01.0 Environmental Threats.ppt 12033KB Mar 29 2010 05:00:20 AM

1 – Environmental Threats

Environmental threats
The Sustainability Problem,
Environmental Impact of Economic
Activities, The Nature of Environmental
Threats, Climate Change

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.1 Environment and Climate

Environment and
Climate
The Sustainability Problem,
Environmental Impact of Economic
Activities, The Nature of Environmental

Threats, Climate Change

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.1 Environment and Climate

Contents
•
•
•
•

The Sustainability Problem
The Nature of Environmental Threats
Current Global Environmental Threats
The Challenge of Climate Change

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.1 Environment and Climate

The Sustainability Problem (1)
Development involves a progressive
transformation of economy and
society. A development path that is
sustainable in a physical sense could
theoretically be pursued even in a
rigid social and political setting. But
physical sustainability cannot be
secured unless development policies
pay attention to such considerations
as changes in access to resources and

in the distribution of costs and
benefits. Even the narrow notion of
physical sustainability implies a
concern for social
equity
between
WCED Our
Common
Future
generations, a concern that must
logically be extended to equity within

Economic sustainability

Environmental sustainability

Social sustainability

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.1 Environment and Climate

The Sustainability Problem (2)

e
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de
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Sustainability:
Sustainability:
sectoral
sectoralaspects
aspects

de
nc
e

People

Decisions

Planet

Profit
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interdependence
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.1 Environment and Climate

The Sustainability Problem (2)
Sustainability:
Sustainability:
temporal
temporalaspects
aspects

…Sustainable
development is
development that

meets the needs of
the present without
compromising the
ability of future
generations to meet
their
own needs
…
2008
2009
2025
WCED Our Common
Future

…??

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1.1 Environment and Climate

The Sustainability Problem (3)
We want to sustain ‘people, planet, profit’ &
We want economic growth
But…
There are:
•
•

Environmental limits to growth
Social limits to growth

QQuuestion
estionfofor
r
DDisiscussio
cussionn

…
…

Limits to economic growth??
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.1 Environment and Climate

The Sustainability Problem (4)
Whatever the outcomes of our discussion might be,
finding an optimal balance between ‘people, planet,
profit’ is a complex task.
In this lecture, we pay attention to the planet-profit
interdependence, with special concern for the
‘planet’:
a. Environmental impact of economic activity

b. Characterisation of environmental threats

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.1 Environment and Climate

Environmental Impact of Economic Activity (1)

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.1 Environment and Climate

Environmental Impact of Economic Activity (2)
P : Increasing population

Population of the world, 1950-2050

focus

A : Affluence  economic growth in developed and developing
countries (units: $, GDP/capita, € etc.)
T : Technology  material use, resource consumption and waste
generation per unit production (units: mass)

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.1 Environment and Climate

The Nature of Environmental Threats (1)
…’Technology’ imposes threats on the environment by
inserting and extracting materials:
• Pollution to…
 Fresh Air
 Fresh Water
 Soil
• Exhaustion of Natural Capital from…
 Air
 Water
 Soil

Pollution

interdependence
Natural Capital

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1.1 Environment and Climate

The Nature of Environmental Threats (2)
•

Pollution problems depend on:
• Environmental impact potential of materials
• Spatial scale of impact
• Damage potential (severity of hazards)
• Degree of exposure
hazard
• Remediation and reversibility time
• Quantity of materials used (throughput)
Hig

•

Exhaustion problems depend on:
• Current use of natural capital &
• Future availability

cern
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v
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throughput

Pollution from materials perspective
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.1 Environment and Climate

The Nature of Environmental Threats (3)
Environmental threats occur at different scales:
•

Global threats

•

Regional threats

•

Local threats
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.1 Environment and Climate

Current Environmental Threats










Climate Change
Ozone Depletion
Exhaustion of Natural Resources
Sea level rise
Desertification
Erosion
Loss of biodiversity
Destruction natural habitats
Etc.
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Global, regional and local
threats are connected
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.1 Environment and Climate

