Introduction

ENV300 Environmental Science and

Sustainability

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Outline
● The Nurturing Biosphere
● Well-Being and Resource Consumption
● Present Unsustainability
● Course Description
● State of the Environment
○ Forests
○ Biodiversity
○ Water
○ Ozone layer
○ Urbanization
○ Resource depletion, waste and pollution
○ Consumerism
○ Climate Change
● Perceptions of the Crisis
● Causes of the Crisis
● Environmental Movement
● Sustainable Development
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 Man said:
Let us be cool, use CFCs,
and
blow a big hole in the ozone layer !

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Ozone Hole

●The “hole” in the stratospheric ozone layer

over the Antarctic is now the largest ever.
●Due to decreased emissions of ozone
depleting substances and assuming full
Montreal Protocol compliance, the ozone
layer is expected to recover, but not until 2060
(or even later).

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5
Outline
● The Nurturing Biosphere
● Well-Being and Resource Consumption
● Present Unsustainability
● Course Description
● State of the Environment
○ Forests
○ Biodiversity
○ Water
○ Ozone layer
○ Urbanization
○ Resource depletion, waste and pollution
○ Consumerism
○ Climate Change
● Perceptions of the Crisis
● Causes of the Crisis
● Environmental Movement
● Sustainable Development
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Man also had a great idea:
Let us create big cities
and
we can live happily !

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Our Urban Future

● An Urbanizing World
● Increase in urban population:
● From 732 million in 1950 to 3.2 billion in 2006.
● Half the world population is in cities (from 2008)
● Asia and Africa to double their urban populations
to roughly 3.4 billion by 2030.

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 Urban Woes
● Roughly half the people in African and Asian
cities lack adequate water and sanitation.
● 6 of the 10 are vulnerable to storm surges.
● Eight of the world’s 10 most populous cities
sit on earthquake faults ( Eg: LA)
● Urban air pollution kills an estimated
800,000 people each year, roughly half of
them in China
● Each year, traffic accidents kill about 1.2
million people and injure up to 50 million
more.
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10
11
Outline
● The Nurturing Biosphere
● Well-Being and Resource Consumption
● Present Unsustainability
● Course Description
● State of the Environment
○ Forests
○ Biodiversity
○ Water
○ Ozone layer
○ Urbanization
○ Resource depletion, waste and pollution
○ Consumerism
○ Climate Change
● Perceptions of the Crisis
● Causes of the Crisis
● Environmental Movement
● Sustainable Development
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 Then Man said:
Let us use up all the natural resources, convert
them to waste,
and dump it or
pollute the air and water !

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 Air Pollution
● At least one billion people in the world breathe
unhealthy air.
● More than 2 million people globally die prematurely
every year due to outdoor and indoor air pollution.
● Although air pollution has decreased in some cities in
the North, emissions are increasing in many cities of
the South.
● Indoor air pollution due to the improper burning of
solid biomass fuels imposes an enormous health
burden.
● Indian cities among the most polluted in the world.
Gurugram
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Can you interpret this cartoon?

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Can you
interpret this
cartoon?

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Outline
● The Nurturing Biosphere
● Well-Being and Resource Consumption
● Present Unsustainability
● Course Description
● State of the Environment
○ Forests
○ Biodiversity
○ Water
○ Ozone layer
○ Urbanization
○ Resource depletion, waste and pollution
○ Consumerism
○ Climate Change
● Perceptions of the Crisis
● Causes of the Crisis
● Environmental Movement
● Sustainable Development
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 Man in essence said:
Let us consume more and more
and
we will all be happy !

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Can you guess what this is?

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How about now?

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Certainly now, it is obvious!!

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Art by Chris Jordan

Plastic Bottles, 2007

60” x120"

Depicts two million

plastic beverage bottles,
the number used in the US
every five minutes.

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Consumerism
Consumerism has become a way of life for us.
Let’s learn more about what happens to the
stuff we buy, consume and throw.

Let’s watch the video: The Story of Stuff (21) or

read the transcript
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Outline
● The Nurturing Biosphere
● Well-Being and Resource Consumption
● Present Unsustainability
● Course Description
● State of the Environment
○ Forests
○ Biodiversity
○ Water
○ Ozone layer
○ Urbanization
○ Resource depletion, waste and pollution
○ Consumerism
○ Climate Change
● Perceptions of the Crisis
● Causes of the Crisis
● Environmental Movement
● Sustainable Development
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Things are warming up !
Global warming is happening:
● The Arctic is melting.
● Antarctic ice shelves are breaking off.
● The weather is becoming unpredictable.
● The frequency of natural disasters and the number
of people affected are increasing.
● Sea level rise is threatening the existence of small
islands.

India: The Himalayan glaciers are receding !

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 Climate Change Worsens Natural Disasters

Avalanches, Wildfires Floods, Droughts,

Snowstorms, Famines
Landslides

Storms Lightning Tornadoes

Note: The above disasters can get worse due to climate change 27
 Increased Damage from Natural
Disasters
Due to:
● Uncontrolled urbanization
● High population density
● Poor planning and preparedness

Tsunamis Earthquakes
Volcanoes

Note: The above disasters are not related to climate change

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 We are past the tipping point
in many aspects of the environment !

It may all come together as a catastrophe

by 2030-35.

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Of course, as we saw before, it is not
environment alone
Interconnected things:
● Increasing population, food prices
● Increasing disparities:
● Marginalisation of the poor
● Farmers in distress
● Increasing militarisation, terrorism
● Large scale corruption, frauds
● Financial crisis, economic ups and downs.
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Outline
● The Nurturing Biosphere
● Well-Being and Resource Consumption
● Present Unsustainability
● Course Description
● State of the Environment
○ Forests
○ Biodiversity
○ Water
○ Ozone layer
○ Urbanization
○ Resource depletion, waste and pollution
○ Consumerism
○ Climate Change
● Perceptions of the Crisis
● Causes of the Crisis
● Environmental Movement
● Sustainable Development
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Is Unsustainability Really a Crisis?
Different Perceptions
● Environmental problems are not as bad as they are
made out to be.
● There are problems, but S&T will find solutions.
● There is a real crisis, the wolf is at the door, there is no
way out !
● Hunger and poverty are more important issues, we
need economic growth.
● It is all part of a Grand Design. God made this world,
and He will take care of it.
● The Earth is a self-evolving and self-regulating living
system and it will survive (Gaia Theory).
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 Human beings and
the natural world
are on a collision course.

● World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity

So, it is much worse than I imagined !

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Changes are coming !
Within your lifetime, you will see
major environmental and social changes.
They will not be pleasant
for you, your children, and humanity.

You can, however, mitigate the impact

by taking action NOW.

There is no time to lose !

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 Wait a minute,
Were we not living happily
for thousands of years?
Why is there a crisis now?
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Earth, Nature, Man: The Long View
We have survived for so long:
● Earth: 5 billion years
● Man: 3 to 5 million years
● Civilization: 10,000 years
We know:
● Nature absorbs disturbances !
● Man is the master !
● S&T can solve all problems !
● Economic development is the key.

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 Why can’t we continue the same way?
Or, is something different happening now?

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