Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability

Chapter 1

Core Case Study: Exponential Growth (1)

Slow start, rapid increase Human population
2007 ~ 6.7 billion people

Projections
225,000 people per day Add population of U.S. < 4 years 2050 ~ 9.2 billion people

Core Case Study: Exponential Growth (2)

Resource consumption, degradation, depletion Possible results
Huge amount of pollution and wastes Disrupt economies Loss of species, farm land, water supplies Climate change Political fallout

Solutions
Understand our environment Practice sustainability

1-1 What Is an Environmentally Sustainable Society?

Concept 1-1A Our lives and economies depend on energy from the sun (solar capital) and natural resources and natural services (natural capital) provided by the earth. Concept 1-1B Living sustainably means living off earths natural income without depleting or degrading the natural capital that supplies it.

Studying Connections in Nature

Environment Environmental science

Ecology
Environmentalism

Living More Sustainably

Sustainability central theme Natural capital
Natural resources Natural services

Natural Resources
Materials
Renewable Nonrenewable

Energy
Solar capital Photosynthesis

Natural Services
Functions of nature
Purification of air, water Nutrient cycling

Environmental Sustainability
Trade-offs (compromises) Sound science

Individuals matter
Ideas Technology Political pressure Economic pressure

Sustainable Living from Natural Capital

Environmentally sustainable society Financial capital and financial income

Natural capital and natural income

Bad news: signs of natural capital depletion at exponential rates

1-2 How Can Environmentally Sustainable Societies Grow Economically?

Concept 1-2 Societies can become more environmentally sustainable through economic development dedicated to improving the quality of life for everyone without degrading the earths life-support systems.

Economics
Economic growth Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Per capita GDP PPP Economic development Developed countries Developing countries

1-3 How Are Our Ecological Footprints Affecting the Earth?

Concept 1-3 As our ecological footprints grow, we are depleting and degrading more of the earths natural capital.

Natural Resources (1)

Perpetual renewed continuously
Solar energy

Renewable hours to decades

Water, air Forest, grasslands

Natural Resources (2)

Sustainable yield
Highest use while maintaining supply

Environmental degradation
Exceed natural replacement rate

Natural Resources (3)

Nonrenewable fixed quantities
Energy (fossil fuels) Metallic minerals Nonmetallic minerals

Recycling

Reuse

Measuring Environmental Impact

Ecological footprint
Biological capacity to replenish resources and adsorb waste and pollution

Per capita ecological footprint

Renewable resource use per individual

Case Study: China

Rapidly developing country
Middle-class affluent lifestyles

Worlds leading consumer in:

Wheat, rice, meat, coal, fertilizers, steel, cement Televisions, cell phones, refrigerators

Future consumption
2/3 world grain harvest Twice worlds current paper production Exceed current global oil production

1-4 What Is Pollution and What Can We Do about It?

Concept 1-4 Preventing pollution is more effective and less costly than cleaning up pollution.

Pollution
What is pollution? Point sources

Nonpoint sources
Unwanted effects of pollution

Solutions to Pollution
Pollution prevention (input control)
Front-of-the-pipe

Pollution cleanup (output control)

End-of-the-pipe

Disadvantages of Output Control

Temporary
Growth in consumption may offset technology

Moves pollutant from one place to another

Burial Incineration

Dispersed pollutants costly to clean up

1-5 Why Do We Have Environmental Problems?

Concept 1-5A Major causes of environmental problems are population growth, wasteful and unsustainable resource use, poverty, excluding the environmental costs of resource use from the market prices of goods and services, and trying to manage nature with insufficient knowledge. Concept 1-5B People with different environmental worldviews often disagree about the seriousness of environmental problems and what we should do about them.

Causes of Environmental Problems

Population growth Wasteful and unsustainable resource use

Poverty
Failure to include environmental costs of goods and services in market prices Too little knowledge of how nature works

Environmental Effects of Affluence

Harmful effects
High consumption and waste of resources Advertising more makes you happy

Beneficial effects
Concern for environmental quality Provide money for environmental causes Reduced population growth

Evaluating Full Cost of Resources Use

Examples
Clear-cutting + habitat loss Commercial fishing + depletion of fish stocks

Tax breaks
Subsidies

Environmental Viewpoints
Environmental worldview Environmental ethics Planetary management worldview Stewardship worldview Environmental wisdom worldview Social capital

Case Study: Chattanooga, Tennessee (1)

1960s
Dirtiest air in the United States Toxic waste in Tennessee River High unemployment, crime

1984
Vision 2000 grassroots consensus

Case Study: Chattanooga, Tennessee (2)

1995
Zero emission industries, buses Low-income renovations, downtown renewal

Individuals matter!

1-6 What Are Four Scientific Principles of Sustainability?

Concept 1-6 Nature has sustained itself for billions of years by using solar energy, biodiversity, population regulation, and nutrient cycling lessons from nature that we can apply to our lifestyles and economies.