The Challenge of Climate Change (1)
A

B

The severe characteristics of Climate Change:
• Global environmental threat
• Attributable to economic activities
• Caused by enhanced Greenhouse Gas Emissions that
accumulate in the atmosphere

And…the large variety and scale of impact categories:
•
•
•
•

Human health
Ecosystems
Sea level rise
Socio-economic equity

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1.1 Environment and Climate

The Challenge of Climate Change (2)
C

And…the future time scale of Climate Change impacts
(emissions of today are the problems of tomorrow)
A

+

B

+

C

• Climate Change is a serious threat to sustainability
• Climate Change is a big challenge to our society
• We need to act TODAY
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Global Environmental
Threats
Climate Change, Ozone
Depletion, Exhaustion of Natural
Resources
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Contents
•
•
•
•

Current Global Environmental Threats
Causes of Global Threats
Impacts of Global Threats
Economic Impacts of Global Warming on Developing
Countries
• Global Threats and Environmental Policy

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Current Global Environmental Threats
 Climate Change
 Ozone Depletion
 Exhaustion of Natural Resources:
• Fossil Fuels (non renewable energy resources)
• Fresh Water
• Minerals: Global Copper (example)

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Climate Change, a Very Global Issue!

“We…are confronting a planetary emergency - a threat to the survival of
our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential…But
there is hopeful news as well: we have the ability to solve this crisis and
avoid the worst - though not all - of its consequences, if we act boldly, 20/25
decisively and quickly.”
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Signals of Global Warming
•

Temperature changes worldwide, since 1970:

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Changes in near surface temperature 1970-2004
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1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Global Warming and the Future
•

“Additional warming is already in the pipeline due to past and present
emissions” (Stern 2006)

Prospective surface warming for different
scenarios in the absence of climate change
policies and relative to 1980-1999

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1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Causes of Climate Change (4)
Greenhouse Gases:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Carbon Dioxide
Methane
Nitrous Oxide
ChloroFluorCarbons
Hydrochloro-fluorocarbons
Hydrofluorocarbons
Halons
Carbon tetrachloride

The greenhouse effect. A “thicker”
blanket of greenhouse gases traps
more infrared radition and raises
temperatures

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Impacts of Climate Change

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Economic Impacts of Global Warming on
Developing Countries (1)
The vulnerability to global warming depends upon three factors:

Factors determining the vulnerability to climate change.

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Economic Impacts of Global Warming on
Developing Countries (2)
• There is a correlation between global warming and economic
development
• Countries differ in their vulnerabiliy to economic impacts of global
warming and climate change
• The economic impacts of global warming are not evenly
distributed over rich and poor countries (Mendelsohn et al. 2006)
• Economic impacts of global warming in developing countries
relate to their current climate, geographic exposure and
dependency on climate sensitive economic sectors (e.g.
agriculture)
 “impacts are proportionally greater and the ability to adapt
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smaller” (Stern, 2006)
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Economic Impacts of Global Warming on
Developing Countries (3)
• In cooler regions: less severe winters, increased food production
• In warmer regions: increased flooding, heat waves and droughts,
increased pests, crop diseases and weeds (Miller 2003)

Economic
Welfare

Cooler Areas

Warmer/tropical
Regions

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Adapted from Mendelsohn et al. 2006)

Temperature
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Ozone Depletion (1)
Thinning of ozone layer that keeps most of sun’s harmful ultraviolet
(UV) radiation from reaching the earth’s surface

1979

1988

2000

2002

The changes in size of the Ozonehole above Antartica during 1979 until 2002

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Ozone Depletion (2)
Characteristics of Ozone depletion problem:
• Ozone thinning varies with altitude, location and season
• Seasonal variation of ‘ozone thinning’, due to polar processes
• In 2000, largest seasonal ozone thinning ozone hole above
Antartica, which covered an area of 3 times the USA (Miller, 2004)
• Recovering of Ozone layer will take 50-100 years (Miller, 2004)
• Ozone depletion is expected to be worst during 2010 and 2019
(NASA’Goddard Institute for Space Studies in Miller, 2004)
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1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Causes of Ozone Depletion
•
•

