1. Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability
Chapter 1
Chapter 25 (worldviews)

2. Core Case Study: Living in an Exponential Age
Exponential Growth: Quantity increases at constant rate— So the increases will occur at increasing rate
Ex. Savings Account: 3. 4% each year (the more money, the faster it grows)
Ex. Human Growth: 1.19% each year in 2007
Impact of human exponential growth on
Loss of animal and plant species
Loss of resources

3. Exponential Growth

4. Other Growth Patterns
Linear: Fixed amount added during each time period. Ex. 1, 2, 3, 4 (+1) or 1, 8, 22, 29 (+7)
Logistic Growth: Growth is dependent on Population Density—levels off at the Carrying Capacity

5. 1-1 What Is an Environmentally Sustainable Society?
Concept 1-1A Our lives and economies depend on energy from the sun (solar capital) and on natural resources and natural services (natural capital) provided by the earth.
Concept 1-1B Living sustainability means living off the earth’s natural income without depleting or degrading the natural capital that supplies it.

6. Lily Pond Parable: Exponential Growth Example
If a pond lily doubles everyday and it takes 30 days to completely cover the pond, on what day will the pond by ¼ covered? ½ covered?
Does the size of the pond make a difference?
What kind of environmental consequences can be expected as the 30th day approaches?
What will begin to happen at one minute past the 30th day?

7. Environmental Science Is a Study of Connections in Nature
Interdisciplinary science connecting information and ideas from
Natural sciences, with an emphasis on ecology
Social sciences
Humanities

8. Sustainability Is the Central Theme of This Book
Sustainability: ability of the Earth’s various natural systems and human cultural systems and economies to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely.
3 Components of Sustainability:
1. Natural Capital: Natural Resources and Natural Services (such as water purification and nutrient cycling)
Supported by solar capital (Solar Energy)
2. Degradation of natural capital through human activities
3. Search for scientific solutions

9. Natural Capital = Natural Resources + Natural Services

10. 1-2 How Can Environmentally Sustainable Societies Grow Economically?
Concept 1-2 Societies can become more environmentally sustainable through economic development dedicated to improving the quality of life for everyone without degrading the earth's life support systems.

11. There Is a Wide Economic Gap between Rich and Poor Countries
Country’s economic growth: measured by gross domestic product (GDP)
GDP is annual market value of all goods and services produced within a country
Changes in economic growth: measured by per capita GDP
Compare
Developed countries (US Canada, Japan, Australia, Europe)--highly industrializes, high Per capita GDP
Developing countries (most of Africa, Asia, Latin America)--per capita GDP is declining in many

12. Comparison of Developed and Developing Countries, 2008

13. 1-3 How Are Our Ecological Footprints Affecting the Earth?
Concept 1-3 As our ecological footprints grow, we are depleting and degrading more of the earth’s natural capital.
Components of our Ecological Footprint:
Oxygen Shelter
Food Employment
Water Waste Disposal
Energy Recreation

14. Some Resources Are Renewable
Directly available for use (solar, air, water)
Not directly available for use (oil, coal)
Perpetual resource--lasts “forever”
Solar energy
Renewable resource-can replenish fairly quickly
forests, grasslands, fresh air, fertile soil
Sustainable Yield: highest rate at which resource can be used indefinitely without reducing available supply
Environmental Degradation: exceeding natural replacement rate leads to shrinking supply

15. Degradation of Normally Renewable Natural Resources and Services

16. Overexploiting Shared Renewable Resources: Tragedy of the Commons
Three types of property or resource rights
Private property-Individual owns rights to resources
Common property-large groups own rights to resources (ex. Public lands/parks)
Open access renewable resources-Owned by no one; all can use (ex. Air, groundwater, open ocean)
Tragedy of the Commons-- Garrett Hardin, 1968
Solutions to exploitation of resources?

17. Some Resources Are Not Renewable
Nonrenewable resources
Energy resources
Metallic mineral resources- copper, gold
Nonmetallic mineral resources-salt, sand
Reuse: using resource many times without changing the form (ex. Glass bottles)
Recycle: processing waste materials into new ones (ex. Al cans)

18. Comparison of Possessions
Family of 5 subsistence farmers in Bhutan (Himalayan Mountains)
Family of 4 living in Texas

19. Our Ecological Footprints Are Growing
Ecological footprint concept
Biological capacity (biocapacity): measures how biologically productive land is. Biologically productive land includes cropland, pasture, forests and fisheries.
16% of the world’s biocapacity is in Brazil.
Ecological footprint: The amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply the people in an area.
Unsustainability occurs if the area’s ecological footprint exceeds its biocapacity.

20. Natural Capital Use and Degradation

21. Case Study: China’s New Affluent Consumers
Leading consumer of various foods and goods
Wheat, rice, and meat
Coal, fertilizers, steel, and cement
Second largest consumer of oil
Two-thirds of the most polluted cities are in China
Projections, by 2020
Largest consumer and producer of cars
World’s leading economy in terms of GDP PPP

22. 1-4 What Is Pollution and What Can We Do about It?
Concept 1-4 Preventing pollution is more effective and less costly than cleaning up pollution.
Sources of Pollution
Point vs. Nonpoint
E.g., smokestack vs. pesticides blown into the air
Main Types of Pollution:
Biodegradable vs. Nondegradable
Pollution Cleanup vs. Pollution Prevention
(output pollution control vs. (input pollution control)

23. 1-5 Why Do We Have Environmental Problems?
Concept 1-5A Major causes of environmental problems are population growth, wasteful and unsustainable resource use, poverty, exclusion of environmental costs of resource use from the market prices of goods and services, and attempts to manage nature with insufficient knowledge.
Concept 1-5B People with different environmental worldviews often disagree about the seriousness of environmental problems and what we should do about them.

24. Experts Have Identified Five Basic Causes of Environmental Problems
Population growth
Wasteful and unsustainable resource use: Affluenza
Poverty
Failure to include the harmful environmental costs of goods and services in their market price
Insufficient knowledge of how nature works

25. Poverty Has Harmful Environmental and Health Effects
Population growth affected
Malnutrition
Premature death
Limited access to adequate sanitation facilities and clean water

26. Some Harmful Results of Poverty

27. Wasteful and Unsustainable Resource Use
Called “Affluenza”
Harmful environmental impact due to
High levels of consumption
Unnecessary waste of resources
Affluence can provide funding for
Developing technologies to reduce
Pollution
Environmental degradation
Resource waste

28. Prices Do Not Include the Value of Natural Capital: Poor Environmental Accounting
Companies do not pay the environmental cost of resource use
Goods and services do not include the harmful environmental costs
Companies receive tax breaks and subsidies
Economy may be stimulated but there may be a degradation of natural capital

29. Different Views about Environmental Problems and Their Solutions
Some people lack the knowledge to understand environmental problems
Environmental Worldviews: A set of values and assumptions to help you make environmental decisions
Planetary management worldview
Stewardship worldview
Environmental wisdom worldview

30. Planetary Worldview
We are the planet’s most important species, we are in charge of nature
We will not run out of resources because of our ability to develop and find new ones.
The potential for global economic growth is unlimited
Our success depends on how well we manage the earth’s life-support systems for our own benefit.
This is the view of most industrialized nations.

31. Stewardship Worldview
We are the planet’s most important species, but we have an ethical responsibility to care for the rest of nature
We will probably not run out of resources, but they should not be wasted
We should encourage environmentally beneficial forms of economic growth and discourage environmentally harmful growth
Our success depends on how well we manage the earth’s life-support systems for our benefit and for the rest of nature

32. Environmental Wisdom Worldview
Nature exists for all species, not just us and we are not in charge of the earth
Earth’s resources are limited and should not be wasted and are not all for us
We should encourage earth-sustaining forms of economic growth and discourage earth-degrading forms.
Our success depends on learning how the earth sustains itself and integrating such lessons from nature in our own lives.

33. More holistic
More atomistic
Biosphere- or Earth-centered
Ecosystem Centered
Biocentric
(life-centered)
Anthropocentric
(human-centered)
Instrumental values play bigger role
Intrinsic values play bigger role
Self-centered
Planetary
management
Stewardship
Environmental wisdom

34. Individuals Matter: Aldo Leopold
Role of humans is to protect nature, not conquer it.
Wrote “Sand County Almanac”-observations of nature at his Wisconsin farm
Founded Wilderness Society
Environmental Ethics
A leader of the conservation and environmental movements of the 20th century
Land ethic--basis of stewardship and environmental wisdom worldviews

35. Aldo Leopold Video Clip

36. Sci1-6 What Are Four Scientific Principles of Sustainability?
Concept 1- 6 Nature has sustained itself for billions of years by using solar energy, biodiversity, population control, and nutrient cycling—lessons from nature that we can apply to our lifestyles and economies.
Four Scientific Principles of Sustainability
Reliance on solar energy
Biodiversity
Population control
Nutrient cycling

37. Four Scientific Principles of Sustainability

38. Solutions For Environmental or Sustainability Revolution
Proactive!
Reactive!