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1Lecture-2
Environmental Problems and Their Causes
Chapter outline: Environmental and Resource ProblemsDefinition of Environmental Science, Major Environmental Problems and their Causes, Environmental and Resource Problem: Population Growth, Wasteful Use of Renewable and Non-Renewable Resource, ecological footprints, environmental Impact; Environmental Interconnectedness and Globalization.
Key Concepts
What are the Major Environmental Problems
What are Their Causes
Resources ( renewable and non-renewable) and environment
How inter-connected is environmental problems
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What are the Major Environmental Problems
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Air Pollution• Global climate change• Stratospheric ozone
depletion• Urban air pollution• Acid deposition• Outdoor pollutants• Indoor pollutants• Noise
Biodiversity Depletion• Habitat destruction• Habitat degradation• Extinction
Water Pollution• Sediment• Nutrient overload• Toxic chemicals• Infectious agents• Oxygen depletion• Pesticides• Oil spills• Excess heat
Waste Production• Solid waste• Hazardous waste
Food Supply Problems• Overgrazing• Farmland loss
and degradation• Wetlands loss
and degradation• Overfishing• Coastal pollution• Soil erosion• Soil salinization• Soil waterlogging• Water shortages• Groundwater depletion• Loss of biodiversity• Poor nutrition
MajorEnvironmental
Problems
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EnvironmentEverything that affects a living organism during its lifetime
EcologyBiological science that studies relationship between living organisms and their interaction with the environment
Environmental ScienceInterdisciplinary science that uses concepts and information from natural sciences and social sciences to help us understand1) How the earth works2) How we are affecting the environment3) How we deal with environmental problems
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What are Their Causes
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The Big Five Causes
• Major causes of problems1. Population growth2. Wasteful resource use3. Poverty4. Poor environmental accounting5. Ecological and environmental
ignorance
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Environmental and Resource Problems 1. Population Growth
ExponentialGrowth
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Jcurve
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Environmental and Resource Problems 1. Population Growth
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Economic GrowthAn increase in the capacity to provide people with goods and services.
Economic growth is measured by a county’s Gross National Product (GNP or GNI)• Market value ($) of all goods and services
produced within and outside a country during a year plus net income earned abroad by a countries citizens
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Environmental and Resource Problems 2. Wasteful Resource Use
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Economic Development
The improvement of living standards by economic growth.
• Measured by • (1) degree of industrialization and (2) per capita GNI
– Developed Countries• US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, all of Europe
– Developing Counties• Most of Africa, Asia, and Latin America
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Environmental and Resource Problems 2. Wasteful Resource Use
Resources Supporting Economic Systems (1)
• Economics– Production, distribution, and consumption
of goods and services to satisfy wants and needs
– Market-based systems interact through sellers and buyers
– Supply and demand determines prices
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Resources Supporting Economic Systems (2)
• Natural capital• Human capital/human resources• Manufactured capital/manufactured
resources
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Resources Perpetual
Renewed continuously
Renewable Replenished rapidly
Non-renewableExist in a fixed quantity
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Renewable Resources
Sustainable Yield – the highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely
Environmental Degradation – process of exceeding a resources natural replacement rate.
Replacement rate of tropical forest is 6-10 yrs15
Solar Capital
EconomicSystems
Production
Consumption
Natural CapitalNatural resources such as air, land, soil,biodiversity, minerals,and energy, and naturalservices such as air andwater purification,nutrient cycling, andclimate control
Pollution and waste(overloading nature’s wastedisposal and recycling systems)
Degradation of renewableresources(used faster than replenished)
Depletion of nonrenewableresources
Heat
Goods and services
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Ecological footprint
• It is the amount of biologically productive land per person required to produce renewable resources ( food and wood) and to supply space for infrastructure.
• The average global ecological footprint per person is 2.3 hectares. ( 1999)
• The Earth’s ecological capacity is 1.9 hectares. • So it exceeds the Earth’s capacity by 20%.
Source: William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel, Redefining Progress.
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1961 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Humanity’s Ecological Footprint
Earth’s Ecological Capacity
0.2
.4.6
.81.
01.
21.
4
2005
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In USA the Ecological Capacity is 5.3
hectares.
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Economic DevelopmentTrade-Offs
Good News Bad News
Global life expectancy doubled since 1950
Life expectancy 11 years less in developing countries than in developed countries
Food production ahead of population growth since 1978
Harmful environmental effects of agriculture may limit future food production
Infant mortality cut in half since 1955
Air and water pollution down in most developed countries since 1970
Number of people living in poverty dropped 6% since 1990
Infant mortality rate in developing countries over 8 times higher than in developed countries
Air and water pollution levels in most developing countries too high
Half of world’s people trying to live on less than $3 (U.S.) per day 20Lecture-2
Environmental and Resource ProblemsThe Big Five Causes
3. Poverty– Survival at the expense of environment– Live in areas with greater risk of natural disasters– Work in unsafe, unhealthy conditions– Life expectancy low– Many children for economic security– Death from preventable causes
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Poverty
• 22 fold ↑ in economic growth b/t 1950 and 2004
• 50% of people still trying to survive off < $3/day
• To survive they must deplete and degrade environment
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Wealth is becoming increasingly concentrated, with the richest 20% receiving most of the world's income (82.7%).
Poverty
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Data from UNDP and Ismail Serageldin, 2002, “ World Poverty and Hunger : A Challenge for Science.” Science, 296, 54-58.
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<$2700
$2700-$10,750
>$10,750
per capita GNI24
Environmental and Resource ProblemsThe Big Five Causes
4. Poor environmental accounting– Not including environmental cost of economic
goods and services in the market price– Cleanup and waste expensive and corners cut
5. Ignorance– Many have no idea about the impact of their
actions– Many “live for today”
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Environmental Impact
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Average U.S. citizen consumes 35 times more resources than of India.
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Environmental Impact, Model:
P x A x T = I
Population, PAffluence, ATechnology, TImpact, I
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Environmentally-Sustainable Economic Development
Decision making in asustainable society
Social Economic
Environmental
SustainableSolutions
Traditionaldecision making
Environmental
Social Economic
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GlobalizationThe CONNECTED world
• Globalization- process of social, economic and environmental changes that lead to increased
interconnectedness throughout world– Information (internet)– International trading– Technology– Human mobility
• **One country can’t be environmentally sustainable without the others!!
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