IB ESS: Sustainability Notes

What is sustainability?

Using global resources at a rate that allows natural regeneration and minimizes damage to the environment. 

What is natural capital?

The stock of a certain resource and natural income is the annual amount of that resource that is regenerated each year.

How do you know if actions are sustainable?

Actions are sustainable if we are harvesting resources equal to or less than the natural income.

Sustainability can be encouraged through careful application of:

1. Ecological land use to maintain habitat quality and connectivity for all species

2. Sustainable material cycles (carbon, nitrogen, water) to prevent the contamination of living systems

3. Social systems that contribute to a culture of sufficiency that eases the consumption pressures on natural capital

Examples of unsustainable practice regarding soils includes:

1. Overgrazing (trampling and feeding by livestock lead to loss of vegetation and exposure of the underlying soil)

2. Overcultivation (loss of soil fertility and structure leave topsoil vulnerable to erosion by wind and water)

How do humans often use resources?

Humans often use resources beyond sustainable limits through over-population, financial motives, or ignorance.

How does taking a global approach affect sustainability?

Taking a global perspective helps governments look at problems beyond national boundaries. A global approach makes people look at the interrelationships between systems.

How does taking a local approach affect sustainability?

Sometimes a local approach is better. Human actions can be culturally specific (such as traditional farming methods) so global solutions may not be locally applicable. Local methods are more sustainable and appropriate for a local environment. Some problems, such as recycling or a point-source pollutant, are better handled with a local approach.

How do most definitions of sustainability begin?

The idea that development should meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Define environmental sustainability?

Focuses on resource depletion, pollution and conserving biodiversity and active regeneration.

Define renewable resources?

Replenished at a rate that is equal or greater to the rate at which they are used

Define non-renewable resources?

Cannot be replenished at a rate that is equal to or greater to the rate at which they are used

Define pollution?

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

Pollutants (disagreeable, toxic and harmful) come in many forms such as:

• Pollutants come in many forms such as: organic/inorganic substances such as pesticides and plastics

• light, sound, or heat energy

• Those derived from a wide range of human activities including the combustion of fossil fuels.

What are some costs of pollution?

Costs include death, decreased levels of health, declining water resources, reduced soil quality and poor air quality.

Define biodiversity?

The variety of life on Earth. 

Define active regeneration?

A component of environmental sustainability (of ecosystems). 

How can biodiversity be re-established?

Through management, such as rewilding schemes, ensure the ongoing survival of natural systems.

Define social sustainability?

The survival of societies and their cultures and may include consideration of the continued use of language, belief or spiritual practices in a society.

What occured In 2003 with the mining company Vedanta Resources?

Applied to dig an open pit containing aluminum on Niyamgiri Mountain in Orissa, India, disrupting the everyday lives of the Dongria Kondh tribe. 

What occured in 2008 with India’s Supreme Court?

Gave permission for the mine to be built, leading to protests.

What occured in 2010 with India’s Environment Minister?

Jairam Ramesh blocked plans to develop the mine.

What does the nested circle model suggest?

We require a good environment to have an economy.

What does economic sustainability refer to?

The ability of the present generation to meet its needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

How do governments interact with markets?

Sometimes governments must intervene with the workings of the markets. They’re generally pretty good at organizing economic activity, but oftentimes fail to achieve societal goals, such as equity. Economic well-being or sustainability.

was GDP developed with anything particular in mind?

Current economic models, such as gross domestic product (GDP) were not developed with sustainability in mind.

Define sustainable development?

Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. 

When was sustainable development defined?

Sustainable development was first clearly defined in 1987 in the Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, produced by the UN World Commission on Economic Development.

What does the concept of sustainable development denote?

The concept encompasses ideas and values that inspire individuals and organizations to become better stewards of the environment and promote positive economic growth and social objectives.

What was once the world’s richest fishery?

The Grand Banks off Newfoundland (north-east of Canada)

Overfishing and mismanagement of fish stocks led to…

A rapid decline in cod numbers and ultimately their collapse. In 1992, the area was closed to allow for recovery, but three years later, the cod did not recover.

Define Gross domestic product (GDP)?

A concept developed in the 1930s that is a measure of the monetary value of final goods and services produced and sold by a country over a given period of time. It very quickly became the overriding goal of policy making in national governments. Chasing higher GDP led to an increase in consumerism and in wealth inequality.

What do other GDP derivatives include?

Other GDP derivatives include real GDP (over one year and adjusted for inflation) and real GDP per capita (sum of the real GDP divided by the population of the country.) Newer models are required for sustainable development. Common models include doughnut economics, circular economy and green GDP.

Define environmental justice?

The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.

Common facets of environmental justice include:

1. All people have the right to live in an unpolluted environment and have equal access to natural resources.

2. It should result in the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental policies and laws to ensure that no group is made to bear a disproportionate amount of the harmful effects of pollution.

3. Any model of sustainable development that fails to incorporate equity is not sustainable.

4. Any promotion of environmental justice that does not take the principles of sustainability will not be able to achieve its objectives on a large scale.

Resources are not equally distributed acorss the globe:

Despite the Earth having enough resources to provide food, fresh water, and energy to everyone, they are not distributed equally. Generally, people in developed countries consume higher levels of resources than people in developing countries.

