PEE Topic 2: Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

1. Rely more on renewable energy from the sun.

2. Protect biodiversity by preventing the degradation of the earth's species, ecosystems, and natural processes, and by restoring areas we have degraded.

3. Help sustain earth's natural chemical cycles by reducing waste and pollution, not overloading natural systems with chemicals, and don't remove natural chemicals faster than the cycles can replace them.

3 Big Ideas

1. Life depends on solar energy.

2. Biodiversity provides natural services.

3. Chemical/nutrient cycling means that there is little waste in nature.

3 Principles of Sustainability

Environmental science

is a study of connections in nature

Environment

includes all living and nonliving things with which an organism interacts.

Environmental science

studies how the earth works, our interaction with the earth, and ways to deal with environment problems and live more sustainably.

Ecology

studies relationships between living organisms, and their interaction with the environment.

Environmentalism

is a social movement dedicated to protecting life support systems for all species.

• Life depends on natural capital, natural resources and natural services.

• Many human activities can degrade natural capital.

• Solutions are being found and implemented.

• Sustainability begins at personal and local levels.

4 Key Components of Sustainability

Natural Capital = Natural Resources + Natural Services

What makes up Natural Capital?

- Organic matter in animals

- Dead organic matter

- Decomposition

- Inorganic matter in soil

- Organic matter in plants

- Back to animals

Steps in Nutrient Cycling

perpetual resource

is continuously renewed and expected to last (e.g. solar energy).

renewable resource

is replenished in days to several hundred years through natural processes.

Sustainable yield

is the highest rate at which a renewable and non-renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply.

Developed countries

include the high income ones e.g. United States, Canada.

Developing countries

include the low income ones e.g. China, India.

Point sources

are single, identifiable sources (e.g., smokestack).

Nonpoint sources

are dispersed sources and often difficult to identify (e.g., lawn runoff).

Pollution cleanup

is usually more expensive and less effective.

Pollution prevention

reduces or eliminates the production of pollutants.

Garrett Hardin

In 1968, the biologist __________ called the degradation of openly shared resources the tragedy of the commons.

tragedy of the commons

overexploiting shared renewable resources

Ecological footprint

is the amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply a person or country with renewable resources and to recycle the waste and pollution produced by such resource use.

Per capita ecological footprint

is the average ecological footprint of an individual in a given country or area.

Ecological deficit

means the ecological footprint is larger than the biological capacity to replenish resources and absorb wastes and pollution.

Footprints

can also be expressed as number of Earths it would take to support consumption

Paul Ehrlich and John Holdren

In the early 1970s, ___________ developed the IPAT model

I (environmental impact) =

P (population size) x

A (affluence/person) x

T (technology's beneficial and harmful effects).

IPAT MODEL

1. Population growth.

2. Unsustainable resource use.

3. Poverty.

4. Excluding environmental costs from market prices.

4 basic causes of environmental problems

6.8 billion

Human population in 2009 was about ___________

9.6 billion

Based on the current increase rate there will be _________ people by 2050.

affluenza

"Shop-until-you-drop" affluent consumers are afflicted with a disorder called

Poverty

occurs when the basic needs for adequate food, water, shelter, health, and education are not met.

1. Environmental damage from short-term survival needs

2. Malnutrition

3. Poor sanitation and unsafe drinking water

4. Severe respiratory illnesses

5. High child mortality (under 5 years old)

5 Harmful Effects of Poverty

Environmental ethics

are beliefs about what is right and wrong with how we treat the environment.

Planetary management worldview

holds that we are separate from and in charge of nature.

Stewardship worldview

holds that we can and should manage the earth for our benefit, but that we have an ethical responsibility to be caring and responsible managers.

Environmental wisdom worldview

holds that we are part of, and dependent on, nature and that nature exists for all species, not just for us.

Environmentally sustainable societies

protect natural capital and live off its income. They increase reliance on renewable resources and protect earth's natural capital.