REM 100

Global Change

Human induced transformation of the global environment

Environment

The complete range of external conditions, physical and biotic, in which an organism lives (includes social, cultural, food, water)

Characteristics of global issues

large scale, regional effects

Persistent

Inter-dependence between countries and regions

Captures world-wide attention

Arouses compassion

Requires interdisciplinary knowledge and solutions

Institution

an elemental structure requires for the functioning of a society. Embodies a particular set of values, norms etc. Society belives it to be essential for its continued existence.

System

a collection of interdependent parts enclosed within a defined boundary

System dynamics

nonlinear behavior of a complex system

System analysis

Examines the interactions within the system and/or its environment

4 Earth Spheres

Biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere

Atmosphere

75% within lowest 11 km, linked to the biosphere. Troposphere: weather, 98% water vapor-- linked to the hydrosphere. Stratosphere:ozone layer

Hydrosphere

0.0023% of Earth's mass

vital for the development of life

Lithosphere

Crust and portion of the upper mantle, makes the foundation of entire earth system. Source of all raw materials. Plate tectonics. Pedosphere: outermost later of the Earth

Biosphere

Sum of all biological activity, creats and maintains oxygen-rich atmosphere.

Closed System

energy is exchanged outside environment, matter is not (Earth)

Open System

Both energy and matter are exchanged with the outside environment (Any of Earth's spheres)

Reservoirs

Oceans, groundwater, ice, atmosphere

Energy Sources

Solar, gravity

Fluxes

evaporation, precipitation, runoff

Cycles

define the structure of the Earth's system and how it responds to change

Steady State Systems

Are constant

Cyclical Systems

Behave in a sinusoidal pattern

Permutations

actions that break the cycle such as: landslide into a creek, slow change of Earth's orbit around the sun, pollution of a pristine environment etc

Responses to Permutations

Positive feedback: increase magnitude of permutations Negative feedback: decrease the magnitude of permutations

Measurement of Responses

See page 4 of notes

Can have linear or nonlinear

Interaction

Event that causes changes to affect one of the four spheres, or an event that is the effect of the changes in the spheres

Spatial scales

local effect, global effect, effect across multiple scales

Temporal scales

Long time scales: ice ages, evolution, ocean circulations

Short term scales: forest dire, seasonal changes in weather

Across time scales: short industrialapplications that have a long term effect

Natural Resource

Materials or substances that occur naturally which can be used for economic gain

Material Resource

Use of individuals and society

Biotic

living and organic

Abiotic

non-lining and non-organic

Stages of development

Actual: surveyed and currently exploited

Reserve: surveyed and can be exploited in the future

Stock: surveyed and currently inaccessible

Potential: think they are but have not checked

Renewability

Non-renewable: form slowly or not naturally

Renewable: form equally as fast or faster than used

Inexhaustible

Unaffected by human use and will not run out in the foreseeable future

Exhaustible

Finite, can be depleted if not managed

Available time of a Reserve

(Quantity of Reserve/ Production Rate)

Reserve numbers are not static

Waste

Something which the owner no longer wants, has no current or perceived market value

Recycling

Convert waste into reusable material

Primary resource: back to original source material

Secondary resource: new source material

Sink

part of the environment used for disposal of valueless material

Garbage-> landfill, Exhausts-> Atmosphere, Processed sewage-> water

Natural State

modelling the state of the ecosphere with and without human contribution

IPAT

Impact = Pollution x Affluence x Technology

Affluence

Consumption per person, commonly expressed as GDP per capita

(Consumption + investment + govt spending +(export - import))

Doubling Time

time it takes for a population to double in size td=70/r

Stage 1

High stationary

Pre-industrialized societies

Death and birth rates are high

relative constant young population

cost of having a child is low

Stage 2

Early expanding

a decline in death rates where the primary reduction of death rate if children

Stage 3

Late expanding

declining birth rate, changing role of women, reduced need for children

Stage 4

Low Stationary

Both birth and death rates are low, small population growth. Increasingly aging populations

Stage 5

Declining

Birth rates fall below death rates

compensates through immigration

Great debate

argument between techno-pessimistic and techno-optimistic

Techno-pessimistic view

Reduced carrying capacity. Paul Ehrlich supported this

Techno-optimistic view

Increased carrying capacity. Julian Simon believed in this

Steady State Economy

Birth rate = death rate, limit inequality in income. Stop treating scarce goods as non-scarce (Herman Daly?)

4 types of consumption for various people

Physicist, ecologist, economist. sociologist

Physicist view

what happens when you transform matter/energy

Ecologist view

what big fish do to little fist

Economist view

What consumers do with their money

Sociologist view

What do you do to keep up with trends and high statuses

Dematerialization

The reduction in the quantity of materials required to serve economic functions (doing more with less)

Carrying capacity

Maximum population size of the species that the environment can sustain indefinitely (given the resources available). Not static, determined by human choices

Overpopulation

Population > carrying capacity

Ecological footprint

Measures land and water usage a population requires to produce the resources it consumes

Biocapacity

Plant's current biologically productive areas which provide resources and absorb generated waste

Global overshoot

Humanity's demand on nature exceeds the biosphere supply or regenerative capacity. Generally in the middle of August but it has slowly been moving up

Resilience

Capacity of a system to absorb shocks and remain within the current state

4 theories on carrying capacity

Continuous growth, stability, overshoot and oscillation, overshoot and decline

Anthropocene

Denoting the current geological age-- human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment

"risk-averse"

Taking into account a large number of uncertainties

"branches of scientific inquiry" (3)

Scale of human impact, Earth's processes and the integration of Human processes, and resilience

Herman Daly

Opposes the mantra of unlimited economic growth. Economy is embedded in a ecosystem that is finite, there are physical limits to efficiency, moral issues with unlimited growth

Environmental philosophy + 2 perspectives

How we look at the world and conceptualize the environments.

Anthropocentrism: human centered, protect the environment because it is useful to us. Ecocentrism: a non-human nature has an inherent right to exist and does not depend on humans to give it value

Environmental Ethics

Moral principles that govern a person's or group's behaviour. Addresses the biodiversity crisis, climate change is an ethical storm, deals with equity issues

Instrumental value

Value an object has as means to further some other ends. A teacher has instrumental value to students

Intrinsic value

Value an object has "in itself" or "for its own sake". A person has intrinsic value as a person

Spectrum between anthropocentric and ecocentric

Domination: nature exists solely to serve humans and only has instrumental value

Stewardship: similar to Domination, but our role is to be the manager of nature

Conversation: asserts that a lack of regard for the land has caused most of our environmental problems

Deep ecology: views humans as an integral part of the earth environment and ecosphere rather than separate from them

paradigm change

change in institutions

property rights

an institution and private ownership is a key component for the free-market economy

Market failures

Open access

Public goods

Externalities

Preverse subsidies

Organization

A organized entity/body if people with a particular purpose

Relevance of Canada's Consitution act (1982)

federal and provincial governments are granted different legislative jurisdiction over natural resources and the environment

Institutional and Financial Arrangement for Intern. Environ. Coorperation (1972)

o Foundation for UNEP, overall responsibility for environmental problems

o Aided on issues in international trade that may result in harmful chemicals, air pollution, etc.

o WMO and UNEP established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

o Climate change talks are overseen by UN Framework on Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Unwritten rules

codes of conduct that are norms of behaviour and belief

Culturally appropriate behaviour

Informal rules among a group of resource users (eg. fisherman)

Economics

Social science that seeks to describe the factors which determine production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services

Environmental economics

sub-field of econ. That concerns with environmental issues

Property ownership

to have, belonging to one, possession

Rights associated with ownership

Access and withdrawal

Exclusion

Management

Alienation

Common-pool resources (Natural resources)

Do not meet all the ownership conditions, ownership cannot be clearly defined, no one can be excluded has a dependability characteristic

Forms of property right

Private property

Community-owned property

State-owned property

Open access

Common heritage of mankind

Written rules

govern contractual relations and corporate governance

Constitutions, laws, and rules

govern politics, governments, finance and society more broadly

Tests on the ownership of property

Property has value

it is definable or controllable

others can be excluded from using it

Private Property

Owned by individuals or corporations

Includes land, objects, etc.

Established and controlled by cultural and legal systems

Access is by permission

Others must respect owner's rights

Strong incentive to manage properly

Community-owned Property

Owned by a group of people whose membership is defined

Members control access and rules

Shared incentive for proper management

Non-members must respect the rights of members

State-owned property

Owned by the government or government corporation

Access is by permission

May be sold or rented to contribute to the revenue

May be given away

May include commercial and non-commercial properties

Open Access

May be owned by the state but ownership is difficult to enforce

May not be owned by anyone

Free for all, no one can be excluded

Resource is not managed by an owner

"Right of capture" applies

Common Heritage of Mankind

No private or public ownership

All nations manage it

all nations actively share benefits

Commons should be preserved for the benefit of future generations

Market

Medium that allows buyers and sellers of a specified good or service to interact-- exchange

Supply curve

Relationship between product price and quantity of product that a seller/producer is willing and able to supply

Demand curve

relationship between product price and amount that consumers are willing to be able to purchase at that given-- informed consumer preferences

Equilibrium price

Suppliers are producing exactly as much as is demanded by buyers

Requirements for a free market

Large number of buyers and sellers

Perfect information about current and future prices, product available

All economic agents behave rationally

Market prices reflect full costs of production and consumption

Inputs being supplied and goods being produced are individually owned and divisible-- property rights exist

Price in the free market

Communicates the scarcity of a good, incentives behavior that tends to make the most productive use of the available scarce resource