Chapter 1: Sustainability

1. Chapter 1: Sustainability

3. 1-2GROWTH AND THE WEALTH GAP

4. EXPONENTIAL GROWTH • IS WHERE THE QUANTITY INCREASESBY A FIXED PERCENTAGE OF THE WHOLE IN A GIVEN TIME AS EACH INCREASE IS APPLIED TO THE BASE FOR FURTHER GROWTH. • IS J SHAPED. • DOUBLING TIME - THE RULE OF 70. • 70/% OF GROWTH RATE = DOUBLING TIME IN YEARS. • k = (1/t)ln(N/N0) • t = (1/k)ln(N/N0)

5. DEVELOPING COUNTRIES • LOW INDUSTRIALIZATION AND PER CAPITA GNPs. • MAKES UP 80% OF THE WORLDS POPULATION. • 15% OF THE WORLD’S WEALTH AND INCOME. • ONLY USE 12% OF THE WORLD’S RESOURCES.

6. LINEAR POPULATION GROWTH • IS A QUANTITY THAT INCREASES AT A CONSTANT AMOUNT PER UNIT OF TIME. • IF PLOTTED ON A GRAPH IT WOULD BE A STRAIGHT LINE.

7. How many people live on the earth? • About 5 million • About 2 billion • Over 6 billion • Over 10 billion

8. The earth’s population is currently 6.6 billion people. The rate of population growth is 1.2 percent. How large will the earth’s population be after 58 years? • 10.2 billion people • 12.6 billion people • 13.2 billion people

9. DEVELOPING COUNTRIES • LOW INDUSTRIALIZATION AND PER CAPITA GNPs. • MAKES UP 80% OF THE WORLDS POPULATION. • 15% OF THE WORLD’S WEALTH AND INCOME. • ONLY USE 12% OF THE WORLD’S RESOURCES.

10. Because developing nations make up 81% of the world’s population, they generate most of the pollution and waste as well as using most of the world’s resources. • True • False

11. Based on the map, in which three countries would you not expect to find high levels of poverty? • United States, Argentina, Japan • United States, China, Australia • Greenland, Kenya, South Africa • Mexico, Brazil, Canada

12. However: There are high levels of poverty there.

13. Threats to the Environment • RAPID POPULATION GROWTH • RAPID AND WASTEFUL USE OF RESOURCES WITH TOO LITTLE EMPHASIS ON POLLUTION PREVENTION AND WASTE REDUCTION • POVERTY • FAILURE OF POLICIES THAT ENCOURAGE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

14. Poverty and Developing Countries • Poor countries • Focused on daily survival • Desperate to find land and water • They need offspring to carry water, gather fuel, tend crops

15. DEVELOPING COUNTRIES • LOW INDUSTRIALIZATION AND PER CAPITA GNPs (GDP). • Economic Growth is not as high as population numbers • HUMAN CONDITIONS ARE NOT IMPROVED • MAKES UP 80% OF THE WORLDS POPULATION. • 15% OF THE WORLD’S WEALTH AND INCOME. • ONLY USE 12% OF THE WORLD’S RESOURCES

17. WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT THE WEALTH GAP? • NOTHING, BECAUSE PEOPLE MAKE THEIR OWN BED SO THE MUST LIVE IN IT. IF WE HELP THEM WE WILL BE CREATING A WELFARE STATE.THUS HURTING THEM IN THE LONG RUN. • SOMETHING, BECAUSE THE POOR ARE DYING. • THE POOR can HAVE A MORE ADVERSE AFFECT ON THE ENVIRONMENT THAN THE DEVELOPED COUNTRIES.

18. Graph Reading: Which country has the highest per capita footprint?

19. Which needs the most hectares for their consumption?

20. Which of the following countries has the highest ecological footprint per capita? • India • The Netherlands • The United States • All are about the same

21. Reduce your footprint by • Reduce – use less (how many shoes you need) • Reuse – Use again (refillable bottle) • Recycle – Use again in a different form (buy remanufactured goods made from used materials) • Remanufacture- manufacture goods to last Tires, car parts

22. 1-3 ECOLOGICAL VS. ECONOMIC RESOURCES • ECOLOGICAL RESOURCE - IS ANYTHING REQUIRED BY AN ORGANISM FOR NORMAL MAINTENANCE, GROWTH, AND PRODUCTION. • ECONOMIC RESOURCE - IS ANYTHING OBTAINED FROM THE ENVIRONMENT TO MEET HUMAN NEEDS AND WANTS.

