SKL/MSM 3204 Environmental Science course

Lecturer for Semester 2007:

Prof. Dr. Noor Azhar Mohd Shazili BSc Appl. Biology (1979 Wales, UK); PhD Aquatic Toxicology (1984 Wales, UK) Fakulti Pengajian Maritim & Sains Marin Pengarah, Institut Oseanografi

Your reference text book

What is Environmental Science?

Natural world we live in and the world of social institutions that humans created are the important parts of our environment Environment means -the conditions and circumstances that surround organisms - the social and cultural conditions that affect an individual or community Environmental science : systematic study of our environment and our place in it

More definitions
Ecosystem: a region in which the organisms and the physical environment form an interacting unit Biodiversity: the variety of all forms of life, from genes to species, communities, through to the broad scale of ecosystems of the world Sustainability: a relationship between dynamic cultural, economic and biophysical systems associated across the landscape such that quality of life for humans continues. It is a relationship in which the effects of human activities do not threaten the integrity of the self-organising systems that provide the context of these activities

Environmental science as a discipline

Interdisciplinary: integrates biology, chem, geography, agriculture, statistics, marine science etc. To improve the way we treat our world, these sciences and knowledge on social organisation, politics and humanities are incorporated

Environmental issues
For many env issues, we have the technological solutions; to make them successful, these solutions have to be socially, economically and politically acceptable - foresters can plant forests but how do villagers manage them? - engineers know how to control air pollution but how to convince factories to install them? It costs a lot for factories to do it - city planners can plan a green city but can poor people afford them? - green cars (hybrid tech; biodiesel; electric car) but can most people afford them?

Are countries that regulate greenhouse gases exposing their industries to unfair competition from those that do not? IN AMERICA they call it the China question. In Europe they call it the America question. In every country that has contemplated regulating greenhouse gases, it is seen as a problem: how can policy ensure that legal limits on emissions do not put local firms at a disadvantage to their foreign competitors? After all, if the cost of compliance puts factories in countries with strict rules out of business, while those in grubbier places flourish, a regulation is worse than useless. The planet's emissions stay the same, or rise, while the country doing its bit for the environment loses investment and jobs.

From Economist.com June 24, 2008

Natural Science + Human Social systems

Solutions to environmental problems frequently requires involvement of human social systems as well as the natural science formulation of environmental standards, laws and policies, pollution control .

Current Global Environmental Conditions

Global Population 6 billion, increasing by 85 million every year 8 10 b by year 2050 What is the impact of 10b people on the planets resources?

Current Global Environmental Conditions

Water Water may be the most critical resource in 21st century Nations go to war because of conflicts on water resources 1.2b people lack access to clean drinking water Polluted water kills 5 m people every year (2.2m are children) 40% of world population are in countries where demand for water exceeds supplies (UN says 75% by year 2025if present conditions continues)

Water
Humans now use half of planets renewable, fresh water. If agriculture production is doubled (with no efficiency improvement), then 85% of the water supply would be used. Dams and aqueducts are used in some parts of the world to divert water for cities or agriculture some rivers dry up downstream as a result

Current Global Environmental Conditions

Global Food Production In the last 100 years global food production has exceeded demand even though world population has been growing rapidly. How do we achieve this? Can humans maintain this pace? Biotechnology and intensive farming may help produce more food in the future. Can poor countries afford this?

Current Global Environmental Conditions

Food production.. Food production has led to environmental degradation and degradation of agricultural land Can we produce more food without degrading the environment? Is food being distributed equitably around the world? The world produces excess food but 800 m people are undernourished; 20 m have food shortages due to bad weather and politics

Current Global Environmental Conditions

Energy How we obtain and use our energy is important in the future Fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal) now provides 80% of energy needs of industrialised nations. Supplies are diminishing; mining them is polluting the environment Need clean technologies for the future: renewable energy resources (solar, wind, geothermal, biomass). Also need conservation of energy

Current Global Environmental Conditions

Global Warming CO2 emission from fossil fuel burning, forest cutting, agriculture, making cement, many human activities CO2 concentration increased 30% in last 200 years. Mean global temp will increase by 1.5 and 6C Global climate change is already affecting many biological species; and severe weather events (floods and droughts) Global warming will cause sea level rise and flooding of lowlying islands and coastal areas

Current Global Environmental Conditions

Air Pollution Toxic haze of ash, acids, aerosols, dust, photochemical products over continents (India) 3m people die each year due to air pollution 2 b metric tons of air pollutants released every year in the world Air pollution is transboundary (transported by air currents over long distances) problem nowadays and not local (pollutants from south Europe pollute the Scandinavian countries and arctic ecosystem); China major problem nowadays Mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), DDT all persistent chemicals- accumulate in snow and wildlife and native people in the Arctic

Current Global Environmental Conditions

Habitat Destruction Habitat destruction, overexploitation, pollution, introduction of exotic organisms are eliminating species at rates that caused extinction of dinosaurs UN Environment Program says 800 species have disappeared over the last century and 10,000 species now threatened (Half of all primates and fish;10% of all plant species; top predators big cats). More than 75% of global fisheries are overfished Forests are being cleared very rapidly in Brazil, Asia

Current Global Environmental Conditions

Human dimensions of Env SciPoverty Major proportion of earths population live in poverty Policymakers understand that eliminating poverty and protecting our environment is closely interlinked. Why? The worlds poorest people are both the victims and the agent of environmental degradation. They are forced to meet short-term survival needs at the cost of long-term sustainability

Human dimensions of Env SciPoverty

Poverty also leads to malnourishmentand sickness. This leads to educational, psychological and developmental deficits.and the cycle of poverty is perpetuated These poor people have no choice but to over-harvest resources.in doing so they diminish their own resources and for future generations

Rich countries vs Poor countries

Indicator Poor country Rich country Malaysia

GDP/capita
Total fertility (average no of children per woman

$230 US
6.3

$27,460 US
1.5

$9,120 US
2.90

Life expectancy
Infant mortality (per 1000 live births) Safe drinking water Adult literacy Annual population growth

49.3 years
100 44% 38% 2.6%

77.8 years
5 99% 99% 0.3%

70.8 years
8.0 39% 92% 0.4%

Solutions?
Food production may be enough for the human population of the future with advances in fertilisers, pesticides, highyield crops through genetic engineering, biotechnology If everybody consumes oil like Americans, oil reserves will run out in 10 years. At current rates, reserves will not be enough for this century. Cheaper ways to find oil and extract it; alternative energy (fuel cell, H2 powered battery etc.) use may help sustain human needs

Solutions? Global environmental ethics

Environmental ethics: moral relationship of human beings to the environment and its nonhuman contents The planet can be saved if humans learn to share its resources, use it wisely and think of other humans elsewhere on the planet when using the planets resources. Is this possible do you think? - industrialised countries (USA, India, China, Europe) contain 20% of worlds population yet control 80% of worlds goods (esp. oil, minerals) and create most of its pollution - individual people are now more aware of global and responding to the issues by altering their values, beliefs and actions. Are you aware and responding to these issues by changing your environmental ethical values?

Energy and Matter in the Environment

Living systems are maintained by processes that capture energy from external sources and use it to carry out essential functions. Materials are used and recycled in these processes Much of ecology is about understanding how energy and matter move through ecosystems

Open ecosystems
Ecosystems are interconnected in that animals can move form one ecosystem to another ecosystem. The boundary of an ecosystem is permeable. Thus most ecosystems are open systems Ecosystems are defined by their most dominant components. Eg. A coral reef ecosystem is defined in tems of the extent and composition of the community of coral polyps

Food chains, Food webs & Trophic levels

Photosynthesis provides all the energy for nearly all ecosystems One of the major properties of ecosystems is productivity: the amount of biomass (biological material) produced in a given area during a given period of time Primary producers photosynthesize while consumers get their nutrients by eating other things Net productivity is the amount of primary production that accumulates in a system

Biotic components of Ecosystems -producers

Biotic component of Ecosystems 1. Producers = Autotrophs

Photoautotrophs
Chemoautotrophs

Producers are autotrophic photosynthetic organisms. a. In terrestrial ecosystems, producers are predominantly green plants. b. In freshwater and marine ecosystems, dominant

1 and 2 productivity
Net primary productivity (NPP): the rate at which energy is stored in the body of producers by photosynthetic activity. Gross primary productivity (GPP): the total production of organic matter (photosynthate) including the energy used for cellular respiration (R). GPP = NPP + R

Biotic components of Ecosystems -consumers

Consumers are heterotrophic organisms that eat preformed food. a. Herbivores feed directly on green plants; are primary consumers. b. Carnivores feed on other animals and are secondary or tertiary consumers. c. Omnivores feed on both plants and animals; for example, humans eat both leafy vegetables and beef. d. Decomposers are organisms of decay.

i. Mostly are bacteria and fungi. ii. Break down detritus, nonliving organic matter, into inorganic matter. iii. Small soil organisms are critical in helping bacteria and fungi shred leaf litter and form rich soil.

Basics of energy exchange in an ecosystem

First Law of Thermodynamics: Energy can be changed from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that "in all energy exchanges, if no energy enters or leaves the system, the potential energy of the state will always be less than that of the initial state."

Most consumers feed on multiple sources and levels of the food web

Energy flow in ecosystems

The Second Law of Thermodynamics is also commonly referred to as entropy. Examples: - A car that has run out of gas will not run again until you walk 10 miles to a gas station and refuel the car. - Once the potential energy locked in carbohydrates is converted into kinetic energy (energy in use or motion), the organism will get no more until energy is input again. - In the process of energy transfer, some energy will dissipate as heat. - Entropy is a measure of disorder: cells are NOT disordered and so have low entropy. - The flow of energy maintains order and life.

ENERGY FLOW IN ECOSYSTEMS

It takes 100kg of clover to make 10kg of rabbit and 10kg of rabbit to make 1kg fox which means only 10% (less in most systems) of the energy at each stage is transferred to the next. This process is not that efficient..

Biomass pyramid
The biomass pyramid shows that the amount of biomass decreases as you go up the trophic level of the food chain. Nutrients and energy become less available to successive consumers

Biogeochemical cycles and Life processes

The elements and compounds that sustain life are cycled endlessly through living things and through the environment..biogeochemical cycling The flow rates or storage times in the natural cycles can be altered by human activity such that the natural system can no longer process them

Water cycle

Issues on water
Human activity affecting natural water recycling processes Less water available for human activities Freshwater resources more polluted Dwindling resource of clean unpolluted fresh water

Carbon Cycle
Humans are altering the balances in carbon cycle

Boxes in the figure refer to pools of carbon, and arrows refer to the movement, or fluxes, of carbon from one pool to another

Greenhouse effect

90% certainty that humans to blame for global warming

Nitrogen Cycle

Issues related to nitrogen

Acid rain due to NOx Eutrophication due to pollution of lakes and seas due to nitrates

Phosphorous Cycle

Issues related to P
Eutrophication (algal blooms) of waters by phosphate pollution due to overuse of P in agriculture fertilizers, detergents

Sulphur Cycle

Issues on S
Contribution in air pollution by fossil fuel (especially coal) burning by industry Acid rain due to SOx pollution