APES: The Final Chapter

So, now what?

Application of the Principles

Plants and animals use

sunlight for energy in the

forms of light and heat

(Sun)

A different variety of plants

and animals live in an

ecosystem

(Biodiversity)

Predator - prey relationships

control animal populations / plant

species invade others

(Population Control)

Plants and animals excrete

waste, die and decay

(Nutrient Recycling)

Application of the Principles

Population Government

EconomicsGlobal Politics

ECONOMICS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Core Case Study: A New Economic and Environmental Vision

• Some components of more environmentally sustainable economic development.

Figure 24-1

ECONOMIC SYSTEMS AND SUSTAINABILITY

• An economic system produces and distributes goods and services by using natural, human, and manufactured resources.

• In a pure free-market system, buyers and sellers interact without any government or other interference.

– Actual capitalist market systems deviate from this model.

Economic Resources: The Big Three

• Three types of resources are used to produce goods and services.

Figure 24-2

Market Economic Systems: Pure Free Market and Capitalistic Models

• Supply, demand, and market equilibrium for a good or service in a pure market system.

Figure 24-3

Government Intervention in Market Economic Systems:

Correcting Market Failures

• Governments intervene in market systems to help provide economic stability, national security, and public services such as education, crime protection, and environmental protection.

Environmentally Sustainable Economic Development:

Copying Nature

• Models of ecological economists are built on the following assumptions:

– Resources are limited.

– Encourage environmentally beneficial and sustainable forms of development.

– The harmful environmental and health effects of producing goods and services should be included in market prices.

Depletion of nonrenewable

resources

Degradation & depletion

of renewable resources used

faster than replenished

Pollution, waste from

overloading nature’s waste

disposal & recycling systems

Fig. 24-4, p. 573

Sun EARTH

HeatEconomic

Systems

Natural Capital Production

Air, water, land, soil, biodiversity, minerals, raw materials, energy resources; dilution, decomposition, & recycling services Consumption

Recyclingand reuse

Economic Development

• Comparison of unsustainable economic development and environmentally sustainable economic development.

Figure 24-5

ESTIMATING THE VALUE OF ECOLOGICAL SERVICES AND MONITORING ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS

• Economists have developed several ways to estimate nonmarket values of the earth’s ecological services based using:

– Mitigation cost: how much it takes to offset any environmental damage.

– Willingness to pay: determine how much people are willing to pay to keep the environment in tact (e.g. protect an endangered species).

ESTIMATING THE VALUE OF ECOLOGICAL SERVICES AND MONITORING ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS

• Economists use discount rates (estimate resource’s future value compared to current) to estimate the future value of a resource.

• The market price you pay for something does not include most of the environmental, health, and other harmful costs associated with its production and use.

Estimating the Optimum Levels of Pollution Control and Resource Use

• Environmental economists try to determine optimum levels of pollution control and resource use.

Figure 24-6

Optimum Pollution Control

• The marginal cost of cleaning up pollution rises with each additional unit removed.

Figure 24-7

Cost-Benefit Analysis: a Useful but Crude Tool

• Comparing likely costs and benefits of an environmental action is useful but involves many uncertainties.

– Cost–benefit analyses involves determining:

• Who or what might be affected by a particular regulation or project.

• Projecting potential outcomes.

• Evaluating alternative actions.

• Establishing who benefits and who is harmed.

Environmental and Economic Indicators: Environmental Radar

• We need indicators that reflect changing levels of environmental quality and human health.

– Gross domestic product (GDP): measures the annual economic value of all goods and services produced in a country without taking harmful effects into consideration.

– Genuine progress indicator (GPI): Subtracts from the GDP costs that lead to a lower quality of life or deplete / degrade natural resources.

Environmental and Economic Indicators: Environmental Radar

• Comparison of the per capita GDP and the GPI in the U.S. between 1950 and 2002.

Figure 24-8

How Would You Vote?

Should full-cost pricing be used in setting market prices for goods and services?

– a. No. Low-income people will not be able to afford some essential goods and services.

– b. Yes. Full-cost pricing will improve environmental protection.

ECONOMIC TOOLS FOR IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

• Including external costs in market prices informs consumers about the harmful impact of their purchases the earth’s life-support systems and on human health.

