1 / 20

Environmental Issues, Their Causes, and Sustainability

Environmental Issues, Their Causes, and Sustainability. G. Tyler Miller’s Living in the Environment MATES Chapter 1. Key Concepts. Growth and Sustainability. Resources and Resource Use. Pollution. Causes of Environmental Problems. Living More Sustainably. Ecology (Biologists).

ava-cummings
Download Presentation

Environmental Issues, Their Causes, and Sustainability

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Environmental Issues, Their Causes, and Sustainability G. Tyler Miller’s Living in the Environment MATES Chapter 1 Sprague ENV MATES

  2. Key Concepts • Growth and Sustainability • Resources and Resource Use • Pollution • Causes of Environmental Problems Sprague ENV MATES

  3. Living More Sustainably • Ecology (Biologists) • Environmental Science (Natural and social scientists study the earth, our interactions with it, and how to deal with problems. • Sustainable Society • Living off interest vs. capital • Carrying capacity Sprague ENV MATES

  4. Population Growth Fig. 1-2 p. 4 • ExponentialGrowth • Doubling Time/Rule of 70 Sprague ENV MATES

  5. World Population Fig. 1-1 p. 2 Sprague ENV MATES

  6. Economic Growth • Gross National Product (GNP) (Our Total) • Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Our Inside Part) value of all goods and services • Gross World Product (GWP) (World Total) • Per Capita GNP (Average) Sprague ENV MATES

  7. Economic Development • Developed Countries (US, Canada, Japan, Australia, NZ, Europe) • Developing Countries • Positive Aspects (Life expectancy doubled, food production outpaces population growth, more goods/less materials, pollution decline in developed countries) • Negative Aspects (Life expectancy and pollution control lag in developing countries, unsustainable natural resource use, population competing with wildlife habitats, self-inflict climate changes) Sprague ENV MATES

  8. Globalization “An interconnected world” Economic (Trade) Information and Communication (Internet) Environmental Effects (Transport of species/disease) Sprague ENV MATES

  9. Resources • Perpetual • renewed continuously “SUN” • 6 billion years more • Renewable • Replenished somewhat rapidly • Non-renewable Sprague ENV MATES Fig. 1-6 p. 9

  10. Renewable Resources • Sustainable Yield • The highest rate at which a resource can be used without reducing its available • supply • Environmental Degradation (exceeding sustainable yield) Ground water, Overgrazing, Deforestation • Tragedy of the Commons • Biologist Garret Hardin 1968; If I don’t use this resource someone else will • “What difference do I make?” Sprague ENV MATES

  11. Free Access Resources • Regulate Access To a Resource • Example; • FISHERIES, GRAZING LANDS, FORESTRY • Or Convert to private ownership??? Sprague ENV MATES

  12. Non-Renewable ResourcesExist in a fixed quantity Million or so years to replenish Economic Depletion Fig. 1-7 p. 10 • Energy Resources • Metallic Resources • Non-MetallicResources • Reuse • Recycle Sprague ENV MATES

  13. Ecological Footprint Humanities footprint is 15% higher than earths bio capacity Sprague ENV MATES

  14. Pollution • What is pollution? (Anthropogenic vs. natural) Humans burning Coal vs. Volcanic Eruption • Effects of Pollution Sources • Point • Nonpoint Sprague ENV MATES

  15. Dealing With Pollution • Prevention (Input Control) • Eliminates the production of pollutants • Cleanup (Output Control) • As it says or dilute. The solution to pollution is dilution??? Sprague ENV MATES

  16. Environmental and Resource Problems Fig. 1-10 p. 12 • Major Problems(See Fig. 1-9 p. 12) • Five Root Causes Sprague ENV MATES

  17. Environmental Impact Sprague ENV MATES Fig. 1-11 p. 13

  18. Environmental InteractionsWE need to understand these interaction. Fig. 1-12 p. 14 Sprague ENV MATES

  19. Environmental Worldviews CLASH!!!! • Planetary Management • We’re in charge, • There’s always more, • All economic growth is good, • Success depends on understanding, controlling, and managing the earth for our benefit. • Environmental Wisdom • Nature’s in charge, • Some things are limited, • Technology and economic growth can be bad, • Success depends on learning how the earth adapts and integrating how nature acts in to how we act. Sprague ENV MATES

  20. Environmentally-Sustainable Economic Development IDEAL!!!IF anything to do it for our future Social Economic Social Economic Sustainable Solutions Environmental Environmental Decision making in a sustainable society Traditional decision making Fig. 1-13 p. 17 Sprague ENV MATES

More Related