23. Nonrenewable resources: • Are fixed in quantity • Include solar energy • Degrade quickly once they have been extracted from the earth • Can be exhausted completely

24. Putting a Price on Nature Costanza et al., 1997

25. What is the tragedy of the commons? • The depletion of non-renewable resources • The degradation of renewable free-access resources • The seizing of natural resources by government • The underuse of resources that could benefit needy people

26. How is pollution a “Commons” problem? Inverse of pastureland problem (putting in, not taking away) Unit cost of polluting is much less than cost of proper disposal. Like other “Commons”, problem is compounded by population The propriety of actions must be evaluated within the context of current conditions

27. …and “Shared” resources Extend across exclusion boundaries: • Non-renewable resources • Migratory animals • Complex ecosystems (rainforests) • Global atmosphere and ocean quality • Regional seas, lakes, rivers

28. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS to The Tragedy • USE THE COMMON-PROPERTY RESOURCE AT RATES BELOW WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE BY REDUCING POPULATION AND REGULATING ACCESS. PROBLEMS – Government Laws/Taxes go up • CONVERT THE COMMON-PROPERTY TO PRIVATE OWNERSHIP. PROBLEMS – private doesn’t mean well kept

29. Three types of resources are used Natural Capitol / Resources • Earths natural processes afford Human Capitol • Physical and mental talents Manufactured Capitol • Machinery ,equipment, factories made from natural capitol and human capitol

30. VIRUS: “shop til you drop?” Affluenza :An addiction to unsustainable overconsumption and materialism in developed countries However, we can call for responsible dealing with the environment

31. Humans Have Unlimited Wants • If resources were equally unlimited, there would be no conflicts between these wants, and available goods and services.

33. 1-4 SOLUTIONS TO POLLUTION • POLLUTION CONTROL-INPUT CONTROL THREE Rs • POLLUTION PREVENTION- OUTPUT CONTROL 1. TEMPORARY BANDAGE. 2. THE CLEANUP OF ONE TYPE OF POLLUTANT MAY CAUSE ANOTHER TYPE OF POLLUTION PROBLEM. 3. COST IS TO HIGH. ONLY 1 % IS SPENT ON PREVENTION

34. SOLUTIONS TO POLLUTION POLLUTION CONTROL-INPUT CONTROL THREE Rs: reduce-reuse-recycle POLLUTION PREVENTION- OUTPUT CONTROL 1. TEMPORARY BANDAGE. 2. THE CLEANUP OF ONE TYPE OF POLLUTANT MAY CAUSE ANOTHER TYPE OF POLLUTION PROBLEM. 3. COST IS TO HIGH. ONLY 1 % IS PRESENTLY SPENT ON PREVENTION

35. THREE FACTORS DETERMINEDSEVERITY OF HARMFUL EFFECTS OF A POLLUTANT • THE CONCENTRATION LEVEL ppm ppb ppt There are limits to dilution • It chemical nature indicates PERSISTENCE OF THE POLLUTANT 3 types: Biodegradable, slowly degradable, non-degradable DDT is an example of a persistent slowly degradable pollutant. Human waste is an example of biodegradable pollutant, and toxins are examples of non-degradable pollutants HALF LIFE indicates radioactivity or instability; like plutonium

36. High throughput economy One way flow of matter and energy Cause pollutants Affluenza connected Low throughput economy Uses concepts of recycling reducing reusing Living more simply sustainably Slowing population growth Matter and energy change:Laws and Sustainability

37. Sustainable low throughput society • All forms of life depend on energy flow and matter recycling • Mimics nature • Reduce environmental impact!

38. Environmental Quality is the populations interactions, resource consumption, and technology • I = environmental impact • P = populations • A= affluence • T= technologies Developing Countries: Population and resulting environmental impact drive their hand in unsustainabal practices Developed Countries: Affluence (high rates of per capita resource abuse) and Technologies drive theirs.

39. Developing countries parents would need 60 – 2oo children to impact resources like developed countries do which have an average of 2 children.

40. Environmentally sustainable economic development Needs to be emphasized: • Rewards those who use environmentally sustainable practices • Penalizes those who do not “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Meade