Eco-Labeling: Informing Consumers So They can Vote with Their Wallets

• Certifying and labeling environmentally beneficial goods and resources extracted by more sustainable methods can help consumers decide what goods and services to buy.

Figure 24-9

Subsidy Shifting

• Taxes on pollution and resource use can move us closer to full-costing pricing.

– Shifting taxes from wages and profits to pollution and waste (green taxes) helps make this feasible.

• We can improve environmental quality and human health by replacing environmentally harmful government subsidies with environmentally beneficial ones.

Fig. 24-10, p. 580

Trade-Offs

Environmental Taxes and Fees

Advantages Disadvantages

Helps bring about full-cost pricing Penalizes low income groups

unless safety nets are provided

Provides incentive for

businesses to do better to

save moneyHard to determine optimal level

for taxes and fees

Need to frequently readjust levels,

which is technically and politically

difficult

Can change behavior of

polluters and consumers if

taxes & fees are set at a high

enough level

Gov’ts may see this as a way of

increasing general revenue instead of

using funds to improve environmental

quality and reduce taxes on income,

payroll, & profitsEasily administered by existing tax

agencies

Fairly easy to detect cheaters

How Would You Vote?

Do the advantages of green taxes and fees outweigh the disadvantages?

– a. No. Low-income people, farmers, ranchers, and small businesses would suffer from environmental taxes and fees.

– b. Yes. They would reduce waste and protect the environment.

Green Taxes

• Advantages of taxing wages and profits less and pollution and waste more.

Figure 24-11

How Would You Vote?

Do you favor shifting taxes on wages and profits to pollution and waste?

– a. No. This tax system would penalize many farmers, ranchers, and businesses that cannot avoid generating waste.

– b. Yes. But, only if we offer subsidies to assist lower income people in meeting their basic needs.

– c. Yes. It would promote a cleaner environment.

ECONOMIC TOOLS FOR IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

• Environmental laws and regulations work best if they motivate companies to find innovative ways to control and prevent pollution and reduce resource waste.

• Governments can set a limit on pollution emissions or use of a resource, give permits to users, and allow them to trade their permits on the marketplace.

Fig. 24-12, p. 582

Trade-Offs

Tradable Environmental Permits

Advantages Disadvantages

Big polluters and resource wasters can

buy their way out

Flexible

Easy to administer May not reduce pollution at dirtiest plants

Encourages pollution prevention

and waste reduction

Can exclude small companies from buying

permits

Caps can be too low

Can promote achievement of capsCaps must be gradually reduced to

encourage innovation

Determining caps is difficultPermit prices determined by market

transactions Must decide who gets permits and why

Administrative costs high with many

participantsConfronts ethical problem of how much

pollution or resource waste is

acceptable Emissions and resource wastes must

be monitored

Confronts problem of how permits

should be fairly distributedSets bad example by selling legal rights to

pollute or waste resources

Self-monitoring can promote cheating

How Would You Vote?

Do the advantages of using tradable pollution and resource-use permits to reduce pollution and resource waste outweigh the disadvantages?

– a. No. The policies would allow old and dirty plants to continue polluting local air and water.

– b. Yes. The policies are effective ways of capping and then reducing air and water pollution and resource use.

Green Economics: Selling Services Instead of Things

• Some businesses can greatly decrease their resource use, pollution, and waste by shifting from selling goods and services to selling the services the goods provide.

– Carrier has begun shifting selling heating and air conditioning equipment to providing the service itself.

• It makes higher profits by having the most energy-efficient units.

REDUCING POVERTY TO IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND HUMAN

WELL-BEING

• We can sharply cut poverty by forgiving the international debts of the poorest countries, greatly increasing international aid and small individual loans to help the poor help themselves.

Distribution of the World’s Wealth: a Widening Gap

• The global distribution of income shows that most of the world’s income flows up.

Each horizontal band is 1/5th

of the world’s populationFigure 24-13

Solutions: Achieving the Millennium Development Goals

• In 2000, the world’s nations set goals for sharply reducing hunger and poverty, improving health care and moving toward environmental sustainability by 2015.

– In 1980 and 2002, developed countries agreed to devote 0.7% of their annual national income towards achieving such goals.

• The average amount donated was 0.25%.

• The U.S. gives 0.16%.

