Causes and Sustainability Environmental Issues Causes and Sustainability 12/4/2018

Spaceship Earth Solar radiation Energy in = Energy out Reflected by atmosphere (34%) UV radiation Absorbed by ozone by the earth Visible light Lower Stratosphere (ozone layer) Troposphere Heat Greenhouse effect Radiated by atmosphere as heat (66%) Earth Heat radiated 12/4/2018

Population Growth 12/4/2018

Environmental Interactions 12/4/2018

Spaceship Earth What Are Our Main Environmental Problems? 12/4/2018

Biodiversity Depletion Pollution Air Pollution Global climate change Stratospheric ozone depletion Urban air pollution Acid deposition Outdoor pollutants Indoor pollutants Noise Biodiversity Depletion Habitat destruction Habitat degradation Extinction Water Pollution Sediment Nutrient overload Toxic chemicals Infectious agents Oxygen depletion Pesticides Oil spills Excess heat Waste Production Solid waste Hazardous waste Food Supply Problems Overgrazing Farmland loss and degradation Wetlands loss Overfishing Coastal pollution Soil erosion Soil salinization Soil waterlogging Water shortages Groundwater depletion Loss of biodiversity Poor nutrition Major Environmental Problems Loss of Biodiversity Resource Depletion 12/4/2018

Chemical Pollution Can the Earth continue to absorb unlimited amounts of pollution? 12/4/2018

Industrial Wastes Soluble Poisonous Heavy Metal Elements Accumulate along the food chain & cause death when in high concentration 12/4/2018

Industrial Accidents Crude Oil (from wrecked tankers) cover sea surface which reduces light penetration and dissolve O2 amount stick feathers of birds, making them unable to fly 12/4/2018

Agricultural Chemicals Inorganic Fertilizers cause rapid growth of algae (e.g. red tides) use up lots of O2 in water fish & other organisms die from suffocation 12/4/2018

Agricultural Wastes Manure (fertilizer) Decomposers increase rapidly due to sufficient food supply O2 content in water decreases Cause suffocation of fish & other organisms 12/4/2018

Pesticides Include: Herbicides Insecticides Fungicides Bactericides In conventional agriculture, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides can kill off much of the life in the soil, making no distinction between what’s beneficial and harmful. Synthetic fertilizers are then applied because plants can’t live in dead soil. The process continually strips the soil of its vitality. Meanwhile, many of those chemicals leach into our water. Agricultural chemicals have become so ubiquitous in our environment that even the most remote regions on earth have been found to have traces of these chemicals in the water, soil, plant and animal life. 12/4/2018

Pesticides 12/4/2018

Biological Magnification Chlorinated hydrocarbons Pesticides like DDT Break down slowly in the environment Accumulate in the fatty tissue of animals Become more concentrated as it moves up the food chain 12/4/2018

Biological Magnification DDT 12/4/2018

The Domino Effect 12/4/2018

Environmental Resources Perpetual Renewable Non-renewable 12/4/2018

Ground Water Pollution and Depletion 12/4/2018

Ground Water Pollution and Depletion 12/4/2018

Ground Water Pollution and Depletion 12/4/2018

Our Good Earth http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/09/soil/mann-text http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/09/soil/richardson-photography 12/4/2018

Fertilized World http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/fertilized-world/charles-text 12/4/2018

Loss of Biodiversity 12/4/2018

Extinction of Species 12/4/2018

Extinction of Species 12/4/2018

Renewable Resources What is Sustainability? Sustainable Yield living off the natural income replenished by soils, plants, air and water not depleting earth’s endowment of natural capital that supplies this income Sustainable Yield The highest rate of use of a resource in which it can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply 12/4/2018

Resources Sustainable Society Environmental Degradation satisfy the basic needs of people for food, clean air & water, and shelter indefinitely without depleting or degrading natural resources preventing future generations from meeting their basic needs Environmental Degradation exceeding a resource’s natural replacement rate causing the resource to decrease Ground water pollution and depletion Excessive erosion/soil compaction Extinction of Species 12/4/2018

Environmental Issues Do you believe that the current lifestyle of the US is sustainable? Analyze your lifestyle; how would resources be affected if everyone on Earth lived the way you do? 12/4/2018

Environmental Impact 12/4/2018

Environmental Impact Developing countries Developed countries Pop=5.1B Low per capita GNP Represent 95% of the projected increase in the worlds population Developed countries Pop=1.2B Highly industrialized with high per capita GNP Represent 20% of the world’s population Controls 85% of wealth 88% of resources produces 75% of pollution and waste 12/4/2018

The Good and Bad of Economic Growth Positive Increased Life Expectancy Infant Mortality Drop Increased Food Production Safe Drinking Water in Rural Areas Increased Production with fewer materials Decrease in Major Air and Water Pollution (since 1970s) Negative Life Expectancy Lower in developing countries (LDC) Infant Mortality is 8 times Higher in LDC Less Sustainability in Agricultural Practices Air and Water Pollution in LDC is too High Increased Demand on Resources (population growth) Increased Disturbance of Habitable Surface (73% already) 1 in 4 people in the world make less than $370/year Economic Gap Increase (Rich get richer, poor get poorer) 12/4/2018

Environmental Myth Humans are in charge There will always be more (unlimited supply) Economic growth is good…always Success depends on our ability to dominate, understand and control nature Technology will inevitably save mankind 12/4/2018

Environmental Wisdom Human beings are like other species and rely on the earth to survive Nature does not exist just for us We need the earth but the earth does not need us Limited Resources should not be wasted Some economic growth is good, other types are not; encourage the good Understand the earth to learn to live in harmony with it; the more informed, the better our decisions 12/4/2018

Environmentally-Sustainable Economic Development Social Economic Environmental Sustainable Solutions Environmental Social Economic Traditional Decision Making Decision Making In a Sustainable Society 12/4/2018