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IS EARTH capable of sustaining
A U.S. LIFESTYLE FOR ALL?The University of Oklahoma
Department of Biology
QUESTIONTHE :Can Earth sustain enough resources to keep up with
the demands of humanity?
More specifically: The demands of a U.S. Lifestyle
Influences of Consumption Unsustainable Development Misuse of Land
Conclusion: Ecological Footprint
The Earth is not capable of sustaining a U.S. lifestyle for all due to a variety of factors, but those of main concern are the following:
RESEARCHobjectives
Misuse of Land
ConsumptionUnsustainable Development
Ecological Footprint
method&venue Presentation Polls & Significance Putnam City North HS: AP Environmental Science
Taylor Upchurch Amanda Pierce
PUTNAM CITY NORTH
METHOD&VENUE
Goods & Services Food Mobility Shelter Waste
poll to measure impactA 14-question quiz covering:
POTENTIAL Poll questions answered untruthfully
Data might be as recent as we might want in order to make a convincing argument
Sources containing skewed data that favors major companies
PROBLEMS
CONSUMPTIONinfluences of
Fossil Fuel RelianceU.S. Lifestyle choices
HousingMeat and poultry
Paper waste Individual Choices: Global influence
RELIANCEfossil fuel
U.S. uses 25% of total, global fossil fuel resources. Including coal, oil and natural gas. US is only 5% of the global population.
Since 1975, the average US household size has increased 38%. With increased size comes increased reliance on energy.
EXCESS! In the 60s, Americans consumed an average
of 145 lbs. of meat and poultry per year. By 1999 this number reached 190 lbs. per person. A 31% increase!
In general, Americans consume around 815 billion calories of food each day. That’s 200 billion more than needed, or enough to feed an additional 80 million.
US throws away 200 tons of edible food daily.
WASTEPAPER The US consumes nearly a third of all global
paper resources. (5% of global population) North Americans consume an average of
more than 500 lbs of paper annually. Paper production requires high amount of
energy. 12% of energy cost in industrial sector for paper alone.
Production creates large amount of greenhouse gases.
Drives forest destruction.
by continentPAPER WASTE
CHOICESthe consumer’so ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH: batteries from Japan, plastics from central Europe, circuit board from China.
o Individual choices can have global impacts.
the misuse
Municipal Solid Waste Forest Removal Meat Breeding Nuclear Waste
OF LAND
municipal Our amount of MSW has been rising as the EPA said from
88.1 million tons in 1960 to 250.4 million tons by 2011 By increasing our amount of recycling, 7.5 million tons of
metal was reused eliminating 20 million metric tons of CO2 in the air a year. That is equivalent to removing the emissions of 4 million cars each year!
HDPE bottles and Soda bottles are the types of materials that are least recycled.
These bottles are found in your vending machine!
SOLID WASTE
forestationDE-o The United States makes up about 5%
of the worlds population but uses about 28% of the Earth's wood products.
o In1630, 1,023 million acres was forest in the US and was down to 766 million acres by 2012.
o This destroys habitats for many types of animals and threatens their extinction.
BIOCAPACITYbalancing negative effects
meatBREEDING 1 pound of beef needs 7 pounds of feed, only 3
pounds for pork, and less than 2 pounds of feed per pound of chicken.
2014 the US exported 5.6 billion pounds of beef to Canada, Mexico, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
Water is affected by adding nitrates and phosphates from the cattle's waste.
Last year we consumed 26.5 billion pounds of beef, that is 185.5 billion pounds of feed needed.
nuclearwaste Up until 2011 nuclear waste was deposited in the
Yucca Mountain depository on federal land until funding stopped.
Now nuclear waste is all over the United States in separate holding facilities.
The radioactive material is harmful to us.Using nuclear power is much more efficient than oil or coal but the waste needs to be disposed of properly.
UNSUSTAINABLEdevelopment
URBAN SPRAWLo Transportation
o A commuter living an hour's drive from work annually spends 500 hours in a vehicle.
o Deforestation
WASTE MANAGEMENTo In 2010 Americans generated over 250 million
tons of trash, about 4.6 pounds per person, per day.
o Almost 70% of trash in landfills is made of recyclable material i.e. plastic, paper, metals.
