Geoenvironment Management and Sustainability - Sustainable Practices in Geoenvironmental Engineering - page 9

Evidence of environmental mismanagement from past activities associated with devel-
opment abounds. Commoner (1971) has suggested, for example, that the wealth gained by
the modern technology-based society has been obtained by short-term exploitation of the
environmental system. Although protection of the geoenvironment may lead to a preser-
vation of many of the features and assets of the geoenvironment, it is clear from the vari-
ous resource and habitat features shown in the right-hand compartment of Figure 1.3 that
protection of the geoenvironment does not necessarily lead to sustainability of the geoen-
vironment. We recognize that techniques, procedures, and management programs should
be structured to permit exploitation of the geoenvironment to occur with minimal adverse
impact on the geoenvironment. To that end, the intent of this topic is to provide an appre-
ciation and understanding of (a) the geoenvironmental impacts that result from activi-
ties associated with mankind and (b) measures, requirements, and procedures needed to
avoid, minimize, and/or mitigate these impacts.
We have previously deined the geoenvironment to include the land environment. This
includes all the geophysical (geological and geomorphological) features, together with the
aquatic elements classiied as receiving waters. Figure 1.3 shows a simple schematic of
the various major ecosystems, habitats, and resources that constitute the geoenvironment.
The major ecosystems that constitute the land ecosystem, shown in the left compartment
of Figure 1.3, consist of a mixture of physiographic and resource-type ecosystems. The
mixed method of presentation of ecosystems shown in the diagram has been chosen delib-
erately because it does not require one to detail every single physiographic unit and every
single resource-type unit.
The geoenvironment contains all the elements that are vital for the sustenance and
well-being of the human population. Commoner (1971) states that the ecosphere, together
with the Earth's mineral resources, is the source of all goods produced by human labor
or wealth. It is obvious that any degradation of the ecosphere will impact negatively on
the capability of the ecosphere to provide the various goods produced by human labor or
wealth.
1.3.2 Impacts on the Geoenvironment
The posit that the geoenvironment is in itself a natural resource is founded on the fact
that it provides the various elements necessary for life support such as food, energy, and
resources. Degradation of any of the physical and biogeochemical features that permit life-
support systems to function well will be a detriment to the requirements for a sustainable
s o c ie t y.
1.3.2.1 Impacts due to Population Growth
The Malthusian model (Malthus, 1798), for example, links availability of food with popu-
lation growth (or reduction). Postulating that food is necessary for human existence and
that rate of food production increases linearly, the Malthusian model contends that since
the rate of human population increase is geometric, there will come a time when food pro-
duction will not be suficient to meet population needs. Although no account was given
to availability of resources and industrial output in the original model, one presumes that
these were accounted for in the ceteris paribus condition.
The Meadows et al. (1972) systems dynamics model, which considered ive speciic quan-
tities, industrialization, population, food production, pollution, and consumption of non-
renewable natural resources, concluded (phase I study “The Project on the Predicament of