ESS - Units 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1

Perspective

Point of view influenced by personal assumptions, economic status, ethical beliefs, personal values, and cultural environment.

Pragmatism

Evolution of something in reference to its practical use.

Types of values

Moral, Personal, Societal

Indigenous values

Traditional knowledge based on concepts passed down through generations.

Instrumental values

Usefulness something has for humans in providing a good/service for human development.

Intrinsic value

Value something has in itself, regardless of use or benefit to others.

Inherent value something holds

Imperialist worldview

Belief in a sacred bond between humans and God, seeing nature as separate. Science is used to control nature.

Stewardship worldview

Humans are responsible for the environment, managing and exploiting it respectfully and sustainably.

Romantic worldview

Nature is valuable to humans due to being beautiful and unadulterated.

Utilitarian worldview

Greatest good is happiness and freedom from suffering; actions that benefit the greatest number of humans are morally right.

Technocentric environmental value system

Belief that all environmental issues can be solved through technology, humans control nature

Anthropocentric environmental value system

Humans are central and most important; nature has to serve human needs.

Ecocentric environmental value system

Natural world is most important and has intrinsic value; humans are not in control of nature but subject to it

Influences on the environmental movement

individuals, literature, media, environmental disasters, international treaties, technological advancements, scientific discoveries

Cultural Theory of beliefs

Suggestion that individual beliefs are influenced by the surrounding group.

System (in ecology)

Group of interacting or interdependent parts forming an integrated whole.

Holistic view of systems

Looks at systems as a whole and how different parts are interconnected.

Reductionist view of systems

Divides systems into parts, looking at different components separately.

Parts of a system

Storages, flows (incl. transfers and transformations), boundaries.

Needs to have a function/purpose and emergent properties

3 types of systems

• open (eg. pond)

• closed (eg. Biosphere 2)

• isolated (eg. the Universe)

Earths systems

Biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, atmosphere, anthroposphere

Gaia Hypothesis

Earth is a self-regulating system naturally searching for a state of homeostasis.

Albedo

Level of light reflected away from a surface.

Negative feedback loop

Procedure to keep systems in balance (at equilibrium)

Positive feedback loop

When a disturbance to a system triggers a chain reaction that increases the disturbance, causes rapid + extreme changes in a system

Tipping points

Point when a system can no longer recover; leads to new equilibrium.

Steady-state equilibrium

Ecosystem maintains relatively stable conditions over time.

New equilibrium reached

Occurs when a system develops over time to incorporate new factors.

Ecological succession

Different species developing and overtaking a system over time.

Emergent properties

Properties that appear only when different parts of a system are connected.

Factors of emergent properties

non-linear interactions, feedback loops, hierarchy of emergence, scientific understanding

Resilience of systems

Ability of a system to absorb disturbances and return to equilibrium.

Factors affecting resilience

Species biodiversity, size of ecosystem, speed of human response, genetic diversity, complexity, and presence of feedback systems.

Sustainability (definition)

An approach that guides towards a world of balance, harmony, and resilience.

focus on 3 elements:

• environmental

• societal

• governance + economy

Environmental sustainability

Use and management of natural resources allowing for replacement, recovery, and regeneration.

Natural capital

Value gained from natural resources as goods or services that produce natural income.

Natural income

Sustainable annual yield obtained from natural resources.

Ecosystem restoration

Opportunity to halt degradation through sustainable practices.

Social sustainability

Focus on social equity, environmental justice, and human well-being.

Cultural sustainability

Preservation of indigenous languages, cultural knowledge, and heritage.

Biomimicry

Practice of looking to nature for inspiration to solve problems in a regenerative way.

Economic sustainability

Efficient use of resources to minimize waste and protect ecosystems.

Sustainable development

Development with equal emphasis on social, economic, and environmental protection.

Overexploitation of natural resources

leads to degradation and failing of ecosystems

Green GDP

GDP - environmental costs

Environmental justice

Right of all people to live in a pollution-free environment (eg. Deepwater horizon oil spill)

Inequalities

unequal access to clean and sustainable resources, wealth, and technology across nations and internationally

Environmentalism

protection and conservation of nature

scales of action

• Individual level

• Business level

• Community level

• City level

• Country level

• Global level

Ecological footprint

Hypothetical area of land and water needed to provide resources for a population (if bigger than resources available → population is unsustainable)

Carbon footprint

Amount of greenhouse gases emitted (can be direct, indirect, embodied)

Water footprint

Amount of freshwater used to produce a product (green water, blue water, grey water)

Biocapacity

Capacity a biologically productive area has to generate renewable resources.

