Living in an Exponential Age

Two ancient kings enjoyed playing ches. The winner claimed a

ability of the planet lo nuppsrt us and other forms of life and our
prize from the loser" After one match, the winning king asked
economies. But there are some disturbing warning rigns. Biolothe losing king to pay him by placing one grain of wheat on the
gists estimate that, by the end of this {entury, our exponentially
fir5t square of the chessboard, two grains on the second square,
increasing papulation and resource consumption could qause the
four on the third, and so on, with the number doubting on each
inwersible lors o{ one-third to orre-half of the world's known difsquare until all 64 squares were filled.
ferent types of plants and animals.
The losing king, thinking he wa: getting off easy, agreed
There is also growing evidence and concem that continued
with-delight. lt was the biggest mistake he ever made. He bankexponential growth in human activities such as burning fcsnJ
ruptifo his kingdom because the number of grains of wheat he
fuefs (carbon-based fuels such as coal, nalurai gas, and gasoline)
had promised was probably more than sll the wheat that has
and clearing forsts will change the earth's climate during this
ever been harvested!
century. This could ruin some areas for farming, shift water supThis fictisnal story illustrates the concept of exponential
plies, efiminate rnany of the earth'5 unique forms of life, and
growth, by which a quantity increases at a fixed percentage per
disrupt economigs in various parB of the world.
unit of time, such as 2% per year. Exponential growth is decep6reaf news; We have soiutions to these prsblems that
tive. lt starts off slowty, but after only a few doublings. it grcws
we could implerfiEnt within a few decads, as you will learn in
to enormous numbgrs because each doubling is more than the
this book.
total of all earlier growth"
Here is another example. Fold a piece cf paper in hall to double its thickness- li you could
continue doubling the thickness of the paper
42 times" the stack would reach frorn the earth ts
the moon*386,400 kilometea {240,000 mits}
away. tf you could double it 50 times, the folded
paper would almost reach the sun*149 million
I
kilometers (93 million miles) awayl
I
Because of exponential growth in the hu'at
man population {Figure 1-1}, in 2008 there were
6.7 billion people on the planet. Collectively, these
o
people consume vast amounts of food, water, raw
b,E
o
materials, and energy and in the process produce
tsO
Jt
huge amounb of pollution and wa5tes. Unles5
d
4
death rater rise sharply. there will probably be
9.3 billion of us by 2050 and perhaps as many a5
10 billion by the end of this century.
The exponential rate of global population
growth has declined since 1963. [ven ro, each day
we add an average of 225.000 more people to the
t-6 riilli$t
e000
20m 21&
earth's population. This is roughfy equivalent to
years
Tlm
new
adding a
U.5. city of Los Angeles. Califarnia,
.<-.-----"*-every 2 months, a new France every 9 months, and
Hunting and
Agricolturai revoluticn lndustrial
gathering
revglution
a new Urited States-the warld's third most popu-

eg

r'-

8000 ffi

country*about every 4 years.

No one kncrrt's horv rnany pecple the earth can
support, and at what level of resource consump
tion or affluence. without seriously degrading the
lous

8F
7a

4in0

figiur 1-1 xpoftentkl grewthj ths Jhaped

curve of past exponential wodd popuialion

growth, with projctiafts to 1100 rho$dng possible population slabilization with rhe J.shaped
cune af growth changing io an S-shaped curve. fihis figure is rot to scal.) (Data froln the
World Bank and United ltlaiions; photo L. YsngruNgPffeter Arrtold, tnc)

Key Questions and Concepts*

r-r

t.5 tllhy do we have envirounnentat

What is an environmentally sustainable society?

r-rn

corucEpr

Our lives and economies depend on energy

frorn the sun {solar capfali and on natural rescurces and natuial
services (natural capital) provided by the earth.

corucEpr

problems?

r.sn

Major causes of environmental problems are

population growth, wasteful and unsustainable resource use,
poverty. exclu$on of environmental costs of resoutce use from
the market prices of goods and services, and attempts to manage
nature with intufficient knowledge.

colrcEpr r-rs

Living sustainably means living off the earth's

natural income without depleting or degrading the natural capital
that supplies it,

coircEp? r.se

t.2

People with differnt environmental worldviews

often disagree about the seriousne:s of environmental problems
and what we shouid do about them.

coilcEpr r-z

i.o

HoLt' can environmentally sustainable societies

grow economically?

What are fsur scientific principles

of sustainabilit;r?

Societies can become more environmentally

sustainable through economic development dedicated to improving
the quality of life for everyone without degrading the earth,i life
support systms.

coitcEp? 1.6

Nature has sustained itself for billions of years by

using solar energy, biodivemity, population control, and nutrient
cyclingi---lessons from nature that ws can apply to our |ifestyles and

1.3 How are our ecological footprints affecting

economies.

the earth?

corucEpr

r-t

A5 our e{ological footprints grow, we are

depleting and degrading more of the earth's natural capital.

r-c

What is pollution, and what can we do about it?

comcEpr r.+

Preventing pollution is more effective and less

costlythan cleaning up pollution.

'Thi5 E a corEep!<enrered book. with each mils chapter sectim built around one
to ftree
three key concepts
concepB derrued
trom the natural or
derived lrom
socid scierxes. Kev auestons
6r sncia)
oupstons and
coffeptsaresunlmanzed at th beginnrng ol each chapter. you can uie thrs list as a
preMew and as a revew ot ttre key ideas in each chapter.
Aicter Supplemsts 2 {p. sa), 3 (p. 5r0), 4 {p" 5:0}, 5 (p. 531), and 6 {p. s39i can be
used

wth

thrs cheter,

Alone in space, alone in its life-supporting systems,

powered by inconceiv able energies,
mediating them to us through the most delicste adjustments,
wayward, ttnlikely, unpredictable, but nourishing, enlivening, and enriching
in the largest degree-is this not a precious home for aLt of us?
Is it not worth our love?
BARBARA WARD AND RENT OUEOS

Sustainable Soci
> comcEpr r-1A our
>

lives and econornies depend cn energy frorn tha rsn {colar

capitall atrd or natural reltourci and natural rervices lnatural apital) pmvided by
the earth"
corucEpr r.tB living surtainably means living off the earth,s natural income
without depleting or degrading tha natural capital that eupplies it

Environmental Science Is a Study

of Connections in Nature
The environment is everything around us. It includes

all of the livilg and the nonliving things with which

we interact. Arrd it inclucies a complex web of relation*
ships that connect us witlr one another and with rire
world we live in.

r-inrr,

$ffi,

refert tc the core case study. S'-$%1 ,"t"ru to rt e uook's sustainability

Despite our many scientific and technological adyances, we are utterly dependent on the environrnent
for air, water, food, shelter, energy, and everything else
we need to stay alive and healthy. As a result, we are
part of. and not apart from, tbe rest of nature.
This textbook is an in[oduction to enrrironmen-

tal science, an interdi*tiplinrrry srudy of how

hunrans

interact with the environment of living and nonliving

the**.

!fftr

indl.utes tinks to key concepts in eartier chapters.

Table 1-1

Major Fields

Blology

Subfields

study of living things (organisms)

Ecobgry: study of how organism: intrafi \ /ith ofie

another and with their nonliving envirsnment

Sota$y: study of plants

Zookogy study ol anirnals
Chemistry: study of chemicals and their interactions

tiochemi*ry:

Earth science; itudy of the planet as a whole and its

Climatology: study of the earth.s atmosphere and

nonliving systems

study of

tle

chernistry of living things

climate

Geology; study of the earthb origin, history. suriace, and

interior processes

Hydrology: study cf ihe earthb water resources

Paleontologtrr study ol fossils and ancient life
$ocial sciences: studies of human society

Anthrcpology: study of human

cultures

Demography: study cf the characteristics of hurnan

populations

Geography: study of the relationships betwesn hurnan

populations and the eartht suriace features
Fcqnomicsl study of the production, distribution, and
consumption of goods and services
Polftical Science: study of the principles. processes, and
strudture of government and political institutions '

Humanities: study o{ the

aspectE of the human condition

not covered by the physical and social sciences

Hktory: study of information and

ideas about humanityt

past

Ethics: study oi rnoral values and concefis roncerning

right and wrong hurnan behavior and responsibilities

Phib*phy: study of knowledge and wisdom about the

nature of reality, values, and human conduct

things.

It integrates

infonnation and ideas from the

natural sdenat such as biology, chemistry, and geology,

the social scieflces, such as geography. economics, political science, and demography (the srudy of popularion$),
and the hutnanities, including philosophy and ethics
(Table I -l and Figure 1,2). The goals eif environmental
science are to learn haw natare works, how the environment affeds us, how we affea the environment, and how n
deal witle enviranmnttal prohlems and live more sustainubly.

A key sulrfield of environmenml

tthirs
Philorophy

Ilidogiy

Foliti(l
s.lance

gtonoflici

science is ecol-

ogy, the biological science thar studies how organisms, or living tbings, interact with their environnrent
and with each other. Every organism is a member of
a certain species: a group ol organisms with djstinctive traits and, for sexually reproducing organisms, can
mate and produce fertile of{spring, Fnr example, all
humans are menrbers of a species that lriclogis;s lrave
nanred llorro sapiens sapiens. A major focus o{ ecology
is the study of ecosystems. An eco$y$tem is a set of

Figure 1-2

...,
.

