Outline of the final exam Thi ki b Si dE i (8 12%) Thinking about Science and Environment (8-12%) Evolution, Biodiversity, Ecology and Conservation (40- 50%) 50%) Getting to Tomorrow: Resources for the Future (20- 30%) Q ( %) Essay Questions (20%) Remember the exam is 3 hours long. You need : 1 Your UT card 1. Your UT card 2. Pencils/eraser (pen if you prefer one for the essays) You may also bring: 1 1. Non-electronic dictionaries, water, ear plugs
Transcript
Outline of the final exam
Thi ki b S i d E i (8 12%)Thinking about Science and Environment (8-12%)Evolution, Biodiversity, Ecology and Conservation (40-50%)50%) Getting to Tomorrow: Resources for the Future (20-30%)
Q ( %)Essay Questions (20%)Remember the exam is 3 hours long. You need:1 Your UT card1. Your UT card2. Pencils/eraser (pen if you prefer one for the essays)You may also bring:
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1. Non-electronic dictionaries, water, ear plugs
Essay Questions (20%)
2 questions:1. The Northwest Passage (10%)g ( )2. Locavorism (10%)
• Using the material available at• Using the material available at .../env200y/TEST_PREP/ESSAY_Q10/ develop your answers to the questions in advance (1 page for each)Thi k b t th t i d d t• Think about the topic and your responses, so you are ready to come into the exam and write!
• Why do I handle the questions this way?y q y• The essay questions are the sorts of things you might argue about/explain to
friends• I hold out hope that you’ll move some of these ideas into long-term memory
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• While you need to use a pencil for the multiple choice questions, you may use either pencil or pen for the essays.
H l S i !Help Session!
M d A il 19th 11 1 (1042 ESC)Monday, April 19th 11-1 (1042 ESC)3
Reconceptualizing Environmental ChallengesDraper and Reed (IV) pp. 569-572
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Demography Lectures 22 and 23g p y
~7 billion people on Earth (is this a driver or result of ecosystem degradation?)ecosystem degradation?)How might we interpret D/DR in I,II, III or IV?
“Pollution of natural environments depleted energyPollution of natural environments, depleted energy reserves, reduced biodiversity – all of these problems are related to human population growth.” (I & II, p89 or 91)“Th li k [b t h l ti th d“The link [between human population growth and environmental damage] has led to claims by some scientiststhat the human population issue is “the” environmental issue . . . others contend this is simplistic” (III)Social science highlights the social, cultural, institutional and political contexts in which population environment and
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political contexts in which population, environment and development relationships occur. Scientists still struggle to measure and explain the basic relationships.
To what extent are there too manyTo what extent are there too many people on Earth, i.e. have we exceeded the carrying capacity of the Earth for t e ca y g capac ty o t e a t ohumans? (World Scientists Warning)
vsThe extent to which at least some of the people already here are using too many p p y g yresources (ecological footprint)
Do we need better population policies or p p pbetter socio-economic ones?(And how do we get them?)
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( g )
IF there is a global consensus on gpopulation (?)
ICPD (international commission on population and development)UNFPA ( it d ti l ti f d)UNFPA (united nations population fund) The 4 20 year goals from the 1994 international conference on population and development (theconference on population and development (the “Cairo Conference”) – Program of ActionOver half way to the 2014 completion date?Over half way to the 2014 completion date? inadequate resources, increasing incidents of war and disasters are undermining progress
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and disasters are undermining progress
Neoclassical economics: properly functioning markets can solve resource misusemarkets can solve resource misusePolitical economy: political reforms and poverty alleviation can solve resource misusePopulation biology: humans are the only apparent exception to populations regulated by
alleviation can solve resource misuse
apparent exception to populations regulated by the carrying capacities of their environments. Learning to live within that capacity (even if onLearning to live within that capacity (even if on a global level) will solve resource misuse
H / h d th thi ’ t lk d b t thi fit i t thHow/where do the things we’ve talked about this year fit into the above? Do they help us find solutions to the environmental degradation related (if not resulting) from so many people?
