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Environmental 　 Problems and Their Causes

Chapter outline: Environmental and Resource ProblemsDefinition of Environmental Science, Major Environmental Problems and their Causes, Environmental and Resource Problem: Population Growth, Wasteful Use of Renewable and Non-Renewable Resource, ecological footprints, environmental Impact; Environmental Interconnectedness and Globalization.

Key Concepts

What are the Major Environmental Problems

What are Their Causes

Resources ( renewable and non-renewable) and environment

How inter-connected is environmental problems

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What are the Major Environmental Problems

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Air Pollution• Global climate change• Stratospheric ozone

depletion• Urban air pollution• Acid deposition• Outdoor pollutants• Indoor pollutants• Noise

Biodiversity Depletion• Habitat destruction• Habitat degradation• Extinction

Water Pollution• Sediment• Nutrient overload• Toxic chemicals• Infectious agents• Oxygen depletion• Pesticides• Oil spills• Excess heat

Waste Production• Solid waste• Hazardous waste

Food Supply Problems• Overgrazing• Farmland loss

and degradation• Wetlands loss

and degradation• Overfishing• Coastal pollution• Soil erosion• Soil salinization• Soil waterlogging• Water shortages• Groundwater depletion• Loss of biodiversity• Poor nutrition

MajorEnvironmental

Problems

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EnvironmentEverything that affects a living organism during its lifetime

EcologyBiological science that studies relationship between living organisms and their interaction with the environment

Environmental ScienceInterdisciplinary science that uses concepts and information from natural sciences and social sciences to help us understand1) How the earth works2) How we are affecting the environment3) How we deal with environmental problems

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What are Their Causes

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The Big Five Causes

• Major causes of problems1. Population growth2. Wasteful resource use3. Poverty4. Poor environmental accounting5. Ecological and environmental

ignorance

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Environmental and Resource Problems 1. Population Growth

ExponentialGrowth

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Jcurve

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Environmental and Resource Problems 1. Population Growth

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Economic GrowthAn increase in the capacity to provide people with goods and services.

Economic growth is measured by a county’s Gross National Product (GNP or GNI)• Market value ($) of all goods and services

produced within and outside a country during a year plus net income earned abroad by a countries citizens

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Environmental and Resource Problems 2. Wasteful Resource Use

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Economic Development

The improvement of living standards by economic growth.

• Measured by • (1) degree of industrialization and (2) per capita GNI

– Developed Countries• US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, all of Europe

– Developing Counties• Most of Africa, Asia, and Latin America

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Environmental and Resource Problems 2. Wasteful Resource Use

Resources Supporting Economic Systems (1)

• Economics– Production, distribution, and consumption

of goods and services to satisfy wants and needs

– Market-based systems interact through sellers and buyers

– Supply and demand determines prices

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Resources Supporting Economic Systems (2)

• Natural capital• Human capital/human resources• Manufactured capital/manufactured

resources

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Resources Perpetual

Renewed continuously

Renewable Replenished rapidly

Non-renewableExist in a fixed quantity

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Renewable Resources

Sustainable Yield – the highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely

Environmental Degradation – process of exceeding a resources natural replacement rate.

Replacement rate of tropical forest is 6-10 yrs15

Solar Capital

EconomicSystems

Production

Consumption

Natural CapitalNatural resources such as air, land, soil,biodiversity, minerals,and energy, and naturalservices such as air andwater purification,nutrient cycling, andclimate control

Pollution and waste(overloading nature’s wastedisposal and recycling systems)

Degradation of renewableresources(used faster than replenished)

Depletion of nonrenewableresources

Heat

Goods and services

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Ecological footprint

• It is the amount of biologically productive land per person required to produce renewable resources ( food and wood) and to supply space for infrastructure.

• The average global ecological footprint per person is 2.3 hectares. ( 1999)

• The Earth’s ecological capacity is 1.9 hectares. • So it exceeds the Earth’s capacity by 20%.

Source: William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel, Redefining Progress.

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1961 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

Humanity’s Ecological Footprint

Earth’s Ecological Capacity

0.2

.4.6

.81.

01.

21.

4

2005

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In USA the Ecological Capacity is 5.3

hectares.

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Economic DevelopmentTrade-Offs

Good News Bad News

Global life expectancy doubled since 1950

Life expectancy 11 years less in developing countries than in developed countries

Food production ahead of population growth since 1978

Harmful environmental effects of agriculture may limit future food production

Infant mortality cut in half since 1955

Air and water pollution down in most developed countries since 1970

Number of people living in poverty dropped 6% since 1990

Infant mortality rate in developing countries over 8 times higher than in developed countries

Air and water pollution levels in most developing countries too high

Half of world’s people trying to live on less than $3 (U.S.) per day 20Lecture-2

Environmental and Resource ProblemsThe Big Five Causes

3. Poverty– Survival at the expense of environment– Live in areas with greater risk of natural disasters– Work in unsafe, unhealthy conditions– Life expectancy low– Many children for economic security– Death from preventable causes

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Poverty

• 22 fold ↑ in economic growth b/t 1950 and 2004

• 50% of people still trying to survive off < $3/day

• To survive they must deplete and degrade environment

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Wealth is becoming increasingly concentrated, with the richest 20% receiving most of the world's income (82.7%).

Poverty

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Data from UNDP and Ismail Serageldin, 2002, “ World Poverty and Hunger : A Challenge for Science.” Science, 296, 54-58.

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<$2700

$2700-$10,750

>$10,750

per capita GNI24

Environmental and Resource ProblemsThe Big Five Causes

4. Poor environmental accounting– Not including environmental cost of economic

goods and services in the market price– Cleanup and waste expensive and corners cut

5. Ignorance– Many have no idea about the impact of their

actions– Many “live for today”

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Environmental Impact

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Average U.S. citizen consumes 35 times more resources than of India.

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Environmental Impact, Model:

P x A x T = I

Population, PAffluence, ATechnology, TImpact, I

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Environmentally-Sustainable Economic Development

Decision making in asustainable society

Social Economic

Environmental

SustainableSolutions

Traditionaldecision making

Environmental

Social Economic

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GlobalizationThe CONNECTED world

• Globalization- process of social, economic and environmental changes that lead to increased

interconnectedness throughout world– Information (internet)– International trading– Technology– Human mobility

• **One country can’t be environmentally sustainable without the others!!

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