Intro to Sustainability
What is Earth considered?
"Water Planet"
What are the results from the American Conservation Movement (1850-1920)?
-Redefined social contract between humans and environment -Invented the concept of National Parks & forests, wildlife refuges for commercial and recreational use by society -Developed first scientific understanding of how environment functional, integrated scientific approach to resource management into government policy -Pioneered technical practices to improve resource management -Established major federal institutions w/ responsibility for land & resource conservation -Commercial impact of pollution on human health & welfare -Publication and travel exposed many to the beauty of the natural environment & consequences of human activities
Wicked problems have certain key characteristics:
-no universal agreement on problem -no defined end solution, end assessed as "better" or "worse" -problem may change over time -no clear stopping rule -problem associated w/high uncertainty of both components and outcomes -values & societal growth are not shared by others
Impacts of non-sustainable development:
-obesity -economic segregation -water quality -extreme weather -social capital -impacts of climate change -food production
How was it in the 1850s?
15% of population lived in cities, country is becoming more urbanized and literate
When did the Brundtland Commission issue the final report to "Our Common Future"?
1987
Humans can only live?
A few minutes w/o oxygen, about a week w/o water, and about a month w/o food
Overconsumption:
A long-term result in which the increase in consumption is greater than the efficiency improvement.
Conclusion of Chapter 1:
Absent the enactment of new policies and practices that confront the global issues of economic disparities, environmental degradation, and social inequality, the future needs of humanity and the attainment of our aspirations and goals are not assured.
Weak sustainability:
All forms of capital are more or less substitutes for one another; no regard has to be given to the consumption of the stock of capital. Weak Sustainability allows for the depletion or degradation of natural resources, so long as such depletion is offset by increases in the stocks of other forms of capital.
Strong sustainability:
All forms of capital must be maintained intact independent of one another. Only by maintaining both natural and produced capital stocks intact can non-declining income be assured.
How much of the ecosystem services are being degraded or used unsustainably?
Approximately 60%
Toxic chemicals:
Arsenic & mercury
How does water occur naturally?
As a solid, liquid, or gas
Major Conservation Societies formed:
Audubon Society (1886), Sierra Club (1892), & National Wildlife Federation (1935)
Silent Spring (1962):
By Rachel Carson about the impact of the widespread and indiscriminate use of pesticides
Bacteria decompose dead organic matter & remove dissolved oxygen:
C H 2 O + O 2 = C O 2 + H 2 O
Contaminated Areas:
Can sense the effects of poor air quality; increased incidence of respiratory disease, watery eyes, odors, inability to enjoy being outside for more than a few minutes, and diminished visibility
Environmental risk:
Chance of harmful effects to human health or to ecological systems resulting from exposure to any physical, chemical, or biological entity in the environment that can induce an adverse response
Legislation formed:
Departments of Interior (1849), Agriculture (1862), US Forest Service (1881), Geological Survey (1879), & National Park Service (1916)
Sustainable Development:
Development that meets the needs of the present w/o compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
What does natural water contain?
Dissolved chemicals
When did Transcendental Movement diminish?
During the latter half of the 19th Century
Ecosystems:
Dynamic systems of human, plant, animal, and microorganism communities and the non living environment that interact as a functional unit.
Dimensions sustainability seeks to integrate:
Economic, Environment, and Social>>Bearable, Equitable, and Viable>>Sustainable
Individuals contributed to understanding scientific under pinning of environment & educating practitioners:
Eugene Hilgard (agricultural society) John Wesley Powell (water rights) George Perkins Mash (ecological science) Franklin Hough Gifford Pinchot (sustainable forestry) J. Sterling Morton (forestry & environmental education, co. founder of Arbor Day) Frederick Law Olmstead (landscape architecture) Alice Hamilton (industrial hygiene)
Oxygen-demanding waste:
Extremely important pollutants to ecosystems
What can the beginnings of environment risk management be traced back to?
Fields of public health, industrial hygiene, and sanitary engineering
Risk communication:
Formal and informal processes of communication. Among various parities who are potentially at risk from or are otherwise interested in the threatening agent/action
What two types of water are strongly interrelated?
Groundwater and surface water
Other notable contributors to transcendental movement:
Henry David Thoreau (abolitionist & author of Walden & Civil Disobedience) Margaret Fuller (editor of transcendental journals "The Dial" & wrote "Woman in 19th Century") Walt Whitman (poet "Leaves of Grass")
Level of complexity illustrated by the acid rain:
Hypoxic-conditions in coastal regions of the world caused by excessive release of nutrients principally dissolved nitrogen & phosphorous from artificial fertilizer applied to crops. Stratospheric Ozone Depletion-caused by the release if certain classes of chlorofluorocarbon compounds used as propellants & refrigerants. Urbanization & Sprawl-Population density in urban areas. Storm Water Management-Habitat destruction, infrastructure renewal, health care needs, traffic congestion, loss of leisure time, issues of social equality.
I=P x A x T
I= impacts of a given course of action on the environment. P=relevant human population for the problem at hand. A=level of consumption per person. T=impact per unit of consumption (technology)
Formation of ore deposits:
Igneous crystallization, hydrothermal, metamorphism, sedimentary processes, biological processes, weathering
3 classes of rock:
Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
Global Climate Change:
Increase in temperature and storm and flooding frequency, ocean acidification, displacement of human population, loss of biodiversity, seal level rises caused by human-induced emission of greenhouse gases.
