Pollution, Causes of Environmental Problems,

and Principles of Sustainability

Ch. 1, part 2Living in the Environment

Miller and Spoolman, 16th ed.

Pollution

Main idea: preventing pollution is more effective and less costly than cleaning up pollution

2 main types of pollution

1. Point source - comes from a single, identifiable source

2 main types of pollution

2. Nonpoint source - dispersed, difficult to identify

2 main types of pollutants

1. Biodegradable - can be broken down by natural processes

E.g. sewage, paper, green waste

2 main types of pollutants

2. Nondegradable - natural processes cannot break them downe.g. toxins like lead, mercury, arsenic

Effects of pollutants1. Degrades life support systems

for humans and other species2. Damages wildlife, health,

property3. Create nuisances like noise,

unpleasant smells and sights

Quick Think

Have you ever been somewhere and seen obvious pollution?Where?How did it make you feel?

Clean-up vs. Prevention

Do we ask: How can we clean up this pollution?Or do we ask: How can we prevent pollution from occurring?

Clean upAka output pollution controlIt is only a temporary solution

Pollution keeps happening

It often just shifts the problem

Trash is burned - land clean but air is now dirtyTrash is buried - water and soil pollution

High levels of pollutants nearly impossible to clean up cheaply

Why do we have environmental problems?

5 major reasons:Population growthWasteful and unsustainable resource usePovertyFailure to include the environmental cost of products in their pricesLack of knowledge about how the environment works

Population growth

The human population is growing exponentially

More people means more resource use and pollution

Agree or disagree?

a)Stabilizing population size is not desirable because it would halt economic growth

b)We will not run out of resources because our technology and ingenuity will help us find substitutes

Poverty

Definition - when people are unable to meet their basic needs for food, water, shelter, health, and education

How poverty hurts the environment

Focus is daily survivalDesperate for resources, these people will degrade or deplete whatever is availableWorrying about the long term survival of an ecosystem is a luxury they cannot afford

Slum city in Mexico

Poverty hurts childrenOften trapped in an endless loop of povertyParents have many kids to help with

Gathering food, waterTending crops, livestockCaring for them in their old age

People in Poverty suffer the affects of pollution more acutely

Malnutrition - lack of protein and nutrients in diet

More likely to die from things like diarrhea and measlesOver 12,000 children under 5 die from diarrhea every day

Food for thoughtThis is equivalent to 60 fully loaded 200-passenger airliners crashing and killing everyone aboard, every day

Why haven’t you heard of this before?

How do you feel?

When you read that over 12,000 children die from diarrhea every day, do you:

a) Doubt that it is trueb) Not want to think about itc) Feel hopelessd) Feel sade) Feel guiltyf) Want to do something about it?

People in poverty suffer the affects of pollution more acutelyNo sanitation systems for 38% of the world’s populationWater for drinking, bathing, cooking contaminated with human waste

Life-Straw - personal filtration system could save millions

Poor Man’s Gatorade Palm full of sugar and a pinch of salt

We CAN solve these problems - if we WANT to

Affluence hurts the environment, too

High levels of consumptionWasteful use of resourcesFueled by advertising making us think having more stuff will make us happyIt takes 27 trailers of resources per year for each American

On the other hand…

Affluence means having the luxury of caring about the environment

What is your environmental worldview

In your notebook, set aside a page titled:My environmental worldview - August, 2010

We will revisit it in May

People differ in their viewpoints about the environment

Environmental worldview - your values and what you think your role in the world should beEnvironmental ethics - our beliefs about what is right and wrong about how we treat the environment

Planetary Management Worldview

Man is separate from natureNature exists to meet our needs and wants

We can use our ingenuity and technology to continue living the way we do now

Stewardship worldviewCan and should manage planet for our benefitHave a responsibility to care for itEncourage environmentally friendly growth and development

Environmental Wisdom Worldview

Man is a part of, and dependent on, natureNature exists for all life, not just for usEncourages green businessLearn how life sustains itself and work within nature to sustain ourselves

Agree or disagree?a) Humans are superior to other forms of lifeb) Humans are in charge of the earthc) All economic growth is goodd) The value of other forms of life depends on whether they

are useful to use) Because all forms of life eventually go extinct, we should

not worry if our activities cause premature extinctionf) All forms of life have an inherent right to existg) Nature has an almost unlimited store of resources for

human useh) Technology will help solve our environmental problemsi) I do not believe that I “owe” anything to future

generationsj) I do not believe I have an “obligation” to protect other

forms of life

What are the basic beliefs of your environmental worldview?

Record your ideas in your notebook.

4 scientific principles of sustainability

Life on earth has survived and adapted to change for millions of yearsWe can study how and learn how to sustain ourselves

Lessons from nature

1. Rely on solar energy 2. Biodiversity sustains life3. Population control preserves

resources4. Nutrient cycling - no waste in

nature

Quick Write:

Choose 1 word to describe what we have been studying so far

thenWrite a short paragraph explaining why you chose that word