Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

1. Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability Chapter 1

2. Paper example of growth

3. Facts about folding paper • Thickness doubles for every fold no matter dimensions the paper originally has • Humans can only manually fold paper 7-8 times • Fold it 42 times, thickness reaches length between earth and moon (240,000 miles) • Fold it 50 times, thickness reaches length between earth and the sun (93,000,000 miles)

4. 13 12 11 10 9 ? 8 7 Billions of people 6 5 4 3 Industrial revolution 2 Black Death—the Plague 1 0 2–5 million years 8000 6000 4000 2000 2000 2100 Time B. C. A. D. Hunting and gathering Agricultural revolution Industrial revolution Fig. 1-1, p. 5

5. Core Case Study: Living in an Exponential Age • Impact of human exponential growth: • Loss of animal and plant species • Use and loss of resources

6. What is studied in environmental science?

7. Environmental Science Is a Study of Connections in Nature (1) • Interdisciplinary science connecting information and ideas from • Natural sciences, • Biology with an emphasis on ecology • Chemistry • Earth Science • Social sciences (studies of human society) • Economics • Cultures • Politics • Humanities (Ethics, Philosophy)

8. Environmental Science Is an Interdisciplinary Study

9. Environmental Science Is a Study of Connections in Nature (2) • How nature works • How the environment affects us • How we affect the environment • How to deal with environmental problems • How to live more sustainably

10. Where do you think an environmental scientists works?

11. What jobs could a environmental scientist do? • Work in Washington helping to develop legislation • Work at a corporation or as an entrepreneur to develops ways to better utilize raw materials or recycle old material • Work with local government on ways to improve the environment in a city or county • Work in Banking to develop resources so people in developing countries can get income and material to generate an environmentally friendly business. • Work with international agencies dedicated to improving environmental conditions everywhere

12. Is every environmentalist an environmental scientist?

13. Environmental Science – vs- Environmentalism

14. WHAT ARE THE GREATEST ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS FACING US TODAY? Groups of 3 Determine top 3 environmental problems, their causes, and solutions

15. Environmental Problems Do you agree on the order, cause and solution?

16. What is meant by natural capital and solar capital?

17. NATURAL CAPITAL Natural Capital = Natural Resources + Natural Services Solar capital Air Air purification Renewable energy (sun, wind, water flows) Climate control UV protection (ozone layer) Life (biodiversity) Water Population control Water purification Waste treatment Pest control Nonrenewable minerals iron, sand) Land Soil Food production Soil renewal Natural gas Nutrient recycling Oil Coal seam Nonrenewable energy (fossil fuels) Natural resources Natural services Fig. 1-3, p. 8 Fig. 1-3, p. 8

18. What does it mean for you to live sustainably?

19. 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.

20. Sustainability Is the Central Theme of This Book • Natural capital: supported by solar capital • Natural resources • Natural services • E.g., nutrient cycling • Degradation of natural capital through human activities • Scientific solutions

21. Nutrient Cycling

22. Environmentally Sustainable SocietiesProtect Natural Capital and Live off Its Income • Live off natural income • Natural income includes living organisms, renewable inorganic resources, energy • Human activity and its affect on the earth’s natural capital

23. What do you think it would take for the world to live sustainably? • Do you think it is possible?

24. 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.

25. How do you compare countries in terms of their economic growth?

26. GDP • Annual market value of all goods and services produced by all firms/organizations, foreign and domestic, operating within a country. • Per Capita GDP = National GDP/population growth

27. PPP • Purchasing power parity: • A basic unit (like dollar) of currency in one country can buy more of particular thing than the basic unit of currency of another country (peso) can buy • Consumers in the first country are said to have more purchasing power

28. There Is a Wide Economic Gap between Rich and Poor Countries • Country’s economic growth: measured by gross domestic product (GDP) • Changes in economic growth: measured by per capita GDP • Purchasing power parity (PPP) plus GDP are combined for per capita GDP PPP (measure of average goods/services an average person could buy in US) • PPP used to compare developed with developing countries (different cost of living standards)

29. Developed –vs-developing • Developed = highly industrialized, high per capita GDP PPP • (1.2 billion people, North America, Europe, Japan, Austraila) • Middle income, developing (China, India, Brazil, Mexico) • Low income, developing (Most African Nations, Central American, Belarus(Soviet Union)

30. Percentage of World's: 18% Population 82% 0.12% Population growth 1.46% 77 years Life expectancy 67 years 85% Wealth and income 15% Resource use 88% 12% 75% Pollution and waste 25% Developed countries Developing countries Fig. 1-5, p. 11

31. World population fact 97% of the increase in the world’s population over the next 40-50 years will occur in developing countries the least equipped to handle it.

32. We live in a world of haves and have-nots More than half of the world’s population live on a daily income of less than 2$

33. What would you have to give up to live on 2$ a day?

34. Extreme Poverty in a Developing Country

35. Leading questions for section 1.3 • What resources are found in the oceans? • Who owns the resources found in the oceans? • Who is responsible for their maintenance?

36. 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.

37. What is the difference between a renewable and a perpetual resource?

38. Some Sources Are Renewable (1) • Resource • Anything obtained from the environment to meet our needs and wants • Perpetual resources • Solar energy (includes wind) • Tidal energy

39. Some Sources Are Renewable (2) Renewable resource Examples are: forests, grasslands, fresh air, fertile soil Sustainable yield: Highest rate at which a resource can be used WITHOUT reducing its annual supply

40. When does environmental degradation occur? When the sustainable yield is exceeded

41. The world’s tuna supply: an example of environmental degradation • Occurred as a result of the developed world’s taste for sushi Who owns or watches over the Tuna?

42. Degradation of Normally Renewable Natural Resources and Services

43. Some Resources Are Not Renewable • Nonrenewable resources • Energy resources • Metallic mineral resources • Nonmetallic mineral resources

44. Can you come up with examples of metallic and nonmetallic resources? • Metallic • Gold, copper, aluminum, chrome, iron… • Non-metallic • Top-soil, sand, salt…

45. The use of non-renewable resources can be extended through… • Reuse • Recycle • What is the difference?

46. Reuse: Nepal Brewery

47. Consumption of natural resources differs around the world

48. Consumption of Natural Resources

49. Consumption of Natural Resources

50. What do you Own or exclusively use? Assignment • Make a list of everything that you possess that you can call your own. Its yours if you use it most of the time (think bed, desk, car, Wii…) • Count the number clothing items you own (Shoes, Shirts, Pants, Dresses…) • Take 2 pictures of all your items displayed, one with you in the frame, one without you in the frame • ½ credit for list, ½ credit for pictures