NSCI 101 Ch 25
Goal of Biosphere 2 Project
to increase understanding of Biosphere 1: the earth's life-support system
No-Problem School worldview
we can solve any environmental, population, or resource problem with more economic growth and development, better management, and better technology
Stewardship worldview
we have an ethical responsibility to be responsible managers (stewards) of the Earth, encourage environmentally beneficial forms of economic growth and development
Aldo Leopold's quotes
* "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us" * "To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering" * "That land is a community is the basic concept of ecology, but that land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics"
How to Quit Shopping Addiction
- Avoid buying things only because friends have them - Stop watching/reading ads - Stop shopping for recreation and impulse buying - Use cash instead of credit to avoid overspending - Borrow and share things
Economic Tools
- Full cost pricing - Micro lending - Green taxes
3 common Mental Traps (about a sustainable future)
- Gloom and doom pessimism, "it's hopeless" - Blind technological optimism, "science and technology will save us" - Hoping to move to another planet
Early Warning Signs of Collapse
- Gridlock: when civilizations are unable to understand or resolve major, complex problems that could lead to their downfall - Substitution of beliefs for facts, evidence, and critical thinking
We can't move to Mars because
- Harmful levels of UV radiation from the sun - Staying inside constantly and depending on technological systems for food, water, oxygen and waste handling - No life-sustaining biosphere - No green plants or animals that could serve as food
Planetary Management Worldview
- Humans are the planet's most important, intelligent, and dominant species - Humans should manage/dominate Earth for their benefit - Other species and parts of nature should be valued primarily on how useful they are to humans - Because of ever-increasing economic growth, there is always more and it is for us
National Park System
- Managed by National Park Service (NPS) - 59 major parks and 359 national recreation areas, monuments, memorials, battlefields, historic sites, parkways, trails, rivers, seashores, and lakeshores - Camping, hiking, sport fishing, and boating in the parks - Hunting, mining, and oil and gas drilling in recreation areas
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Manages 562 national wildlife refuges - Protect habitats and breeding areas for waterfowl - Used for hunting, trapping, fishing, oil and gas development, mining, logging, grazing, farming, and military activities
National Wilderness Preservation System
- Most restricted lands are 756 roadless areas that make up National Wilderness Preservation System - Managed by agencies in charge of the surrounding lands - Used for recreational activities like hiking, sport fishing, and camping
Technologies
- Pollution prevention - Solar energy - Wind energy
Aldo Leopold's contribution to environmental movement
- Published A Sandy County Almanac, which helped inspire the modern environmental/conservation movements - Helped found the Wilderness Society - Energy and foresight helped lay the critical groundwork for the field of environmental ethics
Social Trends
- Reducing waste - Using less - Living simply
Different proposals for the four principles
- Sell public lands or their resources to corporations/private individuals, or turn them over to state/local governments - Cut federal funding for the administration of regulations - Cut diverse old-growth stands in the national forests for timber and for making biofuels, and replace with tree plantation - Open national parks, wildlife refuges, and wilderness areas for oil/natural gas drilling, mining, off-road vehicles, and commercial development - Eliminate control from the National Park Service and launch a 20-year construction program in the parks to build concession and theme parks
Environmental Concerns
- Sustaining biodiversity - Addressing climate change - Protecting natural capital
Problems with Biosphere 2
- The level of the oxygen in the air declined with soil organisms converting it to carbon dioxide - Tropical birds died after the first freeze - Ant species invaded the enclosure and killed off most of the system's native insect species - 19/25 of biosphere's small animals became extinct - All plant pollinating insects went extinct No one knows how to engineer systems to that provide human with life-supporting services that natural ecosystems provide for free
Ways to Promote Environmental Literacy
- We need to appreciate not only the economic value, but also it's ecological, aesthetic, and ethical values - Have an intimate connection with nature - Have a sense of awe, wonder, and excitement about nature
Environmental Wisdom worldview
- We need to learn how nature has sustained life on the Earth for billions of years and use lessons from nature to help us live more sustainably - We are part of the ecological processes that sustain all life - We are not in charge of the world - We are subject to nature's scientific laws that cannot be broken (Earth-centered worldview- both believe in preserving the earth's biodiversity, ecosystem services, and the functioning of life-support systems)
Benefits of interacting with nature
- can reduce depression, stress, anxiety, blood pressure, and mental fatigue - can also improve attention, short-term memory, and creativity
Voluntary Simplicity
- involves learning to live with less stuff, using products and services that have smaller harmful environmental impact, and creating better environmental impacts - leads to more fulfilling and satisfying life - these people spend more time with loves ones, friends, and nature - Consume less. Shop less. Live more.
