Natural Resource Conservation

What is a resource? -Something that can be used for support or help What is a natural resource?? Something found in nature that is necessary or used to humans, such as a forest, mineral deposite, or fresh water What is a renewable natural resource? Something that is necessary or useful to humans that is constantly replenished by natural processes (If taken care of, should be abundant in future) Conservation Aldo Leopold (1887-1946) He said conservation was .a state of harmony between man and land To understand and appreciate nature Land Ethic -existence of ecological conscience individual responsibility for the health of the land Sustainability Key concept for renewable resource use (what we are trying to do) A rate of resource use that meets present needs without impairing their ability to meet the needs of future generations CBD (Convention of Biological Diversity) Earth summit, came up with a binding treaty currently signed by 193 parties Sustainable use means using biological diversity in a rate that allows it to be preserved for the future History of Conservation Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it George Santayana Exploitation of natural resources has accompanied the growth of human civilizations throughout history; lack of sustainability has also contributed to their decline and fall Roman Empire Deforestation, overgrazing-> massive erosion-> forest loss-> increase in marshland > mosquitos-> malaria Salinization from irrigation -> crop reduction Species extinction -> loss of mesocarnivores -> explosion of rodent population -> crop loss

Pollution, high levels of lead from smelting, high leels of lead in silver utensils and water popes, urban dust and smoke, lack of garbage and sewage disposal, raw sewage from roman sewers dumped into Tiber. Flooding caused flow reversal Significant contribution to the Roman Empire decline in the 4th and 5th centuries The industrial age (Late 1700s) Steam engine and gas engine. 18th and 19th century Went from small scaled productions to large scale productions. Drew power from fossil fuels and hydropower Pervasive pollution and degradation of forests, water, and land to support industry and growing urban centers Romanticists Reaction against the industrial age, ant-science and technology, which was seen as dehumanizing people and degrading nature The science/technology viewpoint felt that beauty had no objective existence and nature had no intrinsic value, unless used by humans and that all systems could be understood through reduction Romanticists viewed nature as more than the sum o fits parts, with intrinsic value related to biodiversity y and ecological function apart from human utilitarian value Naturalists, botanists, and zoologists of this time also wrote about nature, and the impacts of colonization and exploitation by European powers on distant lands, massive resource extraction and ecosystem degradation Alexander von Humboldt South American expeditions between 1799 and 1804 Wrote about oysters overfishing, overharvesting of trees and changes in water sources to lakes, overharvesting of birds and turtle eggs and lack of reforestation North America Long history of naturalists throughout American expansion and industrialization Henry David Thoreau Naturalist writer, and perhaps anarchist, wrote extensively about nature, including forest succession, an how the world works George Perkins Marsh Scientist and congressman from Vermont, natural laws and harmony humans cause disturbed harmonies John Muir Founded the Sierra club in 1892