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ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

OUTLINE

RECAP

Humans and the Environment

Environmental Issues Environmentalism

Sustainable Development

Final WordTragedy of Commons

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ENVIRONMENT,

ENVIRONMENTALISM &

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

ENVIRONMEN

T

The environment includes all conditions

that surround living organisms.

These conditions are:

Natural (Environment), and

Mann Made / Built (Environment)

ENVIRONMENT

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NATURAL

ENVIRONMEN

T

Natural Environment

Air

Water Soil

Land forms

Ecosystems Presence of other

living organisms

ENVIRONMENT,

ENVIRONMENTALISM &

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

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BUILT

ENVIRONMEN

T

Built Environment

Human Settlements

Networks Installations

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

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ENVIRONMENT

AL STUDIES

Study of:

Natural Environment

Built Environment, and Their Interaction

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

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HUMANS

AND THE

ENVIRONME

NT

Hunter-Gatherers (10,000 B.C.)

Obtained food by collecting plants

and hunting wild animals No organized agriculture or animal

raising

Effects on the environment were

limited Picked up and spread plants/seeds to

new areas.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

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HUMANS

AND THE

ENVIRONME

NT

Agricultural Revolution (6000-7000

B.C.)

Humans first developed the process of

breeding, growing, and harvesting plants

for food as well as animal domestication

Effects on the environment:

Human population grew more quickly

Natural habitats (grasslands, forests)

replaced by farmland and villages

New breeds of animals and plants

were created

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

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HUMANS

AND THE

ENVIRONME

NT

Industrial Revolution (1800s)

Shift in the source of energy to fossil

fuels

Effects on the environment:

More efficient farming

Faster human population growth

Increased burning of fossil fuels

Introduction of synthetic plastics,

fertilizers, pesticides

Higher amounts of pollution.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

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ENVIRONMENT

AL ISSUES

Earth and Systems Theory

There are two types of systems

Open System

Closed System

The Earth is a closed system

The only thing that enters or leaves the

Earth in large quantities is heat

Resourcesare limited, but the

populationcontinues to increase.

Wastes do not go away.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

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ENVIRONMENT

AL ISSUES

Resource Depletion

Population Growth

Pollution

Loss of Bio-Diversity

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

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ENVIRONMENT

AL ISSUES

Resource Depletion

Resources can be renewable (water) or

nonrenewable (petroleum)

The supply of nonrenewable resources

like fossil fuels and minerals will

eventually run out

The supply of renewable resources isoften used so quickly that it cannot be

replenished in time.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

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ENVIRONMENT

AL ISSUES

Population Growth

Resources / Subsistence vs. Population

SUBSISTENCE GROWS ONLY IN ANARITHMETIC PROGRESSION

HUMAN POPULATIONS GROW IN A

GEOMETRIC PROGRESSION

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

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ENVIRONMENT

AL ISSUES

Bio-Diversity

Biodiversityis:

The number of different species present in

an ecosystem.Extinction is:

The complete loss of a species

It is a natural event that can be accelerated

by human actions.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

The Tasmanian tiger is the only known mammal to have

become extinct in the past 200 years on the island of Tasmania.

During the same period of time, on nearby Australia,

23 birds, 4 amphibians, and 27 mammal species have become

extinct.

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ENVIRONMENT

AL ISSUES

Pollution

Definition?

Undesired change in air, water, or soil that

affects the health of living things

IPollution is of two types:

Bio-Degradable

NonDegradable

Biodegradable pollution will break down

naturally over time.

Non-degradable pollution does not break

down

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

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ENVIRONMENTAL

ISM

Environmentalism

The concernabout environment

Consciousnessabout the intricatehuman - nature relation

It is not only being aware, but also

being active, both intellectually and in

practice, in attaining the goalsustainable environment and

development

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

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MODERN

ENVIRONMENTAL

ISM

Modern Environmentalism

Rachel Carson wrote a book entitled

Silent Spring about the effects of

pesticides on birds

Awakened the public to threats of

pollution and toxic chemicals to

humansas well as other species

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

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SUSTAINABE

L

DEVELOPMEN

T

CONCEPT, MEANING & SCOPE

Development is improvement in quality of life

It has economic & social dimensions

Economic Expansion of consumption

Gnp

Social:human development enabling all human beingsto:

Satisfy their essential needs

Achieve a reasonable level of comfort

Share fairly in opprtunities for health and eduaction

Live a meaningful life

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

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SUSTAINABE

L

DEVELOPMEN

T

CONCEPT, MEANING & SCOPE

Where does sustainable fit it?

Sustain means to:

Support, uphold the course of, keep into being

To provide with food & drink, the necessities of

life

To endure without giving way or unyielding

It introduces the element of Time

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

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SUSTAINABE

L

DEVELOPMEN

T

CONCEPT, MEANING & SCOPE

We do not inherit the earth from our

parents, we borrow it from our children

Kenyan proverb

The earth belongs in usufruct to the

livingThomas Jefferson.

Usufruct in legal language means: right to

use something that belongs to another,provided that the thing itself is not altered

or damaged

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

O SS S

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SUSTAINABE

L

DEVELOPMEN

T

CONCEPT, MEANING & SCOPE Sustainable development is the development that

meets the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future generations tomeet their own needs - Brundtland commission,

1987.

Intra & intergenerational legacy

Restriction of development to just what is

necessary Avoid passing problems on to the future

Avoid wastage of resources

Anthropocentric?

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

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THE FINAL

WORD

Tragedy of Commons

An ecologist named Garrett Hardin wrote an

essay describing the source of environmental

problems as a conflict between:

Short-term interests of individuals, and

Long-term interests of civilization and the

Earth itself

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

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THE

FINAL

WORD

Tragedy of Commons

Picture a village, where each

villager owns a small herd of

sheep The only place for the sheep

to graze is a commons

(pasture) in the center of the

village

A commonsis an area that

belongs to an entire village.

Likely outcome: Villagers

obtain as many sheep aspossible to graze in the

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

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THE

FINAL

WORD

Tragedy of Commons

What if the commons

was instead divided into

sections that was ownedby each villager?

Because the land is

owned, individualsare

much more likely to plan

and use it for the long-

term.

In the history of the world, no one hasever washed a rental car.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

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THANK YOU

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,

ENVIRONMENTALISM & SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT