Environmental Problems,

Their Causes, and

Sustainability

Chapter 1
 “An Exponential Age”
Exponential Growth- Quantity increases at a
constant rate per unit of time.
Between 1950 and 2004, the world’s
population increased from 2.5 billion to 6.4
billion.
Almost ½ of the world population survive on
less than $3.00 (U.S.) a day.
 More Exponential Growth
• Because of low
income, many must
degrade the
environment to
survive.
• It is estimated that
the earth’s species
are becoming
extinct at an
exponential rate of
0.1% to 1% every
year.
 1-1 Sustainability -The Key
Environmental Issues
• Population growth
• Resource use and waste
• Poverty
• Loss of biological diversity
• Global climate change
Solutions have been suggested for all of
these, but it will take a few decades.
 Environment, Ecology and
Environmental Science
• Environment- Anything that affects a living
organism
• Ecology- Biological science that studies
the relationships between living organisms
and their environments
 What It’s All About
• Environmental Science:
– Physical Sciences
– Social Sciences
– Describes how the earth works and how
we interact with it
– Combines natural world with the cultural
world
 Environmentalism
• Social movement to
protect earth’s life
support systems
• Members Include-
ecologists,
conservationists,
preservationists,
restorationists and
environmentalists.
 The Sun and the Earth
• Solar Energy (Solar Capital)-
– Renewable
– Converted to chemical energy
• Natural Resources (Natural Capital)-
– Air, water, soil, rangeland, forest,
wildlife, etc.
– These resources and ecological
services sustain and support life
 Sustainable Society
• Meets the basic needs of all people
while not affecting the future
generations’ ability to do so.
• Living Sustainable-
– Living off income replenished by soils,
plants, air, and water. No depletion of
earth’s natural capital.
 How We Are Unsustainable
• Environmentalists and scientists claim that
we are depleting and degrading the earth’s
natural capital.
• The rate at which we degrade this capital
is constantly accelerating.
1-2 Population Growth
 Population Growth, Economic
Growth, Globalization
• The world’s population grows at the
exponential rate of 1.25% every year.
• 219,000 people were added to the
population every day in 2004. 80 million
throughout the year.
• In Rwanda, women bear an average of 6.1
children.
 Economic Growth vs. Economic
Development
• Economic Growth: increase in the
capacity of a country to provide people
with goods and services.
– Measured by GDP (gross domestic
product)
– Standard of living is measured by a
change in per capita GDP
 Economic Development
• The improvement of living standards by
economic growth.
• Determines whether a country is developed
or not. Based on degree of industrialization
and per capita GDP
• Developed nations have 1.2 billion people
• Undeveloped have about 5.2 billion people
 Developed vs. Undeveloped
• The majority of undeveloped and low
income nations are in Asia and Africa.
 Globalization
• The process of social, economic, and
environmental global changes that lead to
an increasingly interconnected world.
• Globalization is accelerated by information
and communication technology, human
mobility, international trade and
investment.
 1-3 Resources- Things We Need
• Resource- Anything obtained from the
environment to meet our needs and
wants.
– Water, food, shelter etc.
• Resources are classified on the
human timescale-
• Perpetual, renewable, or nonrenewable.
 Available Resources
• Some resources are readily available
– Ex. Solar energy, fresh surface water etc.
• Others are not and take effort and
technology to obtain
• Ex. Petroleum, iron, groundwater etc.
 Perpetual and Renewable
Resources
• Perpetual Resources- resources that are
renewed continuously on the human
timescale, such as the sun.
• Renewable Resource- resources that are
refreshed fairly rapidly (hours to several
decades) through natural processes, such
as forests and freshwater.
 Sustainable Yield
• The Highest rate at which a renewable
resource can be used indefinitely without
reducing its available supply.
• Environmental Degradation- occurs when
the sustainable yield is exceeded, thus
diminishing the supply. Causes a loss of
biodiversity.
– Examples: Groundwater depletion, forest
removal.
 Case Study - Tragedy of the
Commons
• What is it?
– The overuse of “common property” or
“free access resources”. There is no
owner of these resources, and there is
little or no charge to access them.
• Ex. Clean air, publicly owned lands etc.
 Tragedy?
• Garret Hardin, a biologist named the
overuse of these free-access resources
“Tragedy of the Commons”
• It is common thought that, “if I don’t use
this resource, someone else will”, or “this
little bit of pollution won’t matter”.
• This leads to everyone’s feelings of
obligation to use public resources.
 How Do We Stop It
• Regulating access to resources
• Using these resources at rates much lower
than estimated sustainable yield, to ensure
that we do not exceed it
• Convert public to private ownership,
therefore investments will be protected.
– However, it is impossible to convert ocean
resources to private property, and financial
opportunities aren’t as available.
 Our Own Ecological Footprint
• Per capita ecological footprint- Amount of
biologically productive land and water
needed to supply each person or population
with the renewable resources they consume
or use.
• It is each person’s environmental impact.
• Humanity’s footprint exceeds the earth’s
capacity to renew resources by about 15%.
 Hypocrites
• The environmental footprint of those living
in developed nations (such as ours) is
much larger than those in developing
countries.
• For the rest of the world to reach the