One Man's Trash: Dumps and Landfills." Nat Geo TV Blogs. N.p., 27 July 2012. Web. Accessed 19 Feb. 2015.
Debatin, Bernhard. "Industrialized Landscapes." Slow Down Fracking in Athens County. SDFRAC. N.p., 07 May 2012. Web. Accessed 13 Apr. 2015.
shockwaves ofFRACKING
WATER500,000 active wells, 8 million gallons per fracturing, with18 fracks per well.Chemicals- over 600 including lead, mercury, hydrochloric acid, radium, uranium, methane, and formaldehyde. More than 40,000 gallons used per fracturing.
EARTHQUAKESBefore 2008, an average of 21 m3 or larger in Central and Eastern U.S. From 2009-13 the average was 99. In 2014 there were 659 earthquakes.
ECOLOGICAL
How Nations Differ: US vs. INDIA Calculating our footprints:
The Global Footprint Network’s Quiz PCN “PANTHER TRACKS”
FOOTPRINTS“The measure of humanity’s demands on nature – everything has consequences that the planet must endure.”
ECOLOGICALFOOTPRINTS
Ecological Footprint: The measure of humanity’s demands on nature (biocapacity).
Biocapacity: The planet’s biologically productive land areas.
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ECOLOGICAL
FOOTPRINT
BIOCAPACITYAVAILABLE
If everyone lived the lifestyle of the average American we would need 4 planets!
AMERICA’Sfootprint
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ECOLOGICAL
FOOTPRINT
BIOCAPACITYAVAILABLE
INDIA’SfootprintIf everyone lived the lifestyle of the average
Indian citizen we would need 0.5 planets!
FOR YOUnumber people, again
WORLD
(If everyone lived this lifestyle)
NATION AVERAGES
USA INDIA
Total Footprint (gha) 2.7 gha 6.8 gha 0.9 gha
Number of Earths 1.5 earths 4 earths 0.5 earths
Available Biocapacity (gha) 1.8 gha 3.7 gha 0.5 gha
Population Size (millions) 7,000 mil. 310 mil. 1,200 mil.
AMERICA’SfootprintWhy is our footprint so high ?
The problem lies in our reliance on energy and resources from the convenience of money and infrastructures that other
countries do not have.
INDIA’Sfootprint“…in the low income countries,
natural wealth in the form of agricultural land, timber, mineral
deposits and other natural resources constitute 26% of the
total wealth.”
THE AVERAGEpanther’s footprint
If everyone lived the lifestyle of the average PCN Panther we would need 5 planets!
COMPARING:the world, 2 nations, and the panthers
WORLD
(If everyone lived this lifestyle)NATION AVERAGES
USA PCN INDIA
Total Footprint (gha) 2.7 gha 6.8 gha 8.7 gha 0.9 gha
Number of Earths 1.5 earths 4 earths 5 earths 0.5 earths
Available Biocapacity (gha) 1.8 gha 3.7 gha 3.7 gha 0.5 gha
Population Size (millions) 7,000 mil. 310 mil. - 1,200 mil.
22.2 tons of CO2
answering
o Earth cannot sustain a US Lifestyle for all.o Earth also cannot sustain a PCN Panther lifestyle for
all.
THE QUESTION…
NO!
intellectual“… Non-sustainable production and consumption levels are primarily a result of our desire to do more, experience more, see more, and to put it briefly, consume more,” (Holden 2004).
SIGNIFICANCE
CAN WE HELP AWARENESS
Campus and community action “Young people make up 40-50% of
our global population.”
SOLUTIONS Eco-system clean-up projects Lifestyle choices
make changes?
WHAT IF… ?
THEN… !
You saved resources covering an area the size of 484 million football fields.
You saved resources covering an area the size of 391 million football fields.
Thanks for Listening!Bryce Armstrong
Kevin Brandon
Leah Parker
Spencer Rice