German Jordanian University

School of Natural Resources Engineering

Environment and Renewable Energy Master Program

Sustainability
(ERE 742)

Introduction
to
Sustainability

Overlapping Themes of the Sustainability

Paradigm

The IPAT Equation

IPAT expresses a balance among interacting factors. It can be stated as

I = the impacts of a given course of action on the environment,

P= the relevant human population for the problem at hand,
A = is the level of consumption per person, and
T = is impact per unit of consumption.
Impact per unit of consumption is a general term for technology, interpreted in its
broadest sense as any human-created invention, system, or organization that serves
to either worsen or uncouple consumption from impact.

The equation is not meant to be mathematically rigorous; rather it provides a way

of organizing information for a first-order analysis.

Thus if we wish to maintain environmental impacts (I) at their current

levels (i.e. I 2050 = I2010), then:

Meaning: to maintain current environmental quality in the face of growing

population and levels of affluence, our technological decoupling will
need to reduce impacts by about a factor of 5.

An example:
many recently adopted _climate action plans_ for local
regions and municipalities, typically call for a reduction in
greenhouse gas emissions of eighty percent by midcentury.
The means to achieve such reductions, or even whether or
not they are necessary, are matters of intense debate.
one group sees expensive remedies with little
demonstrable return, another sees opportunities for
investment in new technologies, usinesses, and
employment sectors, with collateral improvements in
global and national well-being.

Core Case Study: Exponential Growth (1)

Slow start, rapid increase
Human population
2015 ~ 7.2 billion people

Projections
225,000 people per day
2050 ~ 9.2 billion people

Core Case Study: Exponential Growth (2)

Resource consumption, degradation, depletion
Possible results

Huge amount of pollution and wastes

Disrupt economies
Loss of species, farm land, water supplies
Climate change
Political fallout

Living in an Exponential Age

Industrial revolution
Black Deaththe Plague

Hunting
and gathering

Agricultural revolution

Industrial
revolution
Fig. 1-1, p. 1

The Efficiency Dilemma!!

As technological progress increases the efficiency of
resource utilization, consumption of that resource will
increase.
Increased consumption that negates part of the
efficiency gains is referred to as rebound, while
overconsumption is called backfire.
Many environmentalists, who see improvements in
efficiency as a cornerstone of sustainability, openly
question the validity of this theory. After all, is it sensible
to suggest that we not improve technological efficiency?

materials and
energy

Outdated development
ENERGY
NON-RENEWABLE
CONSUMER
and RENEWABLE
SOCIETY
CONVENTIONAL
URBAN SYSTEM
MATERIALS

HEAT
HIGH
THROUGHPUT
WASTE &
TOXINS

One-way flow of materials and energy

Sustainable development
Energy Efficiency

Low-quality
Heat Energy

ENERGY

LOW
THROUGHPUT

RENEWABLE
MATERIALS

CONSERVER
SOCIETY
Waste Minimization
Toxics control

Cyclical flows of materials

Appropriate energy usage

Low-volume
Nontoxic
Waste
Materials

Natural Resources
Materials
Renewable
Nonrenewable

Energy
Solar capital
Photosynthesis

Natural Services
Functions of nature
Purification of air, water
Nutrient cycling

Key Natural Resources and Services

Nutrient Cycling

Environmental Sustainability
Trade-offs (compromises)
Sound science
Individuals matter

Ideas
Technology
Political pressure
Economic pressure

Ecological Footprints Impacts on Earth

As our ecological footprints grow, we are
depleting and degrading more of the earths
natural capital.

Natural Resources (1)

Perpetual renewed continuously
Solar energy

Renewable hours to decades

Water, air
Forest, grasslands

Natural Resources (2)

Sustainable yield
Highest use while maintaining supply

Environmental degradation
Exceed natural replacement rate

Natural Resources (3)

Nonrenewable fixed quantities
Energy (fossil fuels)
Metallic minerals
Nonmetallic minerals

Recycling
Reuse

Natural Capital Degradation

Fig. 1-6, p. 12

Measuring Environmental Impact

Ecological footprint
Biological capacity to replenish resources and
adsorb waste and pollution

Per capita ecological footprint

Renewable resource use per individual

Ecological Footprint

Fig. 1-8, p. 13

Pollution
What is pollution?
Point sources
Nonpoint sources
Unwanted effects of pollution

Point Source Air Pollution

Fig. 1-9, p. 15

Solutions to Pollution
Pollution prevention (input control)
Front-of-the-pipe

Pollution cleanup (output control)

End-of-the-pipe

Five Basic Causes of Environmental

Problems

Fig. 1-10, p. 16

Evaluating Full Cost of Resources Use

Examples
Clear-cutting + habitat loss
Commercial fishing + depletion of fish stocks

Tax breaks
Subsidies

Four Scientific Principles of

Sustainability

The End