The Evironment

LECTURE 12: THE ENVIRONMENT FLOODS IN BC  In Abbotsford, destroyed farms and homes TEXAS ICE STORM  Mass power outages, 200 people dies as a result of that storm REFRESH – HOW DO WE DETERMINE SOMETHING IS A SOCIAL PROBLEM?  Is there a public outcry?  Are there a “significant” number of people affected?  Are there a large number of people involved in defining the problem and demanding a solution?  Can a solution be found for the problem? SOCIAL PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE EVIRONMENT  Overpopulation  Ozone Depletion  Global Warming OVER POPULATION AND POPULATION GROWTH  Estimated 8 Billion People in 2022  Population Composition – the biological and socio characteristics of a population including age, racialization, income, marital status, size of household, education  Impact of Growing Populations: o Walter Malthus – argue that is population growth was unchecked, our numbers would exceed our food supply so exponential growth of population (starve to death b/c we won’t have enough food to feed the growing population) o Neo-Malthusians – agreed with previous but sued words like population explosion and population bomb, emphasized the point that they believe the earth is dying and over population is the big culprit b/c it affects food supply, global warming, exacerbates epidemics, contributed to the destruction oof the rain forest o Demographic Transition Theory – argues that technology can overcome the predictions of Malthus, once we post indefinite stage of development, that kind of advancement of tech is really necessary here, the birth rate declines, and the death rate remains relatively stable OZONE DEPLETION  Release of gases into the atmosphere, enormous environmental risk  Hole in the Ozone was Caused by Certain Gases Found within Aerosol and Refrigerator Systems o Three-times the size of Canada over the Antarctic  Less Protection from UV Radiation as a result of ozone depletion which has been linked to certain types of skin cancer as well as the development of cataracts, also affects plant and marine life OZONE DEPLETION – SOLVING THE PROBLEM  The Montreal Protocol 1987 was drafted by the Canadian government which banded the production of harmful gases that contributed to the problem  b/w 1987 and 1995, there was a market decrease in the ozone depletion  Why did it work?

LECTURE 12: THE ENVIRONMENT o Data was undisputable; wasn’t contested o Consensus o “Easy” to regulate producers of the gas that were contributing to the problem b/c there were cheaper alternatives o Could enforce sanctions for non-compliers, actual consequence for industries that didn’t comply with gas restrictions o Cheaper alternatives o Industrialized countries helped out with the costs of developing nations GLOBAL WARMING  Average Temperature has Steadily Increased since 1950 o Since 1951, 19 of the hottest years have occurred since 2000 o Leading to ice caps melting  higher sea levels  higher temperatures  Numerous Health and Economic Consequences o Causes more unpredictable and severe weather and affects farmers which not only affects their livelihood but our food source o Forced relocation and pollutants impacting our health GLOBAL WARMING – SOLVING THE PROBLEM?  Why Haven’t We Solved This One Yet? o Compare to Ozone Depletion, there is not the same level on consensus as there was for the Montreal project  There are significant costs the not everyone is willing to bear on an international level  reason why many countries pulled out of the Kyoto accords  Possible Solution: Cap-And-Trade o Market way to regulate and limit greenhouse emissions b/c its argued to be one of the main culprits for global warming in greenhouse gases o Government body limits the amount of pollutants companies can emit and this is done by giving a permit which caps the amount that can be produced and once they exceed this amount there are forced to buy permits from under polluting companies o This works in the European Union, but it attempts to create a global system failed when the US refuse sign the 1997 Kyoto protocol aimed to end this and Canada ended up withdrawing in 2012 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON POPULATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT – FUNCTIONALISM  Looks at how Technological innovation can have Latent Dysfunctions of Technological Innovation Contributes to Environmental Crisis o Some latent dysfunctions highlighted are contributions to air pollution as a result of mass production (can lead to excessive waste and depletion of natural resources)  Population Growth Dysfunctional – basically argues that population needs to be controlled o Some countries have done forced population control and it doesn’t go quite well