Fig. 24-14a, p. 586

Expenditures per year (2005)

World military

U.S. military

U.S. highways$29 billion

U.S. potato

chips & snacks$22 billion

U.S. pet foods$19 billion

U.S. EPA$8 billion

U.S. foreign aid$8 billion

U.S. cosmetics$8 billion

$492 billion

(including Iraq)

$1

trillion

Fig. 24-14b, p. 586

Expenditures per year needed to

Eliminate hunger & malnutrition $48 billion

Provide clean drinking water

and sewage treatment for all$37 billion

Provide basic health care for all $33 billion

Protect biodiversity $31 billion

Protect topsoil on cropland $24 billion

Provide universal primary

education and end illiteracy$16 billion

Restore fisheries $13 billion

Deal with global HIV/AIDS $10 billion

Stabilize water tables$10 billion

Restore rangelands$9 billion

Protect tropical forests$8 billion

Reforest the earth$6 billion

Total Earth Restoration and Social Budget = $245 billion

MAKING THE TRANSITION TO MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE

ECONOMIES• Nature's four principles of sustainability and a

number of environmental and economic strategies can be used to develop more environmentally sustainable economies.

• The Netherlands has dedicated itself to making its economy more environmentally sustainable.

Eco-Economies

• Principles for shifting to more environmentally sustainable economies during this century.

Figure 24-15

Jobs, Profits, and the Environment:

New Industries and New Jobs

• Shifting to more environmentally sustainable economies will create immense profits and huge numbers of jobs.

Figure 24-16

Sustainable development aims for a bottom line

• Sustainability does not mean just protecting the environment from humans

• Triple bottom line = the new goal for sustainability – Finding ways to promote social justice, economic well-

being, and environmental quality at the same time

– This goal is most pressing in developing nations, although the whole Earth is in need

The UN’s Millennium Development Goals

• The Millennium Project and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment have determined that:– Environment degradation is a major barrier to

achieving the Millennium Development Goals

– Investing in environmental assets and management is vital to relieving poverty, hunger, and disease

– Reaching environmental goals requires progress in eradicating poverty

• Actions by many people and institutions are showing that sustainability is possible

Environmental protection enhances opportunity

• Reducing consumption and waste saves money

• New jobs arise

– People think that protecting the northern spotted owl costs loggers their jobs

– But, jobs are at more risk when companies log unsustainably, then leave

• Environmental protection actually helps economy

– And leads to increased value of property and homes

The economy-versus-environment divide

• What accounts for the view that we cannot protect the environment and provide for people’s needs?

– Economic development has clearly diminished biodiversity, decreased habitat, and degraded ecological systems

– Many people believe command-and-control environmental policy poses excessive costs for industry and restricts rights of private citizens

– Historically, we lived with abundant resources, and exploited them

• Philosophers have said that the perceived dichotomy between humans and nature is the root of all our environmental problems

Humans are not separate from the environment

• We feel disconnected from nature

– Industrialization, large cities, houses, shuttered building, vehicles, and ignorant about wildlife

• A few centuries or even decades ago, most of the world could name and describe in detail the species that lived near them

– Modern life has made it difficult to keep maintain ties with the natural environment

– Once we learn to consider where things come from, it is easier to see how people are part of the environment

Even a banana split has ties to the environment

Strategies for Sustainability

• Sustainable solutions to environmental problems are numerous

• Challenges to sustainability:

– Being imaginative enough to think of solutions

– Being shrewd and dogged enough to overcome political and economic obstacles

Strategies that spawn sustainable solutions

• We can refine our ideas about economic growth and quality of life– Economic growth is merely a tool to attain the real

goal of maximizing human happiness

– We cannot attain long-term happiness by endlessly expanding our economy

– We need to incorporate external costs into market prices of goods and services

– Green taxes and phasing out harmful substances could encourage sustainability

Sustainable strategies: we can consume less

• Economic growth is driven by consumption

• We believe that more is better

– The U.S., with 5% of the world’s population, uses 30% of the resources

• Consumption of limited resources cannot continue

– It is taking place in a tiny slice of time in the long course of history

Humans have existed for only 1 or 2 seconds

True progress is not economic growth, but happiness

• We can reduce consumption while enhancing our quality of life by:– Improving technology and efficiency in industry

– Developing a sustainable manufacturing system

– Modify our behavior, attitudes, and lifestyles to minimize consumption

Money cannot buy happiness

Population growth must cease

• Continued human population growth is not sustainable

• Technology has expanded the Earth’s carrying capacity– Sooner or later, growth will end, but how?

