Environmental Science and Resource Management

ESRM R100

Kevin Flint

Wednesdays 4 – 6:50 P.M.

Fig. 1-1, p. 6

IndustrialRevolution

?

Agricultural revolutionHunting andGathering

Billio

ns o

f peo

ple

Time

Black Death—the Plague

Fig. 1-2, p. 7

Air(atmosphere)

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Human CulturesphereEarth's Life-Support System

Politics

PopulationSize

Worldviewsand ethics

EconomicsLife

(biosphere)

Soil and rocks

(lithosphere)

Water(hydrosphere)

Fig. 1-3, p. 8

Sound Science

A Path to SustainabilityIndividuals

MatterTrade-OffsSolutionsNatural Capital

DegradationNatural Capital

Fig. 1-4, p. 9

+=NATURAL RESOURCES NATURAL SERVICES

NATURAL CAPITAL NATURAL RESOURCES NATURAL SERVICES

Air Air purification

Water purification

Water storage

Soil renewal

Nutrient recycling

Food productionConservation of biodiversity

Wildlife habitatGrassland and forest renewal

Waste treatment

Climate controlPopulation control(species interactions

Pest Control

NATURAL CAPITAL = +

Water

Soil

Land

Nonrenewable minerals (iron, sand)

Life (Biodiversity)

Renewable energysun, wind, water flows

Nonrenewable energy (fossil fuels, nuclear power)

NATURAL RESOURCES NATURAL SERVICES

Fig. 1-5, p. 11

Percentage of World's

Population

Developing countriesDeveloped countries

Pollutionand waste

Resourceuse

Wealth andIncome

PopulationGrowth

18

82

0.1

1.5

85

15

12

75

25

88

Fig. 1-6, p. 11

Fig. 1-7a, p. 13

Fig. 1-7b, p. 13

Fig. 1-7c, p. 13

Environmental Footprint Survey

Environmental Footprint Link

Fig. 1-10, p. 17

Depletion of nonrenewable resources

SOLAR CAPITAL

Human Capital Human Economic

and Cultural Systems

Pollution and waste

Degradation of renewable resources

Heat

Goods and services

Natural Capital

EARTH

Fig. 1-11, p. 17

Causes of Environmental Problems

Trying to manage and simplify nature

with too little knowledge about

how it works

Not including theenvironmental costsof economic goodsand services in theirmarket prices

PovertyUnsustainableresource use

Populationgrowth

Fig. 1-12, p. 18

Fig. 1-15, p. 23

Trade-Offs

Industrial-Medical Revolution

Advantages DIsadvantages

Mass production of useful and affordable products

Higher standard of living for many

Greatly increased agricultural production

Lower infant mortality

Longer life expectancy

Increased urbanization

Lower rate of population growth

Increased air pollution

Increased waste pollution

Soil depletion and degradation

Groundwater depletion

Habitat destruction and degradation

Biodiversity depletion

Increased water pollution

Fig. 1-17, p. 25

Reduce human births and wasteful resourceuse to prevent environmental overload and depletion and degradation of resources.

Controls a species’population size and resource use by interactions with its environment and other species.

Runs on renewablesolar energy.

Rely mostly on renewable solar energy.

Recycles nutrients and wastes. There is little waste in nature.

Uses biodiversity to maintain itself and adapt to new environ-mental conditions.

Prevent and reducepollution and recycleand reuse resources.

Preserve biodiversity by protecting ecosystem services and habitats and preventing premature extinction of species.

Solutions

Principles of Sustainability

How Nature Works Lessons for Us

Fig. 1-16, p. 24

Fig. 1-18, p. 25

Current Emphasis

SustainabilityEmphasis

Pollution cleanup

Waste disposal (bury or burn)

Protecting species

Environmental degradation

Pollution prevention (cleaner production)

Waste prevention and reduction

Protecting where species live (habitat protection)

Environmental restoration

Less wasteful (more efficient) resource useIncreased resource

use

Population growth

Depleting and degrading natural capital

Population stabilization by decreasing birth rates

Protecting natural capital and living off the biological interest it provides

Fig. 26-2, p. 616

More holisticMore atomistic Biosphere- or Earth-centered

Ecosystem-centered

Biocentric (life-centered)

Anthropocentric (human-centered)

Instrumental values play bigger role

Intrinsic values play bigger role

Self-centered

Environmentalwisdom

Stewardship

Planetarymanagement

Planetary Management

• We are apart from the rest of nature and can manage nature to meet our increasing needs and wants.

• Because of our ingenuity and technology we will not run out of resources.

• The potential for economic growth is essentially unlimited.

• Our success depends on how well we manage the earth's life support systems mostly for our benefit.

Stewardship

• We have an ethical responsibility to be caring managers, or stewards, of the earth.

• We will probably not run out of resources, but they should not be wasted.

• We should encourage environmentally beneficial forms of economic growth & discourage environmentally harmful forms.

• Our success depends on how well we manage the earth's life support systems for our benefit and for the rest of nature.

Environmental Wisdom

• We are a part of and totally dependent on nature and nature exists for all species.

• Resources are limited, should not be wasted, and are not all for us.

• We should encourage earth sustaining forms of economic growth & discourage earth degrading forms.

• Our success depends on learning how nature sustains itself and integrating such lessons from nature into the ways we think and act.

Fig. 26-3, p. 617

Environmental Worldviews

Fig. 26-6, p. 622

Solutions

Developing Environmentally Sustainable Societies

Guidelines Guidelines Strategies

Learn from & copy nature Sustain biodiversity

Eliminate povertyDo not degrade or deplete the earth's natural capital, and live off the natural income it provides

Develop eco-economies

Build sustainable communities

Do not use renewable resources faster than nature can replace them

Take no more than we need

Do not reduce biodiversityUse sustainable agriculture

Depend more on locally available renewable energy from the sun, wind, flowing water, and sustainable biomass

Try not to harm life, air, water, soil

Emphasize pollution prevention and waste reduction

Do not change the world's climate

Do not overshoot the earth's carrying capacity

Do not waste matter and energy resourcesHelp maintain the earth's capacity for self-repair Recycle, reuse, and compost 60–80% of

matter resources

Repair past ecological damageMaintain a human population size such that needs are met without threatening life support systemsLeave the world in as good a shape as

—or better than—we found itEmphasize ecological restoration

Fig. 2-2, p. 29

Well-tested andaccepted patterns

in data becomescientific laws

Interpret data

Ask a question

Do experimentsand collect data

Formulate hypothesisto explain data

Do more experimentsto test hypothesis

Revise hypothesisif necessary

Well-tested andaccepted

hypothesesbecome

scientific theories

Fig. 2-13, p. 44

Low-temperature heat (100°C or less) for space heating

Moderate-temperature heat (100–1,000°C) for industrial processes, cooking, producing

steam, electricity, and hot water

Very high-temperature heat (greater than 2,500°C) for industrial processes and producing electricity to run electrical devices (lights, motors)

Mechanical motion to move vehicles and other things) High-temperature heat (1,000–2,500°C) for industrial processes and producing electricity

Dispersed geothermal energyLow-temperature heat (100°C or lower)

Normal sunlightModerate-velocity windHigh-velocity water flowConcentrated geothermal energyModerate-temperature heat

(100–1,000°C)Wood and crop wastes

High-temperature heat (1,000–2,500°C)Hydrogen gasNatural gasGasolineCoalFood

ElectricityVery high temperature heat (greater than 2,500°C)Nuclear fission (uranium)Nuclear fusion (deuterium)Concentrated sunlightHigh-velocity wind

Source of Energy RelativeEnergy Quality

(usefulness)

Energy Tasks

Fig. 2-14, p. 45

Chemicalenergy(food)

Solarenergy

WasteHeat

WasteHeat

WasteHeat

WasteHeat

Mechanicalenergy

(moving,thinking,

living)

Chemical energy

(photosynthesis)

Fig. 2-15, p. 46

High-quality energy

Matter

Unsustainablehigh-waste

economy

SystemThroughputs

Inputs(from environment)

Outputs(into environment)

Low-quality energy (heat)

Waste and pollution

Fig. 2-16, p. 47

Recycleand

reuse

Low-quality Energy(heat)

Waste and

pollution

Pollutioncontrol

Sustainable low-waste economy

Waste and

pollution

Matter Feedback

Energy Feedback

Inputs (from environment)

Energyconservation

Matter

Energy

SystemThroughputs

Outputs(into environment)