AP ENVIRONMENTAL
INTRODUCTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL THEMES
CHAPTER 1
ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS
• Understand how the natural world works
• Understand how human systems interact with the
natural system
• Accurately determine environmental problems
• Develop and follow a sustainable relationship with
natural world
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Current indicators of environmental decline:
• Biological Diversity
• Food production
• Carbon Dioxide increases
• Human population growth
• Resource depletion
THEME QUESTION
• What is the criteria for something to
be considered an environmental
issue?
• Environmental
issues
are defined
as problems
with
Known
process (such
as resource
consumption)
that
has
Anthe
environmental
problem
arises
whenever
there
is a
planet's systems
(air,
water,
soil, etc.)ofthat
negative
effects
on
the
sustainability
thehave
change
in the quality
ornecessary
quantity
of
environmental
developed
as a result
of human
interference
orof
environmental
quality
forany
the
well being
factor which directly
or indirectly
affects
mistreatment
ofliving
the
planet.
the organisms
in it. the health and
well-being of man in an adverse manner
SOLUTIONS
HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH
• Population growth is often considered the
underlying issue of all environmental damage
directly or indirectly
• In just the last 40 years the human population has
more than doubled to over 7 billion people and
currently continues that growth at a rate of
approximately 1.14% each year
• World Population Meter
• Every 5 days the human population increases by
more than 1 million people
HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH
• Current =
exponential growth
• Problem: Family
explosion
• Solution: Population
maintenance
• One child per adult to
replace the previous
generation
HUMAN POPULATION GROWTH
• Unmanaged population growth causes strains on
resources
• Famine, disease, malnutrition
• Population growth is not constant. Disease and
famine can provide temporary relief from
overpopulation struggles.
• There is currently no shortage of food worldwide,
just an issue of dispersal and management of waste
URBANIZATION
• Steady movement of the
human population into
more urban environments
• 53% of the world’s
population lives in an
urban environment
• Urbanization can lead to
more concentrated
pollution issues and can
take away fertile land for
agriculture
URBANIZATION
• Megacities represent prime example of what
urbanization can do to an ecosystem. Megacities
change the environment around them and strain
local resources.
• By 2030:
• China will have 221 cities with
more than 1 million people
• 5 billion people worldwide will
live in urban areas
URBANIZATION
• Urbanization is worse in
developing countries because
of a lack of infrastructure to
support a large and increasing
population
• Most rapid area of population
growth
• High birth rate and decreasing
death rates
• Due to a lack of resources in rural
areas
SUSTAINABILITY AND CARRYING
CAPACITY
• With a growing population and higher
concentration of people in urban areas the
question for environmentalists is how many people
can the Earth support?
• Not a matter of numbers but a
question of what kind of quality
of life people are willing to live
with.
CARRYING CAPACITY
• Carrying capacity is the maximum number of
organisms an environment can support
• Predictions for the human
population range from
2.5 billion to 40 billion.
CARRYING CAPACITY
Carrying capacity depends on 4 things:
• Food availability
• Water supply
• Living space
• Environmental conditions
CARRYING CAPACITY
• Sociobiologist E.O. Wilson has predicted that the human
population will be limited by food resources and reach
capacity at 10 billion people by 2100.
• Before reaching capacity humans will have to be willing to live
as vegetarians to maximize available food resources.
SUSTAINABILITY
• Sustainability means the ability to continue a
defined behavior indefinitely
• Sustainability depends on
the balance of three things:
• Environment
• Society
• Economy
SUSTAINABILITY
• 3 standards of environmental sustainability from Herman
Daly (American ecological economist, 1990):
• 1. For renewable resources, the rate of harvest should not
exceed the rate of regeneration (sustainable yield)
• 2. [For pollution] The rates of waste generation from projects
should not exceed the assimilative capacity of the
environment (sustainable waste disposal)
• 3. For nonrenewable resources the depletion of the
nonrenewable resources should require comparable
development of renewable substitutes for that resource.
SUSTAINABILITY
Types of sustainability
• Sustainability of resources: harvesting at the same rate
for a specified amount of time into the future
• Sustainability of an ecosystem: maintenance of
primary functions for a specified amount of time into
the future
SUSTAINABILITY
• Actions that must be taken to promote a sustainable
global ecosystem include:
• Changing lifestyles and current values
• Encouraging all global citizens to live sustainably
• Planning to meet future issues with sustainable solutions
• Focusing on the positive impacts of sustainable lifestyles
• Making the Earth a safe and clean place to live and work
PEOPLE AND NATURE
• A major challenge in environmental issues is figuring
out the relationship between people and the
environment
Theme Question:
What is more important, survival of people alive
today or conservation of the environment for the
future?
PEOPLE AND NATURE
Two Approaches
• Separate people from nature.
• This assumes that humans are at fault for environmental
problems and the solution is to stop those actions
• People are connected to nature.
• Searches for long term solutions to environmental problems
by recognizing that we need nature and that nature is
affected by us
• Supports an “Earth-centered” approach to life
PEOPLE AND NATURE
• Anthropocentrism focuses on human welfare and
well-being
• Ecocentrism focuses on environmental conservation
and stewardship (man= nature)
• Technocentrism focuses on utilizing technology to
analyze natural patterns and make accurate
predictions that influence policy
PEOPLE AND NATURE
• Focusing on environmental issues from the
ecocentric approach requires finding ways to use
nature without abusing it, and co-existing naturally
within the global ecosystem
• Natural solutions in Namibia
PEOPLE AND NATURE
• Conservation is the physical act of preserving or
protecting resources that are valuable to the
environment
• Stewardship is an ethical choice to live in way that
responsibly manages resources
• Approaches possessions as a gift
• Manages possessions with a greater purpose in
mind
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
• Local issues can turn into global issues (Examples:
famine, ozone depletion, greenhouse gases)
• Gaia Hypothesis: the environment has been
changed by life which has in turn led to changes
that improve chances for life to continue
• Developed by British chemist James Lovelock and
American biologist Lynn Margulis
GAIA THEORY
• Developed in the 1960’s by Dr. James Lovelock
after he worked with NASA to determine the
probability of life on Mars
• Proposes that the Earth, like other natural systems,
reacts to changes in stimuli in order to maintain a
type of homeostasis within ecosystems
• Suggests that natural changes force ecosystems to
adjust in ways that continue to promote the
existence of life
GAIA THEORY
Example:
• According to scientists, solar energy on Earth has
increased by 30% since the formation of the planet
• Increased temperatures on Earth have resulted in higher
levels of algae in the oceans
• The large algae populations release sulfur gas as a waste
product that seeds the formation of clouds over the
open ocean
• Increased cloud production regulates temperatures over
the open ocean, promotes the production of raindrops
and returns sulfur to terrestrial ecosystems
SCIENCE AND VALUES
• To choose what action to take to solve
environmental problems we have to choose what
we want the environment to be and what options
are available to get us to that goal
Why is nature
important to you?
SCIENCE AND VALUES
Justifications for action
Utilitarian: benefits
the economy or is
necessary for survival
Saving salmon populations in
the Pacific Northwest is
essential for the livelihood of
the people and tourism
industries in those communities
Ecological: benefits
another species
important to us
Mangrove swamps must be
protected because they
support fish populations that
people eat
SCIENCE AND VALUES
Aesthetic: beauty of
nature
Recreational: use of
nature for observation
or sport
People enjoy the scenic value
of nature and want to preserve
nature for their enjoyment
People like to experience
nature through hiking, fishing,
running,etc.
SCIENCE AND VALUES
Inspirational: nature
can benefit the
human spirit
People feel a deep
connection with nature.
Nature can be viewed as
therapy for mental and
emotional health.
Frederick Olmstead argued that
plantings of vegetation provided
medical, psychological and social
benefits to people living in cities. He
is famous for designing the
landscape in New York’s Central
Park and the Biltmore Estate in
Ashville, NC.
SCIENCE AND VALUES
Creative: nature is a
source of artistic
creativity
Moral: the environment
has the right to exist
and it is our obligation
to help it
Because of our moral
obligation to preserve nature
governments have chosen
to pass laws to protect it
SCIENCE AND VALUES
Cultural: different
cultures have
different values in
regard to nature’s
place within their
belief system
In preparing ground for a new
building Buddhist monks may
pick up and move earthworms
inhabiting the area