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(Irrespective of which may be cause and which effect)
Creating conditions that allow women to make choices about the age at which they have their firstchoices about the age at which they have their first child is the most effective ‘tool’ we have for rapid restructuring of age distributions (age structure)restructuring of age distributions (age structure) and reduction of population momentumThe data suggest that delaying age at first gg y g greproduction is a natural consequence of womens’ access to:
educationcapital
( idi th i t f i l f t t th t(providing the existence of social safety nets that assure the children they have will live and they will be supported as they age)
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pp y g )
Demography
Exponential/arithmetic growthrule of 70comparisons with material on non-human population growthRates of supply don’t matter (It’s all exponential growth)
Earth’s carr ing capacit for h mansEarth’s carrying capacity for humansTotal numbers vs total impacts
10If you have some time this summer, pick up Paul Collier’s The Bottom Billion
Important concepts:p p• Species vs populations• Crude population equation (birth and death rates,Crude population equation (birth and death rates,
immigration, emigration)• Total fertility (replacement fertility)
A t t• Age structure• Population momentum (60% of the world's
population growth between now and 2050 derivespopulation growth between now and 2050 derives from population momentum)
• Dependency ratioD hi t iti (I DT i ll• Demographic transition (Is DT universally applicable?)
• Demographic trap
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Demographic trap• Utility maximization
Scenarios A2: Global TF stabilizes above 2 (17.6 B in 2100)B2: Current fertility data (11 3B
IIASA = The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis
fertility data (11.3B in 2100)B1 (6.4 B in 2100) ( )
female life expectancy = 82 TRF 2005-2006TRF 2005 2006no global catastrophes
Estimates of projected warming associated with climate h h b “ ti ” ( d t d B2 ichange have been “conservative” (an updated B2 scenario
of 10.4 B). What might things look like with a different scenario? 12
Agroecosystems (Draper 6)
Lectures 36 & 37Corporate Farming:Li it d l d (T bl 6 1 CLI)Limited land (Table 6-1: CLI)Limited scope for further increases with current technologies (see Draper, Table 4-4 or 4-5)C t t t f i lt i NA (D T bl 6 2)Current status of agriculture in NA (Draper Table 6-2)Decreasing # of farms vs increasing size (Fig. 6-2 + Box 6-1)
Ecologically unsustainable practicesGMOs and Factory Farming (ILOs) Conflicting political pressures What is sustainable agriculture (in Canada vs theWhat is sustainable agriculture (in Canada vs the globe)?
The role of VEIs
13Demands for food: population growth vs. dietary preferences (Fig. 3.21, KR#9)
We’ve seen dramatic increases in productivity since the 1950s (an average farm now feeds 120 people), ( g p p ),but we are paying a high price:
For terrestrial systems, conversion to agriculture is the most important direct driver of ecosystem degradation (MEA)important direct driver of ecosystem degradation (MEA)Environmentally (declining soil quality – erosion, compaction, salinization - water pollution, loss of wildlife habitat))Socially (e.g. loss of food security, rising debt burdens)
Meanwhile, in the less developed world, people are:pressured for export oriented agriculture (cotton sugar cutpressured for export-oriented agriculture (cotton, sugar, cut flowers, meat)forced onto marginal land (forested slopes, arheic regions) with no less catastrophic environmental/socialwith no less catastrophic environmental/social consequences (e.g. floods, desertification)or driven to urban centres without access to land to grow the food they needs nor jobs that pay sufficiently to buy what
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food they needs nor jobs that pay sufficiently to buy what they need
What is food security?
The family farm vs trade reformyAre we seeing the end of cheap food? Who benefits from higher prices/volatile prices? (See Biofuel off Draper page)higher prices/volatile prices? (See Biofuel off Draper page) How is the health of rural communities and protection of the rural environment best accomplished?I th t th f ti diff t ifIs the answer to the former question different if we are talking about Canadian rural communities vs. the much more agrarian economies of less developed countries?Should Canadians be concerned about food security? The essay question:
How much do you care about where your food comes from andHow much do you care about where your food comes from and how it was grown/raised?How do you view support for bioregionalism against the potential for poverty alleviation in primarily agrarian, less developed
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p y p y g peconomies?
