COPYRIGHT 2018 ABC-CLIO, LLC Environmental Geography COPYRIGHT 2018 ABC-CLIO, LLC Environmental Geography People and the Environment Leslie A. Duram Understanding Our World COPYRIGHT 2018 ABC-CLIO, LLC Copyright © 2018 by ABC- CLIO, LLC All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other wise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Duram, Leslie A., author. Title: Environmental geography : people and the environment / Leslie A. Duram. Description: First edition. | Santa Barbara, California : ABC-CLIO, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, [2018] | “Understanding our world.” | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018014154 (print) | LCCN 2018019902 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440856112 (ebook) | ISBN 9781440856105 (Hardcopy : acid-free paper) Subjects: LCSH: Environmental geography. Classification: LCC G143 (ebook) | LCC G143 .D87 2018 (print) | DDC 304.2—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018014154 ISBN: 978-1-4408-5610-5 (print) 978-1-4408-5611-2 (ebook) 22 21 20 19 18 1 2 3 4 5 This book is also available as an eBook. ABC- CLIO An Imprint of ABC- CLIO, LLC ABC- CLIO, LLC 130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911 Santa Barbara, California 93116 - 1911 www . abc - clio . com This book is printed on acid- free paper Manufactured in the United States of Amer i ca COPYRIGHT 2018 ABC-CLIO, LLC To Jon for years of laughter and wonderful maps; and to Mom for all the giggles and careful editing. Kyle and Maggie, I am sure that your generation is smart enough to address these environmental problems. COPYRIGHT 2018 ABC-CLIO, LLC Contents Introduction xi SECTION 1 Introduction: How Humans Affect the Environment 1 Case Studies 1. Cars Rule—American Dependence on the Automobile 15 2. G reat Barrier Reef—Human Activities Endanger Coral Reefs 22 3. Dead Zones—The Gulf of Mexico 27 4. Great Pacific Garbage Patch 32 5. Nigeria’s Oil Causes H uman Rights Abuses and Environmental Degradation 39 Key Concepts Agriculture 47 Food Miles 48 Air Pollution 50 Animal Agriculture 52 Biodiversity Loss 54 Agrobiodiversity Loss 55 Climate Change 57 Climate Change Policies 59 Deforestation 61 Endangered Species 63 Energy 65 Corn Ethanol from Mining the Soil 66 E- waste 67 Fracking 70 Genet ically Modified Crops 72 Hazardous Waste 74 Brownfield Sites 76 Mining 78 Overfishing 80 COPYRIGHT 2018 ABC-CLIO, LLC viii Contents Solid Waste (Garbage!) 82 Superfund 84 Technology: Innovation and Consequences 86 Assembly Line Manufacturing 87 Urbanization 89 Water Pollution 92 Water Scarcity 94 SECTION 2 Introduction: How the Environment Affects Humans 97 Case Studies 6. Climate Change Is Occurring—Regardless of Politics 109 7. Climate Refugees—Island Nations Dis appear Because of Rising Seas 115 8. Endangered Snow Leopard in Af ghan i stan—Local Efforts to Promote Conservation 121 9. The Power of Hurricane Katrina (2005)—Evacuation and the Aftermath 126 10. The 2004 South Asian Tsunami Natu ral Disaster 131 Key Concepts Adaptation 137 Anthropocene 139 Small- Scale Solar Power in Africa 140 Drought 143 Earthquake 145 Ecosystem Ser vices 147 Ecotourism 150 Flood 153 Global North and Global South 155 Environmental Crime 157 Habitat and Wildlife 158 Human Modification of Ecosystems 161 Global Environmental Agreements 163 Human Population 165 Hurricane 167 Mitigation 170 U.S. Global Change Research Program 171 Natu ral Hazards 173 Parks and Urban Green Space 176 Happiness and Sustainability 178 Protected Areas and National Parks 180 Tornado 183 Volcano 185 Wildfire 188 COPYRIGHT 2018 ABC-CLIO, LLC Contents ix SECTION 3 Introduction: Sustainable Management of Natural Resources 191 Case Studies 11. China’s Bold Steps toward Renewable Energy—Better Late than Never 209 12. Citizen Science—Helping Scientists Understand Migratory Birds 215 13. Costa Rica’s Peace with Nature: Conservation, Biodiversity, and Sustainability 220 14. Denmark’s Achievements in Organic Agriculture 226 15. Great Green Wall of Africa 232 Key Concepts Alternative Agriculture 239 Assessments and “Footprints” 241 Composting 243 Zero - Waste Communities 244 Earth Day 246 Electric Cars 249 Environmental Justice 251 Professor Maathai and Kenya’s Green Belt Movement 253 Environmental Nongovernmental Organ izations (ENGOs) 255 Environmental Policy 256 Green Buildings 259 Green Consumerism 262 Fleece Jackets from Recycled B ottles! 