Chapter 1

EASTER ISLANDDutch ships arriving in 1772

found the island to be in ruins.Polynesians who colonized

around 1200 A.D. had deforested the island for agriculture, structural materials, etc. The soil eroded and became baked in the sun from lack of root structure.

When a society fails to care for its environment the civilization colapses.

4 GLOBAL TRENDSPopulation growth and economic development

Decline of vital life-support ecosystems

Global atmospheric changesLoss of biodiversity

POPULATION GROWTH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Population growth is occurring at an exponential rate almost all of which is in developing countries.What problems might this cause?

Extreme poverty- 1.1. billion people lack the ability to meet their basic needs of food, shelter and clothing. Disease, starvation, civil unrest…

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

MDGUnited Nations Human Development Program

Year 2000Reduce extreme poverty and its effects on human well beingGoal 1 of 8…entire MDG goals in

table 6-2

PAGEPilot analysis of Global Ecosystems

World Resources Institute (“environmental think tank”)

Put together an analysis to represent the “big picture” of the human impact on the five major ecosystems that provide all the goods and services.

MAMillennium ecosystem AssessmentLaunched on “World Environment

Day” 20011360 scientists from 95 countriesGathering, analyzing and

synthesizing information focusing on the link between goods and services and human well-being

MONTREAL PROTOCOL1987Aimed at curbing pollution from the release of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) into the atmosphere.Spray style hairspray went off

the market for a short period of time.

What else might have to change to comply?

VOCAB-ANTHROPOGENICHuman caused

KYOTO PROTOCOL166 nationsKyoto, JapanDecember 1997Reduce the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gases by 2012 to pre-1990 levels.

US withdrew in 2001 (George W. Bush-same year he was first inaugurated)

CONTINUED…Ratified in 2004 and is effect in

most industrialized nations.Following the protocol became

issue for the US conflicting issue of short-term

economic concerns and long-term climate change.

levied restrictions only on the developed nations of the world, and not on developing countries like China, India, and Brazil.

BIODIVERSITYWhat are the risks when biodiversity is lost?Agricultural crops could dwindleMedication research could be

harmedStability of and ability of natural

ecosystems to recoverAesthetic and moral reasons to

sustain biodiversity.

THREE STRATEGIC THEMESSustainability

Can be continued indefinitelyStewardship

Caring for something on behalf of someone else

ScienceA way of gaining knowledge:

scientific method

SUSTAINABILITYSustainable yields

Sustainable ecosystems

Sustainable society

Sustainable development

STEWARDSHIPScientists and everyday peopleRefuse to engage in the

conspicuous consumption constantly being urged on them by commercials.

The story of stuff videoEnvironmental justice movement

THREE INTEGRATIVE THEMESEcosystem capital

Natural and managed systems that provide all the goods and services

Policy and politicsHuman decisions and policy that

determine what happens to the natural world

GlobalizationInterconnectedness of human

economics, ideas, and cultures

FIGURE 1-8

WHAT CONCERNS THEY HAVEEconomist-growth, efficiency, and the optimum use of resources

Sociologists- human needs and concepts like equity, empowerment, social cohesion and cultural identity

Ecologists- preserving the integrity of natural systems

TO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE???What will it take? There is broad agreement on two factorsA demographic transition from

a continually increasing human population to one that is stable

A resource transition to an economy that relies on nature’s income and protects capital from depletion.

STOPStop TOxic PollutionDraws attention to toxic waste and health problems and to acquire assistance from organizations like superfund and the EPA.

WTOWorld Trade OrganizationNegotiates world trade agreements

THREE COMPONENTS OF SCIENCE

DataGathering information

TheoriesModels that are used to

represent how a system would work

Shaping principlesThe world view a scientist

brings with his work

WHY CONTROVERSY?New information constantly being brought to attention

Complex phenomenaBiasSubjective values

THREE SECTORS OF THE MARKET

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing account for 50% of all jobs worldwide and 70% of all the jobs in sub-Saharan Africa, eastern Asia, and the Pacific islands.

PURPOSE OF POLICYGoals

Improvement of human welfareprotection of natural resources

Addresses two sets of issuesPrevention or reduction of air,

water, and land pollutionUse of natural resources like

forests, fisheries, oil, land, etc.

WSSDJohannesburg, South Africa, 2002World Summit on Sustainable

DevelopmentUnited Nations attempted to

address that the UNCED (1992) were implemented weakly.Generating clean water and

sanitation, providing energy services, reversing deterioration of agriculture, protecting marine fisheries, addressing toxic chemicals and human health affects and protecting biodiversity

UNCEDIncluded agenda 21- a blueprint to guide sustainable development.

ENVIRONMENTAL RACISMPlacement of waste sites and other hazardous industries in towns and neighborhoods in which most of the residents are nonwhite while wealthier, more politically active and often predominately white communities receive a greater share of facilities.

EPAEnvironmental Protection Agency

SUSTAINABLE YIELDS

Because natural systems reproduce at rates faster than required to keep their populations stable in the event of disaster, it is possible to harvest a certain percentage every year without depleting the source (fish, trees, etc.)

SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEMS

Natural systems that persist and thrive by recycling nutrients and maintaining a diversity of species in balance.

SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY

Applied to human systemsA society in balance with the natural world, neither depleting its resource base nor producing pollution in excess of nature’s ability to absorb them

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

A form of development or progress that meets the needs of the present without compromising the the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

CO2

Three fossil fuels releasing CO2 into the atmosphere:Crude oilNatural gasCoal

OTHER GREENHOUSE GASES

water vaporcarbon dioxidenitrous oxidemethanechlorofluorocarbonsozone

5 MAJOR ECOSYSTEMSCoastal/MarineFreshwaterAgriculturalGrasslandsForests