(ESS) Topic 1: Foundations of environmental systems and societies

- Environmental value systems - Systems and models - Energy and equilibria - Humans and pollution

enviromental value system

Worldview or paradigm that shapes the way individuals or groups perceive and evaluate environmental issues

Influenced by cultural, religious, economic, and socio-political contexts

ecocentrism

• views ecology and nature as central to humanity

• emphasizes a less materialistic approach to life

• prioritizes biorights, emphasizes the importance of education, and encourages self-restraint in human behavior

athropocentrism

• argues that humans must sustainably manage the global system

• through the use of taxes, environmental regulation, and legislation

• debate to reach a consensual, pragmatic approach

technocentrism

• argues that technological developments can provide solutions to environmental problems

• scientific research is encouraged

• pro-growth agenda

systems approach

a way of visualizing a complex set of interactions which may be ecological or societal

system

an assemblage of parts and their relationship, forming a functioning entirity or whole

comprised of storages and flows

flows

movevement of matter and energy - either transfers or transformations (arrows)

transfer

matter or energy moves through a system without changing state or form (flow)

transformation

a change in state or form (flow)

open system

exchanges both energy and matter across its boundary (ECOSYSTEMS)

closed system

exchanges only energy across its boundary (only experimental)

isolated system

hypothetical concept in which neither energy nor matter is exchanged across the boundary

storages

where energy or matter is held (boxes)

first law of thermodynamics

the principle of conservation of energy - energy in an isolated system can be transformed but cannot be created or destroyed

second law of thermodynamics

the entropy of a system increases over time

(explains the inefficiency and decrease in available energy along a food chain)

entropy

a measure of the amount of disorder in a system

negative feedback loop

STABILIZING - occurs when the output of a process inhibits or reverses the operation of the same process in such a way as to reduce change - it counteracts deviation

positive feedback loop

DESTABILIZING - will tend to amplify changes and drive the system toward a tipping point where a new equilibrium is adopted

resiliance of a system

its tendency to avoid tipping points and maintain stability

(contributed to by diversity and the size of storages)

delay in feedback loop

make it difficult to predict tipping points and add to the complexity of modelling systems

affected by diversity and the size of storages within systems

sustainablility

the use and management of resources that allows full natural replacement of the resources exploited and full recovery of the ecosystems affected by their extraction and use

natural capital

natural resources that can produce a sustainable natural income of goods or services

natural income

the yield obtained from natural resources

ecosystems provide:

• life-supporting services (water replenishment, flood, and erosion protection)

• goods (timber, fisheries, and agricultural crops)

environmental indicators of sustainability

biodiversity, pollution, population or climate

enviromental impact assesment (EIA)

• assess environmental, social and economic impacts of a project (provides decision-makers with info)

• predicts and evaluates possible impacts

• suggests mitigation strategies

  • before - baseline studies

  • after - an audit and continued monitoring

critisms of EIAs

• lack of a standard practice or training for practitioners

• lack of a clear definition of system boundaries

• lack of inclusion of indirect impacts

• not necessarily binding - can be ignored

ecological footprint

the area of land and water required to sustainably provide all resources at the rate at which they are being consumed by a given population

pollution

the addition of a substance or an agent to an environment through human activity, at a rate greater than that at which it can be rendered harmless by the environment, and which has an appreciable effect on the organisms in the environment

• non-point or point source

• persistent or biodegradable

• acute or chronic

pollutants

organic or inorganic substances, light, sound, or thermal energy, biological agents, or invasive species (i.e. from combustion of fossil fuels)

• primary (active on emission)

• secondary (arising from primary pollutants undergoing physical or chemical change).

DDT

insecticide and toxin

→ example of a conflict between the utility of a “pollutant” and its effect on the environment

intrinsic value

when an object or place has a worth irrespective of its economic value

biorights

all life has a right to exist

biosphere

the living part of the planet

ecosphere

the planetary ecosystem, including all the earth’s living organisms and their physical environment

litosphere

the rigit outer layer of the earth, about 75 km of the earth’s crust

example of a small system

bromeliad plant in the Amazon river

example of a medium system

a small lake in the Šumava forest

example of a large system

the earth

model

a simplified description designed to show the structure or workings of an object, system or concept

steady state equilibrium

the ability to return to a balance after a disturbance

static equilibrium

no inputs, outputs of energy or matter and no change over time (doesn’t occur in nature)

stable equilibrium

if a system returns to its original equilibrium after a disturbance

unstable equilibrium

system that does not return to the same equilibrium after a disturbance, but forms a new equilibrium

tipping point

a critical threshold when even a small change can have a dynamic effect on a system

resilience

the tendency to avoid tipping points and maintain stability through a steady state equilibrium