National Forest System
- managed by USFS - used for logging, mining, livestock grazing, farming, oil and gas extraction, recreation, and conservation - 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands
3 Variations of Planetary Worldviews
- no problem school - free market school - spaceship-earth school
United States vs. China United States:
- third largest population, has one of the world's largest per capita ecological footprints (because of high resource use per person) - some members of congress think climate change is a hoax, so they want to weaken environmental laws and reduce funding for research Global efforts to reduce air pollution, slow climate change, and rely more on renewable energy from the sun and wind depend on whether China and the U.S. decide to leave the coal reserves in the ground.
Bureau of Land Management
- used for mining, oil and gas extraction, and livestock grazing - 40% of all land managed by the feds - Plus 13% of total US land surface, mostly in western states and Alaska
United States vs. China China:
- world's largest population and total ecological footprint, but has much lower footprint per person than the U.S. (because of much lower use of resources per person) - Over the next few decades, the chinese government plans to depend more on cleaner energy systems and become the leader in developing a low-carbon economy Global efforts to reduce air pollution, slow climate change, and rely more on renewable energy from the sun and wind depend on whether China and the U.S. decide to leave the coal reserves in the ground.
Seeds of Change
-Environmental Concerns -Social Trends -Economic Tools -Technologies
6 Questions to Become Environmentally Literate
1. How does life on earth sustain itself? 2. How am I connected to the earth and other living things? 3. Where do the things I consume come from and where do they go after I use them? 4. What is environmental wisdom? 5. What is my environmental worldview? 6. What is my environmental responsibility as a human being?
12 Guidlines for Living More Sustainably
1. Mimic the way nature sustains itself by using the earth as a model and teacher 2. Protect the earth's natural capital and repair ecological damage caused by humana activities 3. Focus on preventing pollution and resource waste 4. Reduce resource consumption, waste, and pollution by reducing demand and using matter and energy sources more efficiently 5. Reduce, reuse, and repair everything and thus copy nature by having our wastes become resources 6. Rely more on clean, renewable energy resources such as wind and solar energy 7. Slow climate change 8. Reduce population growth and gradually reduce population size 9. Celebrate and protect biodiversity and cultural diversity 10. Promote social justice for humans and ecological justice for other species 11. End poverty 12. Leave the earth in a condition that is as good or better than what we inherited
3 Important Ideas of Environmental Literacy
1. Natural capital matters because it supports the earth's life and economies 2. Our ecological footprints are immense and are expanding rapidly 3. We should not exceed the earths ecological and climate change tipping points
10 Key Topics for Environmental Literacy
1. Principles of sustainability 2. Environmental history 3. Populations dynamics 4. Sustainable agricultural and forestry 5. Soil conservation 6. Sustainable water use 7. Nonrenewable mineral resources 8. Climate disruption and ozone depletion 9. Environmental worldviews and ethics 10. Pollution prevention and waste reduction
Four Principles for U.S. Public Lands
1. Protect biodiversity, wildlife habitats, and natural capital 2. Do not provide government subsidies or tax breaks for using/extracting resources 3. Require users of public lands to reimburse Americans for use of their property and resources 4. Hold all users/extractors of resources on public lands responsible for damage caused
Spaceship-Earth School worldview
Earth is like a spaceship, a complex machine that we can understand, dominate, change, and manage in order to provide a good life for everyone without overloading the natural systems
8 Ways to Reduce Environmental Impact
Food - reduce meat consumption - buy or grow organic food and buy locally grown food Home Energy Usage - insulate home, plug air leaks, have energy-efficient windows - use energy efficient heating, cooling, lights and appliances Transportation - instead of driving, walk, ride a bike, carpool, or use public transit - drive energy efficient car Resource Use - reduce, reuse, recycle, compost, share, and refuse - use renewable energy sources when possible
2 Pieces of Good News
Social science research shows that for a major social change to occur, only 5-10% of people need to be convinced that the change must take place and act upon it We can bring about change faster than we think
4 Goals of Lester Brown's "Plan B"
Stabilize population growth Stabilize climate change Eradicate poverty Restore the earth's natural support systems
Cultural Shifts Needed for a Sustainability Revolution
fossil fuels —> solar energy energy waste —> energy efficiency high resource use —> low resource use consume and throw away —> reduce, reuse, recycle population growth —> pop. stabilization degrade natural capital —> protect natural capital reduce biodiversity —> protect biodiversity waste disposal and pollution control —> waste and pollution prevention
Free Market School worldview
the best way to manage the planet for human benefit is through a free-market global economy with minimal government interference
