Environmental Problems, Their

Causes, and Sustainability

G. Tyler Millers
Living in the Environment
14th Edition

Chapter 1
Sections 1 and 2
Key Concepts Sections 1 and 2

1) What keeps us alive? What is

an environmentally sustainable
society?
2) How fast is human population
growing? What are economic
growth, economic development
and globalization?
Living More Sustainably Key Terms

Environment: is everything that affects

living organisms.
Ecology: biological science that studies
the relationships between living organisms
and their environment.
Environmental Science: an
interdisciplinary study that uses information
from physical sciences and social sciences to
learn how the earth works, how we interacts with
the earth and how to deal with environmental
problems.
What is environmentalism?

A social movement
dedicated to
protecting the earths
environment.

Can include:
Ecologists
Biologists
Geologists
Environmentalists
What Keeps Us Alive? Capital
Solar Capital: without the sun there would
be no life. (What is the difference between direct
and indirect solar energy?
Natural
Resources:
Air, water, soil
ect.

Fig. 1-2, p. 7
What is an environmentally
sustainable society?
Meets the basic needs of its people
indefinitely without compromising future
generations ability to meet those same
needs?
Population Growth
Exponential
Growth: a
quantity
increases at
a constant
rate per
unit of time
Between
1950 and
2004 the
world
population
increased
exponential
ly from 2.5
B to 6.4 B.
Each year your college raises tuition 6%, does that mean
every year the tuition goes up the same amount?Fig. 1-4, p. 8
World Population Growth
1950: 2.5 billion
2004: 6.4 billion
2100: 8-12 billion
Current avg. growth rate
1.25%/year = 219,000 people
per day or 80 million per
year. (6.4 billion X 0.0125)

Despite a 22 fold increase in

worldwide economic growth,
almost one of every two
survive on less than $3/day.
World Population

Compare hunter/gathering, agriculture, and industrial revolution time

period. Fig. 1-1 p. 5
Where is most population growth
occurring?
Economic Growth
An increase in the capacity of a country to
provide its people with goods and services.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): annual
market value of all goods and services
produced within the country.
Per Capita (GNP): GDP divided among
the population of the country.

Economic Development: improving

living standards by economic growth
Worldwide Per Capita GDP
Economic Development

Developed Countries: US, Canada,

Japan, Australia, New Zealand and
most of Europe. High Per Capita GDP.
(1.2 billion people)
Developing Countries: 5.2 billion people
living with very little. 97% of
population growth.
Example: Mexico Daily Minimum Wage is about $4-6
dollars a day.
Percent of
Worlds 19
Population
81

Population 0.1
growth
1.6

Wealth and 85
income
15

Resource 88
use
12

Pollution 75
and waste
25

Developed Developing
countries countries
 Trade-Offs
Economic Development
Good News Bad News

Global life expectancy doubled Life expectancy 11 years less in

since 1950 developing countries than in
developed countries

Infant mortality rate in developing

Infant mortality cut in half since
countries over 8 times higher than
1955
in developed countries

Harmful environmental effects

Food production ahead of
of agriculture may limit future
population growth since 1978
food production
Air and water pollution down in Air and water pollution levels in
most developed countries since most developing countries too
1970 high
Half of worlds people
Number of people living in trying to live on
poverty dropped 6% since 1990 less than $3
(U.S.) per day
Globalization

We live in a world that is increasingly

interconnected through economic, cultural
and environmental interdependence.

What does that mean for our environment?

Globalization: A Few Pros/Cons

Pros Cons
Sharing ideas and Wealth not shared
technology around equally.
the world. Pollution now worst
Access to materials in poor countries.
once unthinkable Loss of local
(example: fresh fruits identities.
and vegetables year
round)
Sections 1 and 2 Review
List 3 pros and cons What does
related to economic environmentally
development. sustainable society
List several differences mean?
between developed and List 3 types of solar
developing countries? capital and natural
Describe exponential capital.
growth as it related to What is the current
population. worldwide population?
How may globalization How is that expected to
impact the worlds change?
environment?
Chapter 1 Sections 3,4 and
5 Main Ideas
What are earths main types of resources?
How can they be depleted or degraded?
What are the principle types of pollution?
What can we do about pollution?
What are the basic causes of todays
environmental problems? How are the
causes connected?
Resources
Perpetual: renewed
continuously on a
human scale.
Renewable: can be
replenished fairly
quickly.
Non-renewable: exist
only in fixed
quantities. (once they
are gone they are
gone.)
Fig. 1-6 p. 9
Renewable Resources
Can be depleted or degraded.
Sustainable Yield: the
highest rate at which a
renewable resource can
be used without
reducing its supply.
Example: over-farming the land
leading to soil erosion, clear-
cutting forests.
Environmental
Degradation: when we
exceed the natural
replacement rate of the
resource.
Example: groundwater depletion,
water pollution.
Tragedy of the Commons
1968 Garrett Hardin

Degradation of renewable
free-access resources.

If I do not use this

resource, someone else
will. The little bit I use
or pollute is not enough
to matter, and such
resources are renewable
anyway.

Solutions????
Ecological Footprint
Measure of the biologically productive land
and water needed to support each person.

1 hectare = 100 acres or 10,000 square meters (about 100 football fields) Fig. 1-7 p. 10
Non-Renewable Resources
Exist only in fixed quantities on earth.

Energy Resources: such as coal, oil and natural gas.

Metallic Resources:
such as iron, copper, aluminum

Non-Metallic
Resources:
Such as salt, clay, sand

Economic Depletion
Fig. 1-8 p. 11
When 80% is gone it may be too costly to get the last 20%.
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
Saving Nonrenewable resources

Reduce: Use less resource

Reuse: To use the resource

more than once to
conserve.

Recycle: collecting
resource, processing it
into new products.
Pollution: What is it?

Pollution is the presence

of substances at high
enough levels in air,
water, soil or food to
threaten humans or
other living organisms.

Most pollution are unintended by

products of useful activities.
Example: driving cars gives of
pollutant.
Effects of Pollution
1) Disrupt or degrade
life-supporting
systems for humans or
other species.
2) Can damage wildlife,
human health or
property.
3) Can by a nuisance
such as noise, smell,
sights.
Sources of Pollution
Point Source:
pollutants that come
from one single,
identifiable source
such as a pipe.
Nonpoint Source:
pollutants that are
dispersed and often
difficult to identify
such as farm or street
runoff.
Dealing With Pollution
Prevention (Input Control):
Reduced or eliminates pollutants from production
EXAMPLE: driving more fuel efficient automobile
Dealing with Pollution
Pollution Cleanup (output control):
Cleaning up or diluting pollution once in the
environment.

What are the problems with pollution cleanup?

Environmental and Resource
Problems: 5 Root Causes
Environmental Impact

Fig. 1-13 p. 15
Environmental Interactions

Goal for environmental science is to learn

about these complex interactions.

Fig. 1-14 p. 15
Solutions

Fig. 1-16, p.
What is Our Greatest
Environmental Problem????
Disease
Overpopulation
Water Shortages
Climate Changes
Biodiversity Loss
Poverty
Malnutrition
Sections 3,4,5 Review Questions
List and describe several root causes of
environmental problems.
Describe the differences between point and non-point
source pollution.
What is an ecological footprint?
Identify several perpetual, renewable and
nonrenewable resources.
Analyze the differences between pollution
preventions and pollution cleanup.
Describe the Tragedy of the Commons.
Describe reduce, reuse and recycle.
Environmental Worldviews

Look up these worldviews for tomorrow

and write which one you fit into and why.
Hint: page 16

Planetary Management
Environmental Wisdom

Stewardship