Common reasons for varying consumption of food, water and energy include:

1. Access - some countries have easy access to more natural resources than others.

2. Quantity - there is inequality in the quantity of natural resources available to different countries.

3. Wealth - the greater amount of wealth a country has, the more options it has. A wealthy country can simply import resources or develop technological solutions to resources problems.

4. Technology and infrastructure - The ability of a country to develop technological solutions and to deliver food, water, and energy throughout its population will affect direct access to key resources.

What are some common sustainability indicators?

Common indicators are ecological footprints, carbon footprints, water footprints, indicators species, diversity indices.

Define ecological footprint?

The area of land and water required to sustainably provide all resources at the rate of consumption and assimilate all wastes at the rate of production by a given population.

One can compare the calculated ecological footprint to the actual area of the population to determine sustainability:

If ecological footprint is greater than the actual area, then the population is living unsustainably.

If the ecological footprint is less or equal to than the actual area, then the population is living sustainably.

Define carbon footprint?

Relates specifically to the quantity of greenhouse gases produced by human activities. Greenhouse gases heat up the planet and cause climate change. 

• Typically, carbon footprint is the “carbon dioxide equivalent” or CO₂e and is measured in tons.

Define water footprint?

Measures water use in cubic meters per year. The footprint can be calculated at the scale of an individual, company, or country.

• Water is an incredibly important molecule. Between 65% to 95% of the mass of most animals and plants is water. Water is required for photosynthesis to allow plants to make sugars, which is the basis of our ecosystems.

Define biocapacity?

The ability of a biologically productive area to generate an ongoing supply of renewable resources and to absorb its resulting wastes.

Unsustainability occurs if the area’s ecological footprint exceeds its biocapacity.

Define citizen science?

The involvement of the public in scientific research. When the public gets involved in research, the ability to gather more data which increases the sample size of research. 

How can information for citizen science projects be gathered?

Through crowdsourcing, which involves large groups of people who submit their data via the internet or social media.

How were the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed?

The SDGs were developed through decades of work between countries and the UN and concluded with adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. There are 17 goals with 169 targets.

The SDGs relate to both developed and developing countries and include:

• Setting a common ground for policy making

• Galvanizing the international community into addressing economic and social inequality

Limitations of SDGs include:

• Not going far enough

• Being top down and bureaucratic

• Tending to ignore local contexts

• Lacking supportive data.

Define the Planetary boundaries model?

Proposed nine quantitative planetary boundaries that have regulated the stability and resilience of Earth throughout the Holocene epoch (all of human recorded history). The model proposes that crossing these boundaries increases the risk of creating sudden, extensive, or irreversible environmental changes.

Who and when was the planetary boundaries model developed?

In 2009, a team of 28 Earth system and environmental scientists, led by Johan Rockström developed the planetary boundaries model.

The boundaries in the planetary model include:

1. Climate change

2. Novel entities

3. Stratospheric ozone depletion

4. Atmospheric aerosol loading

5. Ocean acidification

6. Modification of biogeochemical flows

7. Freshwater change

8. Land system change

9. Biosphere integrity

The planetary boundaries model is used to:

• Identify science-based limits to human disturbance of Earth systems

• Highlight the need to focus on more than just climate change, which dominates discussion on the environmental impacts of human activities.

• Alert the public and policymakers to the urgent need for action to protect Earth’s systems.

As with all models, there are limitations with the planetary model such as:

• The focus of the model is only on ecological systems and does not consider the human dimension necessary to act for environmental justice

• The model is a work in progress and assessments of the boundaries change as new data becomes available.

• The focus on global boundaries may not be a useful guide for local and country-level actions.

Define the doughnut economics model?

Addresses the need for multiple indicators to get an accurate representation of environmental and social sustainability.

There are twelve aspects in the doughnut economics model:

The green section is the “Goldilocks” section and is where we would like to be. The red section in the middle are shortcomings, whereas the red section outside the ring are overshoots.

The ecological ceilings are from the planetary boundaries model and the social foundations are from the SDGs.

The model depicted here is from 2017. At that time, humanity was falling short in all 12 social foundations and surpassed 4 planetary boundaries.

An evaluation of the doughnut economics model

Advantages include:

• Challenges the traditional story of economics and the goal of GDP, in favor of the regenerative and distributive approach.

• It has reached popular awareness and is being used at different scales to support action on sustainability.

• It includes both ecological and social elements and so supports the concept of environmental justice.

An evaluation of the doughnut economics model

Limitations include:

It is a work in progress, with different groups trying to apply the model for concrete action

While it advocates broad principles of regenerative and distributive practice, the model does not propose specific policies or solutions.

Define the circular economy model?

The circular economy model promotes decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources. The circular economy model aims to reduce waste and pollution, keep materials and products in use and lead to the regeneration of natural systems.

• the circular economy is intended to result in a more intelligent use of resources that aims to create more from less and has benefits for the economy, society, and the environment.

What are three principles of the circular economy model?

• Eliminate waste and pollution

• Keep products and materials in use

• Regenerate natural systems

An evaluation of the circular economy model

Uses of the model include:

• Regeneration of natural systems

• Reduction of greenhouse gases

• Improvement of local food networks and support for local communities

• Reduction of waste by extending product life cycle

• Changing consumer habits

An evaluation of the circular economy model

Limitations include:

• Lack of environmental awareness by consumers and companies

• Lack of regulations enforcing recycling of products

• Some waste is not recyclable and technical limitations

• Lack of finance to implement the model