The water sources for Greenville County include two reservoirs: (1) Table Rock (Volume = 1,100 million ft³); and (2) North Saluda (Volume = 3,200 million ft³). The current population of Greenville County is approximately 570,000 people. Considering the current population growth rate of 1.8% per year, Greenville County’s population would reach 1 million people in 2057.

a. [5 pts] In 2057, would the current water system be sufficient to provide enough water for Greenville County during at least one year? Assume both reservoirs are full at the beginning of each year and that one person uses an average of 82 gallons of water per day (gal/d).

Notes: 

Flow (Q) = Volume (V) / Time (T)

1 ft³ = 7.48 gal.

1 Mega (M) = million = 10⁶

b. [5 pts] Is this population projection accurate? What factors could influence the population growth rate and projected population of Greenville County?

The graphs presented in “Steffen et al. (2015). The trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration.” show the trends from 1750 to 2010 in indicators for socio-economic development and structure and functioning of the Earth System.

a. [5 pts] Analyze the trends in the data and formulate a hypothesis that could be tested to investigate the relationship between the socio-economic trends and potential impacts on the Earth system.

b. [5 pts] Based on the data provided in the figure and content covered in class, do you have enough evidence to accept the hypothesis? Or should you reject the hypothesis? Explain.

c. [5 pts] Independently of your answer in “b”, explain the differences between the Holocene and Anthropocene epochs using the data provided in the figure.

Lake Conestee, located in the Reedy River watershed, was formed after the construction of a stone masonry structure in 1892. Since its construction, several pollutants received and transported by the Reedy River have been accumulating at the bottom of the lake. Using the systems thinking approach, we can define the lake as the system of interest and the contaminated sediment at the bottom of the lake as the stock.

a. [10 pts] Describe three solutions for addressing the environmental issue related Lake Conestee, each focusing on one part of the system: (1) input; (2) stock; and (3) output.

b. [5 pts] Lake Conestee has an area of 20 acres (ac) and average depth of 2 feet (ft). The Reedy River has an average flow of 80 cubic feet per second (ft³/s) at Lake Conestee. In this context, what is the residence time (in hours) of the water in the lake? Note that Flow (Q) = Volume (V) / Time (T), and that 1 ac = 43,560 ft².

The Planetary Boundary Framework (PBF) is a fundamental scientific concept in environmental science under constant development by scientists such as Steffen et al. (2015) and Richardson et al. (2023). The PBF aims to define a safe operating space for human societies and to ensure the long-term stability and health of our planet.

a. [5 pts] Explain how the PBF define a safe operating space for the Earth considering the history and possible trajectories of the Earth’s climate.

b. [5 pts] Explain what an environmental indicator is and how they are used in the PBF. Include one example of an environmental indicator used in the PBF to support your answer.

c. [5 pts] Describe one update or change to the PBF presented by Richardson et al. (2023), in comparison with Steffen et al. (2015), including a possible reason for the update or change.

References cited in this question:

Steffen et al. (2015). Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet.

Richardson et al. (2023). Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries.