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Urban Ecosystems

Urban Ecosystems. Humans in the Environment. The Human Element. Until the 19th century, American Bison roamed the Great Plains by the millions, providing invaluable resources for Native Americans. Europeans exploited the resource in an unsustainable manner, seeing Bison as a source of income.

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Urban Ecosystems

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  1. Urban Ecosystems • Humans in the Environment

  2. The Human Element • Until the 19th century, American Bison roamed the Great Plains by the millions, providing invaluable resources for Native Americans. • Europeans exploited the resource in an unsustainable manner, seeing Bison as a source of income. • Bison reduced to a fraction of one percent of their prior numbers. • Values, knowledge, technology and social systems of Europeans were inappropriate for sustainable interaction with the Great Plains ecosystem.

  3. Interesting Urban Ecosystems • Centralia PA is a ghost town due to an underground coal fire that has smoldered since 1962 and produces carbon monoxide, etc. • 500 dogs live in the subways of Moscow begging for scraps from passengers. They’ve learned to ride the subway on their own. • Kansas City’s subtropolis has 90 percent of the world’s underground office space. • Dharavi is a slum of Mumbai where there is a toilet for every 60 people and everybody uses the local creek.

  4. Characteristics of Urban Ecosystems • Basis for human civilization • Organized by humans • traffic • parks and natural areas • community activity areas • Many domesticated plants and animals • Dominated by human-made structures • housing (single family, high-rise, apartments) • shopping centers and commercial • offices and industrial • parks and recreational facilities • Cities of the industrial age are very difficult to sustain

  5. Inputs and Outputs people goods technology services noise waste water air pollution solid waste people materials technology services food energy water air

  6. Abiotic Elements of the U.E. • buildings (industrial, residential, commercial) • streets, roads & parking lots • streams & sewage systems • energy & communication distribution systems • artificial light • noise

  7. Biotic Elements of the U.E. • people • domesticated animals • “wild” animals • native plants • non-native plants • microorganisms

  8. What is Nature worth? • The Natural Capital Project

  9. Key Question How should we live in the watershed so that it can continue to provide essential resources and services?

  10. Water usage calculator

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