Introduction to Environmental Science

In every deliberation, we must consider our impact on the next seven generations.

- Great Law of the Iroquois

• Environmental science is the study of the interaction of humans with the natural environment.
• Climate, soil and landforms, water sources and other organisms.

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1. �Environmental History

Fertile crescent through present

day.

• During the agricultural revolution in the fertile crescent, humans began farming.

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• In Sumeria, similar grain production to modern agriculture: 30 bushels/acre.

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• Sumerians heavily relied on irrigation, the application of water to soil from nearby rivers.

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• When the irrigation water evaporated, minerals were left behind, causing salinization or an increase in salt content.
• Few crops could be grown in the salinized soil. Sumeria collapsed.

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• The salinization of Sumeria is an example of:
• The Law of Unintended Consequences: Decisions often have unexpected effects.
• Resource Depletion: Consuming natural materials faster than they can replenish.

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• The Industrial Revolution marked the transition to coal power, electricity, and factory production.
• What unintended consequences and resource depletion took place?

Tragedy of the Commons

• Pamphlet published by an economist in 1833 describing a major cause of resource depletion:
• Greed; individuals pursuing personal wealth at the expense of the society as a whole.

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• Commons are resources that are shared and not owned.

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• Two small villages both consist of sheep farmers who raise and sell sheep to a nearby city.

• The first village has an unregulated, shared pasture for grazing.

• The second village passes a law assigning each farmer a fenced section of the pasture.

Which is more likely to experience resource depletion?

• Two small villages both consist of sheep farmers who raise and sell sheep to a nearby city.

• The first village has an unregulated, shared pasture for grazing.

Which is more likely to experience resource depletion?

The first village due to people overgrazing (tragedy) the shared pasture (commons).

• Overexploitation of natural resources, pollution, and climate change are all modern examples of the tragedy of the commons.

The Progressive Era

• The Progressive Era began at the turn of the 20^th century.
• Greater emphasis on conserving resources and protecting land.

Natural Resource Classifications

Inexhaustible

Cannot be used up.

Sunlight

Renewable

Will be replaced, but often at a slower rate than they are used.

Soil, timber.

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Nonrenewable

Not replaced within the human time scale.

Single-use

Coal, oil, natural gas

Recyclable Nonrenewable

Not replaced within the human time scale.

Can be reused repeatedly

Minerals, metals

The Progressive Era

• During the progressive era, the Antiquities Act was passed, allowing the federal government to protect cultural and natural resources.

National Land Designations

• National Parks are to be kept unaltered from their original state.
• No fishing, logging, hunting, or livestock grazing.
• National Forests allow commercial logging and recreational hunting and fishing.
• Permit required to prevent overexploitation.
• National Wildlife Refuges allow hunting and fishing with a permit, but no commercial activities.

About 92% of public land is in the 12 Western states.

• The same year the antiquities act passed, San Francisco experienced a massive earthquake and fire.
• As the city was rebuilt, a new water supply was needed.

• The city applied to the federal government to build dams and reservoirs in the Hetch Hetchy and Lake Eleanor valleys in Yosemite.
• As a national park, a law would have to be passed granting the exemption.

Environmental Ethics

• The Hetch Hetchy debate led to the emergence of two major philosophies or environmental ethics; the moral relationship that humans have with the environment.

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Anthropocentrism

• Human-centered philosophy
• Human interests and well-being come first
• Advocated to build the dam

Ecocentrism

• Nature-centered philosophy
• Preserving ecosystems comes first
• Advocated to leave the valley untouched

• The dam was built in 1914 and is still in use today.

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“Where conflicting interests must be reconciled, the question shall always be answered from the standpoint of the greatest good of the greatest number in the long run.”

-Gifford Pinchot, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service

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Modern Environmentalism

• The modern environmental movement, starting in the 1960s, ushered in a wave of public awareness and legislation…
• Reducing air and water pollution
• Preserving ecosystems and biodiversity
• Promoting sustainability
• This movement was triggered by a series of environmental disasters in the previous decades.

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• In 1946, nuclear bomb testing in the Marshall Islands exposed native islanders and Navy sailors to radioactive fallout.
• This material was carcinogenic, meaning it increased the risk of cancer.

• In 1948, air pollution from a zinc and steel plant caused a dense smog that sickened thousands in Donora, Pennsylvania.
• Air pollution is the introduction of harmful particles and gases into the atmosphere.

• In 1962, Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, documenting the impacts that pesticides like DDT were having on wildlife.
• DDT is persistent, meaning it is not biodegradable and will not break down naturally.
• Many species of birds, including the bald eagle, nearly went extinct.
• Extinction is the complete loss of a species from the Earth.

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• In 1968, The Population Bomb is published, blaming many environmental problems on human overpopulation and predicting a global famine.
• A famine is an extreme shortage of food.

