Environmental History in a Nutshell

Geologic TimePretend the age of the earth (4.5+ billion years) is

compressed into one calendar year.

January 1 - Earth and planets formedEarly March - liquid water stands in pools.Late March - earliest lifeJuly - oxygen is important part of atmosphereOctober 25 - multicellular organismsLate November - plants and animals abundantDecember 15 to 25 - dinosaurs arise and disappear11:20 pm, December 31 - Humans appearOne second before midnight - Automobile invented

When did Humans arrive on the scene?

• Age of hominids? 5-7 million years• Homo erectus? 2 million years• Homo sapiens? 250,000 years• Neanderthals? 140,000-50,000 y.a.

– Separate evolutionary line? First genocide?• Cro-Magnon invasion of Europe? 40,000 y.a.

(fully modern anatomy) Australopithecus afarensis

Homo erectus

Hominid Development?

Hunter-Gatherers• Humanities only “economic” activity

for at least 90% of our existence.• Low population densities (small

groups of 40-60; 1 person/ mi2)• Largely egalitarian - every person

performs essential functions.

Great Leap Forward

When? 70,000 years before present

Emergence of modern hunter-gatherer “toolbox”:

• Fish hooks, Arrows, Bows, Needles, Engravers, Awls

• Art• Jewelry (Beads at first)• Navigation/Boating?

(Australia from New Guinea)

Proposed Causes:• Voicebox development /

language• Brain organization change

Lascaux Caves, France

Human Expansion

Population growth and resulting need for more land and resources leads to migration.

Pleistocene Overkill Hypothesis• Large, slow, or tame animals become

extinct shortly after hunter-gatherer arrival in New World, Polynesia, Australia / New Guinea.– Flightless birds, giant cave bear, ground

sloth.

Skeleton of Giant Ground Sloth, Los Angeles

Giant Extinct Moa, New Zealand

Human Expansion “Out of Africa” Based on Archaeological and Fossil Evidence

Including Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis

Human Expansion: based on mitochondrial DNA study of Homo

sapiens

Agricultural Revolution

Domestication of Plants and Animals

• Seed Agriculture - Fertile Crescent, western India, northern China, Ethiopia, southern Mexico (10,000 b.p.)

Rice, wheat, and corn account for more than 50% of world population's food calories and were among the first plants domesticated (along with millet, sorghum wheat, rye, barley).

Agricultural Revolution

Source: Goudie, Andrew. 2006. Human Impact on the Natural Environment.

Neolithic RevolutionDomestication of Plants Rice, wheat, and corn

account for more than 50% of world population's food calories and were among the first plants domesticated (along with millet, sorghum wheat, rye, barley).

and Animals Dog was probably first. Early domesticated animals:

cattle, oxen, pigs, sheep, goats, guinea pigs, llama

• role in agricultural production and success

Agricultural Revolution

Source: Goudie, Andrew. 2006. Human Impact on the Natural Environment.

Agricultural RevolutionPrimary effects: Urbanization Social Stratification Occupational Specialization Increased population densities

Teotihuacan

Human Expansion and Ancient Agricultural

EmpiresUrbanization and increased efficiency

lead to population growth, increased consumption and higher density, which leads to need for more space and more natural resources.

Ancient Examples: Aztecs, Maya Chinese Warlords / Dynasties Polynesians Roman Empire Muslim / Ottoman Empire

Human and environmental costs are inevitable.

Natural Experiments in Environmental Studies

• Successful cultures are those that adapt well to their environments. Many have not: Chaco Canyon, North Africa, Fertile Crescent, Easter Island.

Chaco Canyon, New Mexico Easter Island, Polynesia

Agricultural and Industrial Societies Accelerate

Extinctions• Flightless birds, whales, otters• U.S. Passenger Pigeon

Dodo Bird, Mauritius, Indian Ocean

Mauritius, Indian Ocean

Dodo Bird discovered in 1598, extinct by 1681.

Age of European Discovery, Exploration, and

Colonization1492 - 1771: Bartholomew Dias (Portugal), 1488 - rounds

Cape of Good Hope Columbus, 1492 (Spanish/Italian) - first of four

voyages to “New World” Vasco De Gama (Portugal), 1498 - reaches

India Magellan (Portugal), 1519 - First

Circumnavigation James Cook (England), 1768-1771 - voyages in

Pacific / Polynesia; end of era of DiscoveryThe geographical knowledge acquired was crucial to the expansion of European political and economic power in the 16th Century.

Captain James Cook

Source: Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 2007.