consumption levels of the U.S., it would
take FOUR planet earths.
 Nonrenewable Resources
• Exist in a fixed quantity or stock in the earth’s
crust. They can only be renewed after
millions or billions of years.
• Energy resources, metallic mineral resources
and nonmetallic mineral resources.
• Economic Depletion- When the cost of
extracting a resource exceeds its economic
value.
 Recycling
• Some nonrenewable mineral resources can
be recycled.
• Waste products are collected, processed,
and made into new materials.
– Uses much less energy, water, and other
resources while not degrading the
environment
• Reuse is simply using the material again in
the same manner.
 1-4 Pollution
• Pollution- The presence of substances
at high enough levels in the air, water,
soil, or food to threaten the health and
survival of living organisms.
• Pollution can occur through natural
processes (volcanoes) or human or
anthropogenic actions (burning coal).
– Most comes from urban or industrialized
areas
 Where It Comes From
• *Industrialized
Agriculture*
• Burning Coal
• Driving Cars
• Growing Crops
• Travel through wind
or flowing water
 Point vs. Nonpoint Sources
• Point Source- The source is
single and identifiable 
– Ex. Smoke stacks, exhaust
• Nonpoint Source- Pollutants
are dispersed and hard to
identify 
– Ex. Pesticides on golf
courses, cropland
 What Pollutants Do
• 3 unwanted effects:
1. Disrupt or degrade life-support
systems
2. Damage wildlife, human health, and
property
3. They can be unwanted noises and
smells, tastes and sights.
 Helping Out a Little
• The two approaches of dealing with
pollution:
– Pollution prevention (input pollution control)
and pollution cleanup (output pollution
control)
• Pollution cleanup has 3 problems:
– It is only temporary, often removes one
pollutant while introducing another, usually
costs too much to implement a program
 1-5 Environmental and
Resource Problems
• There are “the big five” causes of
environmental problems
1. Rapid Population Growth
2. Excessive and wasteful resource use
3. Poverty
4. Failure to include environmental costs in
market value of products
5. Lack of understanding how the earth works
Poverty Causing Environmental
Problems?
• Poor people do not have access to basic
necessities.
• Poverty causes depletion and degradation
of forests, soil, grassland and wildlife.
• Poverty also increases population. More
children translates to economic security.
 Health Risks of Poverty
• There are four main health risks:
1. Malnutrition- A lack of nutrients such as
protein
2. Increased susceptibility to normally nonfatal
disease
3. Lack of access to clean drinking water
4. Severe respiratory disease and premature
death from inhaling air pollutants.
 Putting It into Perspective
• It is estimated that 7 million people die
prematurely every year because of these
causes.
• 2/3 of those who die are children under the
age of 5.
 Rich People are the Problem?
• Affluenza- The unsustainable addiction to
overconsumption and materialism such as
top consumers in the United States.
• Globalization and global marketing add to
this problem.
• 2.8 billion people live
on $2 a day.
Rich People aren’t the Problem
• Some environmentalists think that
affluence lets environmental awareness,
and was responsible for movements of the
1970’s.
• The U.S. has cleaner water and a more
abundant food supply than in the 1970’s.
• The total forested area is larger than it was
in 1900.
 Environmental Impact
• A population’s environmental impact
depends on:
• Number of people
• Average resource use per person
• Beneficial or harmful effects of technology
in use.
• I=P+A+T
• Impact = Population + Affluence + Tech.
 United States- Big People, Big
Problem
• The average citizen consumes 100 times as
much as those in the world’s poorest
countries.
• In poor countries, parents would have to
have 70 to 200 children to equal our
consumption.
• Some technologies add to pollution (cars
etc.) while other aid the cleanup (solar cells)
 1-6 Sustainable? Where Are We
Going?
• Scientists disagree on how serious our
environmental situation is.
• Technological Optimists- Claim that
technological innovations will save the
environment, and not to worry.
• Environmental Pessimists- Overstate the
seriousness of environmental problems,
claim that it is almost hopeless.
 Criticizing Our Lifestyles
• Environmental Worldview- How you think the
world works, and what your role in it is, and
what you feel is wrong with the environment
(known as environmental ethics)
• Planetary Management Worldview- The
belief that as humans (the top species), we
are in charge of maintaining the planet, but
we should also pursue economic expansion.
 A Different Beat
• Stewardship Worldview- Belief that we are
earth’s most powerful species, and we have
the responsibility to care for nature.
• Environmental Wisdom Worldview- Humans
are the most powerful, but resources belong
to all species. Humans are not in charge of
the earth. We must live more sustainable.
What Is the Most Important Thing?
•Disease
•Climate Change
•Malnutrition
•Smoking
•Biodiversity Loss
All cause premature death, especially in the
poorest countries.
 What We Can Do To Stop It
• Environmentally sustainable economic
development- Uses monetary incentives to
encourage environmental protection.
Economic penalties given to discourage
environmental degradation.
 Bibiography
• “The Contamination of the Air”
– http://www.cyberolimpiadas.com.sv/proyectos2004/gamma
• Environmental Protection Agency
– www.epa.gov/air/airpollutants.html
• Population Ecology
– http://faculty.uca.edu/~johnc/population_ecology.htm
• World Overpopulation
– http://www.overpopulation.org/
• Global Overconsumption
– http://www.worldrevolution.org/article/1088