Environmental Literacy For Administrators and Educators - Environmental Issues

ENVIRONMENTAL
LITERACY FOR
ADMINISTRATORS AND
EDUCATORS
***
Author: Partha Das Sharma, E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com

Website: http://saferenvironment.wordpress.com
Environmental Issues
The Top Ten :
n How bad is the damage to ecosystems?
n Is the Earth overpopulated?
n Are we running out of Energy Resources?
n Can we feed ourselves, sustainably?
n What’s the “truth” about climate change?
n Why are we so wasteful?
n Are we poisoning our air?
n Ditto for our water
n Are we causing the extinction of species?
n What can you do to help?
http://saferenvironment.wordpress.com 2
A Conceptual Framework
q The ultimate goal of environmental

education is to produce individuals who
exhibit the “4 A’s.”
Awareness
Appreciation
Advocacy
Activism
Founding Principles
n Everything is connected to everything else.

q We depend on the environment for all of our food, water, energy, shelter, and
economic resources.
n There is no such thing as a free lunch.

q There is an environmental cost whenever we extract resources from the Earth.
n Our lives on Earth must be sustainable.

q We can’t spend Earth’s capital. We need to learn how to live only on the interest.
How bad is damage to ecosystems?
n Deforestation and other habitat destruction

is the number one human impact on the
planet.
q Reduces oxygen production by plants
q Reduces available habitat for organisms
q Increases rates of erosion and soil damage
q Increases rates of extinction of species
Is the Earth overpopulated?
n The answer depends on how you define

overpopulated, but most scientists
believe that the Earth has reached or is
very near to the limit that is
sustainable.
In other words, the impacts of a human population of 7 Billion or

more will harm the processes and resources of the planet to the
point where we will not be able to depend on them indefinitely.
7
What can we learn from the graph?
n It is only in the last 200 years that human

population exploded!!
q Modern medicine is the main cause
q Closely followed by modern agriculture
n Human population is projected to level off at

about 12 to 14 Billion??
n Fertility rates are expected to decrease.

q People are already making the choice to have fewer children. (the
Demographic Transition)
Can Earth Support 12 Billion
People?
n Yes, but only IF we reduce our use of non-

non-renewable
resources and switch to renewable ones whenever we
can.
n Resource consumption is a more important way to
gauge population impact than simply the size.
n Number x consumption = impact (or footprint)
Are we running out of Energy
Resources?
n In the short term, not really, but in the

long term, yes.
q Despite recent price increases in oil, we still have
substantial reserves left.
q Our current fossil fuels are non-
non-renewable. They will run
out in 50 to 200 years.
n If we switch to renewable energy (solar,

wind power and other types) we will
never run out.
Energy Use in the Global Economy
Oil = 39%; Coal = 27%; Gas = 23%; Nuclear = 7%; Hydro =

3%; Others = 1%
Industrial = 38%;
Residential and Commercial = 36%; Transportation = 26%
What can we learn from the data?
n We are addicted to fossil fuels!
n What we do in our industry and homes is

more important than what we do in our cars.
n We are not making use of renewable energy

sources.
Can we feed ourselves, Sustainably?
n That’s a hard one to judge. The cost of

food is skyrocketing and the
environmental impacts of raising food are
going up as well.
n Can we feed a future population of 12 B

using the same means?
n Answer would be ‘No’.

Good News and Bad News
n World food production

tripled since 1950. n Population growth rate is
faster than “food growth.”
n Overall food prices fell.
n Food prices are rising now.
n World grain supplies were
at near record highs n Per capita grain supplies
because of technological are falling at 1% per year.
innovations. n 2 billion people in the world
n Diets in MDCs are at an are undernourished.
all
all--time caloric high. n Damage to soils and
n Per acre production is pollution are increasing.
very high.
What’s the “truth” about climate
change?
n Global Warming is real.
n Estimates of its likely impacts vary

widely:
q Best case: mild - moderate warming
q Worst case scenarios see oceans rising to
inundate large areas of coastlines, severe
disruptions in weather and climate, and mass
extinction.
16
Some predictions are already
happening
17
Why are we so wasteful?
n Affluent societies treat waste as something

to throw away.
n Less affluent societies reuse every last bit
they can.
n Our culture of consumerism is what fuels
our wasteful ways.
n Some scientists call this ‘Throwaway
Culture’.
Our Waste Stream
n 38 % paper products
n 13 % yard waste
n 10 % food wastes
n 9 % plastics
n 8 % metals
n 6 % glass
n 5 % wood
n 10 % other
(Nearly all of these wastes could be recycled, but
only about 25% actually are done)
n A Total Haul of over 200 MILLION tons per year;
2/3 of a ton per person per year!
Main sources of hazardous waste
n Industrial chemicals – metals, solvents, paints, etc.