World Migration Routes Since 1700

European

African (slaves)

Indian

Chinese

Japanese

Majority of population descended from immigrants

Slide graphic courtesy of Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Hofstra University

Industrial Revolution(The Atlantic-industrial Era)

1733, First Cotton Mill opens in England1793, Eli Whitney invents cotton ‘gin1800, steam engines become common (steamboats,

locomotives)1837, Morse (and two Brits, independent of Morse )

invent telegraph1877, Bell invents telephone1908, Henry Ford delivers first Model T

Environmental Effects?• Energy Consumption• Natural Resources• Land Use

Belt of industrial cities form an economic core based on fossil fuel consumption.

Global Communications and Transportation

Revolution(Pacific-global era)Technology:

Inexpensive International Air Transport (1960s - present)

Internet and earlier Arpanet (1960s) Personal Computer (1980s) Satellite Communications (1990s) Containerization of Cargo (1950s) Globalization of Economies - Rise of

Transnational Corporations

Environmental Effects?

Globalization

Nearly everything moves farther and more quickly today: Innovations, Diseases, People, Ideologies, Financial Crises, Information.

How does this affect the environment?

25 Largest Multinational

Corporations, 2007

Source: Global Policy Forum (www.globalpolicy.org)

Today’s Technological Revolution

What emerging technologies will change the world?

Which parts of the world stand poised to capitalize on them?

Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Artificial Intelligence Robotics and micro-robotics Nanotechnology Economic Globalization

Environmental Effects?

Human Population Growth

World Population Clock

(click)

Source: Data from U.S. Census Bureau

Population and the Environment

I = P x A x T(Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology)Population-influenced environmental

problems:

• Global Warming

• Habitat Loss / Endangered Species

• Resource Depletion

• Food Production

Population, Affluence, and Resource Consumption

Population, Affluence, and Resource Consumption

Source: World Bank, 2012: siteresources.worldbank.org/

Technology, Energy Consumption, and Environmental Impact

There has been a dramatic increase in:• individual energy use over time: 3,000 kcal/person - 300,000 kcal/person (each of us in the U.S. has the equivalent of about 100 energy servants)

• the power of technology to change the environment: think stone axe versus bulldozer versus atomic bomb.

• the scope and severity of environmental impacts.

Individual Annual Energy Use (Goudie, 2006)

Human Impact on the Planet, 2002

Red on this map represents roads, power lines, major landscape change (e.g. agriculture), pipelines, and urbanized areas.Source: UNEP, 2002

State of the Planet• half the world’s wetlands were lost during the last century;• logging and land use conversion have reduced forest cover by at

least 20 per cent, and possibly as much as 50 per cent;• nearly 70 per cent of the world’s major marine fish stocks are either

over-fished or being fished at the biological limit;• over the last half century, soil degradation has affected two-thirds of

the world’s agricultural land. It is estimated that each year some 25 000 million metric tonnes of fertile topsoil—the equivalent of all of the wheat fields in Australia— is lost globally (Casagrande and Zaidman 1999);

• each year, an estimated 27 000 species disappear from the planet—approximately one every 20 minutes (Casagrande and Zaidman 1999);

• the Earth now appears to be experiencing a sixth mass extinction event that began about 50 000 years ago with the expanding role of humans in the world (Recer 2004). Unlike past events, this mass extinction is being caused by human activities such as transforming the landscape, overexploiting species, pollution, and alien species introductions (Eldredge 2001);

• dams and engineering works have fragmented 60 per cent of the world’s large river systems. They have so impeded water flow that the time it takes for a drop of water to reach the sea has tripled;

• human activities are significantly altering the basic chemical cycles upon which all ecosystems depend (Kirby 2000).

Source: UNEP, A Story of Change, One Planet, Many People. 2005. http://na.unep.net/atlas/onePlanetManyPeople/book.php

Carrying Capacity and Ecological Footprint

The carrying capacity of a biological species in an environment is the population size of the species that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water and other necessities available in the environment. For the human population, more complex variables such as sanitation and medical care are sometimes considered as part of the necessary infrastructure.

The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It compares human demand with planet Earth's ecological capacity to regenerate. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area needed to regenerate the resources a human population consumes and to absorb and render harmless the corresponding waste.

Ecological Footprint Calculator

The ability of humanity to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without

compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

(The World Commission on Environment and Development’s (the Brundtland Commission) report ”Our Common Future”, 1987)

Sustainable Development

Sustainable development involves a triple bottom line: the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental quality and social equity. (World Business Council on Sustainable Development)

Video Link - TED Talk: Johan Rockstrom