Box 6-10: WTO reforms
Agriculture as currently practiced in Canada (and many developed economies) is not sustainable economically environmentally or socially (Table 6-2)economically, environmentally or socially (Table 6-2)
Monocultures (with single varieties) differentially deplete soil nutrient basedifferentially deplete soil nutrient baseincrease vulnerability to disease
Poor practices that increase:S il i ( i d/ t )Soil erosion (wind/water)Compaction (other changes in soil structure – loss of organic material)Salinization (excess salt in soil)Chemical contamination
Energy (direct and indirect)Energy (direct and indirect)Most of our food requires more energy to produce, process and market than it yields when eaten
Socially
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SociallyRural communities, farm labourers
Lack of land (and actual losses of arable land) create pressures for genetic
i i l d i dengineering wrt plants and increased livestock densities (ILOs) + ge wrt animals
GMO h i fi i llGMO techniques superficially easy:1. Identify the gene codes for a particular trait or characteristic2. Find the beginning and the end of the desired gene (and its
promoter)promoter)3. Mark it (issue of antibiotic resistance markers)4. Cut it out with “chemical” scissors5 Paste it into the new organism (viral/plasmid vectors or so-5. Paste it into the new organism (viral/plasmid vectors or so
called gene guns)GMO concerns:
1. Consumer choice2. The ethical/legal components of patenting “life”3. Impacts on less-developed economies4. Ecological or health related risk
How the majority of beef, pork and poultry consumed in Canada (and exported) are producedEnvironmental/public health issues
Manure management (water/air pollution)Disease potential (manure + prophylactic antibiotic use + growthDisease potential (manure prophylactic antibiotic use growth hormones)• Box 6-2/6-1 BSE (or the homepage)• Residents in Feedlot Alley had the highest rates of intestinal disease in AB. From
1989 to 1991 E coli 0157 killed almost a dozen children1989 to 1991, E. coli 0157 killed almost a dozen children.• In a study published in 2000, Health Canada mapped cattle densities and the
incidence of E. coli infections in ON. The six counties with highest cattle densities registered the highest rates of human E. coli 0157 infection from 1990 to 1995
P l ti (VEI )Personal actions (VEIs)Buy bio-regionally produced food – what % could be supplied (?)• UofT was the first Canadian University to locally source food
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• Support a meaningful cage free initiative wrt eggsParticipate in a community garden project and grow our own foodPay attention to policy development around GMOs/ILOs
What is sustainable agriculture?gProducing high-quality food; protecting and enhancing the soil, water, and other natural resources; building a thriving rural economy; giving farm ; g g y; g gfamilies and communities a reasonable life on the landRoles of IPM, irrigation (?), Modern, i.e. industrial scale agriculture is opposition to ecosystem patterns of successionof succession See Box 6-6/6-3/6-2 (Coffee and songbirds); Box 6-11 (Sustainable agriculture)See also Draper’s section on Canadian efforts to achieve sustainable pagriculture
4th edition: pp. 236-248; 3rd edition: pp. 208-218; 2nd edition: pp. 194-201Box 6-8/6-5 Conservation/Zero TillageDraper 13: Loss of agricultural land Envirofocus 6: Urban AgricultureDraper 13: Loss of agricultural land, Envirofocus 6: Urban Agriculture, EnviroFocus 13 (III), Box 13-6 (II)
19How do we learn to work with nature as opposed to against it?