263 Green Po liti cal Party 265 Green Technology 268 Recycling 270 Zero - Waste Home 272 Renewable Energy 273 Sustainable Cities 276 Sustainable Development 279 Auroville, City of Peace 280 Sustainable Diet 282 Water Conservation 284 Glossary 289 Bibliography 297 Selected Books Related to Environmental Geography 301 Index 305 COPYRIGHT 2018 ABC-CLIO, LLC Introduction Environmental geography is the core of geography. It describes the complex inter- actions between people and the environment. Place and location are key factors, which is why geography is so valuable. It makes us think about the entire planet, from our own local neighborhood all the way up to the massive, complex w hole Earth. Environmental geography: Where do these words come from and what is their historical meaning? GEO is “Earth,” and GRAPHY is “to describe”; ENVIRON is “surroundings or to enclose” and MENT is “the result of.” So environmental geography describes the Earth, specifically focused on the result or outcome of our surroundings. It is in ter est ing to note that the words ENVIRONMENTALIST and ENVIRONMENTALISM are very recent additions to our language, both coming into our vocabulary in the 1970s (Merriam- Webster, 2018; Oxford Dictionary, 2018). Of course, other disciplines also cover environmental topics, but only geogra- phy fully integrates the two realms of people and nature. Each of t hese are gigan- tic topics alone— think about people’s cultures, beliefs, politics, education, and economies and then think about natu ral systems from the tiniest living insect to the Earth’s huge climate system. This indicates how tricky it is to put all of this together and understand the greater whole! People and the environment are both extremely complex; plus they do indeed have a complicated relationship with each other. COMPLEXITY It is not s imple to explain t hese complicated interactions between Earth and its human inhabitants. But, in fact, that makes it more impor tant for people to learn about and take action to promote environmental sustainability! Understand- ing the intersection between humans and nature is extremely impor tant. The future of both the planet and p eople depends on it. The Butterfly Effect is a useful way to think about Earth’s complexities. Edward Lorenz, a math whiz and meteorology professor, developed a theory and wrote a paper called “Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly’s Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?” In this paper, he described how changing a very small vari- able at the beginning of a system could have huge changes at the end of that system. He showed that when many variables are used to predict weather patterns, one small COPYRIGHT 2018 ABC-CLIO, LLC xii Introduction change can have large consequences (Dizikes, 2011; Wolchover, 2011). This basic idea was expanded into what is known as Chaos Theory, which is now one of the most impor tant concepts in modern science. Rather than assume that every thing in the world is predictable and linear, Chaos Theory states that small errors and changes early on make long- term future prediction impossible (Palmer, 2008). Humans cannot always predict or control nature because it is simply too complex. In the past, we have often separated our studies into distinct disciplines: his- tory, biology, economics, chemistry, and so forth. But to understand the relation- ships between p eople and the environment, we need a bigger, holistic view. Environmental geography provides this overarching perspective, especially because geography works so well at the intersection where people and the environment interact. Location matters for both the environment (for example: Where is the drought located?) and people (for example: What cultural and economic values are associated with water?) and thus geography is inherently necessary. In addition, environmental issues demand collaboration between natu ral science (for example: understanding the water cycle) and social science (for example: developing poli- cies to promote w ater conservation). TAKE ACTION The complex environmental prob lems facing society will not be solved with simple solutions that easily please every body. Rather, t here w ill be trade- offs, because pros and cons are inherent in complex environmental decision making. This book takes a very honest, straightforward approach in describing current environmental prob lems and the decisions and activities that led to these crises. People need to understand the entire situation: past, pres ent, and future. It is not enough to see current ecological dilemmas in isolation without acknowledging the many background forces at play. Understanding these multifaceted factors that led to current prob lems is impor tant because only then can options be fully developed. This book will help readers identify pos si ble actions to promote a more sustain- able future. Overall, this book identifies prob lems and concerns and outlines ways to take action. This is not a gloom- and- doom text! In this book, readers will see that our environmental crisis is very real and cannot be ignored. But this book emphasizes that humans are smart and can use science, technology, and community— together— to fix it! GEOGRAPHY IDEAS Place matters. That is a simple statement, but it encompasses integrated notions of local communities, regional variations, national policies, and even global inter- actions. Geographers understand that place matters, so their studies and research are based on this very concept. Spatial thinking is special thinking! Spatial is the term that means space, place, and location. It is the idea that location m atters. Geographers use place- based reasoning to understand the current world, its prob- lems, and how people might take action to fix them. COPYRIGHT 2018 ABC-CLIO, LLC