CHAPTER 1

PHILOSOPHY AND

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

Case History: Easter Island• A small volcanic island with a subtropical climate

• By the 16th century, a thriving society with 15,000–30,000 people

• Europeans reached there in 17th century, only 2000 people struggling in a degraded environment

• Reasons for collapsed society: overpopulated, deforestation, soil erosion, loss of agricultural base, further conflicts and wars, geographic isolation, and geologic limitations

Looking Ahead: Earth

• Earth: geospatially isolated in the universe• Population explosion: exponential growth• Facing limited resources: energy, soil, fresh

water, forests, ocean fisheries, rangelands• Global environment: conflicts and integrated

resolutions• Lessons from Easter Island: aware of limited

resources and needs for sustainable global economy

Figure 1.A

• Inception: 4.6 billion years

• Change over time: Environment and bioextinction

Earth History

• James Hutton (1785):James Hutton (1785): Earth as a superorganism

• James Lovelock:James Lovelock: Gaia hypothesis Earth is an organism Life significantly affects the Earth’s

environment Life modifies the environment for the

betterment of life Life deliberately or consciously controls the

global environment

Earth Environment (1)

• Earth: Dynamic, alive, and complex

• Everything alive: With a beginning and an end

• Earth environment as a total, as a whole

• Prolong Earth’s sustainable healthy life Environment monitoring Environment problems—mapping and

analysis Environment problem prevention and

protection

Earth Environment (2)

• Environment: A complex system with physical, biological, geological, ecological, and geopolitical aspects.

• Requires multidisciplinary research: Environmental geology, environmental chemistry, global climate change, biological diversity and ecosystems, environmental economics, environmental ethics, environmental law, etc.

• Environmental crisis: Population, environmental hazards, resource limitations and contaminations, environment ownership (both in space and over time)

Environmental Sciences

• Why environmental geology?

• Earth: Source for habitats and resources

• Geologic aspect in every environmental condition

• Environmental geology: Applied geology To better understand environmental

problems Geologic knowledge for problem solving Optimize the use of resources to maximize

environmental benefits for the society

Environmental Geology

• Five fundamental concepts Population growth Sustainability System and change Hazardous Earth processes Scientific knowledge and values

• Other important concepts in environmental geology

Fundamental Concepts

• #1 Environmental problem• Population “time bomb”: Exponential growth• Earth’s carrying capacity limited: More

resources, more land space, more waste• Exponential growth

Growth rate (G): measured as a percentage Doubling time (D): D = 70/G

• Uneven growth in space and over time• Good news: the rate of increase in population is

decreasing

Human Population Growth (1)

Population Population Bomb: Bomb:

About to About to Explode?Explode?

Figure 1.3

Human Population Growth (2)

Population: Population: At At

Exponential Exponential Growth Rate?Growth Rate?

Figure 1.4

Human Population Growth (3)

Uneven growing pace and uneven global Uneven growing pace and uneven global distributiondistribution

• Little access to, or use of, modern family planning methods in less developed countries

• Africa: Home to a larger share of world population over next half century

• Asia: Many nations overpopulated India, over one-third of its population under

15 years old Likely the largest population by mid-century

Human Population Growth (4)

Figure 1.2

SustainabilitySustainability

• An evolving concept

• Expectation and reality

• Criteria variations in space and over time

• Long-term implications

• Requiring careful resources allocation, large-scale development of new tech for resource use, recycling, and waste disposal

Sustainability (1)

Measuring sustainabilityMeasuring sustainability

• Use and consumption of resources

• Replenishment and renewable rates

• Development and improvement of human environment vs. viable environment

• Not lead to environmental crisis

Sustainability (2)

Chapter 1 Opening Figure

Figure 1.7A

Sustainability (3)

• Earth: A dynamic system

• Two engines behind its dynamics: Internal and external heat sources

• Four interconnected subsystems: Lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere

• Four subsystems mutually adjust

Earth’s Systems and Changes (1)

• System conditions: Open vs. closed systems

• System input-output analysis

• System changes: Types of changes, rates of changes, scales of changes, etc.

• Rates of change: Average residence time T = S/F

(T: residence time, S: total size of stock, F: average rate of transfer)

Earth’s Systems and Changes (2)

Figure 1.B

Short-term Short-term changes: Long-changes: Long-lasting adverse lasting adverse effectseffects

Earth’s Systems and Changes (2)

• Uniformitarianism The present is the key to the past The present is the key to the future Changes of frequency and magnitude:

Geological processes and human activities

• Environmental unity: Chain of actions and reactions

• Earth system Gaia hypothesis: Earth is a living organism Complex and interrelated subsystems Global perspective on environment

Predicting Future Changes

Hazardous Earth processes and risk statistics for Hazardous Earth processes and risk statistics for the past two decadesthe past two decades

• Annual loss of life: About 150,000

• Financial loss: >$20 billion

• More loss of life from a major natural disaster in a developing country (2003 Iran quake, ~30,000 people)

• More property damage occurs in a more developed country

Hazardous Earth Processes

• Hazard identification

• Risk assessment (types, probability, and consequences of impact) Critical facility mapping and analysis Economic impact analysis Societal impact analysis Total environmental impact analysis

• Risk management and mitigation

Risk Assessment

• Public attitude toward risks From NIMBY to BANANA

• Public acceptance for risks Threshold for living with dangers Planning decisions, e.g., floodplain

development, waste disposal

• Public awareness and collective actions Anticipatory measures Mitigation planning

Risk Perception

Figure 1.12

ScientificKnowledge and

Values (1)

• 3-D environmental problems

• Changes of environment in the 4-D (time) Expansiveness of geologic time Broad spectrum of geologic processes Great variations in rates of geologic

processes

• Humans are super agent of change Holocene epoch Industrialization and global environmental

changes

Scientific Knowledge and Values (2)

• Science: Accumulated knowledge

• Knowledge: Basis for decision making

• Scientific methods: Formulate possible solutions to environmental problems

• Scientific design: Structure more suitable for certain environmental settings

• Scientific info: Public awareness and environmental regulations

Science and Solution

Figure 1.6

Mining ScarsOn Earth’s Surface

Figure 1.7b

Open Pit Mine, NM

Figure 1.Ba

The rush forCopper richesIn Tennessee1850s

Figure 1.Bb

Man-MadeDesert

Figure 1.Bc

After decades recoveryIs incomplete – revegetationBegan in 1930s

Figure 1.C

Ontario, CanadaPollution from stacksCaused large kill of trees and vegetation

Figure 1.7a

Clear-cutting of forests

Figure 1.Da

Figure 1.Db

• Do you think the Earth is a living organism? Why or why not?

• Why did you take this environmental geologycourse?

• Would an exponential negative growth of human population be a solution to many environmental problems?

• Science can certainly provide solutions to environmental problems, but think of ways that science brought about environmental problems.

Applied and Critical Thinking Topics