Environmental
science is an

eilttgfdlfry

interdisciplinary
study of
connections
between the
earth's li{esupport system
and human
activilies.

A*l6relttilr

CONCEPTS 1-1A

AND 1.18

Soht
w

E
ffi
ffi

ffi

Figure 1-3 Key natural resaurces (biue) and natunl sewices lorange) that support and sustain the earth's
life and economies iconcept 1-1A).

organisms interacting wiih one another and with their

environmenl of nonlivilg matter and energy within a
defined area or volume.
We should not confuse environmental science and
ecology with environmentallrrn, a social movement
dedicated to protec'ting the earfh's life-support systems
for us and all other torms of lile. Environmentalism is
prac(iced more in rhe political and ethical arenas than
in ttre realm o{ science.

CHAPTER

Sustainability Is thetentral Theme

of This Book
Sustainability

is the ability of the earth's various nat-

ural systems and human cultural systems and econornies to survive and adapt to changing enyironmental
conditions inde{initely" It is the cenral theme of this
book, and its components provide the subthemes of
this book.

Environmental Problems. Their Causes, and Sustainability

A critical component of sqstainability is natural

capital-the natural resources

and natural services that

keep us and other lorms of life alive and suppoil our
econornies (Figure l-3). Natural resources are materials and energy in nature thal arr egsential nr useful to
humans. These resourees are often classified as reaewable
{such as air, water, soil, plants, and wind) or nonrfiwa&le (such as copper, oii, aud coal), Natural servlce$ are
{unctions of nature, such as purification of air and water,
which support life and human economies. Ecosystems
provide us with these essential services aI no cost.
One vital natural seryice is nutrient cyding. the
circulatian oi chemicals necessary for life, from the en-

vironment (mostly from soil and wateri through organisms and back to the environment (Figure 1-4). For
exantple, tapsoil, the upper layer of the earlh's cnrst.
provides the nutrients that support the plants, animals,
and rnicroorganisms that live on .[and; when rhey die
and decay, they resupply the soil with these nutrients,
Without this service, lile as we know it could nnt exist,
Nalural capital is supported by solar capital: energy from the sun (Figure 1 -3). Take away solar energy,
and all rratural capital would collapse. Solar energy
warrrls the planel and supports photosynthesis*a complex chemical process that plants use to provide food
for themselves and for us and most other animals. This
direct input of snlar energy also produces indirect forms
of renewable solar energy such as wind, flowing water,
and biofuels rnade from plants antJ plant residues. Thus,
our lives and economies depend on energy from the sun
(solar capital\ and natural resources and natural seryices
(natura{ capital ) provided I$ the earth (Concept 1-1A).
A sec6nd {omponent of susrainabitity-and another
sub-theme of this text*is to recognize that many humarr activities can degrade natursl capital by using trormally renewable resources faster than nafure can reflew
them. For example, in parts of the world. we are clearing mature forests much faster than nalure can replenish rhem. We are also harvesting many species of ocean
fish faster than fhey can replenish themselves.
This leads us to a third component o{ sustainability,

Environmental scientists search tw solutions to probtrems

such as the degradation of nalural capital. However,
their work is limited to finding the scientific sotrutions.
while the political solutions are left to political processes. For example, scientific solutions might be to stop
chopping down biologically diverse. mature forests, and
to harvest fish no faster tban tirey can replenish tbemselves. But implementing such solutions could require
government laws and regulations.

The search for solutions often involves conflicts.

When scientistri argue lor protecting a divrse natural
forest to help prevent the premalure extinction of various life forms, for example, the timber company that
had planned to harvest trees in that lorest might protest. Dealing with such conflicts often involves making
trade-offs. or compromises-a founh component o{ sustainatrility. ln the case of the timber company, it might
be persuaded to plant a tree farm in an area that had

t-it Nutrient cfiing: an important natural service thal recycles chemicals

needed by organisms from the environment {mostly from soil and water) through
organisms and back to the envuonment.
Rgur

aiready been cleared or degraded, in exchange for preserving the natural forest.

Any shift tcward environmental sustainability

should be based nn scientific concepts and results that
are widely accepted by experts in a particular tield, as
rliscussed in more deuil in Chapter 2. In making such a
shilt, individua{s matter*another subtheme o{ this book.
Some people are good at thinking of new ideas and inventing innovative technologies or solutions. Others
are good at putting political ple$sure on government
ofiicials and business leaders, acting either alone or in
groups to implernent those solutions. In any case, a shift
toward sustainability feir a society ultimately depends on
the actions of individuals within that society.

Environmentally Sustainable
Societies Protect Natural Capital -\
'
{Zt
and Live Off Its Income
The ultimate goal is an environmentally sustainatrle rociety-one that meets the current and fulure
basic resource needs of its people in a just and equitable mauner without compromising the atriliry of future
generations t0 meet their basic needs.
Imagine you win $l million in a lottery. If you inve$ lhis money and earn l0olo iuterest per year. you
will have a sustainable income of $100,000 a year that
you can live off of indefinitely, while allowing interest
to accumuiate on what is Ieft afier each withdrawal,
without depleting your capital. However. if you spend
CONCEPTS 1.1A

AND 1.18

$200,000 per year, even while allnwing intere$t to accumulate, your capihl of $l million will be gone early
in the seventh yi:ar. nven i{ you spend only $110"000
per year and stilt allow the interest to accumulate, you
will be bankrupr early in rhe eighteenth year.
The lesson here is an old one: Przted ylur capital and
live off the income it pravides" Deplete or waste your capital, and you will move from a sustainable to an unsus'
tainable lifestyle.
The sarne lesson applies to our u$e of the ear-th's
natural capital-rhe global trust lund that nature provides for us" Living swsuinably means living otf natural
lncomc. the renewable resources such as plants, ani
mals. and soil provided by nalural capital. This means
preserving the earth's naturai capital, which supplies

this income, while providing the human yrpularion

with adequate and equitable access to this narural income for tlre {ore seeable future {Concept 1-'lB)'
The bad news is that, according io a gr*wing body of
scientific evidence, we are living unsustainably by wasling, depleting. and degrading the earth's natural capital
at an exponerrially accelerating rate (core case

According to rhis 4-year study by 1,360 expens from

95 couRlries, human activities are degrading or overusing about 62a/a at the earth's [atural sewices (Figure l-3). In its summary statement. the report warned
that'human activity is putting such a strain on the nat'
ural {unctions oI Earth that the ability of lhe planet's
ecosystenu tt} sustain future Senerations can n(} longer
be taken for granted.' The goerd news is that the report
$uggests we have the knowledge and tools to conserve
the planet'$ natural capital, and it describes commonsense slrategies for doing this.

A erash program ro gain tretter and more comprehensive

information atnul ttre health r:{ the world's life-suppon systems, See academlc.cengage.com/biologyrmtller'

HOW WOULD YOU

VOTE?i*il

Do you believe that the snciety you live itr is on an

unsustainable path? Cast your vote online at academic
.cenga gg.com/biology/mlller.

t*-rn'{

Study).* In 2005, the United Nations (U.N.)

released its Millennium Ecasyslem Assess&ent.

Core Case studv is used as a theme to (onnect and integrale

'the oDeoinq-mater,al
in each ihapter. The logo rndicates these (onrEclions
much df the

1-2

'Envronmental scrnce is a de\doping lield wtlr many exciting research

fron$ers drat are rdentitid thrftghout this book.
**To rast vour vote. oo the wbste fo fiis book dnd then to the appropriale
chapter (in this ca!e, ehapter 1 ) ln rnost (dses, you will be able to compare
horry you voted wth others usrng this book.

How Can Environmentally Sustainable Societies

Grow Economically?

Soieties n become more erwlronmentally rustainabh through

aconomic developr:rent dedkated to imprcving the guality ol life for everyona
without degradirtg th eartht ltfe support rystems.

