env200 chap 1 introduction to environmental sciences

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    CHAPTER 1

    INTRODUCTION TOENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

    ENVIRONMENTALPROBLEMS,THEIR CAUSES AND

    SUSTAINABILITY

    CHAPTER OVERVIEW

    I. What is Environmental ScienceA. Definitions

    II. SustainabilityA. Definition

    B. Environmentally Sustainable Societies

    III. Population GrowthA. Economic Growth

    B. Economic Development

    IV. ResourcesA. Definition

    B. The Tragedy of the Commons

    C. Ecological Footprin t

    V. Environmental Problems:A. Major Causes

    B. Major Connections

    VI. Environmental WorldviewsA. Planetary Management Worldview

    B. Stewardship Worldview

    C. Environmental Wisdom Worldview

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    I. What is Environmental Science?

    A. Definitions:

    Environment: ( from the French wordenvironner): to encircle or to surround.

    Environmentis all circumstances or the conditionsthat surround an organism or a group oforganisms.

    Environmentis the social, and culturalconditions that affect an individual or a community.

    The natural world where humans live in, as well

    as the built or technological, social, and culturalworld; all constitute important parts of ourenvironment.

    I.What is Environmental Science?

    A. Definitions: (contd)

    Environmental Science: is a systematic study ofour environment and our place in it.

    Environmental science is highly interdisciplinary.It integrates information from natural sciencessuch as biology, chemistry, agriculture, that studythe natural world; as well as the social sciencessuch as economics, politics, ethics that study how

    humans and institutions interact with the naturalworld

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    II. Sustainability:

    A. Definit ion Sustainability or durabilityis the ability of earths

    various systems, including human cultural systemsand economies to survive and adapt to changingenvironmental conditions.

    Our existence, lifestyles, and economies dependcompletely on the sun and earth. This is our solarand natural capital

    Natural capitalconsists of all resources and

    ecological services that support life on earth. Thispriceless gift that nature provides at no cost to ussustains life on our planet.

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    Fig. 1-4, p. 9

    +=NATURAL RESOURCES NATURAL SERVICES

    NATURAL CAPITAL NATURAL RESOURCES NATURAL SERVICES

    Air Air puri ficat ionWater purification

    Water storage

    Soil renewal

    Nutrient recycling

    Food production

    Conservation ofbiodiversity

    Wildlife habitat

    Grassland andforest renewal

    Waste treatment

    Climate controlPopulation control(species interactions

    Pest Control

    NATURAL CAPITAL = +

    Water

    Soil

    Land

    Nonrenewableminerals(iron, sand)

    Life (Biodiversity)

    Renewable energysun, wind, waterflows

    Nonrenewableenergy (fossil fuels,nuclear power)

    NATURAL RESOURCES NATURAL SERVICES

    II. Sustainability:

    A. Definit ion (contd) The path to sustainability comprises five essential

    components: natural capital, natural capitaldegradation, solutions, trade-offs, andindividuals matter.

    All components to sustainability must besupported by science.

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    II. Sustainability: (contd)

    B. Environmentally Sustainable

    Societies:

    An environmentally sustainable society meets thecurrent needs of its people for food, clean water,clean air, shelter, and other basic resources withoutcompromising the ability of future generations tomeet their own needs

    Living sustainably means living off natural incomereplenished by soils, plants, air, and water; without

    depleting or degrading the earth natural capital thatsupplies this biological income

    III. Population growth

    The rate at which the world population is growinghas slowed but the population is still increasingrapidly and is unequally distributed between richand poor people.

    The world population is still increasing at anexponential rate of 1.23% (2006), that is anincrease of about 81million people a year.

    This increase has dangerous impact and mayreduce the time we have to find solutions toenvironmental problems and challenges we face.

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    Fig. 1-1, p. 6

    Industrial

    Revolution

    ?

    Agr icul tural revo lutionHunting and

    Gathering

    Time

    Black Deaththe Plague

    III. Population growth

    III. Population growth

    A. Economic Growth:

    Economic growth is an increase in the capacity ofa country to provide people with goods andservices.

    Measured in gross domestic product (GDP), theannual market value of all goods and servicesproduced by all firms and organizations

    operating within the country Usually GDP is combined with purchasing

    power parity (PPP).

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    III. Population growth

    B. Economic Development:

    Economic development uses economic growthto improve living standards. The United Nations (UN), classifies The worlds

    countries economic status as developed vs.developing, based on their degree of industrializationand their per capita GDP-PPP.

