Lecture 4 - People & Nature (Week of Sept. 30) PDF

People GGR111 & Nature – Human Geography Week of Sept. 30, 2024 1 Geog 1200 – Society & Space  Class Outline 1. Environment, Economy, Society: A Nested Relationship 2. Human Impacts on the Environment 3. Consumption, Populatio...

People GGR111 & Nature – Human Geography Week of Sept. 30, 2024 1 Geog 1200 – Society & Space  Class Outline 1. Environment, Economy, Society: A Nested Relationship 2. Human Impacts on the Environment 3. Consumption, Population, Resources 4. Sustainability, Conservation and Preservation Environment, Economy, Society: A Nested Relationship Geographers are interested in how the economy and society at large can impact the environment, especially with respect to resource degradation and depletion, and overall ecological function. 3  The Environment The environment represents the natural world, including native animals and plants, mineral deposits, soil, water, and air. It is all the external factors surrounding and affecting both living and non-living things. 4  Society Society is a group of humans that co-exist and relate to one another through politics, culture and institutions that govern behaviour. 5  Economy The economy is a system that organizes the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. It is a system that connects what is produced to those who consume it. 6 Interrelationships Among Human- Ecological Systems 7  What are the environmental impacts of economic activity? A view of the Los Angeles city skyline as heavy smog shrouds the city in California on May 31, 2015. Smog over Salt Lake City. Pollution blankets Beijing, China. Vehicles on road amid heavy smog, at NH 9 road, on November 3, 2019 in Ghaziabad, India. Air Pollution and Climate Change Smog: a form of air pollution (mostly composed of ground level ozone) formed when emissions from vehicles and industry react with sunlight and heat in the atmosphere.  The Atmosphere: a unique mix of gases that envelopes the Earth. The atmosphere plays a big role in regulating the global climate system.  Greenhouse Gases Natural Sources of Greenhouse Gases: Water - evaporation and transpiration Carbon Dioxide - humans and animals breathing; volcanoes; forest fires Methane - decay from organic matter Nitrous Oxide - naturally occurring chemical reactions in soil Ozone - naturally occurring chemical reactions in the atmosphere Forest Fires West of Ottawa  The Greenhouse Effect The Greenhouse Effect: A naturally occurring process that warms the earth by preventing the loss of heat into space. Greenhouses gases absorb incoming solar radiation, slows the loss of heat into space and increases Earth’s temperatures. Human-Made Sources of Greenhouse Gases Growth in productivity, technological advances and human population has resulted in the atmosphere becoming a ‘dumping ground’ for pollutants, which has augmented atmospheric change. Human-Made Sources of Carbon Dioxide Combustion of fossil fuels (industry and transportation) Landuse change (clearing forests/deforestation)  Enhanced Greenhouse Effect Enhanced greenhouse effect = drastic increases in concentrations and rates of increase in GHGs Melting Polar Ice Caps, Antarctica https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68206309  Cities at Risk from Sea Level Rise Sea Level Rise The top five countries in terms of population living in vulnerable coastal locations (Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, India, and Indonesia) together account for almost half of the world's population. https://www.c40.org/other/the-future-we-don-t-want-staying-afloat-the- urban-response-to-sea-level-rise Cities projected to receive at least 0.5 meters of sea level rise by the 2050s under RCP8.5 Weather Extremes & Forest Fires Hurricane Florence, seen from the International Space Station, in the Atlantic in September 2018. Credit.NASA, via Reuters  Geographies of GHG Emissions The emissions from specific sources have longstanding impacts everywhere – both locally and globally. The responsibility for emissions, however, has been uneven and in fact creates an uneven geography of emissions. https://www.oilandgas360.com/the-worlds-top-10- carbon-dioxide-emitters/  Geographies of GHG Emissions Historically, North America and Europe are major centers of GHG emissions. In recent years, there has been a shift toward higher emissions from developing countries. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-share-of-co2-emissions  Emission Regulation ‘Earth Summit’, Rio de Janeiro, 1992: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is established meeting of world leaders to rethink economic growth with environmental protection in mind  Emission Regulation Kyoto Protocol: International agreement on climate change Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Countries required to reduce GHG emissions Two commitment periods: 2008-2012 and 2012 onwards.  Emission Regulation Kyoto Protocol (2011) Green = countries with binding targets in the second period Purple = countries with binding targets in the first period but not the second Blue = countries without targets Yellow = countries with binding targets in the first period but that withdrew in the second Orange = countries that have not ratified Red = countries not party to the protocol  Emission Regulation Paris Agreement, 2015 addresses emissions between 2020 and 2030 countries involved have agreed to keeping global temperature warming to below 2 degrees Celsius assistance provided to developing countries  Emission Regulation Paris Agreement, 2015 http://www.metalsnews.com/Metals+News/Busine ssInsider/The+Business+Insider+The+Money+Game /HEADLINE1195233/Heres+what+the+US+actually+ agreed+to+in+the+Paris+climate+deal.htm  Oil Spills Exxon Valdez oil spill, Prince William Sound, Alaska, 1989. An estimated 38,800 metric tones of oil discharged. Moratorium on Offshore Oil Development/Tankers 1972: Moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic on the West Coast 1988: Tanker Exclusion Zone 2017: Bill C-48 (formal legislation introduced in the House of Commons) 2018: Bill C-48 Passed  Oil Spills Deepwater Horizon (BP Oil Spill), Gulf of Mexico, 2010. This the largest oil spill in US waters to date with an estimated discharge of 780 000 metric tons of oil.  