AP Environmental Science

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AP Environmental Science

• Chapter 1
• Environmental Problems, Causes, and Sustainability

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Exponential vs. Linear

• Exponential growth is currently occurring with
  our population
• doubles quickly, sneaky
• 6.2 billion
• another billion in 12 - 15 years (from 2000)
• Linear growth is obvious
• straight line

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Types of growth
J-curve, exponential growth
Linear growth
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Solar and Earth Capital

• Solar - energy 99
• Earth - resources, support systems
• climate control
• air and water purification
• recycling matter (iron, sulfur, nitrogen, etc.)
• renewable energy
• renewable matter resources
• Pest and disease control
• and more.

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Sustainability

• Are we living sustainably?
• A sustainable society manages its economy and
  population size without exceeding all or part of
  the planets ability to absorb environmental
  insults, replenish its resources, and sustain
  human and other forms of life over a specific
  period (usually a human lifetime of 100 years)

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Carrying Capacity

• The maximum size of a population an area can
  support and maintain over a period of time
• Carrying capacity of the Earth for people is
  around 12 billion. What may affect that number?

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16
15
?
14
13
12
11
?
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Billions of people
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?
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6
5
4
3
2
Black Deaththe Plague
1
0
2-5 million years
8000
6000
4000
2000
2000
2100
Time
B.C.
A.D.
Fig. 1.1, p. 2
Hunting and gathering
Industrial revolution
Agricultural revolution
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World Population reached
1 billion in 1804
2 billion in 1927 (123 years later)
3 billion in 1960 (33 years later)
4 billion in 1974 (14 years later)
5 billion in 1987 (13 years later)
6 billion in 1999 (12 years later)
World Population May Reach
7 billion in 2013 (14 years later)
8 billion in 2028 (15 years later)
9 billion in 2054 (26 years later)
Fig. 1.3, p. 5
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Doubling Time

• Rule of 70
• divide 70 by the percent growth rate and you will
  find how long it takes the population to double.
• 70/1.43(current growth rate approx.) 49 years
  (we started counting in 2000)

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Populations and Economy

• Developed - highly industrialized
• 20 population, 85 wealth, 88 resources, 75
  pollution and waste, high GNP per capita
• Developing - low to moderate industrialization
• 80 population, 15 wealth, 12 resources, 15
  pollution and waste, low GNP per capita

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Resources

• Renewable - can be replenished in a lifetime
  (wind)
• Potentially renewable - can be renewable if we
  change our current habits (soil)
• Nonrenewable - only a fixed amount on Earth
  (minerals)

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Resources
Perpetual
Nonrenewable
Non- metallic minerals
Metallic minerals
Fossil fuels
Winds, tides, flowing water
Direct solar energy
(iron, copper, aluminum)
(clay, sand, phosphates)
Renewable
Fresh air
Fresh water
Fertile soil
Plants and animals (biodiversity)
Fig. 1.11, p. 11
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Per Captia Ecological Footprint (Hectares of land
per person)
Country
10.9
United States
5.9
The Netherlands
1.0
India
Fig. 1.10a, p. 11
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Total Ecological Footprint (Hectares)
Country
3 billion hectares
United States
94 million hectares
The Netherlands
1 billion hectares
India
Fig. 1.10b, p. 11
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Major Environmental Degradation to Potentially
Renewable Resources

• Urbanization
• Salinization of soil
• Wetland destruction
• Groundwater depletion
• Livestock overgrazing
• Poor soil management
• Deforestation
• Pollution
• Reduction of biodiversity

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Area under curve equals the total amount of
the resource.
Economic depletion (80 used up)
Production rate of resource
Time
Fig. 1.12, p. 13
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Pollutants

• Point source vs. nonpoint source
• concentration - ppm, ppb, ppt
• persistence - degradable, slowly degradable (DDT)
  or nondegradable
• Always less expensive to prevent, instead of
  trying to clean up.

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Causes of Environmental Problems

• Rapid population growth
• wasteful use of resources
• degradation of earths life support systems
• poverty
• failure to encourage environmentally and
  economically sustainable growth
• lack of full cost pricing
• human urge to conquer mother nature

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• Biodiversity Depletion
• Habitat destruction
• Habitat degradation
• Extinction

• Air Pollution
• Global climate change
• Stratospheric ozone depletion
• Urban air pollution
• Acid deposition
• Outdoor pollutants
• Indoor pollutants
• Noise

• 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

Major Environmental Problems

• Water Pollution
• Sediment
• Nutrient overload
• Toxic chemicals
• Infectious agents
• Oxygen depletion
• Pesticides
• Oil spills
• Excess heat

• Waste Production
• Solid waste
• Hazardous waste

Fig. 1.13, p. 14
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Major Environmental Problems

• Air Pollution
• Water Pollution
• Biodiversity Depletion
• Food Supply Problems
• Waste Production

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• Rapid population growth
• Unsustainable resource use
• Poverty
• Not including the environmental costs of economic
  goods and services in their market prices
• Trying to manage and simplify nature with too
  little knowledge about how it works

Fig. 1.14, p. 15
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Developing Countries
X
X

Consumption per person (affluence, A)
Technological impact per unit of consumption (T)
Environmental impact of population (I)
X
X

Population (P)
X
X

Developed Countries
Fig. 1.15, p. 15
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What needs to happen to be sustainable

• Switch to pollution prevention, not cleanup
• switch to waste prevention and recycling
• protecting habitats instead of species
• environmental restoration of degraded areas
• lower resource use (less wasteful)
• ZPG - stabilized population