How does use of resources lead to globe environment issues?

• ecoshocks 1983-1987


  • Ethiopian Famine 1984-5
  • Bhopal Incident 1984
  • Chernobyl 1986
  • Exxon Valdez 1989
• what did the ecoshocks show?


  humans misuse of the earth and its resources
• what does transboundary mean?


  crosses boundaries (tragedy of the commons)
• By 2050 how much is global food demand Expected to increase by?


  70 to 100%
• what percent of freshwater does farming use worldwide?


  70%

  90% in developing countries
• How much is the world energy expected to increase by 2050?


  30 to 60%

  Much of this demand will come from China and India
• China’s change in CO2 admissions (proportional circle map)

  2014 -> 29% of global emissions 2002 -> 14% of global emissions
• Kuznets Curve 


  As a country becomes more wealthy, they look after the environment more
• Superpower footprints


  -China Burns 50% of the worlds coal but only has 19% of the worlds population

  -China is the worlds largest producer and importer of iron ore
• Emerging powers and their environmental damage


  China’s admissions per person of the same as those of an EU citizen
• mining waste in South Africa


  A dam collapsed leaving water systems covered in mud still nearly one month after
• Belo Mont, Brazil


  Hydroelectric dam building
• Problems caused by Belo Monte hydroelectric dam


  Will affect local communities and environments causing droughts (up to 500 m)
• Nigel Delta gas flaring

  The spare gas is burnt off and not captured or reused for other energy resources (illegal process)
• Banter Gabang, Indonesia 


  Population of 3000

  People live and work scavenging for materials to sell and recycle
• Example of transboundary problem


  Water from Amazon Amazon rainforest is evaporated and transported by wind to wetland areas south. As deforestation happens, there are less trees to transpire the water which is causing the wetland to become drier.
• United Nations conference on the human environment 1972


  Led to the Montréal protocol and Geneva convention
• Reasons for growing demand on resources

  -Global demand for natural resources

  -Natural resource extraction by LICs, to export to developed countries, to generate money for development

  -Population growth
• Consequences of growing resource demand


  Worlds natural resources are depleting at a rapid rate
• Example of areas that have had a negative impact from growth in resource demand

  Hawaii is 2000 miles away from another continent. -> an island not lived on is covered in plastic
• When fishing in the Mediterranean, how many plastic bottles are picked up every second?


  500
• How much plastic is dumped into the oceans yearly?


  8 million tons
• Global agreements used to try and stop the environmental impacts on the increase of resource demand 


  -1992 Rio Earth summit, agenda 21

  -1997 to 2005 Kyoto Protocol on carbon emissions

  -2002 Rio +10, environment and poverty

  -Gleneagies Agreement, HIPCs debt relief

  -2006 stern report, environmental impact given economic goals

  -2007 live earth concert

  -2009 climate conference

  -2012 Rio +20

  -2015 Paris agreement
• What did the Gleneagies Agreement do?

  Helped heavily indebted poor countries

  The initiative was to reduce or drop debts as long as the country sets out a poverty reduction strategy
• Problems of the Kyoto protocol

  Countries could choose whether or not to do it -> USA and China opted out
• What was the 2015 Paris agreement?

  Legally binding international treaty on climate change -> 196 parties, advance global temperature well below 2°