Water Resources (Draper 7)( p )
Lectures 38 & 39The links between agriculture and waterg
IrrigationWater requirements of agricultural productsThe virtual water tradeThe Aral Sea
Tutorial 8Tutorial 8
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MEA Assessment
water-based ecosystems as the world’s most degraded natural resource/ecosystem serviceglobal hydrologic cycleanthropogenic impacts on the hydrologic cycleanthropogenic impacts on the hydrologic cycleWater for life
Water stress, water scarcity, BWRWater stress, water scarcity, BWROptions wrt increasing supply (desalination, dams, diversions)Water use in Canada and the US: the issue of exportsWater use in Canada and the US: the issue of exports
World Economic Forum Water Initiative (the main economic and geopolitical water issues likely to ( g yarise during the next two decades) (Box 7-4)
Juridicial Continental Shelf and extension fof the EEZ
The Northwest Passage (Canadian waters i t ti l t it)or an international strait)
Why these matterMarine traffic (accidents, ballast, bilge, solid waste)
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Ocean GeographyOcean GeographyOcean ecosystems
Deep Ocean Circulation (MOC) Polynyas
Fisheries: complex interactions among:global climate and ocean cycles (e.g. NAO) which can disrupt food chainsdisrupt food chainsdestruction of coastal habitat and spawning groundscontaminant loadings from landtoo man boats chasing too fe fishtoo many boats chasing too few fish
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Oceans: the only places on earth where wild species of animals are commercially exploited
Fisheries as a “tragedy of the commons”Perverse subsidies provide incentives to p‘mine’ the resource as rapidly as possible and affiliated new technologies (factory hi d th 400 t b tt t l)ships and the 400 tonne bottom trawl)
Over capitalization, the waste imperative d bli d i tiand public resource deprivation
By-catch: Enviro-Focus 8 (III and II)
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2527
Maximum sustainable yield modelmodel
•Fish populations grow logistically
What is carrying capacity?What size is the population?
A
B
g y• If catch rates are less than rates of growth, the harvest is [theoretically] sustainable
p p
BNever A or B:simply an estimate#
[theoretically] sustainable
(with some rangeof uncertainty)Therefore the TAC
#
Therefore the TACincludes uncertainty -implicitly though not explicitly
What happens if the TACis set too high?
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explicitly.
time
East coast cod (west coast salmon?)salmon?)
Over capitalization and excess fishing pressure in the 60s and 70sThe 1968 “killer” spikeThe 1976 extension of the EEZ, but substitution of i d C di t i l f i t ti lincreased Canadian quota in place of international quotasFailure to land even the TAC in the late 80s, early , y90s1992 moratorium
F th l i f bi l i t d i hFrom the early warnings of biologists and inshore fisherman in the 60s to the total collapse of the fishery in the 90s took 30 years. If you suspect
h b l f bi di i27
that current concerns about loss of biodiversity are overblown, try to think ahead to the 2040s/50s!
The future:Individual actions (VEIs)
Increase awareness of the status of the fish stocks you ypurchase (either at the supermarket or at a restaurant)
Industry/govt policy actionsSimplifying bureaucracy/jurisdictionTechnological innovationD li ith ill l fi hiDealing with illegal fishingEnding perverse subsidiesWider adoption of ITQsWider adoption of ITQs
KR # 9 Ecosystems as capitalHalibut ITQ
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Halibut ITQAquaculture as a solution (?)
Forestry: Global distribution of forests (lectures 42 43)of forests (lectures 42 - 43)
Canada Russia
Brazil
293 countries house almost 70% of world’s remaining frontier forest
The MEA: ecological status of the world’s forestsworld’s forests
Forests, particularly in the tropics, provide habitat for half or more of the world’s known terrestrial plant and animal species. This biodiversity is essential for the health/function of forest ecosystemsForests constitute about 80% of terrestrial biomassForests constitute about 80% of terrestrial biomass
contain ~50% of the world’s terrestrial organic carbonplay a significant role in the global carbon cycle
More than 75% of the world’s accessible freshwater comes from forested catchments
water quality declines with decreases in forest condition/coverwater quality declines with decreases in forest condition/coverhazards such as floods, landslides, and soil erosion increase
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Figure 9-2/9-3: Canada’s f t (45% l d b )forests (45% land base)
Boreal(1/3 f )
Deciduous/GL St. Lawrence
(1/3 of area)
Montaine Forests
Coastal (Temperate)
31AcadianCarolinianRain Forest
(45% of volume)
Canada’s ForestsWorld’s 2nd largest repository of boreal forestWorld s 2nd largest repository of boreal forest (after Russia)1/3 of world’s boreal forest1/3 of world s boreal forest1/4 world’s temperate forest1/5 f ld’ t t i f t1/5 of world’s temperate rain forestAlong with Russia and Brazil, Canada is h t f l th “f ti f t ”home to one of only three “frontier forests” 1/10 of global forest cover
Inaccessibility has allowed frontier forests to escape large-scale conversion, but new technologies are rapidly opening them up
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for timber, energy, mineral resources and recreation.
