Capacity of the earth's natural systems to survive, flourish, or adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely
Biomimicry
Learning from the earth and living things to live more sustainably
Biomimicry example
Inventing a tape that uses same gripping manner as geckos' feet
Environment
All living and nonliving things with which we interact
Environmental science
Studies connections in nature, how the earth works and has survived and thrived, how humans interact with the environment, and how we can live more sustainably
Ecology
Branch of biology focusing on interaction of living things with their environment
Species
Each living thing belongs to a species
Ecosystem
Set of organisms interacting in a defined area
Environmentalism (environmental activism)
Social movement dedicated to protecting the earth's life and resources, practiced in realms of politics and ethics
Findings of environmental science can provide evidence for environmentalism
Three scientific principles of sustainability
Dependence on solar energy
Biodiversity
Chemical (nutrient) cycling
Natural capital
Keeps humans and other species alive and supports economies
Highest rate of renewable resource use without reducing its supply
Human activities can degrade natural capital by using renewable resources too fast and overloading air, water, and soil with wastes and pollutants
Humans must provide solutions to environmental problems
Conflicts between environmental protection efforts and economic effects can be resolved with trade-offs
Each individual plays a role in sustainability
Full-cost pricing
Include harmful environmental and health costs in market prices of goods and services
Win-win solutions
Look for solutions that will benefit people and the environment
Responsibility to future generations
Leave planet's life-support system in same or better condition than it is now
Economic development and resource use
More-developed countries (17% of world population, use 70% of world's natural resources)
Less-developed countries (83% of world population, use 30% of world's natural resources)
Many people have a better quality of life due to human development of useful materials and products, increasing life spans, reducing poverty, improving food supply, and reducing exposure to toxic chemicals
Humans have protected some endangered species and ecosystems, and taken steps to restore cleared lands
Human activities directly affect 83% of earth's land surface through urban development, crop and energy production, mining, timber cutting, and more
Species are becoming extinct at least 100 times faster than in prehuman times
Open-access resources
Atmosphere, ocean and its fishes, grasslands, forests, streams, and aquifers
Tragedy of the commons
Cumulative effect of many people exploiting a shared resource can degrade, exhaust, or ruin it
Solution to tragedy of the commons
Use resource at a rate well below its sustainable yield, through mutual agreement or access regulation
Ecological footprint
Amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply a population with renewable resources and recycle wastes
Biocapacity
The ability of an area's ecosystems to regenerate renewable resources
Ecological deficit
Footprint larger than biological capacity for replenishment
IPAT
Simple environmental impact model: I = P x A x T (I = Impact, P = Population, A = Affluence, T = Technology)
Ecological capacity
The ability of an area's ecosystems to regenerate renewable resources
IPAT
Simple environmental impact model: I = P x A x T, where I = Environmental impact, P = Population size, A = Affluence or resource consumption, T = Technology
IPAT model
Discuss how the next several decades will progress for developed and developing countries, with one partner as an optimist and the other as a pessimist
Major cultural events
Agricultural revolution
Industrial–medical revolution
Information–globalization revolution
Sustainability revolution
Major environmental problems
Climate change
Loss of species and habitats
Ocean acidification
Diminishing access to freshwater
Resource waste
Hazardous pollutants
Basic causes of environmental problems
Population growth
Unsustainable resource use
Omission of harmful environmental costs in market pricing
Increasing isolation from nature
Competing environmental worldviews
Human population has grown exponentially, currently at 7.6 billion and could reach 9.9 billion by 2050