Basic Issues in Environment Professor Dr. M. Nazrul Islam Environment: Meaning and Concept The meaning of the word “environment” is a surrounding conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates; The setting or conditions in which a particular activity is carried on. This involves three questions – what is surrounded? By which surrounded? And where surrounded? Obviously the answer to the first question is living object in general and man in particular. If man is taken to be surrounded, physical features become the answer to the second question which become environment. And where surrounded is the space or area. Therefore, environment refers to the sum total of conditions which surround biological communities, especially man, at a given point over space and time. In fact, environment is an inseparable whole and is constituted by the interacting systems of physical, biological and cultural elements which are interlinked individually as well as collectively in many ways. Physical elements (space, landforms, water bodies, climate, soils) determine the variable character of the human being, its opportunities as well as limitations. Biological elements (plants, animals, microorganisms and man) constitute the biosphere. Cultural elements (economic, social and political) are essentially man-made features which go into the making of cultural environment. Environment: the total of our surroundings All the things around us with whom we interact: • • • • Living things (Biotic) • Animals, plants, forests, fungi, etc. Nonliving things (Abiotic) • Continents, oceans, clouds, soil, rocks Our built environment • Buildings, human-created living centers Social/cultural relationships Scope of Environmental Study The study creates awareness among the people to know about various renewable and nonrenewable resources. It provides the knowledge about ecological systems and cause and effect relationships. It provides necessary information about biodiversity richness and the potential dangers to the species of plants, animals and microorganisms in the environment. The study enables one to understand the causes and consequences due to natural and human induced disasters (flood, earthquake, landslide, cyclones etc.,) and pollutions and measures to minimize the effects. It enables one to evaluate alternative responses to environmental issues before deciding an alternative course of action. Scope of Environmental Study The study enables environmentally literate citizens (by knowing the environmental acts, rights, rules, legislations, etc.) to make appropriate judgments and decisions for the protection and improvement of the earth. The study exposes the problems of over population, health, hygiene, etc. The study tries to identify and develop appropriate and indigenous eco-friendly skills and technologies to various environmental issues. The study enables theoretical knowledge into practice and the multiple uses of environment. Importance of Environmental Study • The natural resources in the earth are limited. • The unplanned exploitation of natural resources lead to pollution of all types and at all levels. • The pollution and degraded environment seriously affect the health of all living things on earth, including human. • Education and training are needed to save the biodiversity and species extinction. • The study enables the people to understand the complexities of the environment and need for the people to adapt appropriate activities and pursue sustainable development, which are harmonious with the environment. Importance of Environmental Study • The study motivates students to get involved in community action, and to participate in various environmental and management projects. • Environmental studies take a multidisciplinary approach to the study of human interactions with the natural environment. It integrates different approaches of the humanities , social sciences, biological sciences and physical sciences and applies these approaches to investigate environmental concerns. • Environmental study is a key instrument for bringing about the changes in the knowledge, values, behaviors and lifestyles required to achieve sustainability and stability within and among countries. Key Themes Human Population Problem The continued rapid growth of human population will intensify all environmental problems and undermine our efforts to find effective solutions for them. Human population growth is, in some important ways, the underlying issue of environmental problems. Much of the current environmental damage is directly or indirectly the result of the large number of people on the earth. Key Themes…………contd. An Urban World Population increase, technological development, unemployment, are some of the reasons of increasing urban areas at a faster rate, particularly in the developing world. As urban areas expands, wetlands are filled in, forests cut, and soils covered over with pavements and buildings. As more and more people live in urban areas, efforts to solve environmental problems must focus on creating more livable urban environments and on increasing the harmony between urban development and natural landscapes. People and Nature People and nature are intimately integrated. Each affects the other. Two paths lie before us: 1. 2. assume that environmental problems are the result of human action and the solution is simply to stop these actions. It has emphasized confrontation. the 2nd path is to begin with a scientific analysis of an environmental controversy and to move from confrontation to cooperative problem solving. It accepts the connection between people and nature. Key Themes A Global Perspective Due to the interconnectedness of the earth’s ecosystems and the wide-ranging effects of human intervention with them, scientists and citizens alike must adopt a global perspective in order to understand and improve environmental problems. Awareness of how people at a local level affect the environment globally. Future generations will need a global perspective on environmental issues. Key Themes Sustainability and carrying capacity Sustainability refers to resources and their environment. Sustainable development, is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Carrying capacity is usually defined as the maximum number of individuals of a species that can be sustained by an environment without decreasing the capacity of the environment to sustain that amount in the future. Key Themes…………contd Science and Values Deciding what to do about an environmental problem involves both values and science. Placing a value on various aspects of the environment requires knowledge and understanding of the science but also depends on our judgments