I - Environmental Problems, Their Causes, & Sustainability Flashcards
What are some major environmental problems?
Biodiversity Depletion Food Supply Problems Air Pollution Water Pollution Waste Production
Environment
All external conditions & factors that affect living organisms
Ecology
Study of relationships between living organisms & environment
Environmental Science
Interdisciplinary study of role of humans on the Earth
Major fields of study that contribute to environmental science
Biology Earth science Physics Chemistry Social Sciences
Solar Capital
Provides 99% of energy used on Earth
Earth Capital
Life-support and economic services
Sustainability
Persistence of a system through time
Qualities of a sustainable society
Economy & population size without EXCEEDING planet’s ability to absorb INSULTS, replenish its RESOURCES, and sustain HUMAN & LIFE over a specified period
Carrying capacity
Number of organisms that can be sustained a a particular environment
Linear growth
quantity is increasing by a constant amount per unit of time
Exponential growth
quantity increases by a fixed percentage of whole in a given time as each increase is applied to the base for further growth
Human population growth is most similar to which growth pattern
Exponential
How long does it take for the human population to double itself?
60K year -> 1 billion
130 yr -> 2 billion
45 yr -> 4 billion
less than 45 yr -> 8 billion
Doubling rates are calculated using
the Rule of 70
Rule of 70
70/ percentage growth rate = doubling rate in years
Economic growth
Increase in capacity to provide goods and services for people’s final use
Seeked by virtually all countries
Goods and services are produced by
Increasing the flow of matter and energy resources through an economy
GNP
gross national product
market value in current dollars off all goods & services produced by a country during a year
Characteristics of Developed Countries
Highly Industrialized High average per capita GNP 20% of world population Command 85% of world's wealth and income Use 88% of natural resources Generate 75% of pollution & wastes
Examples of developed countries
US
Canada
Japan
Germany
Characteristics of developing countries
Little industrialization Low-moderate per capita GNPS 80% world population 15% world's wealth & income 12% world's natural resources Generate 25% world's pollution & wastes
Examples of developing countries
Most countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America
Population is increasing faster in
Developing countries than in developed countries
Wealth Gap
Gap between per capita GNP of rich, middle, and poor widened
Hans Rosling
Debunked “developing world” myth-> most DW heading on same trajectory to health and prosperity
Ecological resources
Anything that required an organism for normal maintenance, growth, & reproduction
Ecological resources examples
Habitat
Water
Shelter
Food
Economic resources
Anything obtained from the environment to meet human needs & wants
Economic resources examples
fresh water
Soil
Plants & animals
fossil fuels
Renewable resources
Can be replenished relatively rapidly
Nonrenewable resources
Can be exhausted & not renewed in human time scales
Renewable resources examples
Direct solar energy
Winds
Tides
Flowing Water
Potentially renewable resources examples
Fresh air
Fresh water
Fertile soil
Biodiversity
Nonrenewable resources examples
Fossil fuels
Metallic minerals
Non Metallic minerals
Sustainable yield
Highest rate at which a potentially renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply
Exceeding sustainable yield leads to
environmental degradation
Tragedy of the Commons
Common property resources are very susceptible to environmental degradation
Conflict between short-term interests of individuals and long-term welfare of society
If land is held in common,
Individuals tend to graze as many animals as possible, leading to destruction of land.
When commons are replaced by enclosed fields owned by individuals,
people tend to graze only the number of animals the land can support
Hardin predicted
people would deplete natural
resources to the point of society’s collapse by
acting in their own self-interest
Opponents consider social nature of humans:
Living in groups-> INTERDEPENDENT
Solving problems through solutions which may override individual’s short-term interest but improve env’tal quality in long run
Pollution
UNDESIRABLE change in physical, chemical, or
biological characteristics of air, water, soil, or food that can ADVERSELY affect humans or other living organisms. Can also
include noise, heat, etc.
Point Source
SINGLE identified sources of
pollution
Point Source examples
smoke stack or effluent discharge
Nonpoint Source
DISPERSED & often difficult to identify sources
Nonpoint Source examples
agricultural runoff
Components to determining severity of pollutants
Chemical nature
Concentration
Persistence
Chemical Nature
How active & harmful to living organisms?
