Energy and the Environment

PHSC 1014

Letter in Today’s Jonesboro Sun

On July 23 I called Arkansas senators Lincoln and Pryor and Rep. Berry’s offices. I talked to staff members in each case and asked if they were keeping a tally of Arkansas citizens that were for or against an up or down vote on lifting the congressional moratorium on drilling for oil and gas in the United States and our coastal waters.

The staffs indicated they were doing just that. I learned later that some were out of the country. I never heard anything about how they felt or what they were going to do.

You know, polls are showing that 70 percent of Americans are in favor of drill here, drill now, for less.

Those who live on all expenses paid plus a salary will never feel the pain of inflation or the pain of having to live on a fixed income.

Crude Oil Prices

• Over the last 20 years, energy prices have increased

Crude Oil Spot Price (Cushing, OK)

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U.S. Production

• At the same time, U.S. production is down

World Production

• While world production is leveling

World Oil Production

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What is going on?

• Conspiracy by OPEC

• Conspiracy by oil companies

• Growing non-U.S. usage by China and India

• We are running out

Should we even use it?

• Global warming

• Energy shortages

• Fish populations depleted

• Acid rain

• Species extinction

• Invasive species

• Drought

• Low whale populations

• Loss of ozone layer

Energy and environmental problems are not new.

• Ancient Greece denuded forests and suffered erosion problems.

• Roman citizens used up the wood in the area and had to use remains of old buildings to build new ones.

• Lack of human waste disposal brought cholera plagues to London.

• Dodo birds and passenger pigeons hunted out of existence.New evidence that first homo sapiens caused species to become extinct.

ENVIRONMENTALISM

• There have been advocates for the environment throughout history.

• Ralph Waldo Emerson

• David Henry Thoreau

• John Muir

• Aldo Leopold

• President Teddy Roosevelt

• Rachel Carson Rachel Carson Teddy Roosevelt

Are there other ways?

• Nuclear energy

• Wind

• Solar

• Biomass

• Coal

• Wood

Conflicts arise when actions intended to “save the environment” threaten economic and social well-being of citizens.

• Saving old-growth forests results in fewer jobs for lumber-jacks, lower company profits, and higher prices for wood products.

• Preserving populations of commercial fish reduces income for fishermen and increases fish prices.

• Using turtle-exclusion devises allows shrimp to escape from shrimp nets and lowers crew profits.

• Preserving western grasslands requires a drop in the number of cattle grazing on the land.

• Decreasing pollution requires companies to install expensive scrubbing devices or make costly changes their procedures.

• Preserving rainforests prevents indigent farmers from making their living using time-honored practices.

SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability combines two goals.

• Ensuring that resources will continue to be available to us and to our descendents. In the past we have used resources faster than they can be replaced.

• Maintaining ecosystems. Ecosystems are the infrastructure of the biosphere. Without them the world as we know it would not exist.

Achieving Sustainability

In order to achieve sustainability, we must limit our total impact on the environment so that Earth’s ecosystems have sufficient time and resources to regenerate the resources we use.

Our Impact on the Environment

Two primary factors affect our impact on the environment..

• Population size - the higher the population, the more resources our environment must provide.

• Resources used per person - the more resources each person needs, the more resources our environment must provide.

Resource Use Per Person

• People in developed countries, such as those in North America and Europe, use substantially more resources per person than those in underdeveloped countries such as many of those in Africa and Southeast Asia.

• For example, the average American requires 120 gallons of water per day to meet needs, while the average African requires less than 20 gallons per day.

Waste produced is also a factor in resources used per person.

• The more waste or pollution produced, the longer it will take the ecosystem to remove it.

• Too much waste or pollution can destroy ecosystems.

• People in developed countries produce substantially more waste per person than those in underdeveloped countries.

Impact of the Environment

Our impact on the environment is the product of population size multiplied by the average amount of resources used by each person.

I = N x R

I = total impact on the environment

N = population size

R = average amount of resources used per person

Sustainability

Sustainability requires balancing population size and the resources used per person at a level that allows both continued harvesting of natural resources and maintenance of the ecosystem over time.

Many questions remain unanswered, such as:

How many people is too many?

What standard of living is acceptable?

How much government regulation do we want?

Whose responsibility is it?

The Role of Science in Achieving Sustainability

• Scientists cannot, and should not, answer all of these complex questions.

• Scientists can provide helpful data.• What is the maximum amount of a resource that can be

harvested without harming the ecosystem?

• How much waste can a system decompose per year?

• What factors affect how quickly a resource can be regenerated?

• How can we replace non-renewable resources?

Your Role in Achieving Sustainability

• Exercise your right to vote.

• Reduce your environmental footprint.

• Educate yourself so that you can make appropriate choices.

Energy and the Environment

This semester, we are going to discuss energy usage and itsimpact on the environment

•What is energy?•Basic geology and Earth systems•The different forms of energy we use•One area of impact: the atmosphere•Population projections•Politics

Basic Skills

You will need to understand basic mathematics:

•Be able to plug numbers into an equation

•Be able to solve an equation for a particular variable Ex: F = ma, solve for a

•Be able to do simple word problems

How to SucceedThis course will require that you:

•Read the online materials•Spend 6-9 hours a week studying EVERY WEEK•Ask questions when you do not understand something•Do not wait until the end of the semester to start working•Discuss materials with others in the class