ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS, THEIR CAUSES,
AND SUSTAINABILITY
I. WHAT IS THE PATH TO SUSTAINABILITY?

What is sustainability?

Meeting the needs of the PRESENT without limiting
the ability of people, other species, and future
generations to meet their needs.
I. WHAT IS THE PATH TO SUSTAINABILITY?

Natural Capital: Earth’s natural resources and
services that sustain life and our economies
 Examples:

Air, Water, Soil, Land

Diversity of Life (aka Biodiversity)

Nonrenewable minerals (iron, sand, etc.)

Renewable Energy (solar, wind, water flows)

Nonrenewable Energy (fossil fuels, nuclear
power)
I. WHAT IS THE PATH TO SUSTAINABILITY?

Examples of Natural Services:






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Air & Water Purification
Soil Renewal
Nutrient Cycling
Food Production
Pollination
Grassland & Forest Renewal
Waste Treatment
Climate Control
Population & Pest Control Through Species
Interactions
II. WHAT IS AN ENVIRONMENTALLY
SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY?
 One
that meets the basic resource needs of its
people indefinitely without degrading or
depleting the natural capital that supplies
these resources
 Degradation
–
 Reduce the amount or worth of something
III. CULTURAL CHANGES AND SUSTAINABILITY
3
major cultural changes that have
INCREASED our impact on the
environment
10,000-12,000 years ago: Agricultural Revolution
 275 years ago: Industrial-Medical Revolution
 50 years ago: Information-Globalization Revolution


New ways to control the planet to meet our
needs, increased the population, increase
resource use/pollution
Trade-Offs
Industrial-Medical Revolution
Advantages
Mass production of useful
and affordable products
Disadvantages
Increased air pollution
Increased water pollution
Higher standard of living
for many
Greatly increased
agricultural production
Lower infant mortality
Longer life expectancy
Increased urbanization
Lower rate of
population growth
Increased waste pollution
Soil depletion and
degradation
Groundwater depletion
Habitat destruction and
degradation
Biodiversity
depletion
III. CULTURAL CHANGES AND SUSTAINABILITY
 Eras
of Environmental History
Tribal Era – when Native Americans occupied
North America before the 1600’s
 Frontier Era (1607-1890) – Europeans settle in
North America; see the continent as having
seemingly inexhaustible resources
 Early Conservation Era (1832-1870) – first signs
of concern for the environment
 1870-present – increased role of the federal gov’t &
private citizens in resource conservation, public
health, & environmental protection

IV. POPULATION GROWTH, ECONOMIC GROWTH,
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
 Human
population is growing exponentially!!
IV. POPULATION GROWTH, ECONOMIC
GROWTH, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
 U.N.
classifies countries as economically
developed or developing based on:
 Degree of Industrialization
 Per Capita GDP
Per Capita – per person
GDP – Value of ALL GOODS &
SERVICES produced within a country
IV. POPULATION GROWTH, ECONOMIC
GROWTH, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Developed: U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia,
New Zealand, the countries of Europe
 Most are highly industrialized and have high
average per capita GDP
 Developing: Most are in Africa, Asia, and Latin
America
 Some are middle income, moderately
developed & some are low income countries

IV. POPULATION GROWTH, ECONOMIC
GROWTH, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Carbon Dioxide Emissions Per Capita
IV. POPULATION GROWTH, ECONOMIC
GROWTH, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
V. RESOURCES
 Three
Kinds
 Perpetual - sunlight, winds, flowing
water
 Renewable - fresh air & water, soils,
forest products, and food crops
 Non-renewable -fossil fuels, metals, sand
V. RESOURCES
 Sustainable
Yield: the highest rate at
which a renewable resource can be used
indefinitely without reducing its available
supply
 Environmental
Degradation: when we
exceed a resource’s natural replacement
rate & the supply begins to shrink
VI. NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES
 Exist
in a finite quantity
Time scale: can be renewed in millions or billions of
years through geological processes
 Examples:




Energy – coal, oil, natural gas
Metallic Minerals – iron, copper, aluminum
Nonmetallic Minerals – salt, clay, sand
VII. POLLUTION

Any addition to air, water, soil or food
that threatens the health, survival, or
activities of living organisms

Sources of Pollution:
Points sources – single, identifiable,
easier/cheaper to control
Non point Sources – dispersed and
often difficult to identify
VII. POLLUTION
 Effects
Damage the earth, wildlife, human health, and
property
 Can create nuisances

 Solutions
Prevention
 Pollution Cleanup (Cleaning up OR diluting)

VII. TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS
 Common
Property or Free-Access Resources
No one owns these
 Available at little/no charge
 Examples

Air
 Ocean
 Wildlife species
 Gases of the lower atmosphere
 Space

IX. ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
 Causes
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of Environmental Problems
Population Growth
Wasteful Resource Use
Poverty
Poor Environmental Accounting
Ecological ignorance
IX. ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

Affluenza: unsustainable addiction to
overconsumption and materialism exhibited in
the lifestyles of affluent consumers in the U.S.
and other developed countries

Shop-’til- you-drop!

Takes about 27 tractor-trailer loads of resources per
year to support one American

Interesting to note: Affluent countries have more
funding for improving environmental quality via
technological advances…
IX. ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

Developing vs. Developed Footprints

Developing Countries’ Impact From:
Population Size
 Resulting degradation of renewable resources


Developed Countries’ Impact From:
High Rates of Usage Per Capita
 Resulting High Levels of Pollution and Environmental
Degradation

X. OUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS
 What’s
your ecological footprint?
 Humanity’s ecological footprint
exceeds the earth’s ecological
capacity to replenish its
renewable resources and absorb
by about 21%.
waste
X. OUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS
FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Law of Progressive Simplification
True growth occurs as civilizations transfer an
increasing proportion of energy and attention
from the material side of life to the nonmaterial
side and thereby develop their culture, capacity
for compassion, sense of community, and
strength of democracy
…Nom nom nom nom nom…