Chapter 1: Environmental Problems, Causes and Sustainability

Key Concepts

Growth and Sustainability

Resources and Resource Use

Pollution

What are the root Causes of Environmental Problems

What is Environmental Science?

*Environment:

• Everything that surrounds and affects an organism

• The natural world as well as the things produced

I. ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES: Interdisciplinary Science that…1.) Help us understand how the earth works

2.) Learn how we are affecting the earth’s life support systems

3.) Propose and evaluate solutions to the environmental problems we face.

MAJOR GROUPS CONCERNED WITH ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

(see page 3 in textbook)

1.) ECOLOGIST2.) ENVIRONMENTAL

SCIENTIST3.) CONSERVATION BIOLOGIST4.) ENVIRONMENTALIST5.) PRESERVATIONIST6.) CONSERVATIONIST7.) RESTORAIONIST

Consensus Science

• Suggests that issues such as global climate change, deforestation, and species loss SHOULD be taken as a serious problem.

II. ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

A. Three categories:

1) NATURAL RESOURCE DEPLETION

3) EXTINCTION

2) POLLUTION

1. RESOURCE DEPLETION- DEPLETION:- A large part of these resources

has been used.- Natural resources:(sunlight, air ,water, soil, plants,

minerals, animals, fossil fuels, etc)

- Two categories: RENEWABLE and NON-

RENEWABLE

NON-RENEWABLE – resources that cannot be replaced

RENEWABLE – resources that can be continually replaced

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ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY

Satisfies the basic needs for…

food, water, air, and shelter

• Resources that can be used in the indefinite future without being depleted

• Does not prevent future generations from meeting these needs

2. POLLUTION

-A poisoning, intentional or not, of our air, water, or soil.

Pollution Sources

• Point Sources- where pollutants come from single identifiable sources. Ex: exhaust pipe of an automobile.

• Nonpoint sources- come from dispersed sources often hard to identify. Ex: runoff of fertilizer from farmlands, golf courses, and lawns.

3. EXTINCTIONCondition where a species

completely disappears from the earth

*Most species are becoming extinct due to habitat loss

Giant Ground Sloth

Do Do Bird

Mammoth

Passenger Pigeon

Air Pollution• Global climate

change• Stratospheric ozone

depletion• Urban air pollution• Acid deposition• Outdoor pollutants• Indoor pollutants• Noise

Biodiversity Depletion• Habitat destruction• Habitat degradation• Extinction

Water Pollution• Sediment• Nutrient overload• Toxic chemicals• Infectious agents• Oxygen

depletion• Pesticides• Oil spills• Excess heat

Waste Production• Solid waste• Hazardous

waste

Food Supply Problems• Overgrazing• Farmland loss

and degradation• Wetlands loss

and degradation• Overfishing• Coastal pollution• Soil erosion• Soil salinization• Soil waterlogging• Water shortages• Groundwater

depletion• Loss of biodiversity• Poor nutrition

MajorEnvironmental

Problems

III. ROOT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

Almost all environmental problems can be traced back to…

1) POPULATION CRISIS- Number of people grows too quickly for the earth to support.

2) CONSUMPTION CRISIS- People are using up, polluting, wasting things faster than can be replaced.

Population Growth

Linear Growth

ExponentialGrowth-starts slow then becomes very rapid

Doubling Time/Rule of 70

Fig. 1-2 p. 4

Fig. 1-3 p. 5

* The current world population for mid-year 2007 is estimated at 6,602,224,175

World Population16

15

14

13

12

11 Billions of people

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10

9

8

76

5

4

3

2

1

02-5 million

years8000 6000 4000 2000 2000 2100

Hunting and gathering

Black Death–the Plague

Time

Industrialrevolution

Agricultural revolution

B.C. A.D.

Fig. 1.1, p. 2

ACTUAL WORD POPULATION TREND

1 200,000,0001000 275,000,0001500 450,000,0001650 500,000,0001750 700,000,0001804 1,000,000,0001850 1,200,000,0001900 1,600,000,0001927 2,000,000,0001950 2,550,000,0001955 2,800,000,0001960 3,000,000,0001965 3,300,000,0001970 3,700,000,0001975 4,000,000,0001980 4,500,000,0001985 4,850,000,0001990 5,300,000,0001995 5,700,000,0001999 6,000,000,0002000 6,100,000,0002005 6,450,000,0002006 6,500,000,0002010 6,800,000,0002020 7,600,000,0002030 8,200,000,0002040 8,800,000,0002050 9,200,000,000

0

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5000000000

6000000000

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1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28

Series1Series2

http://www.otherwise.com/population/exponent.html

United States Birth rate: 14.14 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) 2.07 children born/woman (2003 est.)

A Global Perspective:• Many environmental

problems affect the entire world...

• Examples:• Pollution in the American

Midwest falls on Canada as acid rain

• Destruction of tropical rainforests increases CO2 worldwide

Ecological Footprint

United States

The Netherlands

India

Country Per Captia Ecological Footprint(Hectares of land per person)

10.9

5.9

1.0

Country Total Ecological Footprint(Hectares)

United States

The Netherlands

India

3 billion hectares

94 million hectares

1 billion hectares

Fig. 1.10, p. 111 Hectare = 2.5 Acres

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT LINKS

ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

-Use of economic rewards and incentives

-Increased economic penalties-Shift to prevention vs. excess

Sustainable Development

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