Introduction to Environmental ScienceChapter 1
Environmental ScienceInterdisciplinary science –ecology, geology,
chemistry, environmental studies focuses on politics,
engineering, economics, and ethics
Connections and interactions between humans and the rest of nature
Validity of data questioned – many variables (hard to perform controlled experiments)
Environmental Scienceenvironment: everything around us
including the living and non-living things with which we interact
Goals of environmental science learn how nature worksunderstand how we interact with the
environmentfind ways to deal with environmental
problems and live more sustainably
Environmental Issues
Population growthIncreasing resource useDestruction and degradation of habitatPremature extinction (loss of biodiversity)PovertyPollution
Our top three: Climate Change/Global warming; Radioactive wastes; and increase in human population
Tragedy of the Commons- Garrett Hardin Over use of common property (exploiting common
resources)
“if I don’t use this resource someone else will” “I don’t take enough to matter”“the amount I pollute is not enough to cause a
problem”“its a renewable resource...it will come back”
Clean air, open ocean and its fish, wildlife species, publicly owned land, gases of lower atmosphere, space
How do we manage these resources on a global level? Who is responsible for enforcing compliance?
Sustainability
Ability of a specified system to survive and function over a period of time
Sustainable living: Meeting present needs without preventing future generations from meeting theirs
Sustainability Three principles of sustainability..how can we live more
wisely and understand how the earth has sustained itself?
Reliance on solar energydrives energy cycling in ecosystems (photosynthesis
and cell respiration)
Biodiversityability to adapt to changes and provide natural
services
Chemical (nutrient cycling)movement and renewal of chemicals in an
ecosystem
Ecosystem ServicesEcosystems provide services that
aren’t easy to quantifyreasons for protecting and
preserving our natural resources
purifying air and water, pollination, providing oxygen, providing food
SustainabilityComponents of Sustainability
natural capital, natural resources and natural services work together in ecosystems to provide us with the resources we need to survive
being sustainable and managing our resources allow us to ensure these services for future generations and indefinitely
Sustainable yield: how much we can take without depleting the resource for the future
Ecological footprint or environmental impactAmount of land needed to produce the
resources needed by an average person in a country
Ecological Footprint The area of land and ocean required to support
your consumption of food, goods, services, housing, and energy and assimilate your wastes.
Your ecological footprint is expressed in "global hectares" (gha) or "global acres" (ga), which are standardized units that take into account the differences in biological productivity of various ecosystems impacted by your consumption activities.
Your footprint is broken down into four consumption categories: carbon (home energy use and transportation), food, housing, and goods and services.
Your footprint is also broken down into four ecosystem types or biomes: cropland, pastureland, forestland, and marine fisheries.
www.myfootprint.org
Global Averages—Ecological Footprint
There are only 15.71 acres available per person (renewable basis). We are overshooting the biological capacity by almost 50%!!
myfootprint.org
Click on “Go”
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When finished..let me know and we’ll print results.
Complete “Pledge Card” (see example)
Living in the environment
Cultural changes
Hunter gatherers – 12,000 years ago
Agricultural revolution – 10,000-12,000-
Industrial revolution-275 years ago
Technological revolution – 50 years ago
Advanced Industrial societies (1914 --- Present)
increase in agricultural products
lower infant mortality
improved health
increase in longevity
net population increase
Environmental impacts globalize
Countries Differ in Levels of Unsustainability
Economic growth: increase in output of a nation’s goods and services
Gross domestic product (GDP): annual market value of all goods and services produced by all businesses, foreign and domestic, operating within a country
Per capita GDP: one measure of economic development (GDP divided by population at midyear)
Economic development: using economic growth to raise living standards
Countries Differ in Levels of Unsustainability
More-developed countries: North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, most of Europe High income. 19% of the worlds population (1.2
billion people). Use 88% of the worlds resources and produce 75% of the worlds pollution and waste.
Less-developed countries: most countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America Lower income. 81% of the worlds population. 15%
of the worlds wealth, use 12% of the worlds resources.
Divided into moderately developing (China, India, Brazil, Turkey) and least-developed (Congo, Haiti, Nicaragua, Nigeria)
Measuring Our Impact Ecological Footprints: the amount of biologically
productive land and water needed to provide the people in a particular country or area with an indefinite supply of renewable resources and to absorb and recycle the wastes and pollution produced by such resource use.
IPAT model: shows how population size (P) , Resource consumption per person (A) and the beneficial and harmful environmental effects of technologies (T) help to determine the environmental impact (I)) of human activities. I = P x A x T
Impact= Population x Resource Use x Technology Reducing one of these areas reduces overall impact.
Or implementing technologies that reduce environmental impact (pollution control and prevention, wind turbines, solar cells, fuel-efficient cars)
Fig. 1-14, p. 17
Less-Developed Countries
Consumption per person
(affluence, A)Population (P)
Technological impact per unit of consumption
(T)
Environmental impact of
population (I)
More-Developed Countries
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Why do we have environmental problems?
1. Population growth
2. Wasteful and unsustainable resource use (affluence)
3. Poverty
4. Failure to include the harmful environmental costs of goods and services in market prices
