1. Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability
Chapter 1

2. Core Case Study: Exponential Growth (1)
Slow start, rapid increase
Human population
2007 ~ 6.7 billion people
Projections
225,000 people per day
Add population of U.S. < 4 years
2050 ~ 9.2 billion people

3. Core Case Study: Exponential Growth
Resource consumption, degradation, depletion
Possible results
Huge amount of pollution and wastes
Disrupt economies
Loss of species, farm land, water supplies
Climate change
Political fallout

4. Industrial revolution Black Death—the Plague Agricultural revolution
Hunting
and gathering
Agricultural revolution
Industrial revolution
Fig. 1-1, p. 1
Fig. 1-1, p. 5

5. Solutions
Understand our environment
Practice sustainability

6. What Is an Environmentally Sustainable Society?
Concept 1-1A Our lives and economies depend on energy from the sun (solar capital) and natural resources and natural services (natural capital) provided by the earth.
Concept 1-1B Living sustainably means living off earth’s natural income without depleting or degrading the natural capital that supplies it.

7. Studying Connections in Nature
Environment – everything around us
Environmental science – interdisciplinary study of our relationship with…..
Ecology – biological science, ecosystems
Environmentalism – social movement

8. Living More Sustainably
Sustainability – central theme
Natural capital
Natural resources
Natural services

9. What are the Natural Resources we need to manage?
Materials
Renewable
Nonrenewable
Energy
Solar capital
99% of earth’s energy input
Drives most other systems/cycles
Photosynthesis
Basis for food and energy needs

10. On what Natural Services do we depend?
Functions of nature
Purification of air, water
Nutrient cycling

11. What does it take to manage capital and resources sustainably?
Trade-offs (compromises)
Sound science
Individuals matter
Ideas
Technology
Political pressure
Economic pressure

12. GOAL: Sustainable Living from Natural Capital
Environmentally sustainable society
Financial capital and financial income
Natural capital and natural income
Bad news: signs of natural capital depletion at exponential rates

13. Let’s look at an example: Principles of Water Sustainability
MANAGING WATER AS NATURAL CAPITAL –
parameters to consider
The value & limits of water
People need to understand the value and appreciate the limits of water resources and the risks to people and ecosystems of unbounded water and land use

14. Principles of Water Sustainability
Shared responsibility
Because water does not respect political boundaries, its management requires shared consideration of the needs of people and ecosystems up- and downstream and throughout the hydrologic cycle

15. Principles of Water Sustainability
Equitable access
Sustainability suggests fair and equitable access to water, water dependent resources and related infrastructure

16. Principles of Water Sustainability
Stewardship
Managing water to achieve sustainability challenges us while meeting today’s needs to address the implications of our decisions on future generations and the ecosystems upon which they will rely

17. General Systems Perspective – is this feasible?
Economic System
Biophysical Environment
Ecosystems
This diagram uses set theory concepts to display the relationships among the three major systems encompassed by the concept of sustainability. The biosphere includes all living things on Earth and the non-living systems with which they interact and on which they depend. The Social System is within the Biosphere and includes all the human elements of the Biosphere. “Natural Systems” are thus the non-human elements of the Biosphere. The scare quotes show our recognition that humans a part of nature, not apart from nature.
Social System

18. General Systems Perspective
Biophysical Environment
Economic
System
Ecosystems
This diagram uses set theory concepts to display the relationships among the three major systems encompassed by the concept of sustainability. The biosphere includes all living things on Earth and the non-living systems with which they interact and on which they depend. The Social System is within the Biosphere and includes all the human elements of the Biosphere. “Natural Systems” are thus the non-human elements of the Biosphere. The scare quotes show our recognition that humans a part of nature, not apart from nature.
Social System 18

19. For example: Fisheries Systems Perspective
Biophysical Environment
Aquatic Ecosystem
Economic
System
Social System
for Fishery
Management
Economic System
for Fishing
In the case of fisheries, the Aquatic Ecosystem is the non-human part of the overall system, the part on which fish stocks depend. The Social System includes governmental, tribal and traditional arrangements for managing human fishing activities. The Economic System includes fishing equipment, labor and market – based processes for fishing.
Social System

20. Ecosystem Processes & Societal Drivers
Ecosystems
Society
Natural
Processes:
Disturbance & Response
Energy Cycling
Hydrologic Cycle & Flow Regime
Materials Cycling
Social &
Economic
Drivers:
Development
Energy Production
and Use
Land Use
Population Growth
Transportation
Ecosystem
goods & services
time
time
Human alterations & discharges

21. Available Precipitation
Source: S. Roy, K. Summers and R. Goldstein

22. Nitrate Load Carried by Major Rivers
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency State of the Environment 2006 report

23. Watersheds with a High Potential for Pesticide and Nitrogen Leaching

24. Capacity of Water Resources to Support Human Use
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Water Quality Inventory 1998 Report

25. Population Lacking Complete Plumbing
Source: Rural Community Assistance Partnership 2004

26. Reported Incidence of Waterborne Disease
Source: Surveillance for Waterborne Disease Outbreaks - US,

27. Water Use Sustainability
Withdrawals as a % of available precipitation, 1995
Considering all of these factors, are we living sustainably on our (natural income)?
Total Freshwater Withdrawal in 1995
(as a percent of available precipitation)
Source: S. Roy, K. Summers and R. Goldstein

28. Can Environmentally Sustainable Societies Grow Economically?
Concept 1-2 Societies can become more environmentally sustainable through economic development dedicated to improving the quality of life for everyone without degrading the earth’s life-support systems.