Tons of rain at the equator:
Intense sunlight at equator heats air, causing it to rise and cool, which decreases the ability of the air mass to hold water vapor and results in frequent rainstorms
Risk Management:
Involves the integration of risk assessment w/ other considerations to reach decisions regarding the need for and practicability of implementing various risk reduction activities
What is the American Conservation Movement?
It is the rise of environmental risk management as a basis for policy and integration of social and economic factors
Who did the Transcendental Movement influence?
John Muir to promote environmental public policy. Muir, naturalist, author, & founder of Sierra Club. Muir was close to Emerson and President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt:
Known as conservation president. Responsible for 225 million acres of land added to US. Forest Service and creation of 50 wildlife refugees, 150 national forests (11% of total land area in 48 states)
What three groups make influences on the way we thought of ourselves in relation to the environment during mid-19 century?
Land use policies, environment goods, and services on growing population. These groups are "resource efficiency" group, the transcendentalist movement, & organized industrial interests
What does water shortages affect?
Many arid and densely populated areas
What can have a considerable impact on the environment?
Mining and processing ore
Bottled water:
NOT a sustainable solution to the water crisis
What is the most infamous episode in pollution history?
Periodic fires that floated through downtown Cleveland, Ohio on the Cuyahoga River, causing considerable damage
How do pollutants enter water supplies?
Point sources, which are readily identifiable & relatively small locations, or nonpoint source, which are large & more different use of areas
Issue of social injustice:
Poor people generally get less access to clean water and commonly pay more for water than wealthy people
Environmental risk assessment:
Quantities way of arriving at a statistical probability of an adverse action occurring. 1. ID nature and end point of the risk 2. Development of quantitative methods of an analysis 3. Determination of the extent of exposure 4. Calculation of risk, usually expressed as a statistical likelihood
Acknowledged leader of transcendental movement:
Ralph Waldo Emerson (beginning w/ his seminal essay "Nature" (1836)
What happens every 4 to 6 years by the EPA?
Release its report on the environment, a collection of data and analysis of trends on environmental quality
What are the most commonly used water sources?
Rivers and lakes, which contain less than .01% of the worlds water (97% is seawater)
What are global precipitation and climate patterns affected by?
Size of continents, major ocean currents, and mountains
What does the level of water pollution depend on?
The abundance of the pollutant, the ecological impact of the pollutant, & the use of the water
What does the water cycle shows?
The movement of water throughout different reservoirs, which include oceans, atmosphere, glaciers, groundwater, lakes, rivers, and biosphere. Solar energy and gravity drive the motion of water in the water cycle.
Eco-efficiency:
approach that seeks to minimize environmental impacts by maximizing material and energy efficiencies of production.
Ecosystem services:
benefits humans receive from ecosystems
Mineral conservation:
bio oxidation, bioleaching, bio sorption, and genetic engineering of microbes
Hard water:
calcium & magnesium
Rainwater harvesting:
catching and storing rainwater for reuse before it reaches the ground
Soil Conservation & sustainable forestry:
ceased to influence policy w/ resultant mismanagement on a wide scale
Pathogens:
disease-causing microorganisms
aquitard:
earth material w/ low hydraulic conductivity
Water is the most...
essential compound for Earth's life
Mineral Resources:
essentials modern industrial society
Water crisis:
global situation where people in many areas lack access to sufficient water or clean water or both
aquifer:
high permeability and medium to high porosity
Rebound:
increased consumption that negates part of the efficiency gains.
Define modern society:
iron ore for steel, phosphate minerals for fertilizer, limestone rock for concrete, rare earth elements for night-vision goggles and phosphors in computer monitors, and lithium minerals for batteries in our laptops, cell phones, and electric cars.
Groundwater:
large reservoir of usable freshwater, containing more than 30 times more water than rivers and lakes combined: constant motion due to interconnection between pore spaces
Glaciers:
largest reservoir of freshwater
Cone of depression:
localized drop in the water table around the well
Precipitation:
major control of fresh water availability
Permeability:
measure of the speed that groundwater can flow through an earth material, depends on size and degree of interconnection among pores
Colorado River:
most exploited river in the US
Mineral:
naturally occurring in organic solid w/ a defined chemical composition & crystal structure
Oil Spills:
organic pollution
Porosity:
percentage of pore space in an Earth material and gives a measure of how much groundwater an earth material can hold
Jevons Paradise:
principle that as technological progress increases the efficiency of resource utilization, consumption of that resource will increase.
Bio magnification:
processes in ecosystem that cause greater concentrations of a chemical
Transcendental Movement:
profound connection to the natural environment
National Environment Policy Act (NEPA):
provided legal basis for US environmental policy
IPAT Equation:
provides a way of organizing information for a "first-order" analysis
Desalination:
removes dissolving salt from seawater or saline groundwater
Water conservation:
strategies in agriculture include growing crops in areas where the natural rainfall can support them, more efficient irrigation systems such as drip systems that minimize losses due to evaporation, no-till farming that reduces evaporative losses by covering the soil, and reusing treated wastewater from sewage treatment plants
