1. The Environment and Society
Chapter 1-2

2. The Individual vs. Social Welfare
Common resources
If we all use the resources without rules and regulations, they will get used up and less will be available for everyone
If we divide up the resources so that everyone is responsible for a share, then the resources last longer and everyone has enough
Some person or group has to take responsibility…Think of the sheep

3. Economics of the Environment: Supply and Demand
“The greater the demand for a limited supply of a [resource], the more that [resource] is worth.”
In times of plenty, stuff is cheap…when things are scarce, stuff becomes expensive

4. Economics of the Environment: Cost and Benefits
When determining how much money to put into a project, the benefits of the project must be weighed against the costs
This is called a “cost-benefit analysis”
Costs usually end up being paid by tax dollars
The tax payers usually can vote between the more expensive route that is most environmentally friendly…or the lesser expensive route that is usually not as environmentally friendly

5. Economics of the Environment: Risk Assessment
Cost-benefit analysis involves risk assessment by the consumers or tax payers
They must be given an accurate depiction of the risks involved which doesn’t always happen
One survey showed people believed Nuclear Power to be super risky for the community but experts place the risk value below that of riding a bicycle and getting into an accident

6. Developed Nations Higher average income per person
Slower population growth
Diverse industrial economies
Stronger social support systems, ie: social security
EX: US, Canada, Japan, Western Europe

7. Developing Nations Lower average income per person
Simple and agriculture-based economy
Rapid population growth

8. Middle-Income Countries
Somewhere between
EX: Mexico, Brazil, Malaysia

9. Population and Consumption
Overpopulation problems:
Forests stripped bare
Topsoil exhausted leads to less agriculture
Animals go extinct
Malnutrition, starvation and disease
Populations grow very quickly in underdeveloped nations
Food production, education and job opportunities cannot keep up with the population
Less than half of the 4.5 billion people in developing nations have enough food, safe drinking water and healthy sanitation

10. Life is different in Developed Nations
Pollution controls improve every year
Population grows more slowly
HOWEVER:
Developed nations use about 75% of the Earth’s resources
Developed nations only account for 20% of the Earth’s total population
Consumption of resources in developed nations leads to more waste and pollution per person than underdeveloped nations
Ecological footprint: “…the productive area of Earth needed to support one person in a particular country.”
Accounts for crop space, grazing, forest products, housing and ocean area as well as forest area needed to absorb the air pollution created from the production of these products
Ex: USA – 30 acres per person, INDIA – 2.5 acres per person

11. Sustainability
Sustainability: “…the condition in which human needs are met in such a way that a human population can survive indefinitely.”
As technology changes and civilizations change we must all change our usage of resources in order to sustain the human population
Developed countries overuse resources… by A LOT
Underdeveloped countries do as well in a different way
Creating a planet where every person has what they need is a long long way from where we are now…but it’s not unachievable! We just all need to be aware of how our actions impact the Earth
Think Globally, act locally!

12. Self-Sustaining Environments

13. Homework Check Chapter 1 section 2 Questions 1, 2, 4
Describe three differences between developing and developed nations using the examples in Table 3. Would you classify Mexico as a developing nation? Explain.
Explain why critical thinking is an important skill in environmental science.
4) The law of supply and demand is a simplification of economic patterns. What other factors might affect the cost of a barrel of oil?