• The demographic transition may help developing countries, as it helped developed countries

Technology can help us

• Technology has spurred population increase

– Agricultural revolution, advances in medicine and health

• Technology magnifies our impact on Earth

– The I = PAT equation

• Short-sighted uses of technology have created a mess

– But wiser use of green technology can help us get out

• Developed countries have exported technologies to developing countries

The catalytic converter: green technology

Industry can mimic natural systems

• Environmental systems operate in cycles– Feedback loops and circular material flows

– Output is recycled into input

• Human systems are linear– Raw materials are processed, which generates waste

• Virtually all products can be recycled, given the right technology– The ultimate vision is to generate no waste

We can think in the long term• Short-term plans appeal to many policy makers

– They offer immediate results to help them get reelected

• Unfortunately environmental problems can be resolved only by long-term periods

– Costs of addressing problems are short term

– Benefits are long term

• Businesses may act according to either short or long term

– A business committed to long-term operations has an incentive to sustain environmental quality

We can promote self-sufficiency

• When people feel closely tied to an area, they value it and try to protect it

• Globalization has positive and negative impacts

– Positive: increased communication leads to greater respect of cultural differences

– Negative: homogenization of cultures

• People have reacted against homogenization and the growing power of multinational corporations

Citizens exert political influence• Democracies offer a compelling route for pursuing sustainability: the power of the vote– We can guide our political leaders to enact

policies for sustainability

• A person can exercise power by:– Voting

– Attending public hearings

– Donating to advocacy groups

– Writing letters and making phone calls

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people

can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

(Margaret Mead)

Consumers vote with their wallets

• We wield influence in the choices we make as consumers

• Consumers can buy ecolabeled products– Promote “green” purchasing at work and school

Legal action

Regulating enforcement body

Public

hearing

Fig. 25-6, p. 598

Lobbyists Lobbyists

Lawmaking body

Special-interest groups

Environmental

organizations

Courts Corporations and

small business

Individual

Public

advisory

Laws and

regulations

Lawyers

Boycotts

Membership

support

Laws and

regulations

Purchase recyclable,

recycled, &

environmentally safe products

Recycle cans,

bottles, paper,

& plastic

Plant a

garden

Donate clothes

& used goods

to charities

Use water,

energy, & other

Resources

efficiently

Use mass

transit, walk,

ride a bike,

or carpool

Legal action

Lawyers

Fig. 25-5, p. 597

White

House

Office

Office of

Management

and Budget

Council on

Environmental

Quality

• Overall policy

• Agency

coordination

• Budget

• Agency coordination

and management

• Environmental policy • Agency coordination • Environmental impact statements

Dept of Health

& Human

Services

Environmental

Protection

Agency

Department

of Justice

Department

of the

Interior

Department

of

Agriculture

Department

of Defense

• Health • Air & water pollution

• Noise

• Pesticides

• Solid waste

• Radiation

• Toxic substances

• Environmental

litigation

• Endangered species

• Energy

• Minerals

• National parks

• Public lands

• Fish and wildlife

• Water development

• Soil

conservation

• Forestry

• Civil works

construction

• Dredge & fill permits

• Pollution control from

defense facilities

Nuclear

Regulatory

Commission

Department

of State

Department

of

Commerce

Department

of Labor

Department of

Housing and

Urban

Development

Department of

Transportation

• Licensing and

regulation of

nuclear power

• International

environment

• Oceanic and atmospheric monitoring and research

• Occupational

health• Housing

• Urban parks

• Urban planning

• Airplane noise

• Mass transit

• Oil pollution

• Roads

Tennessee

Valley

Authority

Department

of Energy

• Energy policy

• Petroleum allocation • Electric power generation

President

How a Bill Becomes a Law

• Individual citizens and lobbyists can influence how the bill is written before it is introduced and through subsequent stages.

Figure 25-7

Major Environmental Laws in the U.S.

• Many of these laws have been amended (weakened or strengthened) since 1969.

