1. Understanding Our Environment
Chapter 1

2. Outline:
Environmental Science - Definitions
Historical Perspectives
Pragmatic, Moral/Aesthetic,
Health and Ecological, Global Citizenship
Current Conditions
North /South Divisions
Resource Divisions
Sustainable Development
Human Development

3. Introduction
Humans have always inhabited both the natural world and the social world.
Environment: The complex of social or cultural conditions that affect an individual or community.

4. Introduction
Environmental Science: Systematic study of our environment, and our proper place in it.
Interdisciplinary
Integrative
Natural Sciences
Social Sciences
Humanities
Mission Oriented

5. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Four Distinct Stages
Pragmatic Resource Conservation
Moral and Aesthetic Nature Preservation
Health and Ecological Damage Concerns
Global Environmental Citizenship

6. Pragmatic Resource Conservation
George Perkins Marsh
Early Conservationist
Influenced Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot.
Pragmatic Utilitarian Conservation
“Greatest good for the greatest number for the longest time”
Multiple Use Policies of USFS.

7. Moral and Aesthetic Nature Preservation
John Muir - President Sierra Club
Nature deserves to exist for its own sake - regardless of degree of usefulness to humans. (Biocentric Preservation)

8. Modern Environmentalism
Industrial explosion of WWII added new concerns to the environmental agenda.
Rachel Carson - Silent Spring (1962)
Environmental Agenda expanded in 1960’s and 70’s to include:
Atomic Weapons Testing
Fossil Fuel Issues
Air and Water Pollution
Wilderness Protection

10. Global Concerns
Increased technology has greatly expanded international communications.
Daily events now reported worldwide instead of locally or regionally.

11. CURRENT CONDITIONS
Human Population > 6 Billion.
Food shortages and famines exist in many densely populated areas.
Water Quantity and Quality Issues
Fossil Fuel Burning
Air and Water Pollution
Landscape Destruction
Loss of Biodiversity

12. Signs of Hope
Progress had been made on many fronts.
Population has stabilized in many industrialized countries.
Incidence of life-threatening diseases has been reduced in some countries.
Average life expectance nearly doubled.

13. NORTH / SOUTH DIVISIONS
Poor countries tend to be located in Southern Hemisphere.
World Bank estimates more than 1.3 billion people (1/5 world population) live in acute poverty of < $1 (U.S.) per day.
70% women and children
Self-Sustaining
Daily survival necessitates over-harvesting resources thus degrading chances of long-term sustainability.

14. North/South Divisions
Wealthy countries tend to be located in the Northern Hemisphere.
About 1/5 of world population live in countries with per capita income > $25, (U.S.).
Poor people exist here as well.
Gap between rich and poor continues to increase.
Wealthiest 200 people in the world have combined wealth of $1 trillion - more than total wealth of poorest half (3 billion) of the world’s population.

15. North/South Divisions

16. Division of Resources
Affluent lifestyles of richer countries consume inordinate share of natural resources and produces high proportion of pollutants.

17. Political Economies
First World - Industrialized, market-oriented democracies of Western Europe, North America.
Second World - Centrally-planned socialist countries such as former USSR.
Third World - Ex-colonial nations such as India, Malaysia, Iran, etc.
Fourth World - Poorest nations and indigenous communities within wealthy nations.

18. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
United Nations releases Human Development Index (HDI). Based on social factors - ranges from
In 2000: Canada had highest with 0.96 and Sierra Leone had lowest with 0.19.
Aggregate numbers hide many important inequity issues:
Gender
Race

19. Sustainable Development
“Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Benefits must be available to all humans, not just sub-set of privileged group.

20. Sustainable Development
Many economists see continual economic growth as essential in providing more resources to more people.
Most ecologists view continual growth as impossible in the long-run due to non-renewable resources and limited ecological waste-disposal capabilities.

21. 20:20 Compact
1995 United Nations Summit for Social Development called all nations to ensure basic needs for everyone.
20:20 Compact
Wealthy countries contribute 20% of aid to humanitarian concerns and social development.
Developing countries contribute 20% of budget to human primary concerns.

22. Indigenous People
Indigenous (native) people are often least powerful, most neglected people in the world.
At least half the world’s 6,000 distinct languages are dying.
Indigenous homelands may harbor vast percentage of world’s biodiversity.
Recognizing native land rights and political rights may often be a solid ecological safeguard.

24. Summary:
Environmental Science - Definitions
Historical Perspectives
Pragmatic, Moral/Aesthetic,
Health and Ecological, Global Citizenship
Current Conditions
North /South Divisions
Resource Divisions
Sustainable Development
Human Development