> corucEpr r-2

first country are said to have morc purchasing power

than consunrers in the second country have. To help

There Is a Wide Economic Gap

between Rich and Poor Countries
Economic growlh is an increase in a nation'$ output
of goods and services. It i$ usually measured by the
percentage of change

in a country's gross domestic

product (GDP): the annual market value ol all

goods

and services produced by all firms and organizations,

foreign and domestic, operating within a country"
Changes in a country's econornic growth per per$orl
are measured by per capita GDR the GDP divided by
the total popularion at rn.idyear.
The value of any country's currency changes when
it is used in other countries. Because of such differences, a basic unit of currency in one counu-v can buy
more of a particular thing than the basic unit of currency o{ another country can buy. Consumers in the

to

CHAPTER

compare countries. economisls use a tool called purchasing power parity IPPP | . By ctimbining per capita GDP
and PPP, for any given country, they arive at a per
capita GDP PPP-a rneasure of the amount ol goods
and services that a country's average citizen could buy
in the United States.
While econonric growth provides people with more
goods and services, eccnomlc development has the
goal of using economic grovwh to improve living standards. The United Nations classifies the world's countries as economically developed or developing based
primarily on their degree of inclustrializarion and their
per capita GDp PPP. The developed countries (with
1.2 billion people) include the United States, Canada,
,Iapan, Australia, New Zealand, and most countries ol

Environmental Problems, Their Causes. and Sustainability

Europe. Mosf are highly industrialized and have a high

per callita GDP PPP.
All otlrer nations {with 5.5 billion pople} are classified as developing countries, most of them in Afuica,
Asia, atd Latin America. Sone are micldle-inaffie, moderately developed eountries such as China. lndia, Brazil,
Tr"rrkey" Thailand, and Mexico. Others are low-inwme,
least deteloped rcuntries where per capita GDP PPP is
steadily declining. These 49 countries wirh I I o/o of the

world's population include Angola, Congo, Belarus,

Nigeria, Nicaragua, and Jordan. Figure 2 on p. Sl0 in
Supplemerrt 3 is a rnap of high-, upper middle-, lower
middle-, and low-income countries,
Figure I -5 compares some key characteristics ol developed and developing countries. Abour 97% of the
projected increase in the wnrld'$ populaiion between
2008 and 2050 is expected to take place in developing countries, which are least equipped to handle such
large popular.ion increases.
We lir.e in a world nf haves and have-nots, Despite
a 40-fold increase in economic growth since l9OA, more
than trwlf o! the people in tke world live in extreme poverty
afid try ta survive on a daily income of tex than $). Awl one
of every six peoltle, classitied u desperately pool, struggle to
swrtsive on less than $1 a day. (AJl dollar figures are in U.S.
dollars") (Figure t-6)

P6rcentage of

World'e:

ffifl

Ho'uratron

re*

'

az%

Poputation | 0 12%

growth

i.461a

77 years

Liie
expectancy

67 years

Wealth and
income

1{

Extreme Wverty: boy searching for items to sell in an open dump in

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Many children of poor families who live in makeshift shantytowns in or near such dumps olten scaveng all day for food and other items to help
their {amiiies survive. This mean$ that they c6nnot go to schooi.

Figure

Some economists call for continuing conventional

economic growth, which lras he$ed to increase lood
supplies, allowed people to live longer. and stimulared
mass production of an aray of useful goods and services for many people. They also see such growth as a
cure lor poverty, maintaining that sume of the resulting increase in wealth trickles down to countries and
people near the bottom ol the economic ladder.
Other economists call {or us to put much greater em*
phasis on environmentally sustalnable economic

development, This involves using political and ecoRonric sysfems lo dLtrswrage environmentally harmful
anrt unsustainabie {orms of econonric growth that degrade natural capital" and ta encourage environmentally
beneficial and sustainable forms o{ economic development that heip sustain natural capital (Concept 1-2).

Fesource
us6

Pollution

and waste

ffirs'a
250k

SustainabiliW
*.'l.a'
wirh a.{Ztt
sustainahiliry? Whar arc rhrec typcs \7

Economic Growth and

Developed countries

Develeping countries

Figurc 1-5 Global outlaak: conrparison of developed and developinq countrias, 2008. (Data from the United lltions and the

ls cxp(,nenrial econonrie growrh irrcornliatil,le

orvironnrenral
of goods whose cxporrenilal growth would promorc
environmcntal susrainabiliw?

World Bank)

CONCEPT 1-2

t.l

{-3

How Are Our Ecological Footprints Affbcting

the Earth?

> cotucEpr r-r

A5 sur e(ologkal

footprlnts gFow, we arc daplating and degrading

more of the earth's natural capital.

Some Resources Are Renewabie

Froin a lruman standpoint, a rssource is anything obta:ined from the environment tf) meet our needs and
vvanls. Conservation is the management of natural
reriources with the goal of minimizing resource waste
and sustainirg resource supplies for current and future
generations.
Some resources, such as solar energy, fresh air.
wind, fresh surface water. fertile soil, and wild edible

plants, are directiy available for'use. Other resources

such as petrol.eum, iron, water {ound underground, and
cuhivated crops, are not directly available. They trecom.e
useful to us only with some effort and technological
ingenuity. For example, petroieum was a mysterious
fluid until we leamed how to find, exuact. and convert
(refine) il. into gasoline, beating oii. and other products
that could be snld.
Solar energy is called a perpetual resource because it is renewed continuously and is expected to last
at lea$t 6 trillion years as the sun completes its lile cycle,

On a human time scale, a renewable resource

can be replenished fairly quickiy (trorn hours to hundreds oI years) through natural processes as lnng as it is
not used up laster than it is renewed. Examples include
forests, grasslalds, fisheries, freshwatet fresh air, and
tertile soil.
The highest rate at which a renewable resoLrrce can
be used ixdefinitely witbout reducing its available supply is called its sustainable yield. When we excecd
a renewable resource's natural replacement rate, the
available supply begins to shrink, a proces$ known as
envircnmental degradation, as shown in Figure l-7.

We Can Overexploit Commonly

Shared Renewable Resources :
The Tragedy of the Commons
There are three types erl property or resource rights.
Ane is privrtt proprty where individuals or lirms own

Figure 1-7
Degradation of
normally renewable natural
resources and
services in parts
oi the world,
mostly as a
result of rising
population and
resoulce use per
per5on.

12

CHAPTER

Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

the rights to iand, minerals, _or other resources" Alother is xrnrnofi properry wheie the rights to certain

Some Resources Are Not Renewable

resources are held by large groups of individuals. For

Nonrenewable re*ources exist in

example, rcughiy one-third trf the land in the United

States is owned joinily by all U.5. citizens and held and
managed lor them by the government. Another example is land that belongs to a whole village and can be
used by anyone for activities such as grazing cows or

stotk,

fixed quantity, or

resources. But on the much shorter human time scale

of hrndreds to thousands of years, these resources can
tre depleted much faster rhan they are formed. Such
exhaustible resources include eflergy reslurces {such as
coal and oi1l, wetallic mineral resaalces (such as copper
and aluminum\, and twnmetallb miwral raronrces {such
as salt and sand).
As such resources are depleted. human ingenuity can often lind subsritutes. Ferr e,xanrple, during this
century, a mix ol renewable energy resources such
as wind. the sun, llowing water, and the hear in the
earth's interior could reduce our dependence on nonrenewable fossil fuels such as oil and coal. Also, various
types of plastics and cnmposite materials can replace
certain metals, .But sometimes there is no acceptable or
aflordable substitute.
Some nonrenewatrle resources, such as copper and
aluminum, ean be recycled or reused to extend supplies, Reuse is using a resource over and ovr in the
same lorm. For example, glass bottles can be collected,
washed, and refilled many times (Figure i-8). Recy-

sheep.

A third cafegory consists oI

in the earth's crust. On a time scale of millions to

billions of years. geological processe$ can renew such

open access renewable re-

owned by no one and available Jor use by anyone at litlle or no charge. Examples of such shared
renewable resources include clean air" underground
water supplies, and the open ccean and its fish.
Many common property and npen access renewable rescurces have been degraded. In 1968, biologist
soarcer',

Carrett l{ardin {1915-2003} called such degradation

the tragedy of the commons" It ocur$ because each user
of a shared courmon resource or open-access resource
reasons, "If I do not use this resource, someone else
will. The little bir that I use or pollute is not enough to
matter, anrl anyway, it's a renewatrle resource."
When the number o{ users is small, rhis logic
wnrks. Eventually, however. the cumularive effecl of
many people trying to ex$loit a shared resource can
exhausl or ruin it. Then no one can benefit from it.
Such resource degradation results from rhe push to
satisfy ihe short-telrn needs and wants of a growing
number of per:ple. It threatens our ability to ensure the
long-term economic and e[vironmental sustainability
of open-acce*s resourfes such as clean air or an open-

cling involves collecting wasle materials and processing them into new matedals. For example. discarded
aluminum cans can be crushed and melted to make new

ocean fishery.
One 'solution is to ,tss shared resources at rates well
below their esdmated sustainable yields by reducing use
of the resources, regulating access to the resourceg, or
doing both. For example, the most conunon approach
is for govemments to estabiish laws and regulations
Iimiting fhe annual harvests of various tlpes of ocean
fish that ar being harvested at unsustainable levels in
their coastal waters. Another approach is for nations
to enter into agreements that regulate accrss to openaccess renewable resources such as the fish in the open
oceaR.

Another solution is to

convert open-atcess resources to

private ownership. The reasoning is that if you own some-

thing, you are more iikeiy to protect y_our investment,

That sounds good, Lrut this approacb is not practical for
global open-access resources-such as the amo phere,
the open ocean, and most wildlife species-that cannot
be divided up and converted fo private property.

Degradation of Commonly Shared

llow

Resources

is rhe degradation of shared renewable

re'

gtowtr (Core

Case

sources related to exponential

tfm
,l ant

rnc{

Study) ol the world's populalion and ecouomies? Whar are

three examples of how most cf us contribute to this envin:nmental degradation?