Figure 25-8

Promoting research and education is vital

• Nothing will succeed if the public is not aware of their importance

• Individual actions have little impact, unless many others do the same thing

• Individuals can influence others by educating them and serving as role models

Precious time• It can be hard to give attention to problems we don’t

need to attend to on a daily basis• The sheer number of environmental problems can be

overwhelming• However, natural systems are changing rapidly• Human impacts are intensifying

– Overfishing, deforestation, land clearing, resource extraction

• We need to find solutions before we do irreparable harm

We need to reach again for the moon

• President Kennedy created NASA in response to the prospect of “losing” the race to the moon

• Humanity faces a challenge more important than any previous one

– Achieving sustainability

– Larger and more complex than going to the moon

• Human ingenuity is capable; we merely need to rally public resolve and engage everyone in the race

The environmental bottleneck

• We can achieve sustainability, but we must be realistic about the challenges– We are giving ourselves less room to maneuver

• Until we implement a sustainable solution, we will be squeezing ourselves through a progressively tighter space, like being squeezed through the neck of a bottle

• It would be terrible to let the entire world turn into Easter Island and use up all of our resources completely

We must think of Earth as an island• Earth is, indeed, an island

– Islands can be paradise, or they can be destroyed

• Some people speak out for conservation and finding ways to live sustainably amid dwindling resources– Others ignore those calls, and continue environmental

destruction

• It would be a tragic folly to let the planet be destroyed

The Earth is an island

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

• Many analysts believe that environmental security is as important as military and economic security.

– Some developing nations view the concept of environmental security as an agenda for rich countries to continue their control of the world’s natural resources.

How Would You Vote?

Is environmental security just as important as economic and military security?

– a. No. Terrorism, unemployment, hunger, and inflation are more urgent threats to most nations.

– b. Yes. Environmental quality strongly influences the economies and security of most nations.

Fig. 25-10, p. 611

Trade-Offs

Global Efforts on

Environmental Problems

Good News Bad News

Environmental protection agencies

in 115 nationsMost international environmental treaties

lack criteria for monitoring and evaluating

their effectiveness

Over 500 international environmental

treaties and agreements 1992 Rio Earth Summit led to nonbinding

agreements without enough funding to

implement them

UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

created in 1972 to negotiate and monitor

international environmental treaties By 2003 there was little improvement in the

major environmental problems discussed

at the 1992 Rio summit

1992 Rio Earth Summit adopted key

principles for dealing with global

environmental problems 2002 Johannesburg Earth Summit failed to

provide adequate goals, deadlines, and

funding for dealing with global

environmental problems such as climate

change, biodiversity loss, and poverty2002 Johannesburg Earth Summit

attempted to implement policies and goals

of 1992 Rio summit and find ways to

reduce poverty

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

• International environmental organizations:

– Expand understanding of environmental issues.

– Gather and evaluate environmental data.

– Help develop and monitor environmental treaties.

– Provide funds and loans for sustainable economic development.

– Help nations develop environmental laws and institutions.

Fig. 25-11, p. 611

Solutions

International Environmental Treaties

Problems Solutions

Take a long time to

develop and are

weakened by

requiring full

consensus

Do not require full

consensus among

regulating parties

Establish procedures

for monitoring and

enforcement

Poorly monitored

and enforced

Lack of funding for

monitoring and

enforcement

Increase funding for

monitoring and

enforcement

Treaties are not

integrated with one

another

Harmonize or

integrate existing

agreements

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

• Earth summits and international environmental treaties play important roles in dealing with global environmental problems, but most are not effectively monitored or enforced.

• Making the shift to a more equitable and environmentally secure and sustainable global society is an economic, political, and ethical decision.

Core Case Study: Biosphere 2 - A Lesson in Humility

• Biosphere 2, was designed to be self sustaining life-supporting system for eight people sealed in the facility in 1991. The experiment failed because of a breakdown in its nutrient cycling systems.

Figure 26-1

ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS AND VALUES

• Your environmental worldview encompasses:

– How you think the world works.

– What you believe your environmental role in the world should be.

– What you believe is right and wrong environmental behavior.

ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS AND VALUES

• Environmental worldviews lie on a continuum.

Figure 26-2

HUMAN-CENTERED AND LIFE-CENTERED ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS

• The major difference among environmental worldviews is the emphasis they put on the role of humans dealing with environmental problems.

– Some view that humans are the planet’s most important species and should become managers or stewards of the earth.

