Chapter 15

PRESERVING AND ENHANCING THE BIOSPHERE

SUBMITTED TO:
Dr. Ed Gonzaga

SUBMITTED BY:
Tabilog, Yayah
Tan, John Lester A.
Trabajo, Jolo Luis
Tumaliuan, Claire
PS0942

BIOSPHERE
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It is the Earths ecological system that supports life its land, water, air, and upper
atmosphere and the living organisms, including humans, that inhabit air.

THE ECOLOGICAL STATE OF THE WORLD

Green Accounting
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It is a good place to start our survey of the state of the world. This measures a countrys
strength by beginning with overall and per capita gross national wealth and then adding
two other factors:
1. Human Capital It is the productive capacity of a countrys population and is
determined by its education, health, and other factors.
2. Natural Capital It includes the quality and quantity, as appropriate of land, air,
water, and natural resources.
The Two Camps of Current and Future Ecological State of the World

1. Environmental Pessimists or Environmental Internationalists

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Those analysts who assess the state of the world and believe that humans are causing

serious, even irresistible, damage to the environment.

They further worry that the environmental damage will increasingly cause human

sufferings.
This school of thought charges that those who ignore environmental degradation that is
already occurring and hope that new energy supplies and other scientific and
technological innovations will make sure string conservation unnecessary are akin to the
proverbial ostrich that keeps its head planted firmly in the sand so that it can avoid

seeing trouble.
They believe that only global cooperation can stem and hopefully reverse the damage
they believe is being done to the biosphere.

2. Environmental Optimists or Environmental Nationalists

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Those who reject the gloomy view of the world environment and its future.
They believe that whatever problems exist are not worrisome enough to warrant
countries either making economic and social sacrifices to overcome them, or
surrendering any part of their sovereignty by submitting to international standards,
monitoring, and enforcement.

They argue that we will able to meet our needs and continue to grow economically
through conservation, population restraints, and, most importantly through technological
innovation.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Carrying Capacity
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It is the largest number of humans that the planet can sustain indefinitely at current per
capita rates of consumption of natural resources and discharges of pollution and other
waste.
Economic Developed Countries (EDC) vs. Less Developed Countries (LDC)

The fundamental goal of the humans has been and remains to increase their economic
well-being and to reap the other benefits, such as better health, that come with

prosperity. The worlds economic developed countries (EDCs) have largely achieved that
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goal while the worlds less developed countries (LDCs) are intent on also doing so.
Industrialization and science are key elements of development, yet they are two-edged

swords in their relationship to the environment and the quality of human life.
Two Categories for Sustainable Development
1. Restricting Development
- Preserving the environment by consuming less is one possibility.
2. Pay for Environmentally Sustainable Development
- Creating and distributing technologies that will allow for a maximum balance between
economic development and environmental protection.
Earth Summit I
- United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992
- It symbolized the growing concern with the environment and how to achieve sustainable
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development.
Some issues between the North and South were:
1. The LDCS argued that the burden of sustainable development should fall substantially
on the EDCs because they were responsible for most of the pollution and depletion of
resources.
2. The LDCs also contended that they should be exempt wholly or in part from
environmental restrictions because the EDCs had already developed and it was unfair to
ask the LDCs not to achieve what the EDCs already had.
3. The LDCs maintained that they were too poor to develop their considerable resources
in an environmentally sustainable way and therefore, that the EDCs should significantly

increase aid to help LDCs to do so.

Earth Summit II
- The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002
- For their part, the United States of America and some other EDCs were not willing to
commit to provide the LDCs with substantially increased aid for sustainable
development, to accept restrictive energy, waste treatment, and other policies that did
not also apply at least in some measure to the LDCs, or to create mandatory
international standards monitored and enforced by international agencies.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: POPULATION PROBLEMS AND

PROGRESS
Population
- It is a significant problem facing the world with the global population surpassing 6 billion
mark. There were factors why the population has grown at an increasing pace.
1. High Fertility Rates
2. Fewer Deaths
3. Population Base Multiplier Effect
United Nations Conference on Population and Development (UNPCD)
- This conference brought about the most controversial of Abortion.
- Controversy at the conference centered on how far it should go toward supporting
abortion as a health measure or even as a population control approach.
Two Basic Approaches in Reducing Birthrate
1. Social Approach
- This approach provides information about birth control and encouragement to practice it
by making birth control devices and pills, sterilization, and abortion programs available.
2. Economic Approach
- This approach provides a clear relationship between poverty and birthrates.
- It reasons that with that too many people, especially in poor countries, there are too few
resources, jobs, and other forms of wealth to go around.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: RESOURCE PROBLEMS AND PROGRESS

A. Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Minerals

- Petroleum reserves as a concern because the supply is indisputably exhaustic and
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because new finds are smaller and less attractive to utilize.