Deep Ocean Oil Rigs Deep ocean drilling rigs off the coast of NFLD: Hibernia – 1997 Terra Nova – 2002 White Rose – 2005 Herbron – 2017 Hibernia  Athabasca Oil Sands Large deposits of bitumen.  Athabasca Oil Sands Every year the Canadian mining industry generates about 650 million tons of tailings and waste rock. Tailings = non-useful materials removed after the recoverable materials have been extracted. Tailings Pond, Fort McMurray, AB Nuclear Energy  Nuclear Energy High energy density: one ton of natural uranium produces the electricity equivalent to 15000 tons of coal Emits one sixth the amount of CO2 than coal. Bruce Nuclear Power Plant, Tiverton, ON  300 tons of radio active waste/day Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Explosion, Ukraine, 1986  Nuclear Energy 300 tons of radio active waste/day Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Explosion, Japan, 2011  Deforestation Deforestation = Myanmar the removal of trees and Brazil Sub- clearing of land Indonesia Saharan for other Africa purposes Global Deforestation Since the 1990s  Deforestation Drivers: revenues from export paying debt agriculture (cash cropping, livestock ranching) lack of regulations and law enforcement Clear cutting: all trees in one area are cut at the same time (leaving only stumps behind).  Open-Pit Mining Bingham Canyon Copper Mine, Utah  Open-Pit Mining 1991: Diamonds discovered in Canada 2007: Diamond production valued at $1.44 billion EKATI Diamond Mine, NWT (Broken Hill Proprietary Billiton – BHP Billton) Open-Pit Mining Diavik Diamond Mine, NWT, 2013 Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) Fracking is a technology used to mine natural gas trapped in rock formations. Jonah Field, Western Wyoming Three Gorges Dam Yangtze River, China Three Gorges Dam Hydroelectric Yangtze River, China Dams Impacts: human resettlement habitat destruction migration barriers less productive wetlands decrease in biodiversity loss of agricultural land  Marine Pollution https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/how-big-great-pacific-garbage- patch-science-vs-myth.html “Garbage patches” are natural gathering points where rotating currents, winds, and other ocean features converge. “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” Fishermen set out amid floating garbage off the shore of Manila Bay in the Philippines on June 8, 2013. How can we explain why humans have had such an impact on the environment? 54  Economic Growth, Consumption & Resources The environment provides resources for the economy. There needs to be a balance between the need for economic development and the need to sustain the resource on which this development depends. 55 Human Demand and Consumption food clothing Shelter commodities/goods Consumption patterns have a significant impact on the environment.  Population Growth As the human population grows, there is an increased demand for resources, not only for human survival but for industrial development and transportation. Lagos, Nigeria 57  Defining Natural Resources Natural Resources = components of the nature that are useful to humans. 58  Renewable Resources Renewable Resources = replaced by environmental processes, as long as they are not used more quickly than they are replaced.  Non-Renewable Resources Non-Renewable Resources = resources that are finite or are replaced at very slow rates.  Natural Capital Natural Capital = resources that are used to produce manufactured goods, but also to support economic activities. Nature’s Utility The environment is understood as a source of: income livelihoods material things economic activity 62  Ecological Footprint a measurement of land area required to sustain a population (Wackernagel and Rees 1996). how much land/resources does the average person of a particular area need to support their consumption habits? Global footprint = 2.6 hectares/yr (2023) (1 hectare = 2.47 acres) Borucke, M. Moore, D. Cranston, G. Gracey, K. Iha, K. Larson, J. Lazarus, E. Morales, J. Wackernagel, M. and Gall A. 2013. Accounting for demand and supply of the Biosphere’s regenerative capacity: The National Footprint Accounts’ underlying methodology and framework. Ecological Indicators, Vol. 24, pp. 518–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2012.08.005  World Ecological Footprints, 2007 Countries with high rates of consumption have higher footprints because a greater amount of resources is needed to sustain the populations. On average, at the current rate of consumption and resource use that the planet is currently undergoing, we need 1.8 Earths to sustain the current rates of resources use. https://www.overshootday.org/how- many-earths-or-countries-do-we-need/ It becomes a challenge to maintain economic growth and extend the benefits of development to everyone on a planet that is rapidly populating, especially when we consider that the Earth has finite resources. Sustainable Development There needs to be a negotiation between maintaining a healthy human society and health environment with growth and development.  Sustainable development points to a “middle road” approach: it is a way for us to think about development (or economic growth) being the outcome of responsible practices towards the environment and human life. Sustainable development is considered a way of avoiding environmental degradation and reducing poverty through economic growth. Nature’s Non- Monetary Value The environment provides functions necessary for human life, and this is why the environment needs to be protected. 69  the sustainable use and maintain areas of the Earth management of natural resources untouched by humans ensures renewable resources like ensures protection from any kind trees are not consumed faster than of damage or destruction they can be replaced biodiversity should be preserved development is necessary, but in a regardless of its usefulness to sustainable manner humans  Environmental Ethics Environmental Ethics = a field that studies the non-monetary value of the physical environment Land Ethic: - Humans are citizens and protectors of the environment - Responsibility towards the environment means limits to individual freedoms  Next Class: Cultural Geographies: Landscapes & Coded Spaces