BIOLOGY 157: LIFE SCIENCE: AN ENVIRONMENTAL APPROACH (Resources, Solid Wastes and Recycling)

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BIOLOGY 157 LIFE SCIENCE AN ENVIRONMENTAL
APPROACH (Resources, Solid Wastes and Recycling)
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RESOURCES

• DEFINITION
• anything obtained from the ecosystem to meet
  human needs and wants
• ANYTHING and EVERYTHING can be considered a
  RESOURCE ( minerals, water, fuels, food, farm
  land, living space, air, germplasm, other
  species, etc.)
• Categories of Resources
• - Renewable
• - Potentially Renewable
• - Non-renewable

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HOW TO USE A RESOURCE

• Different individuals and groups have varying
  opinions as to what to do with a particular
  resource (e.g. Land)
• - leave it undisturbed
• - build on it
• - farm it
• - mine it to get what is under it
• Most times there is no ONE best choice. Usually
  it is relative. We all have REAL needs!

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SOLID WASTE, RESOURCE USE, POLLUTION

• The U.S. has about 4.5 of the worlds
  population.
• The U.S. produces at least 33 of the worlds
  solid waste.
• Is this a disproportionate ratio?
• Ecological Footprint

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U.S. SOURCES OF SOLID WASTE
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U.S. SOURCES OF HAZARDOUS WASTE
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U.S. MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE
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U.S. WASTE FATE JAPAN
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WHY RESOURCE WASTE MUST BE REDUCED

• Nowhere to put the wastes generated by resource
  use
• it depletes precious and limited resources
• it causes ecosystem damage
• it produces health hazards or has the potential
  to do so

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ECOSYSTEM DAMAGE FROM RESOURCE USE I

• This can occur from the
• extraction of the resource
• modification / manufacturing of the resource
• transport of the raw resource / finished product
• use of the resource / product
• trashing of the resource / product

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ECOSYSTEM DAMAGE FROM RESOURCE USE II
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ARE MINERALS NON-RENEWABLE?

• In reality minerals (iron, copper, gold, silver,
  etc.) are NOT destroyed.
• They do tend to be dissipated and / or converted
  to unusable / unavailable forms (they go from
  high quality to low quality).
• Thus in a PRACTICAL sense they ARE non-renewable.

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MINERAL RESERVES

• RESERVE
• a known deposit from which a usable mineral can
  be extracted at current prices(obviously this
  can vary over time)
• DEPLETION TIME OF A RESERVE
• the time it takes to use the major portion (80)
  of the reserve

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DISTRIBUTION OF MINERAL RESOURCES IS UNEVEN
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APPROACHES TO THE TRASH PROBLEM AND CONSERVING
RESOURCES (I)

• FRONTIER TYPE APPROACH
• - find a better way / place to dispose of
  the waste
• - doesnt address conservation
• SOMEWHAT SUSTAINABLE APPROACH
• - tries to reduce waste and extend resource
  life by getting the most from the
  materials this reduces the amount that
  must be trashed, detoxified
• reuse the item
• recycle its materials
• produce energy from the spent
  resource
• compost it

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APPROACHES TO THE TRASH PROBLEM AND CONSERVING
RESOURCES (II)

• A MORE SUSTAINABLE APPROACH
• in addition to those strategies used in the SSA,
  this approach tries to use less of our resources
  over the long term by
• 1) increasing product lifespan (build things
  better, stronger, etc.)
• 2) where possible reduce the amount of
  materials in a product or use renewable
  materials or more ecosystem friendly
  materials
• 3) reduce consumption by a variety of
  techniques (increase purchase cost,
  increase disposal cost, education to do
  things differently, etc.)

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RESOURCE DEPLETION CURVES
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RESOURCE RECOVERY --- URBAN
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PAPER RECYCLING

• Europe as a whole (2003) --- 60
• In 2003, 70 in Netherlands, Finland, Sweden,
  Norway, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland
• Japan (2003) --- 66
• 2006 --- U.S. --- 53.5 but 30 of that shipped
  overseas (more than half to China)

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PROPER WASTE PRIORITIES
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WHAT TO DO WITH WASTES

• There will always be SOME wastes!
• Immobilization / detoxification of wastes
• Landfill (sanitary, secure)
• Deep mines or wells (salt formations for nuclear
  wastes ?????)
• Ocean Dumping
• N.I.M.B.Y.

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SOME QUESTIONS TO ANSWER FROM CHAPTERS 11 13

• What defines a mineral?
• Energy wise, is it better to produce new aluminum
  from an ore, or recycle aluminum scrap? What
  about glass?
• Do you think there are any brownfields in the
  Delaware Valley area?