Problems, Environmental Their Causes, and Sustainability
Chapter 1
Can our current society be sustained by the environment in the future?
1. 2. 3.
4.
Yes No Not sure Don't care
0%
1
0%
2
0%
3
0%
4
World Population
Exponential growth Poverty Extinction and biodiversity Climate changes Good news: possible solutions
Fig. 1-1, p. 1
Living More Sustainability
Environment
Ecology
Environmental science
Environmentalism Sustainability
Path to Sustainability
A Pa t h t o S u s t a i n a b i l i t y
Natural Capital Natural Capital Degradation Solutions Trade-Offs Individuals Matter
Sound Science
Fig. 1-2, p. 7
Natural Capital
Earth's natural capital Capital Financial income
Biological income
Degrading capital
Fig. 1-3, p. 7
Solutions to Environmental Problems
Trade-offs (compromises)
Individuals matter
Sound science
Environmentally sustainable societies
Economics
Economic growth
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Per capita GDP Economic development
Developed and developing countries
Global Outlook
Percentage
of World's
Population
19
81
Population growth 0.1 1.5 85 15
Wealth and income
Resource use
88
12
Pollution and waste
75
25
Developed countries Developing countries
Fig. 1-4, p. 9
Human Population Growth
Population (billions)
World total Developing countries
Developed countries
Year Fig. 1-5, p. 9
Economic Development
Trade-Offs
Economic Development Good News Bad News
Global life expectancy doubled since 1950
Life expectancy 13 years less in developing countries than in developed Countries
Infant mortality rate in developing countries over 9 times higher than in developed countries Harmful environmental effects of agriculture may limit future food production
Infant mortality cut in half since 1955
Food production ahead of population growth since 1978
Air and water pollution down in most developed countries since 1970
Air and water pollution levels in most developing countries too high
Half of world's workers trying to live on less than $2 (U.S.) per day
Number of people living in poverty dropped 6% since 1990
Fig. 1-6, p. 10
Resources
Perpetual Renewable Nonrenewable
Perpetual and Renewable Resources Sustainable yield Environmental degradation Tragedy of the Commons
What is an ecological footprint?
1. To obtain the food, energy, and materials that we use everyday, a certain amount of space must be used. 2. For example, to grow corn for breakfast cereal, a corn field replaces the natural vegetation in an area. 3. We total area that must be set aside to generate the things we consume is called an "ecological footprint".
How big is your ecological footprint (in football fields)?
1.
2.
3. 4.
1 2-5 6-10 More than 10
100%
0%
1 25
0%
610 th a M or e
0%
n 10
Ecological Footprint
1 ha = 2 football fields
Country
United States The Netherlands 3.8 0.8 Per Capita Ecological Footprint (Hectares per person) 9.6
India
Country
United States The Netherlands India
Total Ecological Footprint (Hectares)
3 billion hectares
62 million hectares
880 million hectares
Fig. 1-7a, p. 11
Ecological Footprint
1.5 Earth's Ecological Capacity 1.2 Number Earths
0.9
0.6
0.3
0 of 1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Year
Fig. 1-7, p. 11
Nonrenewable Resources
Energy resources Metallic mineral resources
Nonmetallic mineral resources
Economic depletion
Recycling and reuse
Pollution
What is pollution?
Point and nonpoint sources Unwanted effects of pollution
Point-source Air Pollution
Fig. 1-8, p. 13
Solutions to Pollution
Pollution prevention (input control)
Pollution cleanup (output control) Disadvantages of output control
Environmental Problems: Causes and Connections
First step: Understanding the causes Poverty and population growth Premature death among the poor
Natural Capital Use, Depletion and Degradation
SOLAR CAPITAL EARTH
Goods and services
Human Capital
Human Economic and Cultural Systems
Heat
Depletion of nonrenewable resources
Degradation of renewable resources
Natural Capital
Pollution and waste
Recycling and reuse
Fig. 1-9, p. 13
Causes of Environmental Problems
Causes of Environmental Problems
Population growth
Unsustainable resource use
Poverty
Not including the environmental costs of economic goods and services in their market prices
Trying to manage and simplify nature with too little knowledge about how it works
Fig. 1-10, p. 14
Some Harmful Results of Poverty
Lack of access to
Adequate sanitation Enough fuel for heating and cooking
Number of people (% of world's population)
2.4 billion (37%)
2 billion (31%)
Electricity
1.6 billion (25%)
Clean drinking water
1.1 billion (17%)
Adequate health care
1.1 billion (17%)
Enough food for good health
1.1 billion (17%)
Fig. 1-11, p. 14
Economics and Ethics
Affluenza
Globalization and global advertising
Law of Progressive Simplification Positive environmental effects of affluenza
Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Developing Countries X X =
Population (P)
X
Consumption per person (affluence, A)
X
Technological impact per unit of consumption (T)
=
Environmental impact of population (I)
X
X
=
Developed Countries
Fig. 1-13, p. 16
Historical Changes in Human Culture
Hunter-gatherers
Agricultural revolution
Industrial-medical revolution Information-globalization revolution
Eras of US Environmental History
Tribal era
Frontier era
Early conservation era Environmentalism
Is Our Present Course Sustainable?
Different views
Technological optimists Environmental pessimists
How Would You Vote? Exercise
Sustainability Revolution
Current Emphasis Pollution cleanup Sustainability Emphasis Pollution prevention (cleaner production) Waste prevention & reduction Protecting where species live (habitat protection) Environmental restoration Less wasteful (more efficient) resource use Population stabilization by decreasing birth rates Protecting natural capital and living off the biological interest it provides
Waste disposal (bury or burn) Protecting species
Environmental degradation Increased resource use
Population growth
Depleting and degrading natural capital)
Fig. 1-14, p. 18
Can our current society be sustained by the environment in the future?
1. 2. 3.
4.
Yes No Not sure Don't care
0%
1
0%
2
0%
3
0%
4