Human-Environmental Interactions - ENV 1600 Course Outline PDF

Human-Environmental Interactions - ENV 1600 Prof. Jean-Pierre Desforges Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences University of Winnipeg 1  BSc. U of Ottawa MSc. U of Victoria PhD + PostDoc Aarhus U (Denmark)...

Human-Environmental Interactions - ENV 1600 Prof. Jean-Pierre Desforges Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences University of Winnipeg 1  BSc. U of Ottawa MSc. U of Victoria PhD + PostDoc Aarhus U (Denmark) PostDoc McGill U Contact info: Email: [email protected] Office: 2RC046 2 Course description The course deals with various topics illustrating the complexity and diversity of environmental issues. A central theme is the need to understand natural processes in the environment as a means of assessing human impact. Another important theme relates to the interconnections among ecological, social and economic systems. Topics covered reflect current environmental concerns, including human population growth, climate change, water quality, energy resources, deforestation, and urban environmental stresses. The course also touches on recent conceptual, policy and management responses to environmental problems and challenges. Canadian examples are used throughout the course to illustrate the concepts, problems and solutions discussed. 3 Course objectives To introduce students to environmental science, its fundamental ideas, concepts, and applications To introduce students to important environmental issues and their causes and consequences To develop an enthusiasm for the study of science through understanding how scientific knowledge develops, the limits of scientific knowledge and its impact on society To provide an understanding of the contributions of different scientific disciplines to environmental science To provide students an opportunity to analyze the relevance of environmental science to their personal, professional, and academic life 4 Course text: Environmental Change & Challenge, 6e Dearden/Mitchell/O'Connell, Environmental Change and Challenge, 6e Available at the UoW bookstore, online, eBook … Weekly course readings to supplement lectures 5 Course structure Lecture and reading for each topic Lecture notes will be made available on Nexus Lecture notes may be incomplete and will not replace class attendance or readings Course grade will be based on: 2 midterms (20% each) 1 written assignment (20%) Final exam (40%) 6 Submission policies Deadlines are important! Late submissions will cost 5% per day, and not accepted after 7 days Extensions and deferred exams will only be given for medical or family emergencies, proof needed Please plan ahead for all your course assignments/exams! There will be times when you have deadlines for several courses at the same time, but this is not a valid reason to request extensions 7 Nexus Nexus is the course hub where you can find course announcements, lecture notes, course calendar, discussion boards, etc. Full course outline is on Nexus Nexus: https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/student-learning- technologies/nexus/index.html For now, all classes are in-person, but this can change according to health authority recommendations 8 Classroom etiquette 9  Study Skills Workshops *Please Sign-in: https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/academic-advising/study-skills-workshops.html forms.office.com/r/7W A5WVSgwY uwinnipeg.ca/academic-advising/study-skills-registration.html 11  https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/research/grants/undergraduate- NSERC USRA student-research-funding-opportunities.html 12 Topic 1: Environment, Resources, and Society Textbook: Chapter 1 13 Environment, Resources, and Society Change and challenge Defining environment and resources Global picture Alternative Approaches to Understanding Complex Natural and Socio-economic Systems Sustainable development and resilience 14 Change We are facing unprecedented global change With that comes environmental and societal challenges Perspectives important -> opportunities? Human activities are the major driving force behind current environmental changes Changes happening more abruptly and with greater magnitude than previously Population growth and increased consumption lead to both economic growth and environmental change 15 wwf NASA Ocean cleanup 16  Challenge Changes can threaten societal well-being and we must respond quickly How do we meet basic human needs and protect integrity of biophysical systems? Natural and social science needs to come together 17 Environment, Resources, and Society Change and challenge Defining environment and resources Global picture Alternative Approaches to Understanding Complex Natural and Socio-economic Systems Sustainable development and resilience 18  Defining environment and resources Environment: described by 4 major ‘spheres’ atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere Is where humans and other living species and inanimate objects exist Resources: specific components of the environment E.g. forests, wildlife, oceans, rivers, minerals, petroleum, etc. World Atlas 19   Example test question  The environment is composed of the following 4 spheres: a) the celestial sphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, and cryosphere b) the lithosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, heliosphere, and anthropocentric c) the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and cryosphere d) the atmosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, anthropocentric, and celestial sphere 20 Anthroposphere: is there a fifth sphere? Anthroposphere: part of the environment that is made or modified by humans for use in human activities 