    The developed countries (1.2 billion people),USA, Canada, J apan, Australia, New-Zealandand most European countries

    The developing countries (5.4 billion people),most of which are in Asia, Africa, and Latin

    America. Some are middle income, moderately

    developed, others are low income countries

    Fig. 1-6, p. 11

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    III. Population growth

    IV. Resources:

    A. Definition

    From a human standpoint, a resource is anythingobtained from the environment to meet our needsand wants. Example: food, water, shelter

    In our short human time scale, we classify the materialresources as:

    Perpetual: On a human time scale arecontinuous. Ex: the sun

    Renewable: On a human time scale can bereplenished rapidly (e.g. hours to several

    decades). Ex: fresh water, air, forests,grasslands, Nonrenewable: On a human time scale are in

    fixed supply. Ex: oil, natural gas, metallic and non-metallic mineral resources,

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    IV. Resources:

    B. The Tragedy of the Commons:It is the overuse of common property or free

    access resources. Example: clean air, open

    ocean and its fish, birds,

    In 1968, biologist Garret Hardin called the

    degradation of free-access resources the

    tragedy of the commons.

    It happens because each user thinks:

    if I dont use this resource, someone else will. Thelittle bit I use or pollute is not enough to matter,and such resources are renewable.

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    IV. Resources:

    B. The Tragedy of the Commons:With only a few users, this logic works.

    However the cumulative effects of many peopleexploiting a free access resource willultimately ruin it. Then no one will benefitfrom it; that is the tragedy of the commons.

    Possible solutions can be to regulate access toshared free resources like forests andfisheries; or to convert free-access resourcesinto private ownership.

    IV. Resources:

    C. The Ecological Footprint

    Called also as environmental impact, it is theamount of productive land and water needed tosupply an area with resources and to absorb thewastes and pollution produced by such resourceuse.

    The per capita ecological footprint is the averageecological footprint of an individual in an area.

    Humanitys ecological footprint exceeds by about39% the earths capacity to replenish itsrenewable resources and absorb the resultingwaste products and pollution produced.

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    C. The Ecological Footprint

    IV. Resources:

    C. The Ecological Footprint(contd) When a countrys ecological footprint is larger

    than its ecological capacity, it is using anddegrading its resources (forests, groundwater,)faster than the nature can replenish them.

    The country will be then depleting its naturalcapital and must either suffer the harmfulenvironmental consequences, import food andother resources from a different country and

    export its pollutants and wastes to theatmosphere, oceans.

    USA, EU, China, India, and J apan collectivelyuse about 74% of the earth ecological capacityand leave about 26% for the rest of the world.

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    V. Environmental Problems: Causes and

    Connections:

    A. Major causes:

    Population Growth

    Wasteful resource use

    Poverty

    Poor environmental accounting

    Ecological ignorance

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    Fig. 1-13, p. 18

    2.6 billion (38%)

    Number of people

    (% of world's population)

    Lack of

    access to

    Adequate

    sanitation facilities

    Enough fuel for

    heating and cooking

    Electricity

    Clean drinki ng

    water

    Adequate

    health care

    Adequatehousing

    Enough food

    for good health 0.86 billion (13%)

    1 bill ion (15%)

    1.1 billion (16%)

    1.1 billion (16%)

    2 bill ion (29%)

    2 bill ion (29%)

    V. Environmental Problems: Causes and

    Connections

    B. Major Connections

    The environmental impact of a population on agiven area depends on three factors:

    1. The number of people

    2. The average use of resources per person (affluence)

    3. The beneficial and harmful environmental effects of

    technologies used to provide and consumes eachresource and control and prevent the resultingpollution and environmental degradation.

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    VI. Environmental World Views

    Planetary Management Worldview

    We are separate from nature.

    Nature exists mainly to meet

    Our needs.

    We can use technology to

    manage the earth life

    support system o our

    benefit.

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    VI. Environmental World Views

    Stewardship Worldview:

    We can manage the earth to our benefit but wehave an ETHICAL responsibility as stewards soas to encourage beneficial

    beneficial economic growth

    and discourage environmentally

    harmful economies.

    VI. Environmental World Views

    Environmental Wisdom Worldview:

    We are part of the environment.

    We totally depend on nature.

    Nature exist for all species

    not only for us.

    We encourage earth

    Sustaining economic growth.