The mechanism of ozone (O3) depletion by
ChloroFluoroCarbons (CFCs)
Example: Reactions of CCl3F (CFC species)

CCl3F + UV  Cl + CCl2F
Cl + O3  ClO + O2

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ClO + O  CL + O2
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Impacts of Ozone Depletion
 Human Health: Sunburn, Eye cataracts, skin cancer
 Food: Reduced yields, seafood supplies
 Forests: Decreased forest productivity
 Wildlife: Eye cataracts, reduced population of phytoplankton
 Air pollution: photochemical smog
 Materials: degradation of buildings (acid deposition), outdoor
paints and plastics
 Global warming: accelerated warming because of lower CO2
uptake by phytoplankton and CFCs as GHGs
(Miller, 2003)

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Exhaustion of Natural Resources (1)
•

Exhaustion depends on how current use affects future availability
(Perman et al. 2003)
Flow Resources: No link between current use and future availability
Examples: Wind, Solar, Wave power

Natural Resources
Stock Resources:
Level of current
use does affect
future availability

•

Renewable Resources: potential of
natural reproduction (crops etc.)
Non-Renewable Resources: fossil
fuels, minerals, fresh water

Natural Resource Depletion: Exhaustion of Non-Renewable
Resources
• Fossil Fuels
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• Fresh Water
• Minerals: Global Copper (example)
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Exhaustion of Natural Resources (2)
•

Fossil fuels: Consumption of natural
gas and coal for electricity generation
will increase in the near future
World Electricity Generation by Fuel for 2004 and 2030

Minerals: significant extractions
of Copper (example). However,
recycling is possible, which may
delay the exhaustion process
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Global Copper cycle . The units are Gg Cu/year;
Lith=Lithosphere

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1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Exhaustion of Natural Resources (3)
•

Fresh Water

•

Fresh water is not
evenly distributed:
•
•
•
•

geographically
in time
in quality
politically

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Causes of Exhaustion of Natural Resources (1)
Fossil fuels: increasing energy demand, in particular from
developing countries

Energy Use in Developing Countries (not participating
in Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development) from 2004- 2030

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Average Annual Growth in Energy Consumption
by region and end-use sector, 2004- 2030

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Causes of Exhaustion of Natural Resources (2)
Minerals: high demand from developed and developing countries,
in particular Asia

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Copper entering use in 9 world regions in 1994.
The units are Gg Cu/year; Lith=Lithosphere

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Causes of Exhaustion of Natural Resources (3)
Fresh Water: pollution and inefficient use
 Pollution of fresh water resources
 Agricultural use of water:
 17% of cropland irrigated, producing 1/3 of world food supply, using ±
70% of water for human use
 < 50% of water reaches the crops - rest (leaking from pipes/canals,
evaporating) re-enters hydrological cycle, degraded by pesticides,
fertilizers, .. causing surface-/groundwater pollution while wasting
chemicals
 Potable water is used for activities not requiring potable water quality
 5 – 70% distribution losses – loss of water, loss of chemicals,
loss of energy
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 Inefficient
industrial use of water: Processes often
obsolete, high water to product ratio, large amounts of
wastewater disposal
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Impacts of Exhaustion of Natural Resources
• Fossil fuels: energy crises, increased CO2 emissions because of
increased coal consumption; scarcity may increase the cost
effectiveness of renewable energy options (solar, wind, wave power)
• Minerals: increasing scarcity, rising prices for commodities. Use of
secondary copper from recycling becomes more attractive.
• Water:
 1.2 billion lack potable water
 because of pollution of nearby sources, raw water from ever
larger distances
 2.3 billion suffer from diseases linked to water, causing
some 12 million deaths – mostly children - a year
 > 50% of world’s major rivers endanger human health and
poison surrounding ecosystems
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Global Threats and Environmental Policy (1)
Our atmosphere can’t tell the difference between
emissions from an Asian factory, the exhaust from a North
American SUV, or deforestation in South America or
Africa.” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon

“the time to act is now”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon

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Business is ready to move into the low-emissions
era, but needs the appropriate policy framework
from governments to do so,” UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de
Boer
There
is a water crisis, but it is a crisis of management
resulting from bad institutions, bad governance, bad
incentives, and bad allocation of resources (World Water
Vision,
2000)
UN Breakthrough on climate change
reached
in Bali; Indonesian Environment Minister

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and President of the conference, Rachmat Witoelar said: “We now have a Bali roadmap,
we
have an agenda and we have a deadline.” “But we also have a huge task ahead of us and time
to reach agreement is extremely short, so we need to move quickly,”

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.2 Global Environmental Threats

Global Threats and Environmental Policy (2)

Global threats
require
global solutions !!

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.3 Regional Environmental Threats

Regional Environmental
Threats
Acidification, Water Pollution, Soil
Degradation and Desertification
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.3 Regional Environmental Threats

Contents
•
•
•
•
•

Characteristics of Regional Environmental Threats
Regional Threats
Nature of Water Resource Pollution and Exhaustion
Soil Degradation and Desertification
Policy Options

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.3 Regional Environmental Threats

Characteristics of Regional Environmental Threats
Examples of Regional threats:
 Acidification
 Desertification
 Erosion
 Destruction of natural
habitats
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.3 Regional Environmental Threats

Spatial Characteristics of Environmental Threats

N.B.!

Spatial scale of impact: the distance between ‘cause’ (emission)
and ‘effect’ (damage);
Same substance can be local, regional or even global pollutant
• Examples:
 Air: particulate matter, volatile organic compounds (local);
sulfur and nitrogen oxides, ozone (local and regional)
 Water and soil: toxic substances (leaching of heavy metals
from landfills to soil (local impact) and ground- and surface
water (regional impact)
• Regional (or global!) pollutants can have local effects
• Some local emissions can have regional or even global 44/25
effects

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.3 Regional Environmental Threats

Regional Threats from Air Pollutants (1)
• Acidification from acid deposition






Slower growth, injury and death of forests
Health effects
Lower fish rates in lakes
Deterioration of buildings
Leaching of toxic metals
from water pipes

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1.3 Regional Environmental Threats

Regional Threats from Air Pollutants (2)
•

Air pollutants: nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2):
transported far away from emission points to place of deposition

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The mechanism of acid depostion (Source: http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8h.html

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.3 Regional Environmental Threats

Nature of Water Resource Pollution and Exhaustion
(1)
•

Destruction of water ecosystems and fish habitats

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.3 Regional Environmental Threats

Nature of Water Resource Pollution and Exhaustion
(2)
Water Pollution
Receiving
waters

Groundwater

Surface water
Lakes, rivers, oceans

Sources

Leaching from soils

E.g. Landfills

Point sources
E.g. Industrial
discharges in rivers

Non-point sources
E.g.Agriculture,
urban stormwater
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runoff

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.3 Regional Environmental Threats

Nature of Water Resource Pollution and Exhaustion
(3)
•
•

Often, environmental interventions
are connected
Example: deforestation, soil
depletion and water contamination

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Downstream sequence of events
following the clearcutting of a slope
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.3 Regional Environmental Threats

Nature of Water Resource Pollution and Exhaustion
(4): Consequences
•

Example Africa: Fresh water shortage and socio-economic impacts

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.3 Regional Environmental Threats

Soil Degradation and Desertification
•

Pressure on food production results in soil degradation etc.
• ongoing deforestation
• wind/water erosion
• overuse of
agricultural
chemicals
• poor irrigation
practices (salt
build-up/water
logging)
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.3 Regional Environmental Threats