*
*
Figure 1 Beuse: This child and his {amily in Katmandu, Nepal, collect beer bottles
and sell them for cash to a brewery where they will be reused.

CONCEPT 1-3

t3

Our Ecological Footprints

aluminum cans or other aluminum products. But energy resources such as oil and coal cannot be recycled.

Are Growing

Once Lrurned, their energy is no longer available to us.

Recycling nonrenewable metallic resources takes

Many people in developing countries strugglc to survive. Their individual use nl resources and the resuiting envircrnmental impact is low and is clevoted mnstly
to meeting their basic neecls {Figure l-9, top). By contrasl, many indivicluals in nrore affluent nations consume large arnounts of resources way beyond their
basic needs (Figure l-9, bottom).
Supplying people with resources and dealing with
the resulting wastes and pollution can have a large environmental impact. We can think of iI as an ecological footprint-the amount ol biologicaliy productive
land and water needed to supply the people in a pardcular country or area with resnurces and to alrsorb
and recycle ihe wastes and pollution produced by such
resource use. The per capita ecological footprint is
the average ecological footpr:int of an individual in a
givcn country or area,
If a country's, or the world's, total ecological footprint is larger than its bialogi.ml c&pacity to replenish its
renewable resources and absorb the resulting waste
products and pollution. ir is said to have an uolagiul
deficit. The world wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Global
Fo$tprint Network estimated that in 2003 (the latest
data availablei humanity's global ecological footprint
exceeded the earth's biologkal capacity by about 25%
{Figure l-10. right). That figure was aboul 88olo in (he
world's high-inconre countdes, with the United States
having the world's iargest total ecological footprint^ lf
the current exponeffial growth in the use o{ renewable resources ccrntinus, the Global Foofprint Network
estimates that by 2050 humanity wiJl be trying to use
twice as nany rer'lewable resources as the planet can
supply (Figure 1-10. bottom) (Concept 1-3). See Figure J on p. S24 and Figure 5 on pp. S27 in Supplement 4 {eir maps ol the human ecologicai footpriuts
for the world and the United States, and Figure 4 on
p. 526 lor a map of countries that are ecoiogical debtors
and those that are ecological creditors,
The per capita ecological footprint is an estimate
o{ how much o{ the earth's renewable resources an

much less energy, water, and other resources and produces rnuch less pollution and environmental degradation than expk:iting virgin mctallic resources. Reusing
such resources takes evcn less energy and other resources and produces less pcllutinn and environmental
degradation than recycling does.

individual consume.s. After the oil"ricb United Arab

1 Consumptron of natural resources. The top photo shows a family of {ive

s:e.Ee {aryners with all theu possessions. They live in the village of Shingkhey,
Bhutan, in the Himalaya Mountains, rvhrch are sandwiched between China and lndia
in South Asia. Th bottom photo shows a typical U.s. family of four living in Fearland,
Texas, with their possessions.
Figure

iils

14

CHAPTER

Emirateri, the United States has the world's second largest per capita ecological Iootprint. In 2003 {the latest
tlata available), its per capita ecological foofprint was
about 4,5 times the average global footprint per person,
6 times larger than China's per capita footprilt, and
12 times the average per capita lootprint in the world's
low-income countries.
According to William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel,
the developers of the ecologicai fclofprint concept,
it would take the land area o{ about fve more planet
eafths to( the rest of the world to reach current U.S.
levels of consunption with existing technolngy. Pur
another way. if everyone consumed as much as the
average American does today, rhe earth's natural capi-

tal cor:ld support only about 1.3 billion people-*not

Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

Toi6l oological FootFrint (il$ttlon h.ctaros)

and Sharg of Global Ecotogicat Cspachy {%}

ffi
European Un,on
China

a.s1o (af./"\

united states

United State$

2.160 (1S%)

European Union

1.S

lndia

s4o(s%)

footprtnt,

-,

Earth'g

UJ

,.0

ocologlcdl
cspacity

s)

1'5

.g

!c

g o.B
.iapanffia.a

zlo{ry,j

Froiocred

.:; tr;r::tl";..{i:i::{l

China

2,050 {18%)

rnoraf
Jananf

Per Gapit8 Ecological Foolprint

{hactarcs per petson}

,t

Bcological
o.s

foohrlfit

0
1961

ts90

2000

2040
Year

Figure 1'10 Natural capital use and degradation: total and percapita ecological fooprints of selected countries (top). ln 2003, humanity's total or global ecoiogical foatprint was about 25yo higher than the earth's ec6iogical capacity {bottom) and is projected to be twice the planet's ecological capacity by 2050. Question: lf we are
living beyond the arth's biological capacity. wtry do you think the human population and per capita reseurce con"
sumption ar still growing exponentially? (Data from Woddwide Fund for Nature, Global Footprint Network)

today's 6.7 billion, hr other words, we are living unsustainably by depleting and degrading some o{ the earth's
irreplaceable natural capital and the natural renewable

income it provides as nur ecological footprints grow

and spread across the earth's surface {Concept 1-3), For

more on this subject, see rhe Guest Essay by Michael

Cain at CengageNOWrM. See the Case Study that follows about tlte growing ecological fnotprint Qf Cirina.
Your Ecological Footprint
Esti]nate your own ecological footprinr by visiring the website
www.myfaotprint.orgl. What are three things you could
do to reduce your ecr:logical footpdnr?

I CASE STUDY
China's New Affluent

Consumers

living in todsy's developir"lg natjons will reach 1.2 bil-

iion-about four times the current U.S. population.

China is row the world's leacling consumer of
wheat, rice, meat, coal, ferfilizers, sleel, and cement,
and it is the second largest consunrer of nil a{ter the
United States. China leads the world in consumption
of goods such as television sets. cell phones. refrigerators, and soon, personal computers. On the other hand,

aftr 20 years of industrializatian, two-thirds of the

world's rnost poliuted cifies are in China; this pollution
threatens the health ol urtran dweilers. By 2020, China
is projeeted to be rhe world's largest producer and consumer af cars and to have rhe world's leading economy
in rerms of GDP PPP.

Suppose that China's economy continues growing

exponentially at a rapid rate and its projened population size reaches 1.5 billion by ?033" Then China will
nced two-r.hirds of the worldis currenr grain hawest,
trvtce
world's current paper con$umption, and

billion super-affluent consumers in devel,the

*"t:-':ii.l-o:-Tte*'globalproductionoioil'
oped countries are putring imnrense pressure on rt.
According to environmental policy expert Lester R'
earth's natural capital. Another billion consurnr.* r..
^
Erown:
attaining middle-class. aflluent lifestyles in rapidly develr:piug countries such as China, India, Brazil, South
The western emnontk model-the lossit fuel-baxd,
Korea, and Mexico. The 700 miilion middle-class conaat0mobile-ceftt*ed, throwaway economy*is not going
surners in China ancl tndia number more than lwiee
to work for China. Nor will it work far lndia, whith by
the sizc of the entire U.S. population, and the number
3013 k projected to have a populatiott even larger than
is growing rapidly. In 2006, the World Bank projected
Chitu\ or for the other 3 billion people in devdoping
that try 2030 the number o{ middle-class consumers
cauntries w4n are also dreawing the 'Atnerican dream."
lVlore than a

CONCEPT 1-3

{5

For more details on the growing ecological footprint

of china, see rlle Guest Essay by Norman Myers for this
chapter ar CendageNOw.

China and

Sustainability

*lJ*

lr{hat are three rhings China could tlo to shift ,r*ura $.{}i
\t
more sustainablc consumption? Whar are three
things the United Stales, Japan, and the European Union
could do ro shift roward more sustairable consumption?

Cultural Changes Have Increased

Our Ecological Footprints
Culture is the whole of a society's knowledge, brlie{s,
technology, and pracrices, and human cultural changes
have had profound effects on the earth.
Evidence o{ organisms from the past and studies of
ancient cultures suggest that the {urrent form ol our
species, Homo sapiens sapiens, has walked the eanh for
perhaps 90,000-195,000 years*.less rhan arr eye-blink
in the 3.56 billion years of life on rhe earth. Until abour
12.00O years ago, we were mosdy hunter-gathererswlto
obtained Iood by hunting wild animals or scavenging
their remains and garhering wild planrs, Early huntergathers lived in small groups and moved as needed to
find enough food for survival.

Since then, three major cultural changes have occurred. Fr'rs, was the agricwltural r*olution, wbich began
I0,0OO-12.00O years ago when humans learned how to
grow and breed plants and animals for food, clothing,
and other purposes. Second was the industrial-medical
revolution, beginning about 275 years ago when peopie
invented machines for the large-scale production of
gnods in factories. This involved learning how to get
energy lrom fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, and how
to grow large quantities o{ Iood in an efficient manner.
I.-inally, the information-glabalization revolution began
about 50 year$ ago, when we developed new technologies fnr gaining rapid access to much more information
and reseturces nu a global scale.
Each of these cultural changes gave us m.ore snergy

and new lechnologies with which to alier and control

more of the planet to meei our basic needs and irrcreasing wants. They also allowed expansion of the human
population, mo$tly brcau$e of increased {ood supplies
and longer life spans. Il addition, they each resulted
irr greater resource use, pollufion, and environmenlal
elegradation as our ecological lootprints expanded (Figure l-10) and allowed us to dominate the planet.

