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16 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
How People and Earth Interact
Human Population
•Resource Consumption
•The Technology Factor
•Earth’s Impact on People
More than half the inhabitants of Earth now live in cities, and proportion of urban dwellers is increasing.
Easter Island
Easter Island is located more than 2000 miles off of the west coast of South America. It is known as the last inhabitable place on Earth to be colonized by humans
Inhabited: 400 AD by Rapa Nui, the Native Polynesians
Rediscovered by Dutch Admiral Roggeveen on Easter Day 1722
Is easter island Sustainable?
At the time of discovery: 2000 to 3000 inhabitants
16th and 17th centuries estimated population of 10,000 to15,000
Environment of Easter Island had degenerated about 100 years before discovery
Overpopulation
Deforestation
Exploitation of limited natural resources
Practices of the Rapa Nui were not sustainable leading to breakdown of civilization
Environmental Sustainability
“Earth in Mind” by David Orr, 1994 At that time, a typical day on Earth included the following: Loss of 116 square miles of rain forest (1 acre per second) Encroaching desert of 72 square miles Loss of 40-100 species Population increase of 250,000 people Introduce 2700 tons of Chloroflourocarbons (EFC’s) and 15 X 106 tons of C into the atmosphere
Sustainable Development.
1987, the World Commission on Environmental Development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Paul Hawken
1994 Leave the world better than you found it, take no more than you need, try not to harm life or the environment, make amend if you do.” This is a quote from “Natural Capital” and “Ecology of Commerce. Unchecked human activity has resulted in environmental disasters for most of human history.
Modern practices are attempting to avoid and minimize environmental impact, and in some cases reverse the impact of past environmental disasters (remediation).
World Commission on Environmental Development defined sustainable development
defined sustainable development as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability for future generations to do the same. The focus on human well-being. Sustainability practices are focused on humans and the future of humans relative to the environment. The Environmental movement generally views human activity as destructive, and places the environment (or Earth) above humanity
linear model for resource
use includes extraction, use and landfill. The more sustainable and cyclical model includes resource extraction, use and recycle. (the Al can would be used, then discarded and end up in a landfill. This is an example of the linear model for resource use)
cyclical model for resource
use includes the recovery of the used resource and reprocessing it into the usable product again, and again. The Aluminum can is the perfect example where it takes about 2 months for the used can to be made into a new can. The energy to remelt the Aluminum is a fraction of the energy needed to produce it from original Bauxite. In addition to reducing the foot-print of mining, energy consumption is also reduced
Environmental Performance Measurement Project,
2005, a group at Yale University developed the Environmental Sustainability Index. This index is a national ranking that shows the extent that each country is approaching sustainable development. At that time, no countries were completely sustainable. The ESI is determined through quantifying five components:
1. Environmental systems
2. Reducing environmental stresses
3. Reducing human vulnerability
4. Social and institutional capacity
5. Global stewardship
logic behind the ESI components (5)
(global ESI results for 2005. The score is out of a possible 100 points.)
Environmental Systems
A country is more likely to be environmentally sustainable to the extent that its vital environmental systems are maintained at healthy levels, and to the extent to which levels are improving rather than deteriorating.
Reducing Environmental Stresses
A country is more likely to be environmentally sustainable if the levels of anthropogenic stress are low enough to engender no demonstrable harm to its environmental systems
Reducing Human Vulnerability:
A country is more likely to be environmentally sustainable to the extent that people and social systems are not vulnerable to environmental disturbances that affect basic human wellbeing: becoming less vulnerable is a sign that a society is on a track to greater sustainability.
Social and Institutional Capacity
A country is more likely to be environmentally sustainable to the extent that it has in place institutions and underlying social patterns of skills, attitudes, and networks that foster effective responses to environmental challenges.
Global Stewardship
country is more likely to be environmentally sustainable if it cooperates with other countries to manage common environmental problems, and if it reduces negative transboundary environmental impacts on other countries to levels that cause no serious harm