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Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability. Chapter 1: Dr. Wesam Al Madhoun. Core Case Study: Exponential Growth (1). Exponential growth – a quantity increases at a fixed percentage per unit of time. Slow start, rapid increase Human population 2007 ~ 6.7 billion people

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Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

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  1. Environmental Problems,Their Causes, and Sustainability Chapter 1: Dr. Wesam Al Madhoun

  2. Core Case Study: Exponential Growth (1) • Exponential growth – a quantity increases at a fixed percentage per unit of time. • Slow start, rapid increase • Human population • 2007 ~ 6.7 billion people • Projections • 225,000 people per day • Add population of U.S. < 4 years • 2050 ~ 9.2 billion people

  3. Core Case Study: Exponential Growth (2) • Resource consumption, degradation, depletion • Possible results • Huge amount of pollution and wastes • Disrupt economies • Loss of species, farm land, water supplies • Climate change • Political fallout

  4. Living in an Exponential Age

  5. Industrial revolution Black Death—the Plague Hunting and gathering Agricultural revolution Industrial revolution Fig. 1-1, p. 1 Fig. 1-1, p. 5

  6. Solutions • Understand our environment • Practice sustainability

  7. 1-1 What Is an Environmentally Sustainable Society? • Concept 1-1A Our lives and economies depend on energy from the sun (solar capital) and natural resources and natural services (natural capital) provided by the earth. • Concept 1-1B Living sustainably means living off earth’s natural income without depleting or degrading the natural capital that supplies it.

  8. Studying Connections in Nature • Environment • Environmental science • Ecology • Environmentalism

  9. Environmental Science

  10. Philosophy and religion Ethics Biology Political science Ecology Economics Chemistry Demography Physics Anthropology Geology Geography Fig. 1-2, p. 7

  11. Living More Sustainably • Sustainability– central theme • Natural capital • Natural resources • Natural services

  12. Natural Resources • Materials • Renewable • Nonrenewable • Energy • Solar capital • Photosynthesis

  13. Natural Services • Functions of nature • Purification of air, water • Nutrient cycling

  14. Key Natural Resources and Services Fig. 1-3, p. 8

  15. Nutrient Cycling

  16. Organic matter in animals Dead organic matter Organic matter in plants Decomposition Inorganic matter in soil Fig. 1-4, p. 9

  17. Environmental Sustainability • Trade-offs (compromises) • Sound science • Individuals matter • Ideas • Technology • Political pressure • Economic pressure

  18. Sustainable Living from Natural Capital • Environmentally sustainable society • Financial capital and financial income • Natural capital and natural income • Bad news: signs of natural capital depletion at exponential rates

  19. 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.

  20. Economics • Economic growth • Gross Domestic Product (GDP) • Per capita GDP – PPP • Economic development • Developed countries • Developing countries

  21. Global Outlook

  22. Percentage of World's: 18% Population 82% Population growth 0.1% 1.5% Life expectancy 77 years 66 years 85% Wealth and income 15% Resource use 88% 12% 75% Pollution and waste 25% Fig. 1-5, p. 10

  23. 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.

  24. Natural Resources (1) • Perpetual– renewed continuously • Solar energy • Renewable – hours to decades • Water, air • Forest, grasslands

  25. Natural Resources (2) • Sustainable yield • Highest use while maintaining supply • Environmental degradation • Exceed natural replacement rate

  26. Natural Resources (3) • Nonrenewable – fixed quantities • Energy (fossil fuels) • Metallic minerals • Nonmetallic minerals • Recycling • Reuse

  27. Natural Capital Degradation Fig. 1-6, p. 12

  28. Reuse and Recycling Fig. 1-7, p. 12

  29. Measuring Environmental Impact • Ecological footprint • Biological capacity to replenish resources and adsorb waste and pollution • Per capita ecological footprint • Renewable resource use per individual

  30. Ecological Footprint Fig. 1-8, p. 13

  31. Total Ecological Footprint (million hectares) and share of Global Ecological Capacity (%) Per Capita Ecological Footprint (hectares per person) Projected footprint Earth’s ecological capacity Ecological footprint Stepped Art Fig. 1-8, p. 13

  32. Case Study: China • Rapidly developing country • Middle-class affluent lifestyles • World’s leading consumer in: • Wheat, rice, meat, coal, fertilizers, steel, cement • Televisions, cell phones, refrigerators • Future consumption • 2/3 world grain harvest • Twice world’s current paper production • Exceed current global oil production

  33. 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.

  34. Pollution • What is pollution? • Point sources • Nonpoint sources • Unwanted effects of pollution

  35. Point Source Air Pollution Fig. 1-9, p. 15

  36. Solutions to Pollution • Pollution prevention (input control) • Front-of-the-pipe • Pollution cleanup (output control) • End-of-the-pipe

  37. Disadvantages of Output Control • Temporary • Growth in consumption may offset technology • Moves pollutant from one place to another • Burial • Incineration • Dispersed pollutants costly to clean up

  38. 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, excluding the environmental costs of resource use from the market prices of goods and services, and trying 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.

  39. Causes of Environmental Problems • Population growth • Wasteful and unsustainable resource use • Poverty • Failure to include environmental costs of goods and services in market prices • Too little knowledge of how nature works

  40. Five Basic Causes of Environmental Problems Fig. 1-10, p. 16

  41. Population growth Unsustainable resource use Poverty Excluding environmental costs from market prices Trying to manage nature without knowing enough about it Fig. 1-10, p. 16

  42. Causes of Environmental Problems Population growth Unsustainable resource use Poverty Excluding environmental costs from market prices Trying to manage nature without knowing enough about it Stepped Art Fig. 1-10, p. 16

  43. Some Harmful Results of Poverty

  44. Number of people (% of world's population) Lack of access to Adequate sanitation facilities 2.6 billion (39%) Enough fuel for heating and cooking 2 billion (30%) 2 billion (30%) Electricity Clean drinking water 1.1 billion (16%) Adequate health care 1.1 billion (16%) Adequate housing 1 billion (15%) Enough food for good health 0.84 billion (13%) Fig. 1-11, p. 16

  45. Global Connections Fig. 1-12, p. 16

  46. Environmental Effects of Affluence • Harmful effects • High consumption and waste of resources • Beneficial effects • Concern for environmental quality • Provide money for environmental causes • Reduced population growth

  47. Evaluating Full Cost of Resources Use • Examples • Pay for Clear-cutting-forest, not for habitat loss • Pay for Commercial fishing, not depletion of fish stocks • Governments give, tax breaks and subsidies to support businesses but this will result in degradation of natural resources.

  48. Environmental Viewpoints • Environmental worldview: a set of assumption and values reflection how world work and what is your role. • Environmental ethics: our belief about what is right and what is wrong and how we should deal with the environment. • Planetary management worldview: we are separate from nature and nature exist to meet our needs. • Stewardship worldview: we should manage the earth for our benefits but we are ethically responsible to be caring.

  49. Environmental wisdom worldview: we are part of, and totally dependent on nature and nature exist for all species not just for us. • Social capital: to get people with different views to work together and to find common ground based on understanding and trust.

  50. Case Study: Chattanooga, Tennessee (1) • 1960s • Dirtiest air in the United States • Toxic waste in Tennessee River • High unemployment, crime • 1984 • Vision 2000 – grassroots consensus

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