Chapter 1: Introduction

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Chapter 1 Introduction

• Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and
  Sustainability

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Earth Rise
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Environmental Science

• Understand how natural world works
• Understand how human systems interact with
  natural system
• Accurately determine environmental problems
• Develop and follow a sustainable relationship
  with natural world

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Themes

• Sustainability A process can continue
  indefinitely without depleting resources used no
  sacrifice to future generations
• Stewardship Caring for something that does not
  belong to you
• Science Use the scientific method and question
  authority
• Ecosystem Capital Essential goods and services
  like food, water, and fuel
• Policy and Politics Human decisions determine
  what happens to the natural world
• Globalization The interconnectedness of human
  activities, ideas, and cultures

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• Rachel Carson was a scientist who wrote Silent
  Spring in 1962.
• It addressed the growing use of pesticides (DDT)
  and their unpredicted effects on song birds.
• Original users of pesticides did not know that
  the poisons used to kill insects would accumulate
  in other living things and kill them too.
  BIOACCUMULATION

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Talking Points (pg.3 Raven)

• Environmental sustainability is based (in part)
  of what key ideas?
• Understanding effects of our action on health and
  well-being of all natural systems.
• Earths resources are finite.
• Understand ALL costs to environment/society
  associated with what we consume.
• We must all share the responsibility of
  environmental sustainability.

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Evidence We are not Operating Sustainably

1. Using non-renewable resources as if in infinite
   supply.
2. Using renewable resources faster than they can
   replenish.
3. Introducing toxins faster than Earth can absorb
   them.
4. Population growth continues to rise, despite
   finite resources.

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World Population Graph
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Environmental Science

• Humanities relationship between
• Other living organisms and
• Our nonliving physical environment.

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IPAT Model

• I P X A X T
• I Impact to environment
• P population
• A affluence/amount of resources consumed
• T environmental effect of technology used to
  obtain and consume the resource

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Endocrine Disruptors

• Industrial/agricultural chemicals that mimic or
  interfere with the endocrine system (hormones) in
  people and wildlife.
• Examples DDT, dioxine, heavy metals, kepone,
  dieldrin, chlordane, endosulfan and plastics
  (phthalates).

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Hormones

• Hormones are chemical messengers that regulate
  growth, reproduction and other biological
  functions.
• Endocrine disruptors mimic, estrogen (F),
  androgen (M) and many thyroid hormones.

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Juvenile Alligators Lake Apopka

• Lake contaminated in 1980s with DDT and
  agricultural chemicals
• Feminization of males
• 40 hatch rate, ½ die within 10 days

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Georges Bank Fishery Closed

• In 1994, US Department of Commerce closed two
  large sections of the 16, 500 km2 fishery off the
  coast of New England due to overfishing.

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Georges Bank Fishery Closed
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Lessons from a Small Island
Easter Island (Rapa Nui)
http//www.netaxs.com/trance/rapa.ram
Easter Island Home Page and Music
http//www.netaxs.com/trance/rapanui.html
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Map ofEaster IslandArea - 166 km2In the
4th century A.D there were approximately 10,000
people living here
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Use of resources

• Natural Resources
• Fresh water
• Trees
• Fish
• Brought by settlers
• Chickens
• Sweet potatoes
• Taro
• Yams

• Used for
• Building houses
• Food
• Clothing
• Technology
• Stone statues (moai)
• Needed many trees to move the statues

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Moai

• There are 887 moai on Easter Island

• Average Height
• 13.29 feet (4.05 meters) some are more than 20
  feet (6 meters)
• Average weight
• 13.78 tons

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Dutch explorers arrive in 1772

• 600 people left
• Constant war
• Few of the natural resources left
• What happened!

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4 Global trends

• Population growth and economic development
• Decline of ecosystems
• Global atmospheric changes
• Loss of biodiversity

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A. Human population growth

• Note
• This graph is from 1999.
• These predictions are based on a faster growth
  rate.
• Carrying capacity is higher in this graph.

• More than 6.6 billion people currently
• We are adding 76 million people per year
• increase pop ? increase need for resources

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Different lifestyles have different demands on
the environment

• Developed (industrialized) countries like
  America
• hot running water
• more than one car per family
• -VS-
• Developing countries like Tanzania
• hunting/gathering
• Firewood for heat and cooking
• 1 billion people live in poverty

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B. Soil degradation

• Demand for food destroys the soil
• erosion
• minerals in soil are depleted
• salinization
• increased use of pesticides
• overuse of fresh water

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C. Global Atmospheric Changes

• Global Warming
• CO2 produced from fossil fuel burning acts like a
  blanket around the earth.
• Plants take CO2 out of the atmosphere through
  photosynthesis
• 6CO2 6H2O gt 602 C6H12O6
• Ozone depletion
• Chemicals released from the surface of the earth
  destroy our ozone shield.
• No stratospheric ozone, no protection from the UV
  rays of the sun.

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Carbon Dioxide Levels
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Ozone
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D. Loss of Biodiversity

• Habitat destruction leads to a loss of many
  species starting with the plants
• exact of species lost is unknown because not
  all species are identified
• strong ecosystems need biodiversity
• 1959-1980 25 of all prescription drugs from
  natural resources
• Wild species keep domestic species vigorous
• Aesthetics

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A sustainable future is possible

• Nutrition levels and life expectancy are rising
• Population growth rates are falling
• It is cool to be green
• YOU are taking this class

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Lessons from a Small Island

• Easter Island
• (Rapa Nui)

http//www.netaxs.com/trance/rapa.ram
http//www.netaxs.com/trance/rapanui.html