IB 105 - Announcements August 28, 2006

1. IB 105 - Announcements August 28, 2006 If you missed lectures last week: Pick up a copy of the syllabus Take the pre-test envbio@life.uiuc.edu www.life.uiuc.edu/ib/105

2. Introduction to Environmental Sciences 28 August, 2006 Lecture Objectives: 1. Define the field of Environmental Science 2. Be introduced to local, regional and global environmental issues 3. Trace the history of Environmental Sciences in the United States

3. What is environmental science? Environmental Science – An interdisciplinary area of study that includes applied and theoretical aspects of human impact on the world Env. Science Ecology Environment – everything that affects an organism in its lifetime Ecology – the study of the interrelationship between organisms and their environment

4. Why should I care? Do you want: the air you breathe to be clean? the water you drink to be unpolluted? the food you eat to be healthy? not to be exposed to toxic wastes?

5. Interdisciplinary

6. Human impact on the natural world

7. Why study Environmental Science? Environment affects human quality of life Humans cause problems for the natural world

9. At what scale are environmental issues important? Local Regional Global Each scale has its own issues. Who is responsible at each scale?

10. Local Environmental Issues • Often blend into regional or global issues Examples include: How much and where to build Local leaf-burning bans Local access to sanitary freshwater

11. Regional Environmental Issues

12. The Wilderness North Wilderness – areas with minimal human influence Much of the land is government owned Rich in natural resources such as timber, oil and natural gas How much are beautiful scenery and cool wildlife worth?

13. U.S. Senate kills Bush plan for Alaska drilling Friday, April 19, 2002 By Tom Doggett, Reuters WASHINGTON — In a big defeat for the Bush administration's national energy plan, the U.S. Senate on Thursday killed a White House proposal to let oil companies drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. President George W. Bush, a former Texas oilman, made drilling in ANWR the centerpiece of his proposed U.S. energy policy. The White House plan also encourages more U.S. production of natural gas, coal, and nuclear power. "At a time when oil and gas prices are rising, the Senate today missed an opportunity to lead America to greater energy independence,” Conflict: Opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas exploration will have severe impacts to wildlife. Alternate resolution? increasing federally-mandated fuel efficiency ratings for SUVs - sport utility vehicles.

14. The Agricultural Middle Once was wilderness, now farms and cities Large parcels of land are privately owned Agriculture contributes to air pollution, soil erosion and water pollution

15. Feminized Frogs Study Finds Common Pesticide is Blamed for Mutations By Randolph E. Schmid The Associated Press April 15, 2002 Male frogs exposed to even very low doses of a common weed killer can develop multiple sex organs — sometimes both male and female — researchers in California have discovered. "I was very much surprised," at the impact of atrazine on developing frogs, said Tyrone B. Hayes of the University of California at Berkeley. Atrazine is the most commonly used weed killer in North America, he said, and can be found in rainwater, snow runoff and ground water. The Environmental Protection Agency permits up to three parts per billion of atrazine in drinking water. But Hayes' team found it affected frogs at doses as small as 0.1 part per billion. As many as 20 percent of frogs exposed during their early development produced multiple sex organs or had both male and female organs.

16. The Dry West Federally owned land, leased for ranching Access to freshwater a major issue

17. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…

18. The Forested West Governments and large commercial timber industries own much of the land Should these ancient trees be cut? Should these animals be threatened?

19. The Oregonian Ruling on spotted owl may hinder logging. Sunday, August 08, 2004 JOE ROJAS-BURKE An appeals panel orders federal land managers to use a stricter standard for protecting critical habitat. In a ruling likely to further tie up logging in Northwest forests, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said federal fish and wildlife officials must apply a stricter standard to protect critical habitat for the northern spotted owl and other threatened or endangered species. The ruling late last week could force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to withdraw approval for some timber sales within the 6.9 million acres of federal forest designated as critical habitat for the spotted owl. More broadly, it could raise the bar for approval of logging and many other actions on any critical habitat by requiring federal agencies to consider the potential to impede recovery, not just survival of species

