The continent ages quickly once we come. Ernest Hemingway

1500

1850

1870

1880

1906

The story of the Bison, one of unsustainable practices...

•What happened?

•Shrank due to unregulated and deliberate overhunting

•Who was responsible?

•Railroad companies

•Settlers

•Farmers

•How was the situation turned around?

•85 bison were given refuge in Yellowstone Park

•Are there similar stories happening to animals today?

Stage one: Early Man

What were the impacts of the hunter /gatherers on the environment?

Nomadic

Seasonal

Lived in small groups

High mortality/ short life span so the pop. grew slowly

Later groups:

used fire to clear land

Some carried seeds with them to new places.

Some large animals extinct due to their impacts.

Agricultural revolution: Positive or negative?

People learned to plant and harvest food

Began 10,000 -12,000 years ago (coincident with the beginning of our present climate)

People became less mobile and more dependent on climate - the curse of Akkad

When Sargon of Akkad created the world’s first empire 4,000 years ago, he thought none could conquer his powerful kingdom. He was wrong. A disastrous drought in Mesopotamia helped topple the Akkadian civilization.

Figure2-2Page 22

3

Harvesting for2 to 5 years

1 Clearingand burningvegetation

2

Planting

4Allowingto revegetate10 to 30 years

Slash and Burn agriculture

Plots were rotated and often left empty for several years

Agricultural Revolution

Good News Bad News

More food Destruction of wildlife habitats from clearing forests and grasslands

Longer life expectancy

Fertile land turned into desert by livestock overgrazing

Supported a larger population

Formation of villages, towns, and cities

Towns and cities served as centers for trade, government,and religion

Killing of wild animals feeding on grass or crops

Soil eroded streams and lakes

Increase in armed conflict and slavery over ownership of land and water resources

Towns and cities concentrated wastes and pollution and increased spread of diseases

Higher standard of living for many people

The Industrial - Medical revolution Began mid 1700’s in England / US mid 1800’s

What did it bring us?

Healthier longer lives

More technology

Easier existence

At what cost?

•Dependence on non-renewable resources

•People moved to the cities- health impacts

•Food had to travel to them

Industrial-Medical Revolution

Trade-Offs

Good News Bad News

Mass production of useful and affordable products

Increased air pollution

Longer life expectancy

Soil depletion and degradation

Greatly increased agricultural production

Increased urbanization

Lower rate of population growth

Increased water pollution

Groundwater depletion

Habitat destruction and degradation

Higher standard of living for many

Lower infant mortality

Increased waste pollution

Biodiversity depletion

Information - Globalization RevolutionBegan 50 year ago (1950)

New technologiesRadioTelevisionComputers and data bases

Information-Globalization Revolution

Trade-Offs

Good News Bad News

Remote-sensing satellite surveys of the world’s environmental systems

Ability to respond to environmental problems more effectively and rapidly

Globalized economy can increase environmental degradation by homogenizing the earth’s surface

Globalized economy can decrease cultural diversity

Computer-generated models and maps of the earth’s environmental systems

Information overload can cause confusion and sense of hopelessness

I'll Just Plop Down Here!

Mind Vacation

1. Richard Nixon2. Theodore Roosevelt3. Rachel Carson4. Aldo Leopold5. Gifford Pinchot (pronounced Pin o Shay)6. John Muir7. George W Bush8. Henry David Thoreau