Environmental Science Look at the World’s Use of its Resources

Over time…  Hunter-Gatherers  Obtained food by hunting and gathering plants  Agricultural revolution – 10,000 years ago, started collecting seeds, etc  Industrial Revolution – middle of 1700s  Water/animal muscle – coal and oil

Industrial Revolution  Machinery made farming, work, etc more efficient.  Cheap transportation over great distances  Materials such as plastic, pesticides, and fertilizers developed

Resources  Natural resource – natural material used by humans  Renewable resource – can be replaced quickly with natural processes  Non-renewable resource – forms at a much slower rate (fossil fuels)

“Tragedy of the Commons”  When land was held in common, individuals grazed as many animals as possible  Overgrazing led to destruction of land resources

“Tragedy of the Commons”  “If I don’t use this resource, somebody else will”  When land was enclosed and owned by individuals, people only grazed what they could support.

“Tragedy of the Commons”  Best short-term interest of individual vs. best long-term interest of society  Earth’s Resources = modern “commons”

Population and Consumption  Developed nations  75 percent of world’s resources, 20% population = more waste  Ecological Footprint – productive area of Earth needed to support one person in a particular country.

Sustainable World  Sustainability - condition in which human needs are met in a way that human population can survive  Today – far from sustainable

Critical Thinking  Research is often used to make political points  Media distorts information  Be prepared to hear many different view points….

Carbon Cycle

Fossil Fuels  Remains of ancient organisms that changed into coal, oil, or natural gas  Supply is limited  Environmental consequences

Fossil Fuel Formation  Coal – plants in swamps hundreds of millions of years ago  Sediments compressed plant remains  Oil/natural gas – decay of tiny marine organisms  compressed and heated

Coal  57% of electric production in US formed by coal  Obtained by underground mines and/or mountain removal

Drilling  Oil pumped from the ground; crude oil  Fuels, chemicals, plastics – petroleum products  45% of world’s commercial energy use

Fossil Fuels and the Future  By 2050, world energy demand will double  Oil production peak??

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