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

Environmental Worldviews: An Overview

• Some analysts doubt that we can effectively manage the earth because we do not have enough knowledge to do so.

• Life-centered and earth-centered environmental worldviews believe that we have an ethical responsibility to prevent degradation of the earth’s ecosystems, biodiversity, and biosphere.

Environmental Worldviews

• Deep ecology calls for us to think more deeply about our obligations toward both human and nonhuman life.

• Ecofeminist environmental worldview believes that women should be given the same rights that men have in our joint quest to develop more environmentally sustainable and socially just societies.

Shifts in Environmental Values and Worldviews:

Some Encouraging Trends

• Global and national polls reveal a shift towards the stewardship, environmental wisdom, and deep ecology worldviews.

How Would You Vote?Which one of the following comes closest to your environmental worldview: planetary management, stewardship, environmental wisdom, deep ecology, ecofeminist?

– a. Planetary management

– b. Stewartship

– c. Environmental wisdom

– d. Deep ecology

– e. Ecofeminist

– f. Other

Which Worldview Is More Likely to Prove Correct?

• Using images of economic or ecological collapse can deter us from preventing or slowing environmental degradation.

How Would You Vote?

Do you believe there are physical and biological limits to human economic growth?– a. No. I have faith in human ingenuity and

creativity.

– b. Depends. Some (but not all) aspects of economic growth are limited.

– c. Yes. Ecological economists are generally correct.

LIVING MORE SUSTAINABLY

• Environmental literate citizens and leaders are needed to build more environmentally sustainable and socially just societies.

• In addition to formal learning, we need to learn by experiencing nature directly.

LIVING MORE SUSTAINABLY

• Some affluent people are voluntarily adopting lifestyles in which they enjoy life more by consuming less.

Figure 26-7

Fig. 26-6, p. 622

Solutions

Developing Environmentally

Sustainable Societies

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 providesDevelop 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

LIVING MORE SUSTAINABLY

• We can help make the world a better place by not falling into mental traps that lead to denial and inaction and by keeping our empowering feelings of hope ahead of any immobilizing feeling of despair.

Living More Lightly on the Earth: The Sustainable Dozen

• Agriculture

– Reduce you meat consumption.

– Buy locally grown and produced food.

– Buy more organic food and grow your own.

– Don’t use pesticides.

• Transportation

– Drive an energy-efficient vehicle.

– Walk, bike, carpool, or take mass transit.

– Work at home or live near work.

Living More Lightly on the Earth: The Sustainable Dozen

• Home Energy Use

– Caulk leaks, add insulation, use energy efficient appliances.

– Try to use solar, wind, flowing water, biomass for home energy.

• Water

– Use water-saving showers and toilets, use drip irrigation, landscape yard with natural plants that do not require excess water.

Living More Lightly on the Earth: The Sustainable Dozen

• Resource Consumption

– Reduce your consumption and waste of stuff by at least 10%: Refuse and Reuse.

Figure 26-5

LIVING MORE SUSTAINABLY

• The Earth Charter calls for us to respect and care for life and biodiversity and to build more sustainable, just, democratic, and peaceful societies for present and future generations.

• We need hope, a positive vision of the future, and commitment to making the world a better place to live.

Conclusion

• In any society facing dwindling resources and environmental degradation, there will be those who raise alarms and those who ignore them

• The challenge for our society today is to support that science so that we may judge false alarms from real problems and distinguish legitimate concerns from thoughtless denial

QUESTION: ReviewWhich of the following ways is not helpful towards reaching

sustainability?

a) Use water efficiently b) Conserve energy c) Promote renewable energy d) Use many fossil fuels

QUESTION: ReviewWhat does “sustainable development” mean?

a) Finding ways to promote social justice

b) Economic well-being

c) Environmental quality at the same time

d) All of the above

QUESTION: ReviewWhich of the following is NOT a major approach to sustainability?

a) Reduce unnecessary consumption

b) Limit population growth

c) Discourage research and education

d) Think in the long term

QUESTION: ReviewWhich is NOT an intense human impact on our natural systems?

a) Resource extraction

b) Wetland draining

c) Overfishing

d) Planting excess trees

e) Land clearing

QUESTION: ReviewWhich of the following is NOT a strategy for sustainability?

a) Encourage green technologies

b) Think in the long term

c) Voting with our wallets

d) All of these are strategies for sustainability