Canada’s temperate rain forests represent p p20% of this relatively rare forest type
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Ontario’s CarolinianNorthern extreme of eastern deciduous forestSupports species and habitatsSupports species and habitats found nowhere else in Canada16 endangered plants and animals1/3 of Canada’s rare, threatened or endangered
Carolinianthreatened or endangered species1/2 of Canada’s bird speciesp
Does this northern extreme contain genotypes particularly adapted to survival at the edge of species’ normal tolerances?A h i l i f h d i
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Are these genotypes crucial to persistence of the system under a regime of climate change?
Why are forests important?Economic values -- In the early 1990s, industrial wood products contributed US$400 billion to the global economy, approximately 2% of global GDP. $81 billion in ecosystem services in 1994 (compare with 70 billion in timber in 2000 $)Biodiversity -- somewhere between 5 and 30 million species on Earth of which two thirds occur in forests (similarly 2/3rds of Canada’sof which two thirds occur in forests (similarly 2/3rds of Canada s estimated 140 000 species of plants, animals and micro-organisms live in forest systems).Carbon -- 1/2 of the world's forest carbon is found in boreal forests and 1/3 in tropical forests1/3 in tropical forests.
The data suggest Canada’s boreal forest as a source rather than a sink for carbonWe need to verify and reverse this trend if necessaryP t ti O t i ’ b l f t ld b f th t tProtecting Ontario’s boreal forest could be one of the most cost-effective/efficient we could do to mitigate climate change
Cultural values - 60 million people inhabit forests and depend on them for their livelihoods
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Critical Canadian forest issues1 F t t idl di i t th th (i 61% f tl1. Forest tenures are rapidly expanding into the north (i.e. 61% of currently
tenured forest lands face some productivity limitation)2. Over-allocation of timber (e.g., in BC, current Annual Allowable Cuts
exceed long term sustainable harvest levels by 18 5%)exceed long-term sustainable harvest levels by 18.5%)3. 90% of all logging occurs within primary and old-growth forests4. The biodiversity of southern Canadian forests are increasingly threatened
(e.g. roughly 60% of Canada's endangered forest-dwelling species are(e.g. roughly 60% of Canada s endangered forest dwelling species are found in the Carolinian Forest Region; over 150 plant species are at risk in the coastal temperate rainforest)
5. Only recently (19981) did an independent national perspective on forestry y y ( ) p p p yissues emerge. Access to information remains difficult/expensive: A dearth of up-to-date maps, other monitoring/verification tools make it difficult to identify what is happening and may happen in Canada's forests.
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1Global Forest Watch Canada – an arm of the WRI’s Global Forest Watch monitors logging, mining, road-building and other forest development in the Amazon Basin, Central Africa, Canada, Southeast Asia and Russia – hosts of the world’s remaining frontier forest (www.globalforestwatch.ca/)
What is wood used for?
North America uses more wood by weight than all metals plastics and cement combinedmetals, plastics and cement combined.50% of wood consumed world-wide is used for fuel (heating/cooking) – which is not a problem in and of it lf (b t l t’ b t b t it!)itself (but let’s be smarter about it!).Population growth and dwindling supplies are leading to fuel wood shortages in a number of less g gdeveloped countries (an estimated 1.5 - 2 billion people have access to less wood than they need)
It either requires many hours to collect sufficient wood toIt either requires many hours to collect sufficient wood to cook food for a family orIt takes a large chunk of household income to purchase wood
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wood By 2025, demand is estimated to be twice supply.
How do we currently harvest wood in Canada (Table 9-3)?in Canada (Table 9 3)?
90% of Canada’s90% of Canada s timber harvest is clear cut.
Economic vs ecologic issues
Alternatives and their issuesPlantations (?)
Can we supply wood and protect non-timber forest values?
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pp y pAnd if so, how?
What’s the deal with “old growth”?No single definition; but important
features include:Large old trees along with mixed• Large, old trees along with mixed ages of a variety of species
• Standing dead trees (snags)Traditional view of
decadence and decayStanding dead trees (snags)• Lots of dead wood on the ground
(“coarse woody debris”).
decadence and decay
• Presence of gaps• Differs from frontier forest in size
(latter’s ability to persist without(latter s ability to persist without active management)
39Ecosystem view of complexity, habitat, and ecosystem function
Ecological maturity
Volume Slope=v/t
Economic maturity
(m3 per ha) Slope=v/t
Maximum
Draper notes: “A 160 year old Douglas Fir was 56% more valuable th 100 ld
Stand Age
MaximumVolume Rotation than a 100 year old
tree” (p. 372/333/313)
Loss of old growth due to “timber optimization” (Note the similarity to MSY in fisheries!)y )
Fall-down: Replanted stands can never produce the volume/quality of old growth natural stands unless wevolume/quality of old growth natural stands unless we go to similar rotation periods – the same AAC requires more area to be harvested
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What is the highest, best use of the resource?of the resource?
Should old-growth be used gfor paper that is thrown away after a single use? Do we liquidate what we have left of high-quality, long-fibre old growth or do we cutfibre, old-growth or do we cut on an ecologically sustainable basis, making sus a ab e bas s, a ghigh-quality, value-added wood products that command premium prices?
Corporate timber leases (stumpage): a large part of the answer to “why ‘we’large part of the answer to why we can’t decide”
There are problems with corporate control of forest landsa relatively small group of integrated forest companies control mucha relatively small group of integrated forest companies control much of the land baseable to pressure governments to ease environmental restrictions, to argue for lower stumpage and undercut competitive bids by small, f l ll d ibl i bl f ioften locally owned, possibly more sustainable forestry companies
limited opportunities for timber sales to small business loggers (including First Nations)
d i bilit t k t d l i l t i bilitundermines ability to work towards ecological sustainability, economic diversity (value-added) and control over land-use decisions
W d t f ll k t l f ti b
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We need to ensure full market value for our timber
The Urban Forest is unlike C d ’ t l f tCanada’s natural forests
natural forests:natural forests: largely remote, relatively unpopulated y p pspatially extensive publicly owned.
urban forestsdensely populated
ti ll t t d
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spatially concentrated 85% to 90% privately owned.
Trees in the urban environmentTrees in the urban environment
Serve as wildlife corridors through the fragmented urban landscapeR d i ll tiReduce air pollution
trees absorb gases (6 kg CO2 per tree) filter out particulates (remember those um10s and um2.5s?)
Sl t t ff i i i filt ti dSlow stormwater runoff, increasing infiltration and reducing surges into sewersBuffer glare, provide wind protection and cool the airReduce noise North American averages (in C$) suggests a single tree can:
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Reduce electricity costs for air conditioning by $70Increase property values by as much as 20%
KR 9 (Forest Biomes)KR 9 (Forest Biomes)
Forests as obstacles (why are forests being clear cut when they could be g ymanaged for wood production on a sustainable basis?))
Agricultural conversionPersonal (corporate) utility maximization vsPersonal (corporate) utility maximization vs the common good
More on harvesting sustainable forestry
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More on harvesting, sustainable forestryIssues in tropical forests
SolutionsSolutions: what does a sustainably managed forest look like?Solutions
1. Ecological:• greater focus on natural disturbance regimes which
managed forest look like?
greater focus on natural disturbance regimes, which species are already adapted to (clear cutting is not‘similar’ to fire as a disturbance!
• focus on “leave” rather than “take”ocus o ea e at e t a ta e2. Economic:
• value-added manufacturing3 S i t l3. Societal:
• The NFSC vs Forest 2020• Real input from all stakeholder groups p g p
4. Personal (VEIs):• reduce/reuse/recycle
b tit t
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• substitute• use FSC certified wood/paper (see Box 9-6/9-5/9-7)
The big picture (KR#9)The big picture (KR#9)
Global perspective on biological systemsConservation vs preservationConservation vs. preservationRestorationI li ti f t i bilit f hImplications of sustainability for humansManaging ecosystems
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Do we have to learn to do things in new ways?
Have humans exceeded the carrying capacity of the planet?Can we continue to apply supply & demand economics to what
b tit t bl d ( t i li i i )?are non-substitutable goods (water, air, living organisms)?Ecological footprint (at least in developed economies)Agricultural productivity is at or near maximum capacity using current t h l itechnologies70% of catches of marine species exceed sustainable levels50% Earth original forest cover is gone (20% remains in frontier forest
which presumably we want to save but fail to act upon)– which presumably we want to save but fail to act upon)Currently using 54% of world’s renewable freshwater (population growth alone could push that to 70% by 2025-2050, and climate change could reduce what’s renewable by 20%)
Neo-malthusians have been saying this for years and the sky hasn’t fallen yet – so are the above simply fear mongering or lack
of the right economic vision or our stubborn refusal to see any
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of the right economic vision or our stubborn refusal to see any other scales of space and time?
I think the benchmarks support the latter! You may disagree.
Subsidizing human ecosystems:Subsidizing human ecosystems:
Absent technology, systems are limited by available energy/waterHuman ability to subsidize these enables us to live ybeyond the carrying capacity of our biogeographic region
System analysis favours internally generated technological subsidies over external subsidiesHow do systems work in the absence of human interferenceComparing with the performance of impacted systemsDesign interventions that mimic the behaviours of the “natural” gelements of the system
Limited ability of humans to detect liquidization of natural capital and the need for benchmarking
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Learning to work “with nature,” in a more ecologically sustainable fashion g y
can’t be a “bad thing,” but it hassocioeconomic and politicalsocioeconomic and political consequences and it needs
socioeconomic and political reformssocioeconomic and political reforms to move forward!
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Ecosystem approach, adaptive management and ecological integrityecological integrity
cognizant of system activities at a variety of spatial and temporal scalesresponsive to new information, changing circumstances (adaptive approaches)encompasses the natural and socioculturalencompasses the natural and sociocultural
• humans as biological entities - internal relationships with ecosystems
• Humans as technological external entities that transcendHumans as technological, external entities that transcend ecological boundaries in ways other species can’t
recognizes carrying capacity (but stymied by same issue of defining carrying capacity of a system for humans!)of defining carrying capacity of a system for humans!)makes choices on basis of life-cycle analyses
• life cycle assessment determines the environmental impacts of products processes or services through production usage and
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products, processes or services, through production, usage, and disposal (cradle to grave).
Tutorial 7: Valuing ecosystemsg y
Natural capitalGarret Hardin and the Tragedy of theGarret Hardin and the Tragedy of the Commons
Any commonly held resource will inevitably be d d d b lf i t t illdegraded because narrow self interests will always outweigh the public goodWe can put a value on self-interest (profit) but it is difficult to ascribe value to “public goods” (e gdifficult to ascribe value to public goods” (e.g. clean air or insect pollination)
Our BAU economy: how discounting, t it t d t liti f topportunity costs and externalities foster
Water quantityWater quantityCostanza et al. as one attempt to determine the value of public, environmental goods (natural capital) and the “interest” on those goods (ecosystem services)interest on those goods (ecosystem services)Protecting ecosystems that then supply clean drinking water (along with all the other ecosystem services of freshwater
t ) d d t l t t tisystems) vs. command and control post-extraction purificationHow is water priced? Ecosystem based value of m3 of water y($3.20), Toronto tap water ($0.87.m-3), and a m3 of bottled water ($400).Will having to face “full-cost” pricing (including repairs to
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Will having to face full cost pricing (including repairs to failing infrastructure) change how we use (and abuse) water?
Tutorial 9: Systems thinkingy gFisheries as a classic example of the “tragedy of the commons” or a PD game (maximizing utility)How might we turn a traditional PD game (“grab all the fish possible, so as not to be taken advantage of, even when depletion of the fish stock to the detriment of all is clearly the p yend result”) into an assurance game?
The positive role of communicationHow can we help avoid group deficiencies (social loafingHow can we help avoid group deficiencies (social loafing, personality conflicts, overly dominant or uncooperative individuals, personal agendas, etc.) while capitalizing on group benefits (application of differing expertise andgroup benefits (application of differing expertise and perspectives onto complex problems)?
brainstorming to generate ideas; an analytic hierarchy process to rank possibilities
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an analytic hierarchy process to rank possibilitiesThe deficient equilibrium