29. Two views of economics

30. Economics – how does it affect the environment?
Economic growth – increase of goods/services
Measured in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – annual market value of goods/services, national and international
Per capita GDP – total GDP/population midyear
Per capita GDP – PPP (purchasing power parity) - how much a citizen could purchase in the US
Economic development – use of economic growth to improve living standards
Developed countries – 1.2 billion people (US, NZ, AU, CA, JP, & most of Europe. High per capita GDP-PPP
Developing countries – 5.5 billion people, middle- or low-income. Per capita GDP-PPP is either steady or declining.

31. How Are Our Ecological Footprints Affecting the Earth?
Concept 1-3 As our ecological footprints grow, we are depleting and degrading more of the earth’s natural capital.

32. Natural Resources Perpetual – renewed continuously
Solar energy
Renewable – hours to decades
Water, air
Forest, grasslands

33. Natural Resources Nonrenewable – fixed quantities Recycling Reducing
Energy (fossil fuels)
Metallic minerals
Nonmetallic minerals
Recycling
Reducing
Reusing
Repurposing

34. Natural Resources Sustainable yield Environmental degradation
Highest use while maintaining supply
Living off income, not capital
Environmental degradation
Exceed natural replacement rate
Living off of the capital

35. Natural Capital Degradation
Fig. 1-6, p. 12

36. Measuring Environmental Impact
Ecological footprint
Biological capacity to replenish resources and adsorb waste and pollution
Per capita ecological footprint
Includes: renewable resource use per individual, not

37. (Data from Worldwide Fund for Nature, Global Footprint Network)
Total Ecological Footprint (million hectares) and share of Global Ecological Capacity (%)
Per Capita Ecological Footprint (hectares per person)
Projected footprint
Ecological footprint
Earth’s ecological capacity
Figure 1.8: Natural capital use and degradation: total and per capita ecological footprints of selected countries (top). In 2003, humanity’s total or global ecological footprint was about 25% higher than the earth’s ecological capacity (bottom) and is projected to be twice the planet’s ecological capacity by 2050.
Question: If we are living beyond the earth’s ecological capacity, why do you think the human population and per capita resource consumption are still growing exponentially?
(Data from Worldwide Fund for Nature, Global Footprint Network)
Stepped Art
Fig. 1-8, p. 13

38. Case Study: China (4x the US)
Rapidly developing country
Middle-class affluent lifestyles
World’s leading consumer in:
Wheat, rice, meat, coal, fertilizers, steel, cement
Televisions, cell phones, refrigerators
Future consumption
2/3 world grain harvest
Twice world’s current paper production
Exceed current global oil production

40. What Is Pollution and What Can We Do about It?
Concept 1-4 Preventing pollution is more effective and less costly than cleaning up pollution.

41. Pollution What is pollution? Point sources Nonpoint sources
Why bother?
Unwanted effects of pollution

42. Point Source Air Pollution
Fig. 1-9, p. 15

43. Solutions to Pollution
Pollution prevention (input control)
Front-of-the-pipe
Pollution cleanup (output control)
End-of-the-pipe

44. Disadvantages of Output Control
Temporary
Growth in consumption may offset technology
Moves pollutant from one place to another
Burial
Incineration
Dispersed pollutants costly to clean up

45. Why Do We Have Environmental Problems?
Concept 1-5A Major causes of environmental problems are population growth, wasteful and unsustainable resource use, poverty, excluding the environmental costs of resource use from the market prices of goods and services, and trying to manage nature with insufficient knowledge.
Concept 1-5B People with different environmental worldviews often disagree about the seriousness of environmental problems and what we should do about them.

46. Causes of Environmental Problems
Population
growth
Unsustainable
resource use
Poverty
Excluding
environmental costs from market prices
Trying to manage nature without knowing enough
about it
Figure 1.10: Environmental and social scientists have identified five basic causes of the environmental problems we face.
Question: What are three ways in which your lifestyle contributes to these causes?
Stepped Art
Fig. 1-10, p. 16

47. Resources depletion and degradation

48. Global Connections – the effect of affluence
Fig. 1-12, p. 16

49. Environmental Effects of Affluence
Harmful effects
High consumption and waste of resources
Advertising – more makes you happy
Beneficial effects
Concern for environmental quality
Provide money for environmental causes
Reduced population growth

50. Evaluating Full Cost of Resources Use
Examples
Clear-cutting + habitat loss
Commercial fishing + depletion of fish stocks
Tax breaks
Subsidies

51. Environmental Viewpoints
Environmental worldview
Your own assumptions and values
Environmental ethics
Beliefs about what is right and wrong
Planetary management worldview
We are separate, nature here to meet our needs, we use our technology to use the earth for our benefit, indefinitely
Stewardship worldview
Manage earth for our benefit as stewards. Pro = environmentally sustaining economic growth, anti = environmentally degrading economic growth
Environmental wisdom worldview
We are part of and dependent on nature. It’s there for all species. Our success depends on understanding and promoting environmentally friendly actions.
Social capital – a necessary component
Everyone communicating about and solving environmental issues

52. For instance: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Dirtiest air in the United States
Toxic waste in Tennessee River
High unemployment, crime
1984
Vision 2000 – grassroots consensus

53. Chattanooga, Tennessee
1995
Zero emission industries, buses
Low-income renovations, downtown renewal
Individuals matter!

54. What Are Four Scientific Principles of Sustainability?
Concept 1-6 Nature has sustained itself for billions of years by using solar energy, biodiversity, population regulation, and nutrient cycling – lessons from nature that we can apply to our lifestyles and economies.

55. Four Scientific Principles of Sustainability

56. Learning to Live More Sustainably