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Environmental History in a Nutshell

Environmental History in a Nutshell. Geologic Time. Pretend the age of the earth (4.5+ billion years) is compressed into one calendar year. January 1 - Earth and planets formed Early March - liquid water stands in pools. Late March - earliest life

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Environmental History in a Nutshell

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  1. Environmental History in a Nutshell

  2. Geologic Time Pretend the age of the earth (4.5+ billion years) is compressed into one calendar year. January 1 - Earth and planets formed Early March - liquid water stands in pools. Late March - earliest life July - oxygen is important part of atmosphere October 25 - multicellular organisms Late November - plants and animals abundant December 15 to 25 - dinosaurs arise and disappear 11:20 pm, December 31 - Humans appear One second before midnight - Automobile invented

  3. When did Humans arrive on the scene? Age of hominids? 5-7 million years Homo erectus? 2 million years Homo sapiens? 250,000 years Neanderthals? 140,000-50,000 y.a. Separate evolutionary line? First genocide? Cro-Magnon invasion of Europe? 40,000 y.a. (fully modern anatomy) Australopithecus afarensis Homo erectus

  4. Hominid Development?

  5. Hunter-Gatherers • Humanities only “economic” activity for at least 90% of our existence. • Low population densities (small groups of 40-60; 1 person/ mi2) • Largely egalitarian - every person performs essential functions.

  6. Great Leap Forward When? 70,000 years before present Emergence of modern hunter-gatherer “toolbox”: Fish hooks, Arrows, Bows, Needles, Engravers, Awls Art Jewelry (Beads at first) Navigation/Boating? (Australia from New Guinea) Proposed Causes: Voicebox development / language Brain organization change Lascaux Caves, France

  7. Human Expansion Population growth and resulting need for more land and resources leads to migration.

  8. Human Expansion “Out of Africa” Based on Archaeological and Fossil Evidence Including Homo erectusand Homo neanderthalensis

  9. Human Expansion: based on mitochondrial DNA study of Homo sapiens

  10. Pleistocene Overkill Hypothesis • Large, slow, or tame animals become extinct shortly after hunter-gatherer arrival in New World, Polynesia, Australia / New Guinea. • Flightless birds, giant cave bear, ground sloth. Skeleton of Giant Ground Sloth, Los Angeles Giant Extinct Moa, New Zealand

  11. Agricultural Revolution Domestication of Plants and Animals Seed Agriculture - Fertile Crescent, western India, northern China, Ethiopia, southern Mexico (10,000 b.p.) Rice, wheat, and corn account for more than 50% of world population's food calories and were among the first plants domesticated (along with millet, sorghum wheat, rye, barley).

  12. Agricultural Revolution Source: Goudie, Andrew. 2006. Human Impact on the Natural Environment.

  13. Neolithic Revolution Domestication of Plants • Rice, wheat, and corn account for more than 50% of world population's food calories and were among the first plants domesticated (along with millet, sorghum wheat, rye, barley). and Animals • Dog was probably first. • Early domesticated animals: cattle, oxen, pigs, sheep, goats, guinea pigs, llama • role in agricultural production and success

  14. Agricultural Revolution Source: Goudie, Andrew. 2006. Human Impact on the Natural Environment.

  15. Agricultural Revolution Primary effects: • Urbanization • Social Stratification • Occupational Specialization • Increased population densities Teotihuacan

  16. Human Expansion and Ancient Agricultural Empires Urbanization and increased efficiency lead to population growth, increased consumption and higher density, which leads to need for more space and more natural resources. Ancient Examples: • Aztecs, Maya • Chinese Warlords / Dynasties • Polynesians • Roman Empire • Muslim / Ottoman Empire Human and environmental costs are inevitable.

  17. Natural Experiments in Environmental Studies • Successful cultures are those that adapt well to their environments. Many have not: Chaco Canyon, North Africa, Fertile Crescent, Easter Island. Chaco Canyon, New Mexico Easter Island, Polynesia

  18. Agricultural and Industrial Societies Accelerate Extinctions • Flightless birds, whales, otters • U.S. Passenger Pigeon Mauritius, Indian Ocean Dodo Bird discovered in 1598, extinct by 1681. Dodo Bird, Mauritius, Indian Ocean

  19. Age of European Discovery, Exploration, and Colonization 1492 - 1771: • Bartholomew Dias (Portugal), 1488 - rounds Cape of Good Hope • Columbus, 1492 (Spanish/Italian) - first of four voyages to “New World” • Vasco De Gama (Portugal), 1498 - reaches India • Magellan (Portugal), 1519 - First Circumnavigation • James Cook (England), 1768-1771 - voyages in Pacific / Polynesia; end of era of Discovery The geographical knowledge acquired was crucial to the expansion of European political and economic power in the 16th Century.

  20. Captain James Cook Source: Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 2007.

  21. World Migration Routes Since 1700 European African (slaves) Indian Chinese Japanese Majority of population descended from immigrants Slide graphic courtesy of Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Hofstra University

  22. Industrial Revolution(The Atlantic-industrial Era) Belt of industrial cities form an economic core based on fossil fuel consumption. 1733, First Cotton Mill opens in England 1793, Eli Whitney invents cotton ‘gin 1800, steam engines become common (steamboats, locomotives) 1837, Morse (and two Brits, independent of Morse ) invent telegraph 1877, Bell invents telephone 1908, Henry Ford delivers first Model T • Environmental Effects? • Energy Consumption • Natural Resources • Land Use

  23. Global Communications and Transportation Revolution(Pacific-global era) Technology: • Inexpensive International Air Transport (1960s - present) • Internet and earlier Arpanet (1960s) • Personal Computer (1980s) • Satellite Communications (1990s) • Containerization of Cargo (1950s) • Globalization of Economies - Rise of Transnational Corporations Environmental Effects?

  24. Globalization Nearly everything moves farther and more quickly today: Innovations, Diseases, People, Ideologies, Financial Crises, Information. How does this affect the environment?

  25. 25 Largest Multinational Corporations, 2007Source:Global Policy Forum (www.globalpolicy.org)

  26. Today’s Technological Revolution What emerging technologies will change the world? Which parts of the world stand poised to capitalize on them? • Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology • Artificial Intelligence • Robotics and micro-robotics • Nanotechnology • Economic Globalization Environmental Effects?

  27. Human Population Growth Source: Data from U.S. Census Bureau World Population Clock (click)

  28. Population and the Environment I = P x A x T (Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology) • Population-influenced environmental problems: • Global Warming • Habitat Loss / Endangered Species • Resource Depletion • Food Production

  29. Population and Resource Consumption

  30. Individual Annual Energy Use (Goudie, 2006) Technology, Energy Consumption, and Environmental Impact • There has been a dramatic increase in: • individual energy use over time: 3,000 kcal/person - 300,000 kcal/person (each of us in the U.S. has the equivalent of about 100 energy servants) • the power of technology to change the environment: think stone axe versus bulldozer versus atomic bomb. • the scope and severity of environmental impacts.

  31. Human Impact on the Planet, 2002 Red represents roads, power lines, major landscape change (e.g. agriculture), pipelines, and urbanized areas.Source:UNEP, 2002

  32. Carrying Capacity and Ecological Footprint The carrying capacity of a biological species in an environment is the population size of the species that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water and other necessities available in the environment. For the human population, more complex variables such as sanitation and medical care are sometimes considered as part of the necessary infrastructure. The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It compares human demand with planet Earth's ecological capacity to regenerate. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area needed to regenerate the resources a human population consumes and to absorb and render harmless the corresponding waste. Ecological Footprint Calculator

  33. Sustainable Development • The ability of humanity to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. • (The World Commission on Environment and Development’s (the Brundtland Commission) report ”Our Common Future”, 1987) Sustainable development involves a triple bottom line: the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity. (World Business Council on Sustainable Development) Video Link - TED Talk: Johan Rockstrom

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