concerning the uses and aesthetics of the environment and on our moral commitments to other living things and to future generations. Ecological knowledge provides options for environmental action, choices are determined in part by our values; science tells us what we can do, while our values help us determine what we should do. Global human population growth More than 7.5 billion humans Why so many humans? Agricultural revolution Stable food supplies Industrial revolution Urbanized society powered by fossil fuels Sanitation and medicines More food Population & consumption Human population growth exacerbates all environmental problems: The growth rate has slowed, but we still add more than 200,000 people to the planet each day; Our consumption of resources has risen even faster than our population growth: Life has become more pleasant for us so far; However, rising consumption amplifies the demands we make on our environment. Global Food Needs & Consumption Trends Population and income are the major factors in determining food consumption. 1. 2. 3. World food demand is growing at a rate of 2% per year – 1.8% of this because of population increase and 0.2% because of rising incomes. 20% of the global population consumes 70% of its material resources and possesses 80% of the wealth. The majority of this 20% in centered in Canada, USA, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Japan. Carrying Capacity Carrying capacity refers to the number of individuals who can be supported in a given area within natural resource limits, and without degrading the natural social, cultural and economic environment for present and future generations. The carrying capacity for any given area is not fixed. It can be altered by improved technology, but mostly it is changed for the worse by pressures which accompany a population increase. As the environment is degraded, carrying capacity actually shrinks, leaving the environment no longer able to support even the number of people who could formerly have lived in the area on a sustainable basis. No population can live beyond the environment's carrying capacity for very long. The ecological footprint is a measure of The human demand on the Earth's “ecological ecosystems. It compares human demand with planet Earth's ecological footprint” capacity to regenerate. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area needed to regenerate the resources a human population consumes and to absorb and render harmless the corresponding waste. Overshoot: humans have surpassed the Earth’s carrying capacity: We are using 30% more of the planet’s resources than are available on a sustainable basis! The Ecological Footprint tracks the use of productive surface areas. Typically these areas are: cropland, grazing land, fishing grounds, built-up land, forest area, and carbon demand on land. Ecological footprints are not all equal The ecological footprints of countries vary greatly: The U.S. footprint is almost 5 times greater than the world’s average; Developing countries have much smaller footprints than developed countries. Ecological footprints Wackernagel and Rees originally estimated the available biological capacity for 6.5 billion people on Earth. The U.S. footprint per capita was 9.0 gha (global hectare), and that of Switzerland was 5.6 gha per person, while China's was 1.8 gha per person. The EF of Bangladesh is 0.72 gha. Ecological footprints The total world ecological footprint is 2.84 global hectares per capita. The ecological reserve, or bio-capacity – the amount of land available for production, is 1.84 global hectares per person, a deficit of 1.0 global hectares per capita. The tool can inform policy by examining to what extent a nation uses more (or less) than is available within its territory, or to what extent the nation's lifestyle would be replicable worldwide. The footprint can also be a useful tool to educate people about carrying capacity and over-consumption, with the aim of altering personal behaviour. Per capita Co2 emissions (tons/year) & Ecological Footprint (gha/pers) Country Rank Co2 emission EF Bangladesh 181 0.3 0.72 UK 41 9.4 6.1 Netherlands 27 10.3 4.6 USA 9 19 9.0 United Arab Emirates 2 32.8 10.3 Qatar 56.2 9.7 1 We face challenges in agriculture • • Expanded food production led to increased population and consumption It’s one of humanity’s greatest achievements, but at an enormous environmental cost • Nearly half of the planet’s land surface is used for agriculture • • • • Chemical fertilizers Pesticides Erosion Changed natural systems We face challenges in pollution • Waste products and artificial chemicals used in farms, industries, and households Each year, millions of people die from pollution We face challenges in climate Scientists have firmly concluded that humans are changing the composition of the atmosphere; • The Earth’s surface is warming: • • • • Melting glaciers Rising sea levels Impacted wildlife and crops Increasingly destructive weather Since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have risen by 37%, to the highest level in 650,000 years. We face challenges in biodiversity • • Human actions have driven many species extinct, and biodiversity is declining dramatically; We are at the onset of a mass extinction event. Biodiversity loss may be our biggest environmental problem; once a species is extinct, it’s gone forever Our energy choices will affect our future The lives we live today are due to fossil fuels • • • • • Machines Chemicals Transportation Products Fossil fuels are one-time resource; supplies will certainly decline fast; We have used up ½ of the world’s oil supplies; how will we handle this imminent fossil fuel shortage? Sustainable solutions exist We must develop solutions that protect both of our quality of life and the environment: Organic agriculture Technology Biodiversity Protect species Waste disposal Reduces pollution Recycling Alternative fuels Sustainability: a goal for the future How can humans live within the planet’s means? Humans cannot exist without functioning natural systems Sustainability Leaves future generations with a rich and full Earth Conserves the Earth’s natural resources Maintains fully functioning ecological systems Sustainable development: the use of resources to satisfy current needs without compromising future availability of resources Current Emphasis Sustainability Emphasis Pollution cleanup Pollution prevention Waste disposal (bury or burn) Waste prevention Protecting species Protecting habitat Environmental degradation Environmental restoration Increasing resource use Less resource waste Population growth Population stabilization Depleting and degrading natural capital Protecting natural capital
