CHAPTER 12People and Their

Needs

People must be “emancipated from nature”“the negation of nature is the way toward happiness”John Locke

Section 12.1 A Portrait of Earth

The Earth is a series of systems and connections

Ecosystems are affected by many factors:

Climate (the interaction between ocean, air and land)

Circulation (movement of air and water)

Plate Tectonics (movement of the Earth’s land mass)

Section 12.1A portrait of Earth

Earth can also be viewed in terms of matter and energy:

For matter the Earth is a closed system

This means only tiny amounts of matter leave or join the Earth

For energy the Earth is an open system

This means that the Earth gets a huge amount of energy from the sun – some is released as heat

Earth Systems are Interconnected

2004 EARTHQUAKE/TSUNAMI

IN THE INDIAN OCEAN

Plate Tectonics

Earth Systems are Interconnected

Deep Ocean Zone Earthquake and Tsunami - Japan 2011

Plate Tectonics

Section 12.1 The Gaia Hypothesis

Proposed in 1972 by James Lovelock a British scientist

States: The Earth is a single, living organism that regulates itself to maintain life.

Section 12.2Human Societies

Three Types of Human Societies:

Hunter-gatherer – nomadic people that hunt and gather naturally growing food.

Agricultural – grows crops, stay in one place

Industrial – produces food and other products using machines - requires large amounts of energy and resources

12.2 Hunter-Gatherer Society

Nomadic – travel to where food can be found – never stay in one place

Gather naturally growing plants and hunt for whatever animals they can find

Low population numbers

Have little or no impact on the environment

Can still be found in remote areas untouched by modern civilization

12.2 Agricultural Society

10,000 to 20,000 years ago people in Southeast Asia and Africa began to farm

For the first time, they planted crops and raised animals for food

This caused two main changes:

1. people settled in one place

2. people found work within their society

12.2 Agricultural The most important

invention was the plow

The plow helped people plant more and produce more food,

More food meant more people Human population grew

Modern agriculture caused many environmental problems including:

increase land and chemical use,

soil depletion,

water contamination,

increase in food contamination

12.2 Industrial Society The human population

faced change again in the late 1700’s

Production of food and everyday needs switched from skilled individuals to machines

Machines need much more energy and raw materials to produce products

Major damage to the environment began with the use of machines

Industrial SocietyPositive

Scientists improved crops

Medical discoveries allowed people to live longer

More food and medical advances allowed the human population to grow even more

Negative

Increased use of energy

Increased use of natural resources

Increased population

Rapid increase in environmental damage

Air, land and water pollution

Raw materials are running out

Characteristics of Human Societies

Hunter-Gatherer

Agricultural

Industrial

Lifestyle/Technology

Use page 192 Table 12.1

Resource Use To complete This chart

Environment knowledge

Human health

Environmental impact

Energy Use

12.3 Sustainable DevelopmentFrontier Ethic

Humans are separate from Nature.

1) Resources are unlimited and here for our use.

2) Humans do not need to obey natural laws.

Our success/failure is measured by our control over the natural world.

Sustainable Development

Meets the current needs of society without limiting the way future generations meet their needs.

1) Resources are limited and not all to be used exclusively by humans.

2) Humans are part of the living Earth and must obey natural laws.

3) Human success means living in harmony with nature.

Sustainable Development Frontier Ethic

1) Earth’s resources is limited by size and content.

2) Humans have carrying capacities and limiting factors that control our population just like any other organism.

3) Each human measures their success differently with respect to their environment.

Indefinite frontier ethic can not be successful.

Sustainable Ethic 1) Materials needed to

build societies are limited.

2) Materials that can regenerate like wood or livestock are called renewable resources.

3) Materials that can not regenerate like oil and minerals are called non-renewable resources.

Successful societies will concentrate on using conservation and renewable resources.