How is Business Involved (1)
• Industrial emissions of NOx and SO2 from burning fossil
fuels

• Inefficient water use during production processes:
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• Too high water-to-product ratio
• Drinking water quality when high quality is not required
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.3 Regional Environmental Threats
Gaseous
waste

How is Business Involved (2)
The industrial
mass and energy
balance

Heat

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Raw materials

Energy

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Liquid waste
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.3 Regional Environmental Threats

How is Business Involved (3)
•
•
•
•
•


depletion of resources - mining, clean water/air/soil, soil minerals
dilution of resources - metals, organics, nutrients,
pollution of resources - water/air/soil
damage to resources - chemicals into stratosphere
Waste generation (Eco-management Guide, 1998):
producing environment unfriendly products (dyes, synthetic fibres,
paints and plastics - chemical industry) and by producing most of the
EU’s hazardous waste (sludge containing heavy metals - metal
platers)
 concentrating on cures and treatments for waste (“end of pipe”
solutions) rather than preventing its creation.
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 Not investigating of methods for recycling and re-use of waste,
including paper and other office wastes.
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.4 Local Environmental Threats

Local Environmental
Threats
Air Pollution, Toxic Substances,
Solid Waste, Policy Options
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.4 Local Environmental Threats

Contents
• Local Threats
 Air pollution
 Toxic Substances
 Depletion of Fresh Water Resources
• Aesthetic Pollution
• Threats from Solid Waste

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.4 Local Environmental Threats

What are Local and Regional Environmental
Threats (1)
• Local Threats:
 Local pollution of water, air and soil
 Erosion
 Soil pollution

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.4 Local Environmental Threats

Local Threats from Air Pollutants
Respiratory diseases

Indoor air pollution

Smog from local traffic

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Health damages from particulate matter
(PM10, PM2.5) from burning diesel
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.4 Local Environmental Threats

Local Threats from Toxic Substances
• Leaching from landfills into groundwater zone:

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http://www.eia.doe.gov

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.4 Local Environmental Threats

Depletion of Fresh Water Resources
No replenishment of groundwater sources 
depletion of renewable water

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.4 Local Environmental Threats

Aesthetic Pollution
• Visibility: smog
• Deterioration of materials in buildings, statues etc.

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1 – Environmental Threats

1.4 Local Environmental Threats

Threats from Solid Waste (1)
• Solid waste issues:
 Materials composition (hazard potential, organic, inorganic, heavy
metals, pesticides etc.)
 Materials amount
 Treatment method (storage, incineration and recycling potential)

?
+
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.4 Local Environmental Threats

Threats from Solid Waste (2)
• Materials composition of solid waste determines potential
for adequate treatment and recycling
• Threats of hazardous materials in solid waste:
• Soil degradation
• Leaching from landfills to watersaturated regions
• Toxic emissions from incineration
• Storage of (hazardous) solid waste: Future generations
bear the risks and costs of current solid waste production
= unsustainable!
• Recycling often requires lots of energy and water 63/25
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.4 Local Environmental Threats

Policy Options (1)
Air

Water

 Reduction of pollutants at source instead of end-of-pipe (prevent
hazardous substances and reduce amount of waste entering
solid waste incineration)
 Solve the ‘transboundary’ problem of who is responsible for
regional consequences of local emissions;  emission
allowances and trading
 Equal distribution of water resources
 Efficient water use in agriculture and industrial production
processes
 Pollution standards, enforcement of zero discharges, trading
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effluent allowances
 Prevent leakage from landfills
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1 – Environmental Threats

1.4 Local Environmental Threats

Policy options for Solid Waste
 Bury in landfills
 Burn in municipal incinerators
 Transport to other countries (= non-solution)
Or…Prevent: create low waste society:
Consume less
Redesign products and manufacturing processes
(Eco-design, eco-efficiency, cleaner production)
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Reduce unnecessary packaging
Adopt trash taxes or ‘pay-as-you-throw’ system
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