Unit 1 (sustainability and rule of 70)

tragedy of the commons

a social and political problem in which each indicidual is incentivized to act in a way that will ultimately be harmful to all individuals

sustainability

living on Earth in a way that allows humans to use its recources without depriving future generations of those resources

ecology

the study of life and the interaction of living things with their environment

3 principles of sustainability

society/people, economy/profit, and environment/the planet

economic sustainability

able to support a good standard of lving for citizens while being environmentally sustainable

social sustainability

fair treatment of people, human rights practices, and labor practices

environmental sustainability

responsible use of natural recources

full cost pricing

include harmful environmental and health costs in market prices of goods and services

Win-win solutions

look for solutions that will benifit people and the environment

A responsibility to future generations

leave planet’s life-support system in same or better condition than it is now

IPAT Equation

Impact=population (consumption per person) (impact per unit of comsumption)

environmental science

the study of earth systems and sustainibility

3 principles of Earth’s sustainibility

solar energy, chemical cycling, biodiversity

solar energy

warms the planet and provides energy that plants use to produce nutrients, the chemicals that plants and animals need to survive

biodiversity

the variety of genes, species, ecosystems, and ecosystem processes. Interactions among species provide vital ecosystem services and keep any population from growing too large. Also provides ways for species to adapt to changing environmental conditions and replace species wiped out by catastrophic environmental changes with new species

chemical cycling

the circulation of chemicals or nutrients needed to sustain life from thhe environment through various organisms and back to the environment

provisioning

can be extracted from nature Ex: food, drinking water, timber, natural gas, oil, medicinal plants

regulating

basic services that make life possible. Ex: filtering and cleaning of water, pollination, decomposition, erosion/flood control, carbon storage, climate regulation

cultural

non-material benefit that contributes to culture. Recreation, creativity, building of knowledge based on nature

supporting

underlying natural processes. Photosynthesis, nutrient cycle, water cycle, creation of soils