Environmental Problems Seminar ENVI.1020

Transcription

1 Environmental Problems Seminar ENVI.1020

2 What to expect this semester: World Climate model UN exercise Examine your carbon footprint Watch Hollywood s latest take on Climate Change: Before the Flood Guest speaker: Tyler Arrigo will discuss Sustainability at UML and how you can get involved in this year s Earth Month. Present a poster on an environmental issue that is important to you. Write a letter to an elected official about your issue. These letters will be sent under my name to these real people. Be professional! We will have two opportunities to see presentations by hydrogeology faculty candidates. Feb 8 and Feb 20. And much, much more..

3 How will your grade be calculated? Carbon Foot Print & Climate Exercise 25% Rare Earth Assignment...10% Renewable Resource Movie paper..15% Environmental Poster and letter to official.25% Final Exam (take home due April 30)..25%

4 As with most classes at UML, my primary means of communication is through your UML . Please check it!!!!

5 Today we will cover the following: Important changes to the idea of environmentalism after the publication of Silent Spring. Conservation Public Health Social Responsibility Earth Day 1970 Environmental Science incorporates systems science to understand a dynamic Earth Example: Pfiesteria and low oxygen killing thousands of fish in a North Carolina River Population problem.. Game Changers..

6 Historical Development of Environmental Concerns in the Unites States I. Themes arising from the period 1830s to 1950s A.Utilitarian: concern with the most efficient use of resources (timber, minerals, etc.) Concept started at the time of Teddy Roosevelt: The greatest good for the greatest number for the longest time. B.Ecological: concern with developing a natural harmony or balance with nature. C.Aesthetic: concern with preserving beauty in nature. This often translated to preserving land and habitats. (NOTE: not for the animals, but for the enrichment of the human environment.)

7 Major Environmental Actions Yellowstone National Park 1885 Adirondack Park 1891 Forest Reserve Act (National Forests) 1903 Federal Wildlife Refuges 1933 Civilian Conservation Corps Soil Erosion Service 1934 Taylor Grazing Act 1937 Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration

8 II. Theme from the 1960s (roots in the post WWII era) A. Pollution: a shift in production technology produces synthetic chemicals, non-biodegradable materials, and energy intensive production methods. The result is toxic and hazardous materials in the environment. B. Fear: As the decade of the 60s closed, there was considerable fear for the problems posed by environmental degradation and miss-use. This fear extended to politicians and the government and was fueled by several events: 1. several environmental books ala Silent Spring 2. wreck of the Torrey Canyon oil tanker off Lands End, England 3. Santa Barbara oil spill 4. Cuyahoga River Fire III. Reaction: Beginning in 1969 and extending for approximately a decade, the Federal Government enacted a number of environmental laws

9 1969 Council on Environmental Quality (makes recommendations to the President) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) EPA founded (single agency to cut across jurisdictional lines) 1970 Clean Air Act Amendment (amends acts of general federal strategy for air pollution) 1972 Clean Water Amendment (updated 1948 legislation) set goals to achieve clean water by Safe Drinking Water Act (amended 1977) national standards to protect public health 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (control waste and conserve resources)

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11 What is Environmental Science?

12 BioScience, Volume 51, Issue 10, 1 October 2001, Pages , September 4, 1995 fishermen find more than 200 million dead fish on the banks of the Neuse River.

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31 Hog Production in USA (1 dot= 10,000 Hogs and Pigs)

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33 Population of the United States 1965 Global Population million 3.3 billion Population of the United States 2017 Global Population million 7.6 billion

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36 How do population issues and environmenta issues intersect? Water resources Overpopulation Food insecurity Resource depletion

37 Let s do some simple math metric tons CO 2 /gallon of gasoline Corporate average fuel economy(cafe) standard for 2014: 31mpg Proposed CAFE standard for 2025: 50mpg 38% increase from 2014 Population of United States 2014: 319,000,000 Estimated population USA 2025: 347,000,000 What will our emissions look like in 2025?

