This document discusses environmental sustainability and what is needed for a sustainable society. It provides three key principles of sustainability: 1) dependence on solar energy, 2) biodiversity which renews soil and purifies air/water, and 3) chemical cycling which recycles nutrients. A sustainable society lives off the earth's natural processes without depleting resources. While renewable resources can be renewed, nonrenewable resources are finite and human activity has exceeded replacement rates. Developed countries have a much larger ecological footprint due to higher consumption despite being only 19% of the population.
2. Environmental SustainabilityEnvironmental Sustainability
• Sustainability – Ability of earth’s various
systems, including human cultural systems
and economies, to survive and adapt to
changing environmental conditions
indefinitely.
• Human actions have put long-term
sustainability in doubt
3. It’s All About SustainabilityIt’s All About Sustainability
• Sustainability depends on three key principles
• 1. Solar energy
– Warmth, Energy for plants to make food, Powers water
cycle, creates wind
4.
5. Principals’ of SustainabilityPrincipals’ of Sustainability
• 2. Biodiversity (biological diversity)
– Variety of species, many ecosystems, renew
soil and purify air and water
6.
7. Principals’ of SustainabilityPrincipals’ of Sustainability
• 3. Chemical Cycling
– Recycles nutrients because limited supply,
cycle from organisms to environment and
back, needed to sustain life
8.
9. Fig. 1-1, p. 5
Solar Energy
BiodiversityChemical Cycling
10. What Is an EnvironmentallyWhat Is an Environmentally
Sustainable Society?Sustainable Society?
• Our lives and economies depend on energy
from the sun, natural resources, and natural
services provided by the earth.
• Living sustainably means living off earth’s
natural processes without depleting or
degrading the natural resources.
11.
12. Living More SustainablyLiving More Sustainably
• Natural Resources - resources and services
that keep us and other forms of life alive.
• Natural resources – materials and energy in
nature that are essential or useful to humans
(air, water, soil)
• Natural services – process in nature that
support life like purification of air and water,
nutrient cycling.
15. 1-2 How Are Our Ecological1-2 How Are Our Ecological
Footprints Affecting the Earth?Footprints Affecting the Earth?
• Perpetual resource – renewed continuously (Solar energy)
• Renewable resource – days to centuries (water, air, forests,
soil, fish populations)
• Nonrenewable – fixed quantities (fossil fuels, metals, minerals)
• Environmental degradation - exceeds natural replacement
rate.
• As our ecological footprints grow, we deplete and
degrade more of the earth’s natural capital.
17. Ecological FootprintEcological Footprint
• Ecological footprint
– The amount of biologically productive land and
water needed to indefinitely supply the people in a
given area with renewable resources
– Also includes the land and water necessary to
absorb and recycle wastes and pollution
• Per capita ecological footprint
– Average ecological footprint of an individual in a
given area (takes into account number of people)
• China – large ecological footprint because so many people
• China – small per capita footprint each person only contributes a little
19. Ecological FootprintEcological Footprint
• Ecological deficit
–Total ecological footprint greater than what
the earth can support
–2008 study: at least 30% global excess
–Humans currently need 1.3 earths
–88% for high-income countries
–Need 6 earths if everyone lived like
Americans
20. Fig. 1-7, p. 13
Environmental
impact of population
(I)
Developing Countries
Population (P)
Developed Countries
Consumption
per person
(affluence, A)
Technological impact
per unit of
consumption (T)
21. Developed Countries HaveDeveloped Countries Have
Higher ImpactsHigher Impacts
• Developed countries
–United States, Japan, New Zealand,
most of Europe, some others
–19% world population
–Use 88% of world’s resources
–Create 75% of world’s pollution
22. Developing CountriesDeveloping Countries
• 81% world population
• Middle income: Brazil, China, India
• Least developed: Haiti, Nigeria,
Nicaragua
• Use far fewer resources per capita
(per person) than developed
countries
• Smaller per capita ecological footprint
23. Tragedy of the CommonsTragedy of the Commons
• Environmental degradation of openly
shared renewable resources
• Users focus on their own selfish, short-
term gain
• Works when only a small number of users
• Big part of why humans now live
unsustainably
Hinweis der Redaktion
SOLAR ENERGY Warms earth Provides energy for plants to make food for other organisms Powers winds Powers the hydrologic cycle – which includes flowing water Provides energy: wind and moving water can be turned into electricity Biodiversity Large variety of species Many ecosystems Deserts Forests Oceans Grasslands Species and systems renew soil and purify air and water.
Figure 1-1: Three principles of sustainability: These three interconnected principles of sustainability are derived from learning how nature has sustained a huge variety of life on the earth for at least 3.5 billion years despite drastic changes in environmental conditions. Globe photo used by permission. Image copyright Ragnarock, 2009. Used under license from Shutterstock.com.
Figure 1-2: Key natural resources (blue) and natural services (orange) that support and sustain the earth’s life and economies
Figure 1-3: Nutrient cycling: an important natural service that recycles chemicals needed by organisms from the environment (mostly from soil and water) through organisms and back to the environment.
Figure 1-4: Degradation of normally renewable natural resources and services in parts of the world, mostly as a result of rising population and resource use per person.
Figure 1.8: Natural capital use and degradation: total and per capita ecological footprints of selected countries (top). In 2003, humanity’s total or global ecological footprint was about 25% higher than the earth’s ecological capacity (bottom) and is projected to be twice the planet’s ecological capacity by 2050. Question: If we are living beyond the earth’s ecological capacity, why do you think the human population and per capita resource consumption are still growing exponentially? (Data from Worldwide Fund for Nature, Global Footprint Network)
Figure 1-7: Connections: simple model of how three factors—number of people, affluence (resource use per person), and technology—affect the environmental impact of populations in developing countries (top) and developed countries (bottom). While many people in affluent countries over-consume, many poor people in developing countries suffer from not having enough resources.