Many environmenhl scientists and other analysts

call for us to bring about a new

envlronmental, or sus-

tafurabtlity,.evolution during &is cenrury. It would

involve leaming how to reduce our ecnk:gical footprints
and live more sustainability.
For more background and details on environmental
history, see Supplement 5 (p. S3l).

1-4 lMhat Is Pollution and 1{hat can we Do about It?

> corucEpr r-4
up pollution.

pnaventing pollution ir more effejtfue

and hsr cordy dran cle*nlng

Pollution Comes from a Number

of Sources

pesticldes from farmlands. lawns, gardens, and golf

Pollution is any in the euvironment t}rat

lrom point sources than {rorn widely dispersed ncn-

:is harmful
to the heahh, survival, or activitie$ ol humans or orher
organisms. Pollutants can enter the environment naturally, such as {rom volcanic eruptiors. or through human activifies, such as buming coal and gasoline and
discbarging chemicals inro rivers and the ocean,
The pollutants we produce come from two tlpes of
sourcfs. Point $ources are single, identjfiable sources.
Examples are the srnokestack of a coal-burning power

or industrial plant {Figure f -It), the drainpipe of

a faclr:ry, and the exhaust pipe of an automobile.
Nonpolnt source$ are dispersed and often difficult to identify. Examples are pesticides blown lrom
the land intn the air and the runofI of fenilizers and

t6

CHAPTER

courses into streams and lakes.

It is mucb easier

and

cheaper to identify and conirol or prevenl pollution

point sources.

There are two main types of pollutants, Blodegradable pollutants are harmful materials that can tre broken down by natural processes. Examples are human
sewage and newspapers. Nondegradable pollutants
are harmful materials that natural processes cannot
break down. Examples are toxic chemical elernents
such as Iea{ mercury. and arsenic {see Supplernent 6,
p. S39, for an intoduction to basic cbemistry),
Pollutants can have three tlTes of unwanted effecs.
Firsl, they can disnrpt or degrade lile-supporr sysrems
for humans and nther specie$, Second, they can damage
wildlife. human health. and properfy. Third" they can

Environmental problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

create nuisances such as noise and unpleasant sruells,

tastes, and sights.

We Can Ctrean Up Follution

or Frevent It
Consider the smoke produced by a steel rnilJ. We can
try to deal with this problem by asking two enrirely di{-

Ierent queslions. One question is "how can we clean up

the smoke?" The other is 'how car we avoici producing
the smoke in the firsr place?"

The answers to these questions involve two different ways of dealing with pollution. one is pollution cleanup, or output pollution coutrol, which
involves cleaning up or diluting pollutants alter they
have been produced. The other is pollution prevention, or input pollution control, which reduces nr
eliminates the production of pollu{ants.
snvironmental scientists have identified three prrrblems witlr relying prirnarily on pollution cleanup. Frrsl,
it is only a temporary bandage as long as population
antl consumpdcn levels grow without corresponding
irnprovements in pollution control technology. For example, adcling catalyric conveners to car exhausl systems lras reduced some lorrns ol air pollution. At the
same tim, increases in the nunber of cars and the total distance eaeh car travels have reduced the effectiveness ol this cleanup approach.
Secotd, cleantrp often rqnoves a pollutaut frorn one
part of rhe enyironrnent only t{} carrse pollution in another. For exanrple, we can collect garbage, bur the garbage is rhen bun*d (perhaps causing air pollution and
leaving toxic ash that mu$t be put somewhere), duwped

Figure 1-11 tuint-source air Wllufior trom a pulp mill in New York State (USA)

on the land {perhaps causing water pollutioil through

runoff or seepage into groundwater), or &arird (periraps
causing soil and groundwater pollution).
Third, once pollutants hecome dispersed into the envirnnment at harmful levels, it usually costs too much
or is impossible to reduce them

t(")

acceptable levels.

Pollution prevention (Irnnt-of-the-pipe) and pollud*n cleanup {end-of-the-pipe) solutions are troth
needed. But environmeltal scientists, sorns economists, and some m.ajor companies urge us to put more
enrphasis on prevention because it works belter and in
the lnng run is cheaper than cleanup iConcept 1-4).

1-5 \AIhy Do We Have Environmental

Problems?

> coilcEpr .r-rn

>

Major aures of environmental problemo ar pcpnLtion grcwth,

wasteful and unsurtainable resoure ure, povsrty, rcluslon of environmental
costr of rsrcur{ us from the market pricer rf goods and rervices. and attempb to
manag natur with in:uffkient knowledge.
comcspr r-rr Feople with different envirtnmental wsrldviews often disagree
about tha iriournss of envirsnmentat probhmr and what ure rhould do aho$t
them.

Hxperts Have Identified Five Basic

Causes af Environmental Problerns
As we nrn more and more of the earth's nalural resources through the global economy, in nrany parts oi
the world. {orests are shrinking. deserts are expanding,
soils are eroding, and agricultural lands are deteriorat-

ing. ln addition, tlre lower atmosphere is warming. glacters are meltilrg, sea ievels are rising, and stnrms are
becoming more destructivc. And in lrrany areas, water
tables are falling, rivers are running dry, fislreries are
collapsing, coral reefs are disappearing, and various
species are becoming extil'rct.
According to a number of environmenml and
social scientists, the major causes of these and other

CONCEFTS

I.5A AND 1-58

17

ffi
Fopulalion

Udsustainable

growth

resour<e tJ5

Trying to manage nature

without knowing enough
ab6ut it

Exeluding
environmentgl {osts
{rsm rnarkct prices

Poverty

figul" t-lZ Enyironmental and social scientists have identified five basic causes ol the environmental problems we
face {Concept 1-5A). Quertion: What are three ways in which your lifestyle contributes to these causes?
environmenta.l problems are population $owth,
wa$teful and unsustainable resource use, povtrty,
failure to include rhe hannful environmental costs ol
goods and services in their market prices, and insufficient knowledge o{ how nature works (Figure I -12 arrd
Concept 1-5A).
We bave discussed the expnnential growth of the
human population (Core Case Study), and here
we will examine other major causes of
sroy

envi- $m

ronmental problems in more detail.

Poverty Has Harmful

Environmental and Htalth Effects
Povetty occurs when people are unable to meet their
basic needs for adequate food, water. shelter, health,
and education. Poverty has a numlrer of harm{ul environmental and health e{fecrs (Figure l-t}}. The daily
lives o{ half of the world's people. who are trying to
live on the equivalent of less than $2 a day. are tocused
on getting enough {ood, water, and cooking and heating fuei to survive. Desperate for short-term survivai,
some of these people deplete and degrade forests, soil,
grasslands, fisheries, and wil<llife, at an ever*increasing
rate. They do not have the luxury of worrying aborrt
long-term environmental quality or sustainability.
Poverty affeets population grolwh. To malry poor
people. having more children is a matter o{ survival.
Their children help them gather fuel {mostly wood and
animal dung), haul drinking water, and tend crops and
livestock. Their children also help to care for them in
their old age iwhich is their 40s or 50s in the poorest
countries) because they do not have social security,
health care, and retirement funds.
While poverty can increase some tlpes o{ environmental degradation, the revrse is aiso true. Pollution
ard environmental degradation have a severc impact
on the poor aRd can ilcrease pov{:rty. Consequently,
many of the world's desperately pocr people die prematurely lrom several preventable health problems.
One such problem is malnwtirtou from a lack ol
protein and other nutrients needed for good health

la

CHAPTER

(Figure l-t4). The resulting weakened condition can

increase the charrces of death lrom normally nonfatal
iilnesses. such as diarrhea and measles, A second protrlem is limited access to adequate sanitation facilities and
clean drinking water. More than 2.6 billion people {38%
of the world's population) have no tlecent bathroom Iacilities. They are fcrced to use fields, backyards, ditches,
and streams. As a result. more than I billion peopleone of every seven--get waler Ior drinking, washing,
and cooking from sources polluted by human and animal feces. A third problem is severe respiratory disease
and premature death from inhaling indoor air pollutants produced try buming wood or coal in open fires or
in poorly vented stoves for heat and cooking.
According to the World Health Organization, these
{actors cause premature death {or at leas{ 7 million
people each year. This omounts to about 19,20A premata/e
deaths Tter day, equivalent t0 96 fully loaded 2o}-passenger
atrliners crashixg every day wlth no survivors! Two-thirds
of those dying are children younger than age 5. The
news media rarely cover rhis ongoing human tragedy.

