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Introduction: Environmental Science, Environmental Problems, and Sustainability
I.
Science, Environmental Science, and Living Sustainably
A. Science and Environmental Science
1.
Science—
a.
b.
2.
Ecology--
3.
Environmental Science--
B. The Scientific Method

1. Steps: Observation/Question

2. hypothesis

vs
theory

vs
law
3. Controlled experiment
4. Results must be:
5. Personal or political agendas should not be an influence
C. The “problem”(?) with environmentalists and environmental scientists
1.
2.
3.
D. What keeps us alive?
1. all existence, lifestyles, economies, communities, etc inevitably depend on
energy from the:
2.
capital—to an economist, its wealth used to sustain wealth and make more
wealth
3.
solar capital—energy from the sun
4.
natural capital/resources—anything obtained from the environment used to
meet our needs and wants
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E. What is an environmentally sustainable society?
One that meets the resource needs of its people without depleting or degrading them, thus
ensuring that future generations can do the same.
Perhaps the ultimate question of environmental science: Are we using our resources
faster than we can replenish them?
II.
Major environmental problems and their causes
A. Problems
1.
2.
3.
B. Underlying causes
1.
2.
3.
III.
Population Growth and Economic Growth
A. Linear vs exponential growth: The Two Babylonian Kings
1.
Linear growth—quantity increases by a fixed:
Ex: 2,3,4,5,6
2.
5,10,15,20
Graph:
Exponential growth—quantity increases by a fixed:
Ex: 1,2,4,8,16,32
Graph:
B. Thomas Malthus
The human population grows ____________________,
but food supply grows _____________________.
This will lead to a consumption crises and population crash. Was Malthus wrong?
What made his prediction “wrong”?
Will he eventually be proven “right”?
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C. Doubling Time
1.
The amount of time it takes a population growing exponentially to double in
size
2.
Rule of 70
D.T.= 70/rate of growth
The world population is currently growing at 1.25% per year. What is
the doubling time?
The population of Nigeria is expected to double in 25 years. What is
their rate of growth?
The Population in Hunkydoria is 1 million and is growing at a rate of
2% per year. Assuming no change in growth patterns, in what year will
its population reach 8 million?
D. Economic growth and development
1.
An increase in the capacity of a country to provide people with goods and
services (growth), thereby improving the living standards (development).
2.
Gross National Product (GNP)—total market value of all g&s produced by a
country in a year
3.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—total market value of a g&s produced within
a country in a year
4.
Per Capita GDP—the best indicator of quality of life, wealth, status, living
standards, etc—GDP/ population
5.
Developed Countries
vs
20% of pop
Use 88% of resources
Industrialized
Make 75% of waste
Rich
Educated
Slower pop growth
U.S., Can, Jap, Aust, NZ, Europe
Developing countries
80% of pop
use 12% of resources
agricultural
make 25% of waste
poor
illiterate
rapid pop growth
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IV.
Resources
A. Classification
1.
_________________________-- inexhaustible on a human time scale
Ex:
2.
_________________________--can be replaced if not used too fast
Ex:
3.
_________________________--exist in fixed amounts; will run out
Ex:
B. Sustainable yield
1.
economic depletion—costs of obtaining a resource>economic value
2.
options to extend sustainable yield
a.
recyle-Ex:
b.
reduce-Ex:
c.
reuse—
Ex:
d.
substitute
Ex:
C. “The little I use/pollute won’t matter”: The Tragedy of the Commons
V.
Pollution
A. the presence of substances at high enough levels in air, water, soil, or food to threaten the
health, survival, or activities of organisms
B. Sources
1.
point source—
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2.
nonpoint source—
3.
Classify these as point (P) or nonpoint (N) sources of pollution
_____ A ruptured sewer line
_____ All boats on Lake Norman
_____ A coal fired power plant
_____ Fertilizer runoff from corn
fields in Wilkes county
C. Dealing with pollution
1.
prevention (front of the pipe)/an ounce of prevention…
2.
cleanup (end of the pipe)
3.
Classify these as pollution prevention (P) or cleanup (C)
_____ installing a catalytic converter on your car
_____ carpooling
_____ adopting a section of highway and picking up the trash along it every two
weeks
_____placing a filter on a factory smokestack that removes pollutants as they
move up the smokestack
_____ Distilling water to remove industrial waster from drinking water
VI.
Loss of Biodiversity
A. Biodiversity--variety of different species, genetic variety within species, variety of
ecosystems, and variety of functional ecology in a community
B. Degrees of decline
1.
threatened—
2.
endangered—
3.
extinct
C. #1 reason for decline:
VII.
Assessing environmental impact: I= P x A x T
A.
B.
C.
D. The ecological footprint
E. The sickness we have