n Mining wastes – metals, cyanide, acids
n Agricultural chemicals – pesticides, fertilizers, etc.
n Military wastes – warfare agents, old munitions, etc.
n Certain household chemicals – cleaners, solvents, etc.
n Consumer products – batteries, electronics, etc.
n Radioactive wastes – from power plants and certain industries
n Medical wastes – hospital waste, old medicines, etc.
n Each year millions of tons of chemicals are produced

around the world.
Are we poisoning our air?
n Air pollution, especially in cities of

developing countries, is getting worse.
n This is largely due to burning of coal

and other fuels for electricity production
and industry and the burning of oil for
transportation.
Sources of Air Pollution
n Natural – volcanoes, terpenes from conifers, etc.

n Anthropogenic – since the industrial revolution
q Combustion of fossil fuels

q Industrial processes
q Agricultural processes
q Mining and Nuclear Power Generation
q Homes and businesses
Major Categories of Air Pollution
n Global Climate Change – carbon

n Acid Rain – nonmetallic oxides
n Ozone Depletion – CFCs
n Smog – VOCs, oxides, particulates
n Indoor Air Pollution – VOCs, etc.
Are We Poisoning our water?
n Most of the Global rivers are polluted

due to the presence of fecal coliform
bacteria and other contaminants.
n Similar problem rivers exist on every
continent.
n Water is life.
n If we poison our water, we poison
ourselves.
The Major Categories of Pollutants
n Disease--causing organisms : infectious agents
Disease
n Inorganic chemicals : salts, acids, metals
n Synthetic organic compounds : pesticides, etc.
n Fertilizers : agricultural runoff
n Sediments : sand, silt and clay from erosion
n Oxygen--demanding wastes : sewage and manure
Oxygen
n Radioactive wastes : natural or man-
man-made
n Thermal pollution : heat from power plants, etc.
Are we causing the extinction of
species?
n Throughout geologic time the Earth

has experienced five mass extinctions
due to drastic climate change, meteor
impacts, and rampant volcanism.
n Now, Scientists consider the impacts
of humans to be the start of a sixth
mass extinction.
Can’t We All Get Along?
n Some of the things that humans do

disrupt other organisms’ lives.
q Habitat destruction
q Over
Over--fishing, excess hunting
q Environmental pollution
q Introduction of non-
non-native species
q Climate change
q Commercial exploitation
Intrinsic / Extrinsic Value of
Biodiversity
n Intrinsic – everything has a right to exist of its

own accord.
n Extrinsic – we derive food, medicines and many

other products from wild things. Biodiversity
adds beauty and interest to our lives.
Biodiversity keeps the world’s natural processes
going.
What can YOU do about all this?
n Consume less of EVERYTHING

n Reduce your FOOTPRINT
n SPEAK for the trees
n Learn and CARE about the earth
n Make a DIFFERENCE
n Don’t WASTE what you were given
Some specifics
n Drive less – Drive smart to get better
mileage
n Raise your thermostat
n Switch to fluorescent bulbs
n Try a vegetarian diet
n Install a solar water heater
n Insulate your home
n Plant a butterfly garden
n Recycle everything you can
n Be careful with chemicals at home and at
work

Environmental Literacy For Administrators and Educators - Environmental Issues

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Environmental Literacy For Administrators and Educators - Environmental Issues

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

ENVIRONMENTAL

Author: Partha Das Sharma, E.mail: sharmapd1@gmail.com

q The ultimate goal of environmental

n Everything is connected to everything else.

n There is no such thing as a free lunch.

n Our lives on Earth must be sustainable.

n Deforestation and other habitat destruction

q Increases rates of erosion and soil damage

q Increases rates of extinction of species

n The answer depends on how you define

In other words, the impacts of a human population of 7 Billion or

n It is only in the last 200 years that human

n Human population is projected to level off at

n Fertility rates are expected to decrease.

n Yes, but only IF we reduce our use of non-

n In the short term, not really, but in the

n If we switch to renewable energy (solar,

Oil = 39%; Coal = 27%; Gas = 23%; Nuclear = 7%; Hydro =

n We are addicted to fossil fuels!

n What we do in our industry and homes is

n We are not making use of renewable energy

n That’s a hard one to judge. The cost of

n Can we feed a future population of 12 B

n Answer would be ‘No’.

n World food production

n Global Warming is real.

n Estimates of its likely impacts vary

n Affluent societies treat waste as something

n Industrial chemicals – metals, solvents, paints, etc.

n Each year millions of tons of chemicals are produced

n Air pollution, especially in cities of

n This is largely due to burning of coal

n Natural – volcanoes, terpenes from conifers, etc.

q Combustion of fossil fuels

q Mining and Nuclear Power Generation

q Homes and businesses

n Global Climate Change – carbon

n Most of the Global rivers are polluted

n Throughout geologic time the Earth

n Some of the things that humans do

n Intrinsic – everything has a right to exist of its

n Extrinsic – we derive food, medicines and many

n Consume less of EVERYTHING

You might also like