1 environmental science a study of interrelationships 环境学第二章.ppt

* BRICS: Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future Environmental problems Environmental problems become issues when there is disagreement. Environmental problems are people problems. They occur because the uses of natural resources. With all these differing opinion, compromise is the only way to resolve the conflicts. Economic consequences Regulations Nonhuman organisms Change Environmental responsibility * Government regulation and personal property The issue: Many people have found after they have purchased a piece of land that it has endangered species as inhabitants. They are then faced with a situation in which they cannot use the land as they intended, and the land loses much of its value to them. Do you think landowners should be compensated for their loss by the government? Should purchasers of land do better research about the land they want to buy? * Culture Nature Law Ethic Taking property ? taking species Economic ? noneconomic values Loss ? gain Respect for life ? respect for property Owner ? trustee * Clashing views: Green initiatives Organizers of conferences and concerts are buying carbon credits to offset the impact of their events. Companies have discovered that consumers seek green products. Governments have passed laws that encourage their citizens to live more sustainably. * Summary Environmental science involves science, economics, ethics, and politics in arriving at solutions to environmental problems. Artificial political boundaries create difficulties in managing environmental problems because most environmental units, or ecosystems, do not coincide with political boundaries. Therefore, a regional approach to solving environmental problems, one that incorporates natural geographic units (an ecosystem approach) , is ideal. * Summary Furthermore, as the population of the world has grown and the exchange of people and goods between countries has increased, many environmental problems have become global in nature. Each region of t