Sustainable World Lecture

Introduction

• Course on sustainable solutions.
• Focuses on understanding problems and exploring solutions.
• Discusses the Anthropocene and human impact on Earth.

Anthropocene

• Humanity has domesticated the Earth.
• Examples of human impact:
  • Deforestation for agriculture.
  • Urban sprawl in cities like Mexico City.
  • Shale gas extraction sites in the U.S.
  • Large scale mining in Siberia.
  • Artificial land reclamation in Flevoland, Netherlands.
• Humanity is a geological force; concept of Anthropocene.

Human Impact and the Great Acceleration

• Human impact on Earth accelerated post-industrial revolution.
• Entered "danger zone" or "planetary limits."
• The Great Acceleration:
  • Rapid growth in population, GDP, investments, and fertilizer use.
  • Increase in overall human prosperity: better living conditions, education, and health.
  • Improved life expectancy and human rights.

Environmental Impact

• Exponential increase in environmental impact:
  • Greenhouse gases (CO2, methane, etc.).
  • Ocean acidification.
  • Overfishing.
• Human prosperity linked to economic development and energy use.

Principles of Physics and Biology

• Conservation of Matter (Lavoisier's Law): Matter is transformed, not lost/created.
• Conservation of Energy (First Law of Thermodynamics): Energy is transformed, not lost/created.
• Entropy (Second Law of Thermodynamics): Energy quality degrades over time.

Life and Energy

• Living beings maintain form via metabolism, bypassing entropy.
• Life processes involve energy and matter from the environment.
• Trophic networks illustrate interconnectedness of life.

Ecosystem Dynamics

• Photosynthesis is primary energy entry for ecosystems.
• Discovery of hydrothermal vents and chemosynthesis.
• Concept of biosphere and its crucial functions:
  • Support (food), supply (water, materials), control (purification, carbon storage), cultural (recreation).
  • Relationship with health.

Biodiversity and Biomass

• Eukaryotes: 3-100 million species estimated, many undescribed.
• Biomass dominated by plants, followed by bacteria.
• Humans and livestock are a small fraction of biomass.
• Interdependence through complex trophic networks.

Engineering Species

• Species transform environments (e.g., beaver dams, mangroves, coral reefs).
• Examples of symbiosis and nutrient cycles (e.g., nitrogen cycle).

Biogeochemical Cycles

• Key elements (carbon, nitrogen, etc.) cycle through biosphere.
• Cycles have both short and long geological timescales.

Human Impact on the Biosphere

• Human activities disrupt natural cycles and increase waste.

Conclusion

• Understanding human impact and natural principles is crucial for sustainable solutions.
• Future sessions will explore human activities and biosphere metabolism.