Chapter 1 Environmental Problems, Their Causes, & Sustainability by Paul Rich © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

What is Environmental Science? environmental science -- interdisciplinary scientific study of the relation between humans & their environment © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Critical Environmental Problems human population growth misuse of natural resources pollution & global change loss of biodiversity misuse of land poor design & poor planning ignorance © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Solutions to Problems management planning conservation education life style changes new ways of doing things © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Fig. 1–1 World population may reach 10– 11 billion by What will be the environmental consequences? resource use pollution other problems Scope of Environmental Science © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Key Concepts Sustainability persistence of a system through time Can a desirable human environment be sustainable? Carrying Capacity number of organisms that can be sustained in a particular environment How many people can the Earth support? Is there a trade–off between quantity of people & quality of life? © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Population & Development Population is increasing faster in developing countries than in developed countries. Fig. 1–7 © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Wealth Gap Since 1960 the gap between per capita gross national product (GNP) of rich, middle income, & poor has widened. © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Resources Ecological resources anything required by an organism for normal maintenance, growth, & reproduction (e.g., habitat, food, water, shelter) Economic resources anything obtained from the environment to meet human needs & wants (e.g., fresh water, soil, plants & animals, fossil fuels) Renewable vs. nonrenewable resources renewable resources can be replenished relatively rapidly; whereas nonrenewable resources can be exhausted & not renewed in human time scales. © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Renewable vs. Nonrenewable Resources Air, water, soil, & wildlife are typically classified as renewable, but actually only potentially renewable, since they can be depleted. Fig. 1–9 © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Pollution Pollution: undesirable change in physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of air, water, soil, or food that can adversely affect humans or other living organisms. Nonpoint Source: dispersed & often difficult to identify sources (e.g., agricultural runoff). Point Source: single identified sources of pollution (e.g., smoke stack or effluent discharge). © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Environmental Problems Fig. 1–14 © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Some Major Problems © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

More Major Problems © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Still More Major Problems © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Overpopulation Developing countries have more people, but lower environmental impact per person than developed countries. Fig. 1–16 © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Sustainability Earth’s carrying capacity has expanded due to cultural change. © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

Information Revolution Useful information allows us to understand & better respond to environmental problems. Information overload ("infoglut") leads to confusion, distraction, & a sense of hopelessness. © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP

What's the use of a house if you don't have a decent planet to put it on? –– Henry David Thoreau © Brooks/Cole Publishing Company / ITP