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Introduction To Environmental Science

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18 views

Introduction To Environmental Science

Uploaded by

Cassiel Contreras
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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In every deliberation, we must consider our impact on the next seven generations.

- The Iroqouis Confederacy


⚫ Environmental science is the study of the
interaction of humans with the natural
environment.
⚫ The environment includes all conditions that
surround living organisms:
⚫ Climate
⚫ Air and water quality
⚫ Soil and landforms
⚫ Presence of other living organisms
⚫ Environmental science and the
issues that it studies are
complex and interdisciplinary.
⚫ Includes concepts and ideas
from multiple fields of study.
⚫ Decisions have impacts in
all these fields of study.

Source: Principles of
Environmental Science,
Cunningham, 2005.
⚫ A community decides to use coal for

electricity, as it is the cheapest


source available. (Economics)
⚫ The coal must be mined from under

the
soil. (Geology)
⚫ The coal must be transported to

the population center by road or


rail. (Engineering)
⚫ When it is burned at a power plant,

air pollution is released. Some of that


pollution is converted to acid in the
⚫ Resource Depletion
⚫ A great deal of resources are needed to support
the human population (~7 billion).
⚫ Renewable resources can be replenished within a
human
lifetime.
⚫ Timber, water.
⚫ The supply of nonrenewable resources is
replenished extremely slowly, if at all. These can
be used up.
⚫ Coal, oil, minerals.
⚫ Pollution
⚫ Pollution is a degradation or
an undesired change in air,
water, or soil that affects the
health of living things.
⚫ Biodegradable pollution will
break down naturally over
time.
⚫ Nondegradable pollution does
not break down.
⚫ Pollution, whether in air or water, can move and
affect ecosystems far away from the source.
⚫ This map shows the areas with the
highest concentrations of air pollution.
⚫ Loss of Biodiversity
⚫ The number of species on the Earth is unknown,
but estimated to be in the tens of millions.
⚫ Biodiversity is the number of different species
present in
one specific ecosystem.
⚫ Extinction, or the complete loss of a species, is a
natural event that can be accelerated by human
actions.
⚫ There are five known major extinction events
in Earth’s history.
⚫ The most recent major extinction, about 65 million
years ago, caused 75% of all species to disappear
from the Earth.
⚫ Believed to have been caused by a meteor impact.
⚫ Environmental ethics is the discipline that studies
the moral relationship of human beings to the
environment.
⚫ What is the value of the environment?
⚫ What moral responsibility do we have in dealing with
the major environmental problems that result from
our resource consumption?
⚫ Which needs should be given the highest priority in
our decision making?
⚫ Two main categories of ethics have emerged in human
culture in modern history.
⚫ Anthropocentrism literally
means “human-centered”.
⚫ This set of ethics protects and
promotes of human interests or
well-being at the expense of all
other factors.
⚫ Often places an emphasis
on short-term benefits while
disregarding long-term
consequences.
⚫ Ecocentrists believe that
nature deserves to exist for
its own sake regardless of
degree of usefulness to
humans.
⚫ The preservation of
ecosystems or other
living things takes
priority over human
needs.
⚫ The debate about whether to build a dam in the
Hetch Hetchy valley was one of the first big debates
between these two philosophies.

Anthropocentrists Ecocentrists
argued that San argued that
Francisco needed this violated
the water, and this the very
was by far the purpose of the
most viable Federal Parks
option. were to be
preserved
ecosystems –
untouched by
human hands.
⚫ The dam was eventually
constructed.
⚫ The justification for building it was
best stated by Gifford Pinochet, the
first man in charge of the U.S.
Forest Service.
"Where conflicting interests must be
reconciled, the question shall always
be answered from the standpoint of
the greatest good of the greatest
number in the long run.“
⚫ This philosophy, called resource
conservationism, was also advocated
by Teddy Roosevelt.
⚫ The focus of the resource conservationists was to
protect open land.
⚫ The National Parks system, and the National
Forest system were both created during this time.
⚫ In 1952, the Cuyahoga river in Ohio
caught fire due to all the pollution
that had accumulated in it.
⚫ Rachel Carson published a book in
1962 entitled Silent Spring about the
effects of pesticides on large predatory
birds, particularly the bald eagle.
⚫ This began a public awakening to
threats of pollution and toxic chemicals
to humans as well as other species.
⚫ This movement is called Modern
Environmentalism.
⚫ Increased travel and communication enables people to
know about daily events in places unknown in
previous generations.
⚫ Global environmentalism explores issues and
problems over the entire world, not just within the
local community.

Live streaming footage of


the Deepwater Horizon oil
spill in 2010 was watched
worldwide.
⚫ What if the commons was instead divided into
sections that was owned by each villager?
⚫ Because the land is owned, individuals are much
more likely to plan and use it for the long-term.
⚫ One of the factors that led to the
Bhopal disaster and lack of
cleanup is that at the time, India
was a developing country.
⚫ Developing countries have lower
incomes, shorter life spans, and
rapid population growth.
⚫ Developing countries,
overpopulated and desperate for
economic gain, tend to have less
regulations on their industries
and fewer environmental
protections.
⚫ Developed countries, while smaller in size and
growth, consume resources at a greater rate.
⚫ About 20% of the world’s population uses 75% of
its resources.
U.S. Japan Mexico Indonesia
Life Expectancy 77 81 71.5 68
Population Growth 0.8% 0.2% 1.7% 1.8%
Rate
Gross National $29,240 $32,350 $3,840 $640
Product Per Person
Energy Use Per Person 351 168 59 18
(Millions of BTUs)
Carbon Dioxide 20.4 9.3 3.5 2.2
Produced Annually
Per Person

Garbage Produced 720 400 300 43


Annually Per Person

Source: Holt Environmental Science, Arms, 2007


⚫ An ecological footprint is one measurement of a
person’s resource use.
⚫ Includes the amount of space needed to support each
person in a nation, including forests, farms, cities,
etc.
⚫ Developed countries have a much larger
footprint, reflecting a much larger use of
resources.
⚫ Sustainability is when human needs are met
so that the population can survive
indefinitely.
⚫ “Meeting the needs of the
present without
compromising the ability
of future generations to
meet their own needs.”
⚫ Brundtland
Commission, 1987

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