Lackof
acc$s to

ilumborofpcoplo
(% ol world'8 populatlon)

Adequate
s3nilati0n iacilities

2.6 billion (38Yd

*",fJH3i3#':"J

2 birrion (2s%)

Erecrric*y

ru

Pbiuion(t9%)

cleandrinking

1.i b'uion(16%)

,ffff:*: n

11bilion(16%)

^i:ftilt mlbirrion(r5%)
IIl o * birrion {13%i

'",*;8i:X,{

Figure 1-13 Some harmlul results of poverty. Question: Which

two of these effec8 do you think are the most harmful? Why? {Data
from United Nations, World Bank, and World Health Organization)

Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

While the Uuited States has far {ewer people than

India. the average Arnerican consunres aliout ]0 times
as much as fhe average citizen nf India and 100 times
as much as the average person in the world'r poorest
couREies. As a resuh. the average environmental impact, or ecological footprint per person. in the United
State$ is much larger than thr average impact per person in developing countries (Figure l-10, top).
on the other haud, affluence can lead people to become more concerned about environmental quality.
It also provides nrorey for deveioping technologies to
reduce pollution, environntental degradation. and resOurce waste.

Figure 'l-14 Global Outloak in developing counlris. one of every

three children under age 5, such as this child in Lunda, Angola,
suffers from severe malnutrition caused by a lack of calories and
protein. According to the Wgrld Health Organization, each day at
least 13,700 children under age 5 die prematurely from malnutritisn
and infectious diseases, most from drinking contaminated water
and being weakened by malnutrition.

Jn the United States and most other affluent countries, rhe air is cleaner, drinking water is purer. and
most rivers and lakes are cleaner than they were in rhe
1970s. ln addititxr, the food supply is rtrore abundant
and safer, the incidence ol liJe-threateninSl infectious
cliseases has been greatly reduced. lilespans are longer,
and some endangered species are being rescued from
premature extinction.
Afiluence financed these improvements in envircmmental quality, ba*ed on greatly increased scientific
research and techmrlogical advances, And education
spurred citizens insist rhat businesses and elected offieials inprove environrnenral qualiry. Affluence and education have also heiped to reduc'e population growth
in most developecl countries. However, a downside to
wealth is that it allows the affluent to otrtain fhe resources they need from almost anywhere in fie world
without seeing the harmlul environmental impacts of
their high -consumption life styles.

The Poor. the

The great new$ is that we have the means ta solve fhe

environmental, healrh, and social problems resulting

from poveny within 20*10 years if we can iind the political and thical will to act.

Afflnence Has F{armful and

Benefi cial Environmental Effects
The harmful environmental e{fe$s of poverfy are
serious, but lhose of affluence are much worse {Fig'
ure l-10, top). The lifestyles of rnany aflluent consumers in developed countries and in rapidly developing countries ruch as India and China (p.

l5)

are built
upein high levels of consumption and unnecessary
waste of resolrrce$. Such alTluence is based mostiy or
the assurnptinn-fueled by mass advertising-that buying urore and more things will bring happiness.

This type o{ affluence has an enoilnous harmful

environmental impact. It takes about 27 tractor-trailer
loads of resources per year to support one American,
or 7.9 billion truckloads per year to supporl the enlire
U.S. population. Stretched end-to-end, each year these
trucks would reach beyond the sunl

Affluent and Exponentially

lncreasing Population

Growth

4qiffir

':ffi,

Some see rapid populadon growth a{ the poor

in developing countfies as the primary cause of our envircnmental problems. Orhers say that the much higher
reseurce u$e per person in developed countries is a rnore
imponant factor. Which facror do you think is rnore imporranr? why?

Prices Do Not Include

the Value of Natural Capital

When companies use resources to create goods and
services for consumers, they are generaily not required
to pay the enyironmental costs of such resource use.
For example, fishing companies pay the costs of catching fish but do nnt pay for the depletion of iish stocks.

Timber cornpanies pay for clear-cutting forests but not

f.or the resulting environmental degradation and loss o{
wildlile hatritat. The primary goal of these companies
ir to maximize their profits, so they do not voluntarily
pay fhese harmful enviroumental cosls or even try to
as$ess them, unless required tc dei so by gnvernment
laws or regulations.
CONCEPTS

1.5AAND 1.58

19

As a result, tlx prices of goods and sewices do not

include their harmJui environmental costs. Thus, consumers are generally not aware of them and have no
effective way to evaluate the resulting harmful effecls
on the earth's life-support systems and on their own

healti.
Another problem is that governments give companies tax breaks and payments called subsidies to assist
them in using resources to run their businesses, This
helps to create joh and stimulate economies. but it
can also result in degradation o{ natural capital, again
because fhe value of the natural capital is n$t included
in the market prices of gocds and services. We explore this problem and some pos*ilrle solutions in later
chapters.

People Have Different Views

about Environmental Problems
and Their Solutions
Dilfering views about the seriousness o{ our environmental problenx and what we should do about them
arise mostly out of differing environmental wnrldviews. Your environmental worldview is a set of
assumptions and values reflecting how you think the
world works and what you think your role in the wr:rld
should be. This involves environmental ethics, which
are our beliefs abaut what is right and wtong with how
we treat the enviromnent. Here are some important
ethical questions

relating fo tbe environment:

The planetary managemnt worldvlew holds

that we are separate lrom nature, that nature exists
mainly to meet our needs and increasing wants, and
that we can use our ingenuity and xechnology to manage the earth's li{e-suppart sy$tems, mostly for our
benefit, indefinitely.

The rtewardship worldview holds that we can

and should manage the eanh for our benefit, but that
we have an erhical responsibi.lity to be caring and responsible managers, ot stewards, of the earth. It says we
should encourage environmentally beneficial forms of
econornic growth and development and discourage en-

vironmenally harmfu I forns,

The environmental wisdom worldview holds
that we arf part of, and totally dependent on, nature
and that nature exists for all species, not just for us.
It also calls for encouraging earth-sustaining forms of
economic growth and deveiopment and discouraging
earth-degrading forms. According to this view, our success depends on leaming how lile on earth sustains itself and integraring such envirsnmerrtal wisdzfi into the
ways we tbink and act.
Many of the ideas for the stewardship and environmental wisdom worldviews are derived from the writings of A.ldo Leopold {Individuals Matter, p. 22).

.
.

Why should we care about the environment?

Are we rhe most important treings on the planet
or are we just one of the earth's millions o{ different forms of life?

We Can Learn to Make Informed

Environmental Decisions

Do we have an obligation to see that our acfivities do nnt cause the premature extinction of
other species? Shnuld we try to protecl all species
or only some? How do we decide which species to
protect?

Do we have an ethical obligation to pass on to

future generations the extraordinary natural
world in a condition at least as good as what we

The first step lclr dealing with an environmental problem is to carry out scientilic research on the nature of
the protrlem and to evaluate possible solurions to the
problem. Once this is done, other factors involving the
social sciences and ttre humanities (Table l-l) must be
used to evaluate each proposed solution. This involves

inherited?

Should every Ferson be entitled to equal protec-

tion from environmental hazards regardless of race,

gender, age, naticlnal origin, income. social c1ass, or
any other factor?

Our Respon ibilities

How would you answer eacb of rhe quesdons above? Compare your answers with those of your classmates, Record your
answers and, at rhe end of this course, retum to these qudstions to see iJ your answrrs have changed.

2(l

People wi& widely differing environmental worldviews can take tbe same data, be logically consistent,
and arrive at quite djf{erent conclusions because they
start with different assumptions and rnoral, ethical, or
religious belie{s (Concept 1-58}. Environmental worldviews are discussed in detail in Chapter 25, but here is
a brief introduction.

CHAPTER

considering various humanvalres. what are its projected

short-term and long-term benelicial and harmful envi'

ronrnental, economic, and health effects? How much
will it eost? Is it ethical? Figure l-15 shows the major
steps involved in making an environmental decision.

We Can Work Together to Solve

Environmental Problems
Making the sltilt to more sustainable societies and
eccnomies involves building what snciologists call rocial capital. This involves gefiing people with difterent
views and values to talk and listen to one another, find
comrnon ground based on ulderstanding and trust,
and work together Io solve environmental and other

Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

problems. This means nurturiug openness, communication, cooperation, and hope m.d discouraging closemindedness, polarization, cnnfrontation, and fear.
Solutions to environmental problems are not black
and white, but rather all shades o{ gray trecause proponents of all sides of these issues have snme legitimate
and uselul insights. In addition, any proposed solution
has short- and long-term advantages and disa<{vantages
that must be evaluated {Figure l-15}. This means that
citizens who strive to build $ocial capital also search for
trade-0ff solutiarrJ to environmenml problems**an im-

ponant theme of this book. They can also try to agree

{"}n shared visions ol the future and work together to
develop stratcgies f*rr implemenring such visions begrnning at the local level, as citizens of Chattanooga,
Trnnessee (USA), have done.

CASE STUDY

The Environmental Transformation

of Chattanooga, Tennessee
Local officials, business leaders, and citizens have

ldefiE

an environmerltal problem

6a&qr 5*ntifi,c in{ormation

+
?

