9.3

Question 1

What are the specific prominent environmental problems encountered post-1900?

Answer 1

• deforestation, due to the increased need for food given the massive growth of global population and therefore the need for more farmland
  *leads to further degradation of the environment, because land without trees is more susceptible to soil erosion
  *especially effects rainforests, destroys habitats and endangers species
• urbanization = deforestation, urban sprawl
• desertification: the process by which once fertile land becomes desert-like because of deforestation, drought, or harmful agricultural techniques; desertification leaves land unfit for agricultural use unless otherwise revived
• declining air quality due to industrial byproducts created by burning fossil fuels
  *London’s Great Smog in 1952; caused the death of 10-12 thousand people and made ~100,000 people ill because of the accumulation of poisonous smog
  *Mexico City estimated in 2002 that about 35,000 people have died as a result of poor air quality
• strain on freshwater supply
  *only about 3% of all water can be used for agricultural or drinking purposes, and most freshwater goes towards the mass cultivation of crops
• increasing global temperatures
  *the debate is not whether or not average global temperatures have been rising, but whether it is a natural occurrence or caused by humans and the respective implications of each of those conclusions
  **if it’s caused by humans, then addressing the problem (restricting CO2 emissions) will slow the capacity for economic growth of nations globally. This limits the ability to economically grow. Additionally, if limits were created and enforced regarding emissions, developing nations would be unable to develop their economies using the tools that already developed countries used to get where they are, potentially barring their ability to protect against Western economic and political interests in the future.

Question 2

What is urban sprawl?

Answer 2

The term urban sprawl refers to the expansion of the suburbs and its increased urban footprint.

Question 3

What caused the environmental problems presented in 1900-present?

Answer 3

Globalization and industrialization -
- spreading industrialization leads to an increased strain on the environment and increased demand for energy and resources, as well as a growing middle class and consumer culture
- leads to increased demand for industrial goods
- leads to spreading industrialization
*the cycle continues.

Population growth and urbanization -
In 1900, the global population was an estimated 1.5 billion.
In 2000, it was approximately 6 billion.
- more people = more need for food = more resource/environment strain
*most modern people live in cities, and city dwellers tend to produce significantly more waste than rural dwellers. A big contributor to this fact is that city-dwellers don’t tend to understand the resources, time, and work it takes to produce their commodities, like readily available food in local markets - they don’t do the labor or invest in it themselves. This leads to an excess demand for goods without regards to the strain it causes on the supply and the environment.

Question 4

What are the effects of the environmental problems faced post-1900?

Answer 4

More population = more competition over non-renewable resources -
*oil: since the Industrial Revolution, about 1/2 of the world’s supply of oil has been used
*freshwater: only about 3% of water on earth is usable for agricultural or drinking purposes, and the majority of this is used for crop production due to the rapidly growing global population
**The World Health Organization predicts that by 2025 about 1/2 of the population won’t have access to clean drinking water

Climate change due to CO2 emissions (automobiles, airplanes, factories) -
*CO2 accumulation prevents earth’s heat from escaping the atmosphere, leading to rising sea levels, melting ice caps, and desertification
Attempted solutions:
- Kyoto Protocol in 1997
An international agreement to reduce CO2 emissions, mostly directed towards developed nations who could afford to do so. The US was not a part of this.
- Paris Agreement in 2015
This agreement legally binds involved countries to no more than a 2% increase in the global temperature. It was originally signed by the USA, but Trump retracted from the agreement in 2017. Biden rejoined.