Very LITTLE is know about possible harmful effects of 90% of 72,000 synthetic chemicals
Concentration
How much is present the environment?
Common concentration used includes …
One part per million (ppm)
One part per billion (ppb)
One part per trillion (ppt)
Persistence
How long does it take to break down to acceptable
levels?
Three types of persistence
Degradable/ nonpersistent
Slowly degradable/ persistent
Nondegradable
Degradable (nonpersistent) pollutants
broken down COMPLETELY or reduced to ACCEPTABLE levels by natural, physical, chemical, and biological processes
Degradable (nonpersistent) pollutant example
Human sewage in a river
Slowly degradable (persistent) pollutants
take DECADES or longer to degrade
Slowly degradable (persistent) pollutant examples
DDT & plastics
Nondegradable pollutants
CANNOT be broken down by
natural processes
Nondegradable pollutant examples
lead & mercury
Preventing pollution from reaching the environment
Preventing pollution though pollution control technology is a LONG-TERM solution
Pollution clean-up
SHORT-TERM solutions
Causes pollution
Expensive process
Sustainability
Earth’s carrying capacity has EXPANDED due to cultural change.
Notable human advancements
Tool- making 1 mil years ago
Agricultural 100K years ago
Industrial-scientific 10K years ago
Predictions about future human population
Continued growth
Population stabilization
Population crash
The Hunter-Gatherers Lifestyle
FEW possessions
3 Energy sources -> Sun, fire, manpower
“Earth wisdom” -> expert knowledge of nature
HIGH infant mortality/ LOW life expectancy
SLOW population growth
The Hunter-Gatherers
Env’tal Impact
Converted forests to grasslands Possibly led to extinction of large game Altered distribution of plants and animals which fed from them
The Agriculturalists Lifestyle
DOMESTICATED animals SHIFTING CULTIVATION techniques, irrigation, urbanization Accumulation of materials DECREASED infant mortality INCREASED life expectancy INCREASED pop. growth
The Agriculturalists Env’tal Impact
SLASH & BURN CULTIVATION fertile land turned to deserts; topsoil washed away into streams, lakes, etc Societal conflict over land & water rights Demand for nonrenewable resources Increases in wastes, pollution, diseases
The Industrialists Lifestyle
LARGE-scale production Improved farming techniques Increased per capita energy consumption DEPENDENCE on nonrenewable rss LOWER infant mortality Higher life expectancy ADVANCES in sanitation, hygiene, nutrition, medical care Pop. sky-rocketed
The Industrialists Env’tal Impact
Pollution problems from burning fossil fuels
Greater rss consumption
Better farm machinery/farming techniques -> increased per acre crop yields
What two major crises concern the env’t right now?
Population
Consumption
Simply stated, a given area’s total environmental degradation and pollution depends on three factors
Number of people(P)
Numbers of units of resources used/ person(A)
Env’tal degradation & Pollution/ unit of rss used(T)
a given area’s total environmental degradation and pollution is also known as
environmental
impact of population
What two kind of overpopulation exists?
Population
Consumption
Every American born will need ….
3.6 million pounds of minerals, metals, and fuels in their lifetime
Developing countries have —- people, but —–
environmental impact per person than developed countries
More
Lower
Modern Env’tal Worldviews
Planetary Management
Earth-Wisdom
Planetary Management
Worldview
Humans -> MOST IMPORTANT SPECIES
Always MORE
Economic growth -> GOOD
Potential for economic growth is LIMITLESS
Success -> MANAGING Earth’s life-support systems for BENEFIT
Earth-Wisdom
Worldview
Nature exists for ALL species
NOT always more
Some economic growth are env’tally HARMFUL & should be DISCOURAGED
Success -> Learning to COOPERATE w/each other & nature by working with Earth
Working Toward Sustainability Guidelines
Reduce poverty Slow pop. growth Don't waste rss Take no more than necessary Protect biodiversity Leave the earth as good/better than we found it.