.Plposs c$e or m6te soluiiofis

Projctthr shst- afid hng-trm

sqyironlllental ard ecor*mh adraatages
and disldvantages of each solution

Decide an aad

inpkrent

?
?

a solution

Evaiuat ttle consquences

Revise

Figure 1-f

decisisr

reded

Steps in\olved in making an environmental decision.

worked together to transfonn Chafianooga, Tennessee

(USA). from a highly polluted ciry to one nf the most
sustainable and livable cities in the Unircd States (Figure l-16).
During the 1960s, U,5. government officials rated
Chattanooga as having the dirtiest air in the United
States" Its air was so polluted by smoke frorn its coke
ovens and steel mills that people sometimes had to
turn on their vehicje headlights in the rniddle of the
day. The Tennessee River, flowing through &e city's
industrial cenrer, bubbled with toxic wasle, people and
industries fled the downtown area and left a wasteland of abandoned and polluting factories, boarded-up
buildings. high unemploymeat, and crime.
In 1984, the city decided ro get srrious about im'
praving its environmental quality. Civic leaders started
a Vision 2000 process with a 20-week series of community nreetings in wtrich more than 1.700 citizens from
all walks oI li{e gathered to build a consensus atrout
what the city could be at the tum of the century. cirizens identified the city's main problems, set goals, and
brainstormed thousands of ideas for solutions.

e
5
.g

Figure 1-t6
Since 1984,
citizens have

wQrked logether
make the city
of Chattanooga,
Tennessee, one
of the most
sustainable and
best placs to
live in the United

to

States.

CONCEPTS 1.5A

AND 1.58

zl

TIUET\fTtrUALs NRATTEH
c(oding to Alda Leopold (Figure 1-A). the role of the human
species should be to protect nature, not conquer it.
ln 1933, teopold became a professor at
the Univenity of Wisconsin and in 1935,
he was one st th founders ol the U"5.
Wilderness Society. Through his writings and
teachings, he became one of the leaders of
the conservalron and envittnmental movemenfs of the 20th century. ln doing this, he
laid important groundwork forthe lietd cf
environmental ethics.
Leopold's weekends of planting, hiking, and observing nature et his {arm in
Wisconsin provided material for his most
farnous book, A Sand CounA l'lmanac, published after his death in 1949. Since then.
more than ? million copies of this environmental classic have been sold.
The following quotatione frorfi his writings
reflect Leopold's /and efiic and they form
the basis for many of the beliefs cf the modern stewardship and environmental wisdom
worldviews:

AII elhics so far ewlved rest upan a

single premise: that the mdividual is

Fig$te

lndividuals Matter:

aeopcld {1S7-194S} was a

forster, writer. and conseruationiSt.
Hi$ book 4 Sand Ca{;ilty Almanac
{published atter his death) is considcred an efivimnmental cla$eic that
inspired the r*odern environnntal
and conseffation movmnt,

.:

:
g

a mernber 0f a community

o{ inter-

dependenfpar8.

land-cammtnity to plain rnember and

citizen af it.

To keep every cog and w/leel,S #re

fim precaution of intelligent
tinkering.

wmmdity

That land is a community is tfie basrc

concept of xalogy but that land k t0
be loved and recpecfed is an extensistr

respecf.

of eftrrcs.
The

land ethk changx the role of

from conquerar af the

By 1995, Chattanooga had met most of its original

gram after environmentaliy concerned citizens bkrcked

constructii'rn of a garbage incineratnr that wnuld have
emitted harnrful air poliutants. These ef'forts paid off.
Since 1989, the leveis oI the seven major air pollutants
in Chattanooga have been lower than those required
by federal standards.

We abuse ?andlecasse we regard itas a

belanging to us. flrhen wesee

land as a community ta whicfi we belong
we may begin tv use it with lave and
Anything k righl wien rt lends fo pretie ifttfg/rity, xability, and beaufr1
af the biatic qommunity. lt is wrong when

se/ve

Flrrrno saplens

goals. The city had encouraged zero-emission industries

to locate there and replaced its diesel truses with a fleet
of quiet. zero-em.issir:rr eler:tric busfii. rnarle iiy a neW local firm.
The city also launched an innovative recycling pro-

rt tends ofienarie.

emission industrie.r where employees can live nrar their

workplaces. Most of these goals have been implemente d,
Clrattanooga's environmental success story. enacted
by people working logether to produce a rmrte livable
and susbinalrle city, is a shining example of what other
cities can do by building their social capital.

Individuals Matter
Chattanooga's story shows that a key to finding solutions to environmental problems is to recognize that
mnst social change results from individual aclions and

Another project involved renovating rnuch of the

individuals acting together (using social capital) to bring

city's low-income housing and building new icrw-income

rentai units. Ciiattanooga also buih the nation's largesr
freshwater aquarium, which became the centerpiece
Ior downtown renewal. The city developed a riverfronr
park along both banks oi the Tennessee River running
through downtown. The park draws more than I mil-

abouf change through botlotn-up grassroots action. In

other wtrrds. individuals maiter--4nother important
therne of this book. Here are two pieces of good news.
Firsl, research by sr.lcial scientists suggests that it takes
only 5-l0o/o of the population of a comrnunity, a country, or the world to bring about major social change.
Second, such research also shows that significant social

lion visitors per yar. As propeny values and living

conditions have imprnved, people and businesses have
ntoved back rlowntowll.
In 1993, the community began the prncess again
in Revisian 3000" Goals included transforming an abandoned and blighted area in South Chatranooga into a
Rrixed community of residences. retail stores. and zero-

22

l-A

lldo

CHAPTER

change can occur much rnore quickly than most people

think.
Anthropologist Margaret Mead summarized our
potential for social change: "Never doubt that a small
group of thouglrtful, committed citizens can change the
wnrld. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

[nvironmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainabiiity

1-6

What Are Four Scientific Principles

of Sustainability?

> colr(Epr.r.s l,latursh*rEurtainditself forbillionsof

yeare

bywingrolar

nsrgy, bMivenity. population control, ard nutrient cycling-{e:cons from nsturc

thtt we cin apply to our lifertyles and ecanornier-

Studying Nature Reveals \N,

Four Scientific Prlnciples "t\tt
of Sustainability

make the transition to more sustainable societies by

applying these lesrorx frnffi fibture to our lifestyles and
economies" as summariz,ed below and Ln Figurs I'17
(Concept 1-6).

How can we Iive more su${ainably? According to environmental scientists, we should study how liJe on the
earth has survived and adapted to major changes in environmental conditions {or trillions oI years. We could

Relianee on
Solar Energy

sun {snlar capital)

warms the plalet and suFports photosynthesis
used by plants to provirle feiod for fhemselves and
for us and most 01her animais.
Reliance on Solar Energy: the

Biodiversity

'' 1":*

F,

Pr*
.:i:tt

r l**:

\li

iJ

Itr

,r"t

Nutrient Cycling

"'."

,t.rl

r, i

:"*,

'7

rfC

Population Control

Figurel'17 Fourscientifieprinciplesofsustainability: Thesefourinterconnestedprinciplesofsrjstainability

are detived from learning how nature hds sustained a variery of life forms on the earth for about 3.56 billion yeam.
The top leii oval shows suniight stimulating the producticn of vgetation in th arcdc tundra during its briet summer {soiar energy) and the top right oval shows some of the diversity of species found there during the summer
(bjodiuersiy). The bottom right oval shows arctic gray wolvos stalking a caribou during the Iong cold winter (population control\.lhe botiom left oval shows arcti( gray wolves feeding on their kili. This, pius huqe numbers of tiny
decomposers that convert dead matter to soil nutr;ents, recycle all materials needed to support the plant growth
shown in the 1op left and right ovals (nutient cycling).

CONCEPT 1-6

2t

Current Emphasis

Sustainability Emphasis

countless ways for life to adapt to changing environmental conditions throughout the earth's history,

.
.

Populatian eontol: Ce:mpetitinn for limited resources

among different sprcies places a limit on how much
their populations can grow.
Nutrient Cltcling: natural proce$ses recycle chemicals
that plants and animals need to stay alive and reproduce (Figure l-4). There is little or no wasre in
natural systems.

Using the four scientific principtes of sustain-

Stirtt

ability to guide our lifestyles and economies '\Z'

could help us bring about an environmental or sustainability r*olutio,'l during your lifetime {see the Guesr Essay by Lester R. Brown at CengageN0W). Figure l-I8
lists some of the shifts involved in bringing about this
new cultural change by learning how to live more
sustainably"

Scientilic evidence indicates that we have perhaps

50 yearu and no more than 100 yeax to make such

cnrcial qrhural changes. If this is conect, sometime

during this century we could come to a critical lork in

Figute 1-18 Solutions: some shifts invoived in bringing atlout the

environmental or sustainability revdutrbn. queition: Which three
ol these shifu do you think are mo5t impertant? Why?

the road, at which poinr we will choose a path toward

sustainabiliry or continue on our current unsustainable
course. Everything you do, or do nor do will play a
role in our coilective choice ol wbich path we will rake.
One o{ the goals of this book is to provide a realistic en,
vironmental vision oI the future tha1. instead ol immo*
bilizing you with {ear, gloom, and doom, will energize
you by inspiring realistic hope.

