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Agenda: Week one

Agenda: Week one. Welcome! Course introduction and syllabus Pretest, Survey Questions p21 Introduction to Environmental Science (Ch 1) Concepts: What is Environmental Science, Easter Island and The Lorax , population and sustainability, tragedy of the commons, resources Homework:

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Agenda: Week one

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  1. Agenda: Week one Welcome! Course introduction and syllabus Pretest, Survey Questions p21 Introduction to Environmental Science (Ch 1) Concepts: What is Environmental Science, Easter Island and The Lorax, population and sustainability, tragedy of the commons, resources Homework: Easter Island Tragedy of commons lab report Bring Liter bottles for Ecocolumn Materials sign up sheet

  2. Introduction to Environmental Science

  3. What is Environmental Science? • Environmental Science is the study of how human activities impact both the living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) environment.

  4. Characteristics of Environmental Science it aims to learn how life on earth has survived and thrived it aims to understand how we interact with the environment it aims to find ways to deal with environmental problems and live more sustainably

  5. What are the goals of Environmental Science • The goals of environmental science are to learn: • how nature works. • how the environment effects us. • how we effect the environment. • how we can live more sustainably without degrading our life-support system.

  6. The problem… • Natural resources has its limits, and our population growth is not helping • Renewable-these are virtually unlimited because they are replenished…however, we are using them too quickly and degrading it. • examples: wind,others? • Nonrenewable-take forever to replenish, so if we use it, we lose it. • examples: mineral ores, others?

  7. SOLAR CAPITAL EARTH Goods and services Heat Human Economic and Cultural Systems Human Capital Depletion of nonrenewable resources Degradation of renewable resources Natural Capital Pollution and waste Recycling and reuse Fig. 1-10, p. 17

  8. Natural capital degradation • The exponential increasing flow of material resources through the world’s economic systems depletes, degrades and pollutes the environment. • our-impact-on-the-planet Figure 1-11

  9. ? Billionsofpeople Black Death—the Plague Time Industrial Revolution Mid 1700s Hunting and Gathering Agricultural revolution 10,000 years ago

  10. Population growth • Thomas Malthus: number of people would outgrow the availability of food supply until starvation, war, or disease arose and reduced the population (Essay on Principle of Population, 1798) • Garrett Hardin: resources that are open to unregulated exploitation will eventually become depleted “Tragedy of the Commons” • Is there a check and who/what checks? • world population

  11. Ecological Footprintthe impact of an individual or a population measured as the area of land required to produce the goods consumed and to assimilate the wastes generated. More simply, it is the amount of the environment necessary to produce the goods and services necessary to support a particular lifestyle. calculate your carbon footprint

  12. Developing Countries Technological impact per unit of consumption (T) Consumption per person (affluence, A) Environmental impact of population (I) Population (P) Developed Countries Fig. 1-14, p. 20

  13. Fig. 1-6, p. 11

  14. Percentage of World's 18 Population 82 0.1 Population Growth 1.5 85 Wealth and Income 15 88 Resource use 12 Pollution and waste 75 25 Developingcountries Developed countries Fig. 1-5, p. 11

  15. Our Ecological Footprint • Humanity’s ecological footprint has exceeded earths ecological capacity. Figure 1-7

  16. Garrett Hardin – Economist Authored essay in 1968 titled “The Tragedy of the Commons”. Focuses on: 1. environmental degradation 2. population growth 3. limited natural resources 4. privatization of land

  17. What does commons mean? “Held in common” means the resource is owned by: • No one…or • Owned by a group =all who have access to the resource.

  18. What are common resources? • Air! No one owns the air-avail to all • Water in oceans & rivers is avail to all. • Fish of the sea avail to all. Note: First codified by Romans in 535 AD.

  19. Common Resources

  20. Common Resources

  21. Imagine… • Hardin’s parable involves a pasture "open to all." • He asks us to imagine the grazing of animals on a common ground. • Individuals are motivated to add to their flocks to increase personal wealth. • What would happen to the COMMONs?

  22. Tragedy of the Commons • As selfish stewards, each owner adds another to their flock and the pasture. • If all owners follow this pattern the commons will ultimately be destroyed.

  23. Earth is Our Island • What is an island? • Learning from past mistakes

  24. What is the “tragedy”? • “We can avoid tragedy only by altering our values.” Hardin, 1968 This means we can change the way we live (sustainably) by preserving our natural resources—even in the private sector.

  25. Core Case Study: Environmental Lesson from Easter Island • Thriving society • 15,000 people by 1400. • Used resources faster than could be renewed • By 1600 only a few trees remained. • Civilization collapsed • By 1722 only several hundred people left. Figure 2-1

  26. Video: Easter Island PLAY VIDEO • From ABC News, Environmental Science in the Headlines, 2005 DVD.

  27. Sustainability: The Integrative Theme • Sustainability, is the ability of earth’s various systems to survive and adapt to environmental conditions indefinitely. • The steps to sustainability must be supported by sound science. Figure 1-3

  28. Four Scientific Principles of Sustainability: Copy Nature • Reliance on Solar Energy • Biodiversity • Population Control • Nutrient Recycling Figure 1-16

  29. Sustainable Low-Throughput Economies: Learning from Nature • Matter-Recycling-and-Reuse Economies: Working in Circles • Mimics nature by recycling and reusing, thus reducing pollutants and waste. • It is not sustainable for growing populations.

  30. ENDing questions Why should we care about the environment? How do we promote sustainability? Do we have an obligation to pass on to future generations the extraordinary natural world in a condition that is at least as good as what we inherited?

  31. Inputs (from environment) System Throughputs Outputs (into environment) Energy conservation Low-quality Energy (heat) Energy Sustainable low-waste economy Waste and pollution Waste and pollution Pollution control Matter Recycle and reuse Matter Feedback Energy Feedback Fig. 2-16, p. 47

  32. Lower limit of tolerance Upper limit of tolerance No organisms Few organisms Few organisms No organisms Abundance of organisms Population size Zone of intolerance Zone of intolerance Zone of physiological stress Zone of physiological stress Optimum range Low Temperature High Fig. 3-11, p. 58

  33. Core Case Study: Have You Thanked the Insects Today? • Many plant species depend on insects for pollination. • Insect can control other pest insects by eating them Figure 3-1

  34. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Earth's Life-Support System Human Culturesphere Water (hydrosphere) Air (atmosphere) Population Size Worldviews and ethics Soil and rocks (lithosphere) Life (biosphere) Economics Politics Fig. 1-2, p. 7

  35. Which single advantage and disadvantage are the most important? Figure 1-15

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