20. Pacific Yew Taxus brevifolia Little was known about Pacific yew prior to the discovery of taxol and, for the most part, the tree had been regarded as a non-commercial weed species.Taxol was initially extracted from the bark of the Pacific yew Taxus brevifolia in the 1960's. Since that time its use as an anti-cancer drug has become well established. Taxol is now also being used in a wide variety non-cancer related medical applications. The Pacific yew and taxol is a compelling example of the unknown values in forests. http://www.uihealthcare.com

21. The Great Lakes and Industrial Northeast Many large cities Urban sprawl is a major environmental issue Great lakes have been severely impacted

22. Zebra mussels starving out Great Lakes native fishes Wednesday, June 20, 2001 By Environmental News Network Whitefish in the northern part of Lake Michigan seeking some of their favorite food - tiny crustaceans known as Diporeia - might go hungry, say scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Whitefish are not the only fish being starved. Fish such as sculpin, smelt, and chub, which are prey for trout and salmon, are also being affected. These smaller fish feed heavily on Diporeia and their feeding patterns, numbers, and distributions are changing because of the loss of the small shrimp-like crustaceans.

23. U.S. State Department (http://www.state.gov/g/oes/ocns/inv/cs/2304.htm) The zebra mussel’s penchant for suctioning to hard surfaces has caused technical problems for the American power industry. Water intake pipes are often encrusted with thousands of zebra mussels which increase sedimentation and corrosion of the pipes, as well as restricting or even stopping water flow. Maintenance of pipes clogged with zebra mussels costs the power industry up to $60 million per year and temporary shutdowns due to insufficient water flow can cost over $5,000 per hour. The total cost to the United States of the zebra mussel invasion is estimated at $3.1 billion over the next ten years.

24. The Diverse South Has many of the problems of the other regions Poverty leads to the increased industrial development at the expense of other values Coastlines and marine resources are impacted by increased development

25. CNN 'Dead zone' spreads across Gulf of Mexico Wednesday, August 4, 2004 Posted: 7:26 PM EDT The "dead zone" reappears each summer suffocating sealife. HOUSTON, Texas (Reuters) -- A huge "dead zone" of water so devoid of oxygen that sea life cannot live in it has spread across 5,800 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico this summer in what has become an annual occurrence caused by pollution. The extensive area of uninhabitable water may be contributing indirectly to an unusual spate of shark bites along the Texas coast, experts said. A scientist at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium said Tuesday measurements showed the dead zone extended from the mouth of the Mississippi River in southeastern Louisiana 250 miles west to near the Texas border and was closer to shore than usual because winds and currents. In the last 30 years, the dead zone has become an annual summer phenomenon, fed by rising use of nitrate-based fertilizers by farmers in the Mississippi watershed, Rabalais said.

26. Global Environmental Issues Pollution does not respect political boundaries!!

27. BBC Sunday, 27 August 2006 Third of China 'hit by acid rain' One third of China is suffering from acid rain caused by rapid industrial growth, an official report quoted by the state media says. Pollution levels have risen and air quality has deteriorated, the report found. This comes despite a pledge by the authorities to clean up the air.

28. Water 'wake-up call' given by UN By Imogen Foulkes BBC correspondent Thursday, 26 August, 2004, 11:46 GMT The UN says the world faces a silent emergency because of the continued lack of clean water and sanitation. A new report reveals that more than 40% of the world's population does not have even the most basic sanitation. More than one billion people have no access to clean water sources, the document adds. If things continue as they are, half a billion people will still have no sanitation nine years from now. And while the world is on target to meet the clean drinking water goals, population growth will probably outstrip the improvements. This would leave 800 million people drinking unsafe water in 2015.Some 4,000 children die daily from illnesses caused by unclean water

29. Example Exam Question In the southwestern United States, a primary environmental issue throughout most of the region is: 1) Extensive deforestation 2) Too many cornfields 3) Too little water 4) Urban sprawl

30. History of Environmentalism in the US

31. Naturalist Philosophers (mid 1800s) • Nature has intrinsic aesthetic and spiritual values • Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in 1836, “behind nature, throughout nature, spirit is present” • Henry David Thoreau published his classic, Walden, in1854, in which he recounts his life in the woods

32. "Man did not weave the web of life - he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself." Chief Seattle, 1854. “We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” Ancient Indian Proverb

33. Pragmatic Resource Conservation (Mid to late 1800s, early 1900s) • Preservation of nature for future consumption Man and Nature by George Perkins Marsh published 1864 • Marsh traveled widely and saw environmental damage elsewhere in the world • His book warned of the ecological consequences of the “conquest” of the frontier—resources are not endless • Natural forest reserves established in the US in 1873 to protect dwindling timer supplies

34. Pragmatic Resource Conservation • In 1905, then president Theodore Roosevelt appointed Gifford Pinchot as chief of the Forest Service • Pinchot argued for forest protection “not because they are beautiful or because they shelter wild creatures of the wilderness, but only to provide homes and jobs for people” • “…for the greatest good, for the greatest number for the longest time”

35. Moral and aesthetic nature preservation (Mid to late 1800s, early 1900s) • Preservation of nature for nature’s sake • Yellowstone National Park established in 1872 (National Park Service not established until 1916) • John Muir, early environmental activist strenuously opposed Pinchot’s policies

36. John Muir • “The world, we are told, was made for man. A presumption that is totally unsupported by the facts…” • Formed Sierra Club in 1892 (http://www.sierraclub.org/) • Fought for the establishment of Yosemite and King’s Canyon National Parks • Lobbied to create national park system (Formed in 1916, 2 years after his death)

37. Interest in environmental issues lagged behind more immediate issues during the early part of the 1900s By the mid 1900s, there was growing concern about heath and ecological damage caused by pollution

38. Aldo Leopold • Founded the field of game management • His most famous publication A Sand County Almanac was published in 1949, a year after his death • Chapter called “The Land Ethic” set the foundation for “modern” conservation

39. Rachael Carson • Published Silent Spring in 1962 • Warned about the consequences of pesticide use (DDT) • Book marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement

40. April 22th, 1970 – First Earth Day • 20 million people in 2,000 communities marched to demand improved environmental quality

41. Environmentalism in the 1970s: Clean Water Act Clean Air Act Safe Drinking Water Act Endangered Species Act Establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency

42. Environmentalism in the 1980s: • Backlash against the environmental movement • Increased resource use on public lands • Federal funding for energy conservation and renewable resources cut • Relaxed federal air and water quality standards

43. Late 1980s – “Wise-use” movement • Ron Arnold major proponent, wrote “The Wise-use Agenda” • Replace National Park Service with privately operated parks • Remove restrictions on wetland development • Cut all remaining old growth forests and replace with tree farms • Open all national parks, wilderness areas, wildlife refuges, to off-road vehicles, commercial development, mining, and drilling for oil

44. At the same time (1980s), visible environmental problems pushed environmental issues to the forefront Exxon Valdez oil spill Hypodermic needles and other toxic waste washing up on beaches in NY and NJ

45. At the same time (1980s), visible environmental problems pushed environmental issues to the forefront Thinning ozone layer over Antarctica 1983 EPA and National Academy of Sciences Report warns of environmental problems associated with global warming

46. Global environmental citizenship - 1990s 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro 172 Governments participated Focus on Climate Change and Biological Diversity • 1997 Kyoto Protocol • Nations pledged to reduce emissions • US signed but did not ratify the protocol

47. Global environmental citizenship 1990s to present • Clinton administration protected more land as national monuments in lower 48 states than did any other administration • Increase awareness by the general public regarding issues of biodiversity, invasive species, global change, etc. • UN names 2003 as the International Year of Freshwater

48. 2000-present: Current Administration often comes under attack from Environmental Groups • Revisions to the Clean Air Act that allow increased pollution • Favors increased use of resources on Federal lands (e.g., “Healthy Forest” initiative) • VP Cheney: Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy.

49. What do you think? The environment should be protected: For the most effective future use of natural resources by people For nature’s sake Not at all, or only when it does not come at an expense to humans

50. Points to know: • Name 5 disciplines that environmental science encompasses. • Know the major environmental concerns of the 6 major regions of North America. • How do environmental issues become a global concern? • For each person, classify their environmental view as “nature”, “conservation” or “consumption”: • Ron Arnold Ralph Waldo Emerson John Muir • Rachael Carson Aldo Leopold Gifford Pinchot • Dick Cheney George Perkins Marsh Henry David Thoreau • 5. Know the environmental issues (generally, and at least 2 specifically) that occurred in: • 1970’s 1980’s 1990’s 2000-present