1: Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

1: Environmental Problems, Their Causes,

and Sustainability

What is the Difference between What is the Difference between Environment, Ecology, and Environment, Ecology, and

Environmental Science?Environmental Science?

environment -- all external conditions & factors that affect living organisms

ecology -- study of the interactions between organisms & their environment

environmental science -- interdisciplinary scientific study of the relation between humans & their environment; applied ecology

1-1 Living More Sustainably

What Roles Do Different Groups Play?

• Ecologists – biological scientists studying the relationships between living organisms and their environment

• Environmental scientists – use scientific information and concepts to understand how the earth works, learn how humans interact with the earth, and develop solutions to environmental problems

• Conservation biologists – investigate human impacts on the diversity of life found on earth and develop practical plans for preserving biodiversity

• Environmentalists – people concerned about the impact of people on environmental quality and believe some human actions are degrading parts of the earth’s life-support systems

• Preservationists – people concerned with setting aside or protecting undisturbed natural areas from harmful human activities

• Conservationists – people concerned with using natural areas and wildlife in ways that sustain them for current and future generations of humans and other living things

• Restorationists – people devoted to restoration of natural areas that have been degraded by human activities

How would each role react to the following scenarios?

1. Offshore drilling, such as drilling for oil right off the coast of the U.S. (like the Gulf of Mexico)

2. Clearing a forest to create a suburban housing development

3. The Giant Panda becoming extinct4. An oil spill in the Chesapeake Bay5. Spraying pesticides on a cornfield

What would you do if you were given $1 million?

What would you do with $1 million?

• If you invest it and receive 10% interest per year, that’s $100,000 of income a year!– This can last forever – it is

sustainable

• What if you spent more than $100,000 per year?– You will eventually go

bankrupt – it is not sustainable

What Keeps Us Alive?

THE SUN!

Natural Capital

• Capital is wealth used to keep a business running and to generate more wealth– “The first million is the

hardest”– You can use capital without

depleting it

• Natural capital support and sustain life on Earth– You can use natural capital

without depleting it– Solar energy is our primary

source of natural capital

What Is an Environmentally Sustainable Society?

• 2 goals:– Satisfies basic needs of its people (food,

clean water, clean air, and shelter) now and in the future

– It accomplishes these goals without depleting or degrading natural resources

• Living sustainably means that you are using natural resources in a responsible manner (using natural income without depleting the natural capital)

How can we live sustainably?