38 In 2014 there were roughly 247,000,000 passenger vehicles registered in the US. That is roughly 77.4% of the population. This means there will be an estimated 268,600,000 registered vehicles in This is twenty million more vehicles on the road in the United States in only 10 years!!!

39 In the United States, the average person drives roughly 13,500 miles annually. 13,500miles 31mpg = 435 gallons of gasoline annually 435 gallons x 247,000,000 = 1.07 x gallons for the entire US. Or 950,909,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted in the United States in 2014 What about the new 50mpg proposed for 2025? What will happen? 13,500miles / 50mpg = 270 gallons annually 270 gallons x 268,600,000 = 7.25 x gallons for the entire US. Or 644,503,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emitted in the United States in So the 38% increase in café standards only equaled 32.2% decrease in CO 2 emissions.

40 How do we characterize a population? Size: The number of individuals that make up the population Density: The number of individuals in relation to the are they inhabit Distribution: Where the individuals are located across the environment they occupy. Sex ratio: the number of males versus the number of females in a population Age structure: how many individuals fall in to different age clases. Carrying capacity: the number of individuals that the available resources of an environment can successfully support. Limiting resource: a resource that organism must have in order to survive and is available in limited quantity in their environment. Abundance: total number of organisms in a community Richness: the number of different species that make up a community.

41 What happens when a population is greater than its carrying capacity?

42 extinction and reintroduction of wolves provides an invaluable example of how species are interconnected within an ecosyste

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44 How does an ecosystem Primary evolve? succession: When pioneer species move into an environment that has no soil or organic matter present. Once they are established, nutrients are recycled making the area more livable for other organisms. Secondary succession: Occurs after soil is present and plants have been growing thus the recycling of nutrients within the soil is well established. Climax community: the mature phase of a plant community left alone to grow and change.

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46 New England Forest Cover and Human PopulaUon Con nectitcut Maine Massac husetts New.Ham,pshire Rhode Isl and Vermont All!New England (%.of all six states) BO 70 16,000,000 12,800, ,20 0,000 9,600,00 0 8,0 00,000 6,400,000 4,800,000,o 0.-. Year 1600 '. I' New Eng 1 1a nd Po pula t io n.,.",;, -- _.,.;,, - l ,200,000 1,600,000 0

47 Why do species go extinct?

48 Mass Extinctions--Past & Present

49 The People Principle: Human Population Biology Human beings are unique in that they are able to live in almost any environment present on Earth. They build structures to protect themselves from extreme temperature and weather. They clothe themselves for the seasons. They use resources for energy to either cool or warm their homes. They produce their own food through agricultural processes as well as domesticating animals. They do all these things to ensure their survival and dominance at the expense of other organisms.

50 What have been some of the greatest influences on human population growth?

51 What does the age structure of a population tell us about the overall health and future of a population?

52 Demographic Transitions

53 - Stage1 - High Fluctuating Stage3- - LateExpanding,1.,r Eklthtate - 00.iV'INl O - Totalpop,w.ion P,cjOC!Jon

54 The Dangers of a Demographic Trap. What would happen if population numbers continue to grow as the death rate drops and the birth rate remains high? Wouldn t a population experience explosive growth beyond what the economy and infrastructure can support? How can we put human population in the context of the wolves and the elk?

55 Number of d Planets Neede If everyone lived like a resident of the following countries, we would need : Balanced Budget Deficit Spending USA 4.16 Russia 2.73 Brazil 1.95 China 1.18 India 0.49 World Avg "' 1.56 Earths\!_] Overshoot Day: The day of the year when our Ecolog ical Footprint exceeds the Earth's bio capacity. From Overshoot Day forward we are overdrawing fromour future.

56 Take a minute and write down 2 ideas on your handout. The first idea should be an environmental game changer. Something that was introduced by humans that had unintended consequences for the environment positive or negative. Second idea should be the environmental issue for which you feel the strongest. Be specific. i.e. not just climate change, but something like the importance of carbon sequestration to solve climate change. If you cannot think of anything specific, write down a basic concept and I will focus you to something more specific.