The supply of natural gas is finite and at some point, erhaps within the lifetime of people

being born today, it will be exhausted.

Many minerals are also being rapidly depleted, some minerals like copper, lead, and

mercury are in particularly in short supply.

B. Forests and Land
- Forest Depletion
Logging
Hydroelectric projects and strip-mined for minerals
Acid rain and other environmental attacks
Global Warming
Scarce and expensive woods
- Land Degradation
Deforestation
- Forest and Land Protection
Convention of Desertification in 1994
Canadian-US Air Quality Agreement
C. Wildlife
- Global Pressure on Wildlife
Deforestation
Land clearing for settlement
Farming
Water Diversion and Depletion
Pollution
- Protecting Wildlife
Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITIES) in 1975
D. Freshwater
- Some of the freshwater supply that exists is being depleted or being tainted by pollution.
- Much of this is due to population stabilization and conservation measures in the EDCs.
- Complicating matters even more, many countries, especially LDCs, have low per capita
supplies of water.
E. The Seas and Fisheries
- Pressures on the Seas and Fisheries
Human food requirements
Damage to the worlds fisheries poses a health threat to countries that rely on fish for
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vital protein supplies

Protecting Fisheries
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in 1994
International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1946
The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: THE ENVIRONMENT

A. Ground Quality
- International Ground Quality Issues
The pollution of the land is a significant problem, but the territorial dominance of
states renders this issue primarily domestic and, therefore, outside the realm of

international action.
Exporting solid wastes of EDCs to LDCs
International Efforts to Protect Ground Quality
The 1992 Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous

Wastes and Their Disposal (The Basel Convention)

Bamako Convention in 1998
Waigani Convention in 2001
B. Water Quality
Two Water Environments
1. The Marine (Saltwater) Environment
2. The Freshwater Environment
- International Water Quality Issues
Marine Pollution has multiple sources like spillage from shipping, ocean waste

dumping, offshore mining, and oil and gas drilling activities.

Marine pollution is also carried by the rivers, which serve as highways that carry
human sewage, industrial waste, pesticide, and fertilizer runoff, petroleum spillage,

and other pollutants into the seas.

Freshwater Pollution of lakes and rivers is an international as well as domestic issue.
The discharge of pollutants into lakes and rivers that forms international boundaries
or that flow between countries is a source of discord.

Freshwater pollution is also caused by acid rain and other contaminants that drift

across borders.
International Efforts to Protect Water Quality
International Maritime Organization in 1958
International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of Ships in 1973
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2001
C. Air Quality
- International Air Quality Issues
Air pollution from sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and suspended particles cause about
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500,000 deaths a year.

Sulfur can cause or aggravate respiratory problems, especially in the very yound and

elderly.
Protecting Air Quality
1988 Helsinki Protocol
Various international agencies such as UNEP and WHO
D. Ozone Layer
- Ozone Layer Depletion
Emissions of chlorofluocarbons (CFCs) by turning it into atmospheric oxygen which
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does not block ultraviolet rays

Protecting the Ozone Layer
1987 Conference in Montreal
E. Global Warming
- Greenhouse Effect is the blanket effect which traps heats and prevents the nightly
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cooling of the Earth.

Global Warming: What We Know
First, global emissions of greenhouse effects have risen significantly. The primary
cause has been a huge increase in the emissions of CO2 methane, CFC, and other
greenhouse gases, from burning fossil fuels the result of the industrial revolution

and the need of the growing world population to warn itself and cook its food.
Second, atmospheric CO2 concentrations have risen. The greenhouse gases

emitted into the atmospheric linger there for up to 200 years before dissipating.
Third, the global temperature is rising.
Global Warming: What Is in Dispute
One is whether global warming is caused by humans or is a natural phenomenon.
Second is whether global warming will have dire consequences or is an impact that
will in some cases be beneficial and in other cases can be addressed using modern

technologies.
The Environmental Pessimists contend that humans are causing dangerous global
warming. They also worry about the impact of global warming. They also believe that
this change has already altered rainfall, wind currents, and other climatic patterns,
and that the deleterious effects.

The Environmental Optimists treat the pessimists as alarmists. They point out that
the Earth has natural warming and cooling trends, and they attribute a good part of
the current global warming to this natural cycle, rather than human activity. Optimists
also downplay the damage from global warming. Moreover, the optimists predict that
some areas could benefit and most could adapt to the changes brought on by global

warming.
The International Response to Global Warming
UNEP-sponsored World Climate Conference in 1990
Kyoto Protocol in 1997