1COURSE CODE (CC 88-167)ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

Part I: Introduction Chapter 1: The state of our planet

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After class via SOUL platform via Letter on KEC reception desk via email for consultation/any enquiry

Contact

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Module 1 Introduction

Module 2 Energy and Essential Resources

Module 3 Environmental Pollution and Prevention

Syllabus

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Introduction Global trends

1. Increasing population growth and its detrimental effects on human well-being

2. A decline of vital ecosystem services3. The negative impacts of global climate change4. A loss of biodiversity

Outlines

5 There is cause for concern about the health of our planet today -

Do we learn from the past?

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Dutch sailors named a remote South Pacific island on Easter Sunday, 1722 Small, isolated, dry, cold,

nutrient-poor fragile islandbut abundantly forested.

Easter Island

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Polynesians cut trees To clear land for agriculture & provide structural

materials Move the stone heads from the quarries to the sites

at which they would be erected By 1650, all the trees were gone

The soil washed into the sea The eroded soil baked, decreasing agriculture

Primitive Inhabitants

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Degraded soil, depleted forest & water resources Existence became harder Workers revolted against the ruling religious elites Workers fought among themselves

By 1722, the population was down to a few thousand Starvation & disease became epidemic Without trees, no one could leave the island by boat

The Sad Story

9The past culture & civilization had vanished.10

1. World population explosion 75 million people are added/ year By 2050, there could be 9.1 billion

people6.8 billion people

grew by 2 billion in the last 25 years

Done by United Nations Population Division

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Most population increases will be in developing countries Extreme poverty ($1 a day) & malnourished Preschoolers die each year of hunger & malnutrition Stabilizing population growth in these countries is important

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Maximum Sustainable Yield

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It is an interactive complex of communities & the abiotic (nonliving, chemical & physical) environment affecting them within a particular area

Natural & managed ecosystems Support human life & economies with a range of

goods & services

2. Ecosystems

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Fresh water All of our food Much of our fuel Wood for lumber & paper Leather & furs Raw materials for fabrics, oils, alcohols & etc.

Goods

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Breakdown of waste Regulation of the climate Erosion control Pest management Maintenance of crucial nutrient cycles & etc.

Services

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Goods & services = Part of natural capital 3 Sectors

Agriculture, forestry & fishing

A major form of the wealth of the nation Stock of ecosystem capital Income-generating capacity

Ecosystem Capital

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Economic Activity

(Natural resources)

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3. Global Temperature & CO2

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A natural component of the atmosphere Plants required for photosynthesis Important to the Earths atmosphere energy system

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

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The Greenhouse Effect Accumulation of greenhouse gases, e.g. CO2

A by-product of burning fossil fuels

It absorbs infrared (heat) energy radiated from Earths surface, which warms the lower atmosphere

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Defined as The variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes of which they are part by The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

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Earth is rapidly losing many of its species Due to our growing appetite for food Acceleration of converting forests, grasslands

& wetlands to agriculture & urban development Pollution degrades habitats, e.g. marine Massive exploit of hundreds of species for their

commercial value, e.g. hunted, killed & marketed illegally

Loss of Biodivesity

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Biodiversity is mainstay of agricultural crops & of many medicines Maintains the stability of natural systems &

enabling them to recover after disturbances, e.g. fires/volcanic eruptions

Consequence: Threaten our own well-being

Critical?