Biodiversity (short for biologiul diverslg): the astounding variety of different organisms, the genes
they contain, the ecosystems in which they rxist,
and the natural services they provide have yielded

Expcnential Grorrth and Sustainability

We face an array of seriou: environmental problems. This book
i9 about so/ufions to these problems. Making the transition
to more sustainable societies and economies challenges us to
devise ways to :low down fhe harmfut effects o{ exponential
growth (Core Case Study) and to use the same power of exponential growth to implement more sustainable lifestyles and
economies.
The key is to apply the four scientific principles of sustainability iFigure 1-17 and Concept 1-6) to the design sf our
economic and social systEms and ts our individuat lifestyles. We
can us such information to help slow hur*an population growth.
sharply reduce poverty, curb the unsustainable fsrrfls of resource
use thal are eating away 6t the earth's natural capital, build social
eapital, and create a better wsrld for ourspfves, our children. and

future generations.

xponential growth is a double-edged sword. h can cause

environmental harm. But we can also u$e it positively to amplify
beneficial rhanses in our iifestyles and economies by applying the
four scientific principles of sustainability. Through our individual and esllective actions or inactionsi we chaose which side of

that sruord to use.

We are rapidly altering the planet that i$ our only home. lf
we make the right choicer during this century, we can create an
extraordinary and sustainab'le future on our planetary horne. lf we
get it wra'ng, ws face irrryersible ecological disruption tftat could
set humanity back for centuries and wipe out as many as half of
the world's species.
You have the good fortune to be a member of the llst century franiifion generafion which will decide what path humanity
takes. What a challenging and exciting time to be alive!

What's the use of a house

if you don't have a decent planet to put it on?

HENRY DAVID THOREAU

24

CHAPTER

rffi $Nlil

Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

l.

Review the Key Questions and Concepts forthis chapter

on p. 6. What is exponential growth? Why is living in
an exponential age a cause for concern for everyone living on the planet?

2. Deline environment, Distinguish among environmental science, ecology, and environmentalisrn. Disfinguish between an organlsm and a species. what is an
eco$ystem? lilhat is suetatnability? Explain the lerms

natural citpital, Ratural tcsoutces, natuial servlcss,

oolar capital, and natural capital degradati<rn. What
is nutrient cycling and why is it important? Describe tbe
ultlmate goal of an environmentally sustainable society. Wh6t is natural incorne?

Why has each change led to more environmenlal degradation? What is the environmental or sustainability

revolutlon?
6. Define pollution, Distinguish between point sources
and nonpoint $ources of pollution. Distinguish between
btodegradable pollutants and nondegradable pollutants and give an example of each. Distinguish between
pollution clanup and pollution preyention and give
an example of each" Describe three problem$ fith solutions that rely mostly on pollution cleanup.
t- Identify five basic causes ol the environmental problems
that we {ace today. What is poverty? ln what ways do

povrrty and affluence affect the environrnent.? Explain

the problenrs we face by not including the harmlul environlnerital costs in the prices oI goods and serviees.

l. What i$ the difference

tretween economic Sitowth and

(onomlc development? Distinguish arnong gross
domestic product (GDP), per caplta GDP. and per
capita GDP PPP. Distinguish between developed
eountries and developing countries and describe their
key characteri$tics. What is envlronmentally suctain-

Whar is an envlronmntal worldvlew? what is environmental ethics? Distinguish among the planetary
managemnt, stewardship. and environmental wisdom worldviews. Describe Aldo Leopold's environmen-

able economic development?

4. What is a resource? What is ronservation? Distinguish
among a tenewable re$ource, nonrenewable regource, and perpetual fesoulce and give an example of
each. What is sustainable yield? Define and glve three
examples of envlronmental degradation. What is the
tragedy of the commons? Distinguish between recycllng
and reuse and give an example of each. What is an eco-

togical footprint? What

i$ a

ral ethics. what major steps are involved in making an

envlronmental decision? What is sodal capltal?
9. Discuss the lessons we {atr learn from the environmental
transformation ol Chattanooga, Tennessee {USA). Explain
why individuals matter in dealing with the environmentai
problems we face.

lo. What

are four scientific principles of sustainability?

Explain how exponential growrh (core
{f*- i\t).'?
'ffi, " \7'
Case Study) affeqs them.

per capita ecological

footprint?

Compare the total and per capita ecological

footprints of the United States and China.

,.

What is culture? Describe three major cultural changes

that hdve occurred since humans arrived on the earth.

List three ways in which you could apply Concepts 1-5A

and 1-6 to making your lifestyle more environmentally

sustainable.
Describe two environmentally beneficial forms of exponential growth (Core Case Study).

tR:snor

Explain why you agree or disagree with the following propositions:

a. Stabilizilg population is not desirable because, without
more cansumen, economic growth would stop.
b, The world will never run out of resourcrs trecause we
can use technology to find substirutes and to help us
reduce resource wasle.

lvcle: Key Tcrms are in bold

4.

lpe

Suppose the world's population stopped growing today.

What environmentalproblems might this help solve?What
environmental problems would remain? What economic
problems might population stabilization make worse?

5- When you read that at least 19,200 people die prematurely each day (13 per minute) lrom preventable malnutrition and iulectious disease, do you (a) doubt that it
is true, (b) no1 want to think about it, (c) feel hopeless.
(d) feel sad, (e) {eel guilty, or (f) want to do something

about this problem?

6. What do you think when you read that (a) rhe average American consumes ]0 times more resources than

ACADE MIC.CENGAGE.COM/B IOLOGY/M I LLER

25

th avrrage citizen of India, and (b) human activities

are
projected to make the earth,s climate warmer?
Are you
skeptical, indifferent. sad, helpless, guilty. concerned, or
outraged? Which of these {eelings help perpetuare
such
problems, and wbich can help solve them?-

7.

Fnr each of the foUowing actions, state one or

\n,
more o{ ttre four scientific principles of sustaina_ ;lilr'a
;
bility {Figure l - l7) rhar are involved: (a) recycting \Z :
soda cans; (b) using a rake instead of leaf blower;
{c) choosing ro hiive no more rhan one child; {d) walk_
ing to class instead of driving;
{e} taking your own reusable bags to thr grocery Ftore to carry things home
in;
(f) volunreering to help restore a prairie ; ind
{g) Iobbying eleeted ofteials to require thar:09n of yor.ri-counry,s
electricity be produced by renewable wind power by 1020.

lnherent right to exist, {g} nature has an almost unlimited storehouse of resources for human use,
{h) technol_
ogy can solve our envirnnmental problems, (i) I do
not
believe I have any obligation to future generaiions,
and
fi) I do not believe I have any obligation to otJrer founs
af life.
o

What are the basic beliefs of your environmental worldview (p. 20)? Record your arswer, Then ar the end
of
this course. return to your answer to see if your environ_
mental worldview has changed. Are the beliefs included
in your envimnmental worldview consistent with your
answers to que$tion 8? Are your environmenlal actions
consistent with your environmental worldview?

lo. List two questions that you would like to have answeretl
as a

8. Explain why you agree or disagree witti

each of the lol_

lowing statements: (a) humans are superior trr other
forms ol life, (b) humans ar in charge ol the earth,
{c) all economic growth is good, (d) the value of orher
forms of life depends only on whether they are useful
to
us, {e) because all formr of life eventually become extinct

we should not worry about whether our activities cause

their premature efiincrion, {f) all forrrs o{ li{e have an

result of reading this chapter,

Abte: see supp'ement

If a country's or the world,s ewlogiul

footprint per penon lFigt-1?, p. f5) is largey than irs biologicat capacity per persolrto

"t".
replenish
its renewable

resources and tn absorb the resuiting

waste products and pollution. it is said to have an erclogical

defrcit.

tp. sret roi

rst or

lor various counrrie$. (For a map of ecological creditors

and
debtors, see Figure 4 on p. 526 in Supplement 4.)

Place

Biocapacity
(hectares per percon)

Ecological
Credit (+) or Debit {-)
(hectares per person)

World

2.2

1.8

* 0.4

United Statet

9.8

4.7

China

1.6

0.8

lndia

0.8

0.4

Russia

4.4

0.9

Japan

4.4

u./

Brazil

2.1

9.9

Germany

4.5

1.7

Unitad Kingdom

5.6

1,6

Mexico

2,6

1.t

Canada

7.6

14.5

25

2.4i

Per

apita

a<res

CHAPTER

*iltpG

$ the reverse is true, it ina* an ecologiul credit or resewe.

belowtn calculate rhe ecological deficit or credit

Per Capita
Ecological Foosrint
(hectares per peruon)*

hectare =

pilffiEGGE

Use the data

source: Oate from WWf, Llving planet Report 2005.

*

Environmental problems, ftreir Cauiei, anC SustalnaOifrty

t. Which rwo countries,bave

the largest ecological deficits?

2. Which two countries have an ecological credit?

Log on to the Student Companion Site for this book at

academic.cengage.com/biologylmiller,

anel choose

Chapter I lor many study aids and ideas fnr further read-

l.

Rank the counlries in order from the largest tei the smallest per capita fOotprint.

ing and research. These include llash cards, practice quizzing, Weblinks, information on Green Careers, and InfoTraco
Cniiege Fdition articles.

ACAD EM IC.CENGAG E.COM/B IOLOGY/M I LLER