Chapter 1
Introducing
Environmental
Science and
Sustainability
Do Now Essay:
Please write a short essay answering the
following.
•
Describe five ways that Highly developed
countries differ from less developed
countries.
Human Impacts on the Environment
Learning Objectives
–Define: Poverty
–Distinguish among
highly developed
moderately developed
less developed countries
Source: US Census Bureau, Global Population Profile: 2002
A. Human Impacts on the Environment
1. Increasing Human Numbers
• Over the past
800 thousand
years human
population
continues to
grow despite
Earth’s finite
ability to
support us.
Do Now Essay:
Please write a short essay answering the
following question(s).
•
What does the term “ environmental
sustainability” mean to you?
•
How can you realistically live a more
sustaining lifestyle than at present?
A. Human Impacts on the Environment
1. Increasing Human Numbers
Most populous countries:
1) China
2) India
3) United States
4) Indonesia
5) Brazil
1,374,853,000
1,155,011,000
309,163,000
258,825,000
195,580,000
Source: US Census Bureau, Global Population Profile: 2002
A. Human Impacts on the Environment
1. Increasing Human Numbers
A. Human Impacts on the Environment
1. Increasing Human Numbers
Poverty :
•
per capita income of less than $1 a day
•
1.2 billion worldwide currently live at
this level
Lower life expectancy
Leads to . . . Inadequate health care
Unsanitary water
Poor nutrition
Illiteracy
A. Human Impacts on the Environment
1. Increasing Human Numbers
• per capita: [(puhr kap-i-tuh)]
A Latin phrase literally meaning “by
heads,” and translated as “for each
person.” It is a common unit for expressing
data in statistics. A country's per capita
personal income, for example, is the
average personal income per person.
Population, Resources, and the
Environment
The contrast between less developed and
highly developed countries is great:
A. Human Impacts on the Environment
2. Increasing Human Numbers
a. Highly Developed
Countries
USA, Canada, Japan, Most of Europe
20% of worlds population
High complex industrialization bases
Low rates of population growth
High per capita incomes
b. Moderately Developed Mexico, Turkey, South Africa, Thailand
Countries
Medium levels of industrialization
Avg. per capita income lower
c.
Less Developed
Countries (LDC)
Bangladesh, Mali, Ethiopia, Laos
Low level of industrialization
Very low per capita income
Very fertility rates with a high infant mortality rate
Cheap, unskilled labor
Capital for investment is scarce
Hunger, disease, Illiteracy common in LDC
B. Population, Resources, and the
Environment
Types of resources:
Renewable, but only
when managed in a
sustainable way
B. Population, Resources, and the
Environment
Resource Consumption:
• because of our greater consumption
rates, 1 US child has the environmental
impact of 12+ children in less developed
countries.
B. Population, Resources, and the
Environment
•People Overpopulation:
when excess # of people cause
environmental damage.
•Consumption Overpopulation:
when people consume enormous
amounts of natural resources.
B. Population, Resources, and the
Environment
Ecological footprint
B. Population, Resources, and the
Environment
IPAT Model
Environmental
Impact
Affluence per
person
I=P A
Number
of people
T
Environmental
effect of
technologies
Environmental Sustainability
Sustainability:
stewardship of natural resources
leading to their perpetual
availability for successive
generations.
Environmental Sustainability
Sustainability and the
Tragedy of the
Commons
Garrett Hardin
Environmental Science
•
Interdisciplinary study of the
interconnected problems
associated with the
environment.
•
Heavily leans upon ecology.
Environmental Science
The Process of Science
Problem recognition or
question
Hypothesis development
Make predictions
Experimentation
Analysis
NO
New knowledge
Hypothesis supported?
YES
Share knowledge
Other scientists
Environmental Science
Controls and Variables in
Experimental Design
Variable:
•
factors influencing processes being
examined.
•
hypothesis examines ONE variable,
holding others constant.
This is the experimental group.
Control group :
•
examined variable is left unaltered
Environmental Science
Hypothesis: Burning will increase frequency
of prairie wildflowers.
Which is the control group?
Environmental Science
How does the view of a theory differ
between scientists and the public?
Environmental Science
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
•
Inductive examines a series of facts for
commonalities that can be concluded.
Example:
Fact: an ant has six legs
Fact: a wasp has six legs
Fact: a beetle has six legs
Conclusion: all insects have six legs
Environmental Science
• Deductive examines for relationships
among data moving from generalities to
specifics.
Example:
General rule: all insects have six legs
Specific example: a grasshopper is an
insect
Therefore: a grasshopper has six legs
Addressing Environmental Problems
Scientific
Assessment
Risk Analysis
Public education
and involvement
Political action
Evaluation
Addressing Environmental Problems
Case in Point: Lake Washington
•Scientific
assessment
•Public education
and involvement
•Political action
Addressing Environmental Problems
Case in Point: Lake Washington
Evaluation
Addressing Environmental Problems
Case in Point: Lake Washington
Evaluation