21 Anthropocene: The Human Epoch Anthropocene: the human epoch trailer: 22 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puE32LuxPz4&ab_channel=TIFFTrailers Anthropocene Anthropocene: Current geological age when most biophysical processes are driven by humanity, ~1850s IPCC 23 Troll Art Different viewpoints on environment Anthropocentric view: value defined relative to human interests, wants, and needs Many minerals were only considered as resources once humans figured out how they can be used Ecocentric or biocentric view: resources have value independent of human wants/needs E.g. Wildlife have intrinsic value regardless of their immediate value to people *Think about political implications 24 Environment, Resources, and Society Change and challenge Defining environment and resources Global picture Alternative Approaches to Understanding Complex Natural and Socio-economic Systems Sustainable development and resilience 25 The global picture - Population Population size is a key variable for environmental change Population has increased dramatically since the industrial revolution, as has pollution 4.4 people are born every second worldwide >11 billion by 2100 26 Population change Population change is a function of births and deaths Pop growth rate = crude birth rate – crude death rate CBR: babies born/year per 1000 people CDR: deaths/year per 1000 people Fertility rate: # children a women has over her lifetime >2 = population growth, though balanced by infant mortality Varies greatly amongst countries 27 Thomas Malthus Malthusian view: In 1798 Thomas Malthus described population growth as exponential while food supply growth was arithmetic Eventually, overpopulation will lead to famine, disease, war 28 Population age structure Age structure of a population has important implications for population growth Population pyramid: shape gives information about birth, death, life expectancy, the number of young (65) dependents The shape of a country’s population pyramid changes from triangular to a barrel-like shape with straighter edges as the country develops 29 Population and environment A relationship was seen between environmental degradation and economic growth (Kuznet curve) 30  Population - consumption Not all populations have the same impact on life support systems Richest 20% are responsible for >75% of global consumption poorest 20% consume less than 2% Wealthiest countries use 25 times more energy per capita than the poorest countries 31 Implications of consumption The stresses on the planetary life-support system are a consequence of overconsumption ( = pollution) as well as overpopulation ( = poverty) Planetary carrying capacity: ability of earth and its systems to sustain humans (and other organisms) and their effects on these systems Have we reached the carrying capacity? 32 Implications Nine ‘planetary boundaries’ have been proposed Critical thresholds are being reached and surpassed, which increases risk to irreversible harm to earths processes Three systems are already threatened: climate change, biochemical flows, and biodiversity loss Rockstrom et al. 2009 33 Video: What are the planetary boundaries? | Mongabay Explains Also, check out Netflix: Breaking planetary boundaries and TED talks by Johan Rockstrom 34 Implications – lessons learned (or not) Past civilizations have collapsed due to 4 main reasons: 1. May not anticipate the problem 2. Fail to appreciate severity of the problem, even though they are aware of it 3. May appreciate the problem but neglect to address it 4. May perceive the problem as a serious threat, try to solve it, and fail Collapses were often rapid and related to environmental degradation 35 Environment, Resources, and Society Change and challenge Defining environment and resources Global picture Alternative Approaches to Understanding Complex Natural and Socio-economic Systems Sustainable development and resilience 36 Alternative approaches to understanding complex systems The real world is complex and requires expertise from a broad range of disciplines to understand that complexity These disciplines create and apply knowledge through different means Disciplinary: organized around concepts, theories, assumptions and methods associated with an academic discipline (e.g. biology) May limit understanding of complex systems 37  Alternative approaches to understanding complex systems Multi-disciplinary: specialists combine their disciplinary knowledge to increase understanding of issues Inter-disciplinary: specialists work together from the beginning of a project to integrate understanding Time consuming, requires trust and patience Heinzmann et al. 2019 38 Environment, Resources, and Society Change and challenge Defining environment and resources Global picture Alternative Approaches to Understanding Complex Natural and Socio-economic Systems Sustainable development and resilience 39 Sustainable development Sustainable development: development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs Key notion = intra- and inter- generational equity 40  Mixed feelings about Sustainable Dev Compelling vision for 21st century society equity, stewardship, development “Think globally, act locally” However, SD can be vague and suit conflicting interests Can non-stop economic growth be sustainable at all? Does more wealth = better life? 41  Sustainable development and resilience Resilience: ability of a system to absorb disturbance and still retain its basic function and structure In natural ecosystems, biodiversity is usually associated with resilience Many current natural resource extraction processes do not account for resilience 42 Next class … Announcements Topic 2: Responding to environmental change Textbook: chapter 2 43