Environmental science chapter 1 notes
Chapter 1: Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability
Exponential Growth
A quantity increases at a fixed percentage per unit of time (2% per year)
There are too many people in the world- causes poor to deplete nature
Cause premature extinction of species (.1-1% each year)
Living more Sustainably
Environmental Science: Study of how the earth works, how we interact with the earth, and how to deal with environmental problems
Ecology: relationship between living organisms and their environment
Environmentalism: social movement dedicated to protecting earth
Sustainability: ability of earths various systems to survive and adapt to a changing environment
5 sub subthemes for book
1. Natural capital: natural resources and services that keep us alive and support economies
Solar capital: energy from the sun
2. Many human activities degrade natural capital
Use natural resources faster than nature can renew them
3. Solutions
4. Trade offs
5. Individuals matter
Sound Science: concepts widely accepted by experts in particular field
Environmentally Sustainable Societies: meets basic resource needs of its people without depleting natural capital
Living sustainably: living off natural income that gets replenished
Population Growth, Economic Growth, Economic Development
Human population growth slowing but still rapid
Still has exponential growth
Economic growth: increase in capacity of country to give people goods and services
Measured by change in GDP
Economic development
Improvement of human living standards by economic growth
Developing countries have more growth than developed
Environmentally Sustainable economic development: use political and economical systems to encourage good environmental change
Rule of 70
70/percentage growth rate=doubling time in years
Resources
anything obtained from the environment to meet needs or wants
Perpetual resource: renewed continuously
Renewable resource: can be replenished
Exponential Growth
A quantity increases at a fixed percentage per unit of time (2% per year)
There are too many people in the world- causes poor to deplete nature
Cause premature extinction of species (.1-1% each year)
Living more Sustainably
Environmental Science: Study of how the earth works, how we interact with the earth, and how to deal with environmental problems
Ecology: relationship between living organisms and their environment
Environmentalism: social movement dedicated to protecting earth
Sustainability: ability of earths various systems to survive and adapt to a changing environment
5 sub subthemes for book
1. Natural capital: natural resources and services that keep us alive and support economies
Solar capital: energy from the sun
2. Many human activities degrade natural capital
Use natural resources faster than nature can renew them
3. Solutions
4. Trade offs
5. Individuals matter
Sound Science: concepts widely accepted by experts in particular field
Environmentally Sustainable Societies: meets basic resource needs of its people without depleting natural capital
Living sustainably: living off natural income that gets replenished
Population Growth, Economic Growth, Economic Development
Human population growth slowing but still rapid
Still has exponential growth
Economic growth: increase in capacity of country to give people goods and services
Measured by change in GDP
Economic development
Improvement of human living standards by economic growth
Developing countries have more growth than developed
Environmentally Sustainable economic development: use political and economical systems to encourage good environmental change
Rule of 70
70/percentage growth rate=doubling time in years
Resources
anything obtained from the environment to meet needs or wants
Perpetual resource: renewed continuously
Renewable resource: can be replenished