Crowdsourcing

Obtaining data from a large group via internet or social media.

Values of UN SDGs

Common ground between governments, business, and organisations

Universal goals for all countries

Uses quantitative data to mark progress

Limitations of UN SDGs

SGDs are not well connected between environment, society, and economy

Lack of context between countries, doesn't address inequity of implementing SDGs

Some do not have adequate measures so they can't be effectively reached

Values of Planetary Boundary model

Uses science based limits to Earths systems

Focuses on complexities of systems, need to focus on more than just climate change

Guides public action and policy making

Limitations of Planetary Boundary model

Focuses only on ecological systems

Assessment of boundaries change as new tech + data is available

Only useful at global scale, not local / country scale

Values of Doughnut Economics model

Includes ecological and social elements

Global awareness of model

Can be used at different scales to support sustainability

Limitations of Doughnut Economics model

Rejects goal of economic growth, isolating governmental + business goals

Work in progress meaning some parts are still unclear

Quite broad in some regards due to no policies being proposed

Values of Circular Economy

Recycling of materials improves sustainable practices

Keeps greenhouse gas emissions low

Improves life cycle of products and reduces waste

Reduces pollution

Limitations of Circular Economy

Difficult to transition to due to lack of funds or unprofitable model

Lack of regulations on businesses or governments to use circular economy

Pollution and waste are likely to continue

Ecosystem

Community of living species and non-living components that interact.

Within an ecosystem you have:

• communities

• populations

• individuals

Species

Group of organisms sharing specific characteristics that can breed and produce fertile offspring

Taxonomy

Used to classify species into a common name.

Tools for classification

1. Dichotomous keys: Series of questions to determine physical characteristics of organisms.

2. Comparisons with known specimens: comparing the new specimen against a known one to identify new species

3. DNA surveys: looking at the structure of DNA and comparing it against known species

Biotic components

Living components and organisms such as animals and plants.

Abiotic components

Non-living components such as rocks, water, and sunlight.

Ecological niche

Set of abiotic and biotic factors on which an organism / population depends

Identical niches

• 2 species with same niche cannot live in same habitat (too much competition)

  • eg. Eurasian red squirrel vs Eastern grey squirrel compete for food

Population interactions

Disease, parasitism, mutualism, commensalism, predation,

herbivory

Disease

Bacteria infecting another organism -> done to survive and reproduce, spread throughout the body

Parasitism

Uses the host body for resources, feeds off another organism but without killing host

Mutualism

Relationship between organisms where both species benefit

Commensalism

Relationship between organisms where one species benefits and the other has no change

Predation

Relationship between organisms where one species benefits and kills the other species for food (Preditor vs prey)

Herbivory

Organism that only eats plants

Carrying capacity

• Maximum population size an ecosystem can support based on resource availability.

• Creates logistical graph

Density-dependent factors (population size is regulated by this)

Factors that worsen as population size increases

• competition for resources

• predation

• disease

J Curve (population growth)

Represents exponential growth in population without limiting factors.

Not technically possible in real life

Human population

has increased rapidly + had tremendous implications on global ecosystem

Carrying capacity for human populations

constantly changing due to technological advancements, consumption rate, changing environment

Calculate carrying capacity

1 / ecological footprint = ~carrying capacity

How to estimate population abundance

1. Random sampling → unbiased measure of population, good for large populations

2. Systematic sampling → when there is a regular pattern or clustering in population

3. Transect sampling → analyse population changes along environmental features

Estimation of population size:

1. Capture M amount of individuals -> mark them -> release them

2. Recapture N amount of individuals -> separate from already marked R individuals

3. (M * N) / R = estimated population size

Community stability and diversity

High diversity leads to more stability; low diversity makes ecosystems less resilient.

Trophic connections

outside level: decomposers -> bacteria and fungi (break down dead organisms + waste materials into nutrients for producers to use)

Habitats

• Locations where communities, species, or organisms live

• Each species has particular habitat requirements based on ecological niche

Ecosystems

Function as open systems -> exchange of matter and energy

Inputs in an ecosystem

• Sunlight (energy source)

• organic matter

• inorganic nutrients

Processes (transformations) in an ecosystem

• photosynthesis

• nutrient cycling

Outputs in an ecosystem

• heat (dissipated energy)

• dead organic matter

• gases released into the atmosphere

Sustainability

• inherent central attribute of ecosystems

• sustainable ecosystems have balance of inputs + outputs

• eg. Tropical rainforests

Human impacts of biodiversity

overharvesting, poaching + illegal wildlife trade, climate change, pollution, invasive species