Environmental Problems, their causes, and sustainability

Environment

everything that affects a living organism

environmental science

a study of how the earth works, how we interact with the earth, and how to deal with environmental problems

ecology

a biological science that studies the relationships between living organisms and their environment

environmentalism

a social movement dedicated to protecting the earth's life support systems for us and other species

sustainability

the ability of the earth's various systems, including human cultural systems and economies, to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions

natural capital

the natural materials and processes that sustain life on the earth and our economies

capital

wealth used to sustain a business and to generate more wealth

exponential growth

growth in which some quantity such as population size or economic output, increases at a constant rate per unit of time. An example is the growth sequence 2,4,8,16,32,64 and so on. when the increase in quantity over time is plotted, this type of growth yi

degrade natural capital

using normally renewable resources faster than nature can renew them

examples of degrade natural capital

cutting down or burning diverse natural forests to grow crops, graze cattle, and supply us with wood and paper

solution examples

stop clear-cutting diverse mature forests

trade-off

the search for solutions often involves conflicts and resolving these conflicts with compromises

individual matter

when one individual comes up with an idea for bringing about a solution.

examples of trade-off

to provide wood and paper and crops such as coffee we can promote the planting of tree and coffee plantations in areas that have already been cleared or degraded

individual matter examples

some found ways to elimate the need to use trees to produce paper by using residues from crops and by planting rapidly growing plants and using their fiber to make paper

sound science

the concepts and ideas that are widely accepted by experts in a particular field of the natural or social sciences

sound science examples

it tells us that wee need to protect and sustain the many natural services provided by diverse mature forests

subthemes of sustainability

natural capital, natural capital degradation, solutions, trade-offs, and individual matter

environmentally sustainable society

meets the basic resources of its people indefinitely without degrading or depleting the natural capital that supplies these resources

living sustainably

means living off natural income replenished by soils, plants, air and water and not depleting or degrading the earth's endowment of natural capital that supplies this biological income

worlds population rate

1.2% per year

economic growth

an increase in the capacity of a country to provide people with goods and services

gross domestic product

the annual market value of all goods and services produced by all firms and organizations, foreign and domestic, operating within a country

per capita GDP

the GDP divided by the total population at midyear

Economic development

the improvement of human living standards by economic growth

developed countries

United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the countries of Europe.

developing countries

nations with 5.3 billion people including Africa Asia and Latin America

perpetual

sunlight, winds, and flowing water

renewable

fresh air and water, soils, forest products, and food crops

nonrenewable

fossil fuels, metals, and sand

perpetual resource

an essentially inexhaustible resource on a human time scale for example solar energy

renewable resource

resource that can be replenished rapidly through natural processes.

nonrenewable resource

resource that exists in a fixed amount (stock) in various places in the earth's crust and has the potential for renewal by geological, physical, and chemical processes taking place over hundreds of millions to billions of years

sustainable yield

highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply

environmental degradation

when we exceed a resource's natural replacement rate, the available supply begins to shrink

examples of environmental degradation

urbanization of productive land, excessive topsoil erosion, pollution, deforestation, groundwater depletion, overgrazing of grasslands by livestock and reduction in the earth's forms of wildlife by elimination of habitats and species

common property

or free-access resources which means that no one owns these resources and they are available to users at little or no charge

common property examples

clean air, the open ocean and its fish, migratory birds, wildlife species, gases of the lower atmosphere and space

tragedy of the commons

the degradation of renewable free-access resources because everyone assumes if they don'tso use a resource someone else will

solutions to tragedy of the commons

free-access resources at rates well below their estimated sustainable yields or convert free-access resources to private ownership

per capita ecological footprint

the amount of biological productive land and water needed to supply each person with the resources he or she uses and to absorb the wastes from such resource use

humanity's ecological footprint

exceeds the earth's ecological capacity to replenish its renewable resources and absorb waste by about 21%

economically depleted

the costs of extracting and using what is left exceed its economic value

pollution

chemicals found at high enough levels in the environment to cause harm to people or other organisms

point sources

pollutants are single identifiable sources

nonpoint sources

are dispersed and often difficult to identify

examples of point sources

smokestack of a coal burning power or industrial plant

examples of non point sources

pesticides sprayed into the air or blown by the wind into the atmosphere and runoff of fertilizers and pesticides from farmlands and suburban lawns and garden streams and lakes

unwanted effects of pollutants

they can disrupt or degrade life-support systems for humans and other species...they can damage wildlife, human health, and property....they can create nuisances such as noise and unpleasant smells, tastes, and sights

pollution prevention

input pollution control reduces or eliminates the production of polluants

pollution cleanup

output pollution control involves cleaning up or diluting pollutants after they have been produced

problems with pollution cleanup

it is only temporary bandage as long as population and consumption levels grown without corresponding improvements in pollution control technology....cleanup often removes a pollutant from one part of the environment only to cause pollution in another...o

major causes of environmental problems

population growth, wasteful resource use, poverty, poor environmental accounting, and ecological ignorance

four preventable health problems

malnutrition, increased susceptibility to normally nonfatal infectious diseases, lack of access to clean drinking water, severe respiratory disease and premature death from inhaling indoor air pollutants produced by burning wood or coal for heat and cooki

affluenza

to describe the unsustainable addiction to overconsumption and materialism exhibited in the lifestyles of affluent consumers in the US and other developed countries

law of progressive simplification

true growth occurs as civilizations transfer an increasing proportion of energy and attention from the material side of life to the nonmaterial side and thereby develop their culture, capacity for compassion, sense of community and strength of democracy