• In 1969, oil-soaked debris caught fire in the Cuyahoga River, bringing the problem of water pollution to the public’s attention.
• Water pollution is the contamination of lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater.

• In 1978, the city of Love Canal, New York was abandoned and demolished due to a leaking hazardous waste dump buried underneath it.
• Hazardous waste includes chemicals known to be dangerous to human health.

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Antiquities Act

Enabled creation of National Parks

Clean Water Act

Restricts pollution of surface waters

Clean Air Act

Restricts pollution of the atmosphere

Safe Drinking Water Act

Testing and treatment standards for tap water.

Endangered Species Act

Identifies species at risk of extinction and makes plans for their recovery

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

Requires safe transport and storage of hazardous waste

Environmental Policy Act

All federal projects must assess environmental impacts.

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1968

1970

1970

1973

1974

1980

1980

CERCLA

Funds the cleanup of hazardous waste sites

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established in 1970 to enforce federal environmental laws.

Global Environmentalism

• Following the 1970s, environmentalism began to consider issues that affected the entire planet:
• Biodiversity loss
• Food production
• Climate Change
• Human population growth
• Economic inequality�between nations

2. �Developed and Developing Countries

The economic and demographic divide.

The Demographic Divide

• Countries are classified across an economic spectrum:

Economically poor

Less educated

Higher fertility rates

Lower standard of living

Lower rates of consumption

Economically wealthy

More educated

Lower fertility rates

Higher standard of living

Higher rates of consumption

Underdeveloped

Developed

Developing

Transitioning

• Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is the monetary value of the goods and services produced per person per year.

Haiti

$1272/year

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Dominican Republic

$8282/year

• Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is the monetary value of the goods and services produced per person per year.

• Total fertility rate is the number of children born to an average woman over her lifetime.

Haiti

$1272/year

2.94 births

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Dominican Republic

$8282/year

2.35 births

• Life expectancy is the number of years an average person will live.

Haiti

$1272/year

2.94 births

63.4 years

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Dominican Republic

$8282/year

2.35 births

73.9 years

• Consumption is the amount of materials, energy, and services used per person.

Haiti

$1272/year

2.94 births

63.4 years

36 kWh

0.28 tons CO₂ / person / year

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Dominican Republic

$8282/year

2.35 births

73.9 years

1,456 kWh

2.15 tons CO₂ / person / year

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• Consumption is estimated with an ecological footprint, the amount of land needed to support a person or country.
• Forest products
• Carbon pollution
• Cropland and pastureland
• Build-up land
• Fisheries

Economics and the Environment

• Supply and demand predicts that the price of a resource will…
• Increase when supply is low and/or demand is high.
• Decrease when supply is high and/or demand is low.
• A cost-benefit analysis measures the expense of an action with the benefits it will bring.
• Hidden costs are “paid for” by people other than the sellers and buyers and are usually not included in these analyses.

Case Study: Bhopal

• Watch this clip about the 1984 Bhopal pesticide plant explosion and 2004 “prank” played by the Yes Men to raise awareness of it.
• Where on the developed/developing spectrum was India in 1984?
• What costs and benefits did Union Carbide consider in building the plant in India?
• Would the chemicals released from the accident be considered persistent? Hazardous? Why?
• Explain the change in DOW’s stock price using principles of supply and demand.
• What costs and benefits did DOW consider when creating the Human Element ad campaign instead of sending money to Bhopal?

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3. �Worldviews

The way you look at the world: attitudes, values, and expectations.

Environmental Worldviews

Planetary Management

• Humans “rule” the Earth.
• Technology and ingenuity will prevent the loss of resources.
• Economic potential is unlimited.

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Stewardship

• Human needs come first but we must care for other species too.
• Conserve resources for future generations when possible.
• Prefer economic growth that does not harm the environment.

Environmental Wisdom

• Humans are no more important than any other species.
• Resources are finite, wastes do not “go away”.
• Our survival depends on sustaining the Earth.

Anthropocentric

Ecocentric

• Government policy is driven by these worldviews, and is implemented through three primary tools:

Laws

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Explicitly permit or prevent certain actions.

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Taxes

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Require payments to discourage certain behaviors or fund other programs.

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Tax breaks can encourage other behaviors.

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Subsidies

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Direct payments to reward certain actions.

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• Planetary Management worldview policies prioritize short-term economic growth.
• Permitting drilling in Alaska National Wildlife Refuge
• Expansion of oil pipelines
• Reduction in automotive fuel standards.
• Removal of caps on carbon emissions.

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• Stewardship worldview policies try to balance economic growth with sustainability.
• Winding down fossil fuel subsidies in favor of wind, solar, and geothermal ones.
• Revision of Clean Air Act regulations to include new pollutants.
• Subsidies for public transit and efficient building construction.

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• Environmental Wisdom policies prioritize environmental protection over economic growth.
• Carbon neutrality for electricity generation by 2050.
• Banning of certain types and applications of plastics.
• Taxing all carbon emissions.

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