1.1 Human Use of the Earth

• Natural capital includes natural resources and ecosystem services that support life and human economies
• Natural resources are materials and energy in nature essential or useful to humans, categorized as:

  • Inexhaustible resources (e.g., solar, wind, geothermal energy)
  • Renewable resources (e.g., air, trees, topsoil, freshwater)
  • Nonrenewable (depletable or exhaustible) resources (e.g., fossil fuels)
• Ecosystem services include supporting, provisioning, regulating, and cultural services that benefit life and human economies
• Natural capital degradation involves the waste, depletion, or destruction of the Earth's natural resources, leading to pollution and the degradation of ecosystem services
• The Tragedy of the Commons occurs when shared or open-access renewable resources are degraded due to individual users' actions, leading to the exhaustion of resources
• The ecological footprint represents the land and water needed to supply a population with resources and absorb the pollution produced, with the global ecological deficit requiring 1.5 planet Earths to sustain the 2012 resource use rate
• The IPAT model (Impact = Population × Affluence × Technology) helps understand the environmental impact of human activities based on population size, affluence, and technology used
• Environmental problems stem from population growth, unsustainable resource use, poverty, and avoidance of full-cost pricing by companies
• The diagram of Earth's natural resources and ecosystem services illustrates how resources like air, water, and soil provide ecosystem services such as climate regulation, water purification, and food production

  
• The table compares population size, growth rate, resource use per person, harmful and beneficial technology use, and overall environmental impact of high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries

  
• Low-cost Pricing:

  • Companies providing goods to consumers often don't pay for harmful environmental and health costs of supplying goods
  • Timber companies pay for clear-cutting forests but not for resulting environmental degradation and loss of wildlife habitat
  • Governments giving companies subsidies can lead to environmentally harmful practices
• Increasing Isolation from Nature:

  • Over half of the world's population lives in urban areas, leading to isolation from the natural world
  • Urban environments and technology like cell phones and computers contribute to this isolation
• Human Wellbeing:

  • Wellbeing includes having basic needs met, a sense of purpose, ability to achieve personal goals, and participation in society
  • Components of wellbeing include material resources, health, freedom, security, and good social relations
• Environmental Worldview:

  • Reflects assumptions and values about how the world works and one's role in it
  • Can be human-centered, life-centered, or earth-centered
• Principles of Sustainability:

  • Sustainability is the capacity of natural and human systems to survive, flourish, and adapt to changing environmental conditions in the long term
  • Scientific principles include dependence on solar energy, biodiversity, and chemical cycling
  • Social science principles involve economics, political science, and ethics
• Key Components of Sustainability:

  • Natural capital is essential for life and economies
  • Natural capital degradation occurs when resources are used faster than nature can restore them
  • Living sustainably means meeting current and future resource needs without compromising future generations
• Living Sustainably:

  • Living on natural income, renewable resources provided by the earth's natural capital, is crucial for sustainability
  • Depleting natural capital leads to an unsustainable lifestyle
• Our Hope:

  • Research suggests a small percentage of the population can bring about major social and environmental change
  • The current generation plays a crucial role in deciding between a sustainable future or further environmental degradation
• Ecosystem Services are divided into four categories:

  • Supporting Services: necessary for all other ecosystem services, such as primary production, atmospheric oxygen production, nutrient and water cycling, and pollination
  • Provisioning Services: products obtained from ecosystems, including food and fiber, fuel, freshwater, genetic resources, biochemical, natural medicine, and pharmaceuticals
  • Regulating Services: benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes, including air quality maintenance, climate regulation, water regulation, erosion control, water purification and waste treatment, regulation of disease, and storm protection
  • Cultural Services: nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences