprint???
Ecological footprint – a measure of how much of the earth’s natural capital and biological income you use; the amount of land and water needed to supply each person with the renewable resources they use while also accounting for absorption/ dispose of wastes;

18. HUGE FOOTPRINT =OVERCONSUMPTION!
Currently, each person’s ecological footprint is 20% greater than can be sustained indefinitely.
The consumption of the US alone would require 4 more planet Earth just to sustain current population! Does not account for future population!
HUGE FOOTPRINT =OVERCONSUMPTION!

19. Pollution
Pollutants can enter environment naturally (volcanic eruptions) or through human activities (burning fossil fuels, dumping wastes)
Effects of Pollution
disrupt/degrade life support systems of an organism
Damage human health, wildlife, property
Produce nuisances such as noise, smells, tastes, and sights

20. Sources of Pollution
Point – single, identifiable source (cars/industrial plants); easy to identify and control
Non- point- dispersed and hard to pinpoint the source (pesticides sprayed into the air or in the water through run off)

21. Dealing With Pollution
Prevention (Input Control)
- reduce/eliminate pollution production
Cleanup (Output Control)
- clean up/dilute pollutants
Problems with relying on cleanup:
1) temporary fix without controlling long term
effects (catalytic converters on cars)
2) pollutant removed but may cause pollution to
another place (burning garbage)
3) expensive to reduce to acceptable levels

22. Biodiversity Depletion
Major Environmental & Resource Problems
Biodiversity Depletion
Habitat destruction
Habitat degradation
Extinction
Air Pollution
Global climate change
Stratospheric ozone depletion
Urban air pollution
Acid deposition
Outdoor pollutants
Indoor pollutants
Noise
Food Supply Problems
Overgrazing
Farmland loss
and degradation
Wetlands loss
Overfishing
Coastal pollution
Soil erosion
Soil salinization
Soil waterlogging
Water shortages
Groundwater depletion
Loss of biodiversity
Poor nutrition
Major
Environmental
Problems
Water Pollution
Sediment
Nutrient overload
Toxic chemicals
Infectious agents
Oxygen depletion
Pesticides
Oil spills
Excess heat
Waste Production
Solid waste
Hazardous waste

23. Five Root Causes to environmental problems
Fig p. 13
Five Root Causes to environmental problems

24. Poverty affects the environment
Developing countries:
Focused on necessities (food, water, fuel); desperate for land to grow food leads to depletion or degradation of forests, soil, wildlife etc. - not worried about long term environmental effects.
Live in areas with high levels of air & water pollution; take jobs where they can find them without worrying about unsafe conditions
Affect population growth; have many children to help with work and increase economic security.

25. Connection between consumption and environmental problems
Affluenza- unsustainable addiction to overconsumption and materialism (US and other developed countries)
However, not all affluent countries have to degrade the environment. These countries have more money to create new technologies that can help improve environmental quality.
Environmental impact (I) can be calculated based on 3 main factors:
P= population of people
A= affluence (average resource use per person)
T= impact of technologies per unit of resource consumption
I= P x A x T

26. Environmental Impact
Fig p. 15

27. Environmental Interactions
Fig p. 15

28. Environmental Worldviews – different views on how serious the Earth’s environmental problems and how they should be dealt with
Planetary Management worldview
Stewardship worldview
Environmental Wisdom worldview

29. What are Our Greatest Environmental Problems?
Disease
Overpopulation
Water Shortages
Climate Changes
Biodiversity Loss
Poverty
Malnutrition

30. Solutions Current Emphasis (Reactive) Pollution clean up
Fig. 1-16, p. 18
Current Emphasis (Reactive)
Pollution clean up
Bury/burn wastes
Protecting species
Environmental degradation
Increased resource use
Population growth
Depleting/degrading natural capital
Sustainability Emphasis (Proactive)
Pollution prevention
Waste prevention/reduction
Species habitat protection
Environmental restoration
More efficient resource use
Decrease birth rates (pop. Stabilization)
Protecting natural capital and living off interest it provides