Environmental Problems,

Their Causes, and

Sustainability
Dr.rer.nat. Thomas T. Putranto
WEEK 1

UNDIP UNIVERSITAS
DIPONEGORO
becomes an axcellent research university
WHAT IS ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE?
Environmental science is a study of how the earth
works, how we interact with the earth, and how to
deal with environmental problems.

An interdisciplinary study that uses informaBon from the
physical sciences (such as biology, chemistry, and geology) and
social sciences (such as economics, poliBcs, and ethics) to learn
how the earth works, how humans interact with the earth, and
how to deal with the environmental problems we face.

Environment is everything that affects a living organism (any

unique form of life).

Ecology is a biological science that studies the relaBonships
between living organisms and their environment.
WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?
Sustainability is the ability of the earth’s various
systems, including human cultural systems and economies,
to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions
WHAT ARE THREE PRINCIPLES OF
SUSTAINABILITY?
Three principles of sustainability
 Sustainability has certain key
components
•  Life depends on energy from the sun,
natural resources and natural services.
•  Many human activities can degrade natural
capital.
•  Solutions are being found and implemented.
•  Sustainability begins at personal and local
levels.
Key natural resources and
services
 Natural Capital
Solar
energy Natural Capital = Natural Resources + Natural Services

Air
Renewable
Air purification energy (sun,
wind, water
flows)
Climate control

UV protection
(ozone layer)
Life
(biodiversity)

Water Population
control
Water purification
Pest
control
Waste treatment

Nonrenewable Soil Land

minerals
(iron, sand) Soil renewal Food production
Natural
gas Nutrient
Oil recycling

Nonrenewable Coal seam

energy
(fossil fuels)

Natural resources
Natural services Fig. 1-3, p. 9
Nutrient cycling
Organic
matter in
animals

Dead
organic
matter
Organic
matter
in plants
Decomposition

Inorganic
matter in soil

Fig. 1-4, p. 10
 Living sustainability
•  An environmentally sustainable society meets the basic
resource needs of its people indefinitely without
degrading or depleBng the natural capital that supplies
these resources.

•  Economic growth provides people with more goods

and services, and economic development uses
economic growth to improve living standards.
 Economic growth
Economic development is the improvement of
human living standards by economic growth. The
United NaBons (UN) classifies the world’s
countries as economically developed or
developing based primarily on their degree of
industrializaBon and their per capita GDP.

 Economic growth
The developed countries (with 1.2 billion people)
include the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia,
New Zealand, and the countries of Europe. Most are
highly industrialized and have high average per capita
GDP.

All other nations (with 5.3 billion people) are

classified as developing countries, most of them in
Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Some are middle income,
moderately developed countries and others are
low-income countries.
HOW ARE OUR ECOLOGICAL
FOOTPRINTS AFFECTING THE
EARTH?
 We are living unsustainably
•  Environmental, or natural capital,
degradation is occurring.
•  We have solutions to these problems that
can be implemented.
 Degradation of normally
renewable natural resources
 Natural Capital Degradation

Degradation of Normally Renewable Natural Resources

Climate Shrinking
change forests

Decreased
Air pollution wildlife
habitats

Species
extinction
Soil erosion

Water
pollution

Declining ocean
Aquifer fisheries
depletion

Fig. 1-5, p. 11
WHY DO WE HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS?

 Environmental Problems
The major causes of our environmental problems
are
1.  population growth,
2.  wasteful resource use,
3.  poverty,
4.  failure to appreciate the value of the earth’s
natural capital, and ignorance about how
the earth works.
 Causes of Environmental Problems

Population Unsustainable Poverty Excluding

growth resource use environmental costs
from market prices

Fig. 1-10, p. 16
 13
12
11
10
9
?

Billions of people
8
7
6
5
4
3
Industrial revolution
2
Black Death—the Plague
1
0
2–5 million 8000 6000 4000 2000 2000 2100
years Time B. C. A. D.
Hunting and Agricultural revolution Industrial
gathering revolution
 ConnecBons between Environmental
Problems and Their Causes
Environmental quality is affected by interactions between
population size, resource consumption, and technology
Lists some of the shifts involved
in implementing an
environmental, or sustainability,
revolution during this century
based on this concept.