What is your worldview?

1. What is your worldview? • Earth’s resources can support continued economic growth. • It’s not possible to protect the environment without having a growing economy. • Problems created by past technologies will be solved by future technologies. • Perpetual growth is both good and possible. • Nature is a storehouse of raw materials to be used to satisfy increasing human needs. • Continued material growth is necessary to increase human quality of life. • Technological innovations can sustain an ever-increasing human population. • Progress means the satisfaction of increasing levels of human wishes. • Development means essentially the same thing as growth. • There is always an “away” to throw things to.

2. Expansionist Worldview: Material Growth is necessary for human happiness and is possible because of an ever-advancing technology and abundant resources.Ecological Worldview: Earth is a finite system that cannot exhibit endless growth. • All ten statements reflect beliefs of the Expansionist Worldview. • If you agreed with seven or more of the statements, count yourself among the Expansionists. • If you agreed with three or less, you probably hold the Ecological View. • Scores from four to six suggest your worldview is mixed.

3. Common aspects of environmental problems • Overpopulation

4. Too many people using too many resources

5. Carrying capacity?? (Growing by 78 million/year. Future prediction based on an assumption of continued decline in birthrates) exponential linear

6. Common aspects of environmental problems • Overpopulation • Resource depletion and habitat destruction

7. Soil erosion on farm lands

8. North Atlantic bluefin tuna auctioned in a Japanese fish market

9. Deforestation in the United States

10. Tropical deforestation

11. Fragmentation of a forest ecosystem (Mount Hood National Forest, Oregon)

12. The history of habitat reduction and fragmentation in a Wisconsin forest(Cadiz township)

13. Ohio farmland

14. Running out of Water and Time Our Thirsty World: Efficiency or Else Water Scarcity Index Science Magazine(August 2006)

15. Common aspects of environmental problems • Overpopulation • Resource depletion and habitat destruction • Pollution

16. Gulf war of 1991. Oil well fires

19. Figure Distribution of acid precipitation in North America and Europe(acidity compared with normal rainwater)

20. Acid deposition in the United States

22. Common aspects of environmental problems • Overpopulation • Resource depletion • Pollution • Changes in values All human environmental problems have their roots in one or more of the fundamental principles of ecology.

23. Sustainable: Providing humans with a better life without depleting resources that will harm future generations. Fig. 1-9. Sustainable solutions require that the concerns of sociologists, economists and ecologists intersect

24. The human factor – a brief look into the past (Ch. 2 p 49-52) • Neolithic Revolution • The development of agriculture by humans some 10,000 years ago leading to more permanent settlement and population increases. • Industrial Revolution • The development of manufacturing processes using fossil fuels and based on the application of scientific knowledge and technology (19th century). • Environmental Revolution • A change in the adaptation of humans to the rising deterioration of the environment.

25. Some U.S. History of environmental problems • Late 18th- early 19th century - European explorers claimed new lands. Deforestation, farming, settlement and introduction of new plants, animals, and diseases. • 19th century - frontier moved ever westward, land development, growing population • Mid 19th century - Onset of industrialization  resource depletion, pollution, but also start of first environmental movements

27. Some U.S. History of environmental problems • Late 18th- early 19th century - European explorers claimed new lands. Deforestation, farming, settlement and introduction of new plants, animals, and diseases. • 19th century - frontier moved ever westward, land development, growing population • Mid 19th century - Onset of industrialization  resource depletion, pollution, but also start of first environmental movements • 1930s - Conversion of large tracts of former prairie to farmland. “Sod busting”, dustbowl of the 1930, depletion of soil resources  spurred conservation movement

28. 1930s Dust Bowl

29. Some U.S. History of environmental problems • Late 18th- early 19th century - European explorers claimed new lands. Deforestation, farming, settlement and introduction of new plants, animals, and diseases. • 19th century - frontier moved ever westward, land development, growing population • Mid 19th century - Onset of industrialization  resource depletion, pollution, but also start of first environmental movements • 1930s - Conversion of large tracts of former prairie to farmland. “Sod busting”, dustbowl of the 1930, depletion of soil resources  spurred conservation movement • Early 1950s - rapid industrialization, fast population growth (“baby boom”), cheap energy • 1960s, civil activism and environmental activism (Cuyahoga River fires, Rachel Carson’s book ‘Silent Spring’ 1962), development of environmental laws and regulations.

30. Spraying of DDT Rachel Carson (1962) Silent Spring

31. Some U.S. History of environmental problems • Late 18th- early 19th century - European explorers claimed new lands. Deforestation, farming, settlement and introduction of new plants, animals, and diseases. • 19th century - frontier moved ever westward, land development, growing population • Mid 19th century - Onset of industrialization  resource depletion, pollution, but also start of first environmental movements • 1930s - Conversion of large tracts of former prairie to farmland. “Sod busting”, dustbowl of the 1930, depletion of soil resources  spurred conservation movement • Early 1950s - rapid industrialization, fast population growth (“baby boom”), cheap energy • 1960s, civil activism and environmental activism (Cuyahoga River fires, Rachel Carson’s book ‘Silent Spring’ 1962), development of environmental laws and regulations. • 1970s – energy shortages, new laws, scientific search for alternative energy sources. First Earth Day. Environmental movement - first local and regional issues, then national and global concerns • 1980s – (perception of) too much government intervention  slows meaningful clean-up (‘Superfund’). • 1990 – present - Increased recognition for longer term, more global concerns.

32. The growth and industrialization in the U.S. and Europe in the early 1950s was in large part due to • government intervention. • environmental activism. • the first law of thermodynamics. • the discovery of gold out west. • cheap energy.