APMC Applied Land and Water Management

APMC Applied Land and Water Management Environmental Science Hans van den Dool Environmental science

1984-1990 Wageningen University Master of Environmental Science Soil Quality Management 1990-2011 Van Hall Larenstein University Velp Lecturer Environmental science Site remedation technologies Co-ordinator MSc Land & Water Management Major International Water Management Introducing…. Environmental science

Introduction (1) • In most places of the world the pressure on water and land is becoming increasingly acute • In many cases the environmental quality and-or the availability of these natural resources is not sufficient • This might have impacts on the agricultural production and on the human well being in general. Environmental science

Lecture.. Environmental science

Inhabitants/km2 Environmental science

Introduction • Barbapapa • 60’s • 70’s • 80’s • now Environmental science

Barbapapa saves the planet Environmental science

OOPS! Environmental science

Barbapapa's nature refuge Environmental science

Barbapapa family and the animals fled Environmental science

Environmental science And the people stay behind...

The people decide to the right thing Sustainable developments ! Environmental science

Barbapapa wants to return to the green planet Environmental science

Environmental science

Environmental science • A science dealing with humaninteractions with the living (biotic- all living things) and non-living world (abiotic- soil, climate, water, atmosphere, etc.). Environmental science

Multidisciplinary difficult to fully understand effects; no one can be an expert in all relevant fields Interactions everything affects everything else nothing gets lost sociology chemistry soil science hydrology meteorology physics philosophy biology history geology Environmental science Environmental science

Environmental science • These characteristics make the study of environmental science very difficult and uncertain, • Sound predictions hard to come by; generates much controversy, even among other environmental scientists Environmental science

Image model, RIVM, 2006 2011 April 11 Environmental science Environmental science 18

Developments in Europe and USA After world war (1945) • rapid economic development • population growth • science and technology were in the belief humans could control nature very strong Environmental science

What about China? • Developments are: • Similar to Europe and USA, just replace 1945 with 1990: rapid economic development, population growth and science and technology were in the belief humans could control nature very strong • Partly similar to Europe and USA, but in China there is less population growth due to birth control policies • Partly similar to Europe and USA, but In China the government will act more in a sustainable way • Otherwise,… Environmental science

First environmentalists warnings • Rachel Carson: Silent Spring 1962 • Paul Ehrlich: Population Bomb 1968 • Report of Club of Rome 1970 Environmental science

Paul Ehrlich- Population Bomb • Unintentionally illustrated the difficulty of making predictions of environmental consequences because of The Fallacy of Linear Extrapolation in a non-linear world. • In 1968, the world population was about 3 billion, Ehrlich thought the planet was way over populated which would cause all sorts of devastating things to happen, hence the name of the book- see Prologue to book (next slide). Environmental science

PROLOGUE The Population Bomb (1968) The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970's the world will undergo famines (hunger)--hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now. At this late date nothing can prevent a substantial increase in the world death rate, although many lives could be saved through dramatic programs to "stretch" the carrying capacity of the earth by increasing food production. But these programs will only provide a delay of execution unless they are accompanied by determined and successful efforts at population control. Population control is the conscious regulation of the numbers of human beings to meet the needs, not just of individual families, but of society as a whole. Nothing could be more misleading to our children than our present affluent society. They will inherit a totally different world, a world in which the standards, politics, and economics of the 1960's are dead. As the most powerful nation in the world today, and its largest consumer, the United States cannot stand isolated. We are today involved in the events leading to famine; tomorrow we may be destroyed by its consequences. Our position requires that we take immediate action at home and promote effective action worldwide. We must have population control at home, hopefully through a system of incentives and penalties, but by compulsion if voluntary methods fail. We must use our political power to push other countries into programs which combine agricultural development and population control. And while this is being done we must take action to reverse the deterioration of our environment before population pressure permanently ruins our planet. The birth rate must be brought into balance with the death rate or mankind will breed itself into oblivion. We can no longer afford merely to treat the symptoms of the cancer of population growth; the cancer itself must be cut out. Population control is the only answer. (emphasis added) Dr. Paul R. Ehrlich, The Population Bomb (1968) Environmental science

Paul Ehrlich- Population Bomb • Today the world population is about 6.5 billion, but per capita food production is actually slightly above what it was in 1968, • So Ehrlich was wrong because of the Fallacy of Linear Extrapolation • Nonetheless, his book was/is very influential Environmental science

Population growth Environmental science

Earth from space 1960’s • The 1960’s space Program made earth look small and alone, it emphasized that this small lonely planet is all that sustains us. Environmental science

Birth of environmental policy • These things led to an overall increased appreciation in the U.S. and the rest of the world of how important preserving the environment was this in turn created the political support for concrete actions to reduce pollution and protect the environment. • EPA formed 1970 • NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) 1970 mandated Environmental Impact Statements • the USA Clean Air Act 1970 • the Dutch waste water act 1970 Environmental science

The “ Bet ” in 1980 between Paul Ehrlich and Julian Simon • In 1980, economist Julian Simon and ecologist Paul Ehrlich decided to make a bet. • Ehrlich expected that the effects of overpopulation would cause shortages in various natural resources and therefore raise their prices, • Simon believed human ingenuity would effectively increase the supply of natural resources thereby leading to price declines. Environmental science

The “ Bet ” in 1980 between Paul Ehrlich and Julian Simon • Simon offered Ehrlich a bet centered on the market price of metals. • Ehrlich would pick a quantity of any five metals worth $1,000 in 1980. • If the 1990 price of the metals, after adjusting for inflation, was more than $1,000 (i.e. the metals became more scarce), Ehrlich would win. • If, however, the value of the metals after inflation was less than $1,000 (i.e.the metals became less scare), Simon would win. Environmental science

The “ Bet ” in 1980 between Paul Ehrlich and Julian Simon Environmental science

Test questions introduction • Environmental science is • A science dealing with humaninteractions with the living (biotic- all living things) • A science dealing with humaninteractions with non-living world (abiotic- soil, climate, water, atmosphere, etc.). • A science dealing with humaninteractions with both the living (biotic- all living things) and non-living world (abiotic- soil, climate, water, atmosphere, etc.). Environmental science

Test questions introduction • First environmental warnings happened in: • 1945 • 1960’s • 1980’s • According to Paul Ehrlich, population growth and and environmental problems are: • lineary related • exponentially related • not related Environmental science

APMC Applied Land and Water Management