a world view or paradigm that shapes the way an individual or group of people perceive and evaluate environmental issues. This is influenced by cultural, religious, economic, and socio-political context.
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ecocentric worlview
puts ecology and nature as central to humanity
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anthropocentric worldview
believes humans must sustainably manage the global system
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technocentric worldview
believes that technological developments can provide solutions to environmental problems
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cornucopians
extreme technocentrists who see the world as having infinite resources to benefit humanity
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environmental managers
moderate technocentrists who see the Earth as a garden that needs tending - the stewardship worldview.
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biocentric worlview
see all life as having inherent value - value for its own sake, not just for humans
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deep ecologists
put more value on nature than humanity. They believe in biorights - universal rights where all species and ecosystems have an inherent value and humans have no right to interfere with this
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system
a set of inter-related parts working together to make a complex whole
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open system
exchanges matter and energy with its surroundings
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closed system
exchanges energy but not matter with its surroundings
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isolated system
exchanges neither matter nor energy with its surroundings
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transfer
occurs when energy or matter flows and changes location but does not change its state
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transformation
occurs when energy or matter flows and changes its state - a change in the chemical nature, a change in state or a change in energy
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systems approach
a way of visualizing a complex set of interactions which may be ecological or societal
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model
a simplified version of reality that can be used to understand how a system works and predict how it will respond to change
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1st Law of Thermodynamics
Principle of conservation of energy, which states that energy in an isolated system can be transformed but cannot be created nor destroyed
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2nd Law of Thermodynamics
Energy is transformed through energy transfers. An increase in entropy arising from energy transformations reduces the energy available to do work.
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entropy
a measure of the amount of disorder in a system
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efficiency
the useful energy, the work or output produced by a process divided by the amount of energy consumed
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negative feedback loops
Stabilizing systems that occur when the output of a process inhibits or reverses the operation of the same process in such a way to reduce change - it counteracts deviation
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steady-state equilibrium
characteristics of open systems where there are continuous inputs and outputs of energy and matter, but the system as a whole remains in a more-or-less constant state
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static equilibrium
no change over time
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stable equilibrium
a system that tends to return to the same equilibrium after a disturbance
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unstable equilibrium
a system that returns to a new equilibrium after a disturbance
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positive feedback loops
Destabilizing systems which tend to amplify changes and drive the system toward a tipping point where a new equilibrium is adopted.
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tipping point
when an ecosystem experiences a shift to a new state in which there are significant changes to its biodiversity and the services it provides.
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sustainability
the use and management of resources that allows full natural replacement of the resources exploited and full recovery of the ecosystem affected by their extraction and use
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sustainable development
development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
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natural capital
natural resources that can produce a sustainable natural income of goods or services. e.g. forest (natural capital) provides timber (natural income)
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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
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pollution
the addition of a substance or an agent to an environment by human activity, at a rate greater than at which it can be rendered harmless by the environment, and which has an appreciable effect on the organisms within it.
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primary pollutant
pollutants which are active on emission
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secondary pollutant
pollutants which are formed by primary pollutants undergoing physical or chemical changes
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non-point source pollution
pollution which is released from numerous, widely dispersed origins. May have many sources making it virtually impossible to detect exactly where it is coming from.
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point source pollution
release of pollutants from a single, clearly identifiable site.
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Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
Chemicals, often manufactured as pesticides in the past, which are resistant to breaking down and remain active in the environment for a long time.
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Biodegradable pollutants
Pollutants which do not persist in the environment and break down easily.
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Acute pollution
large amounts of a pollutant are released over a short period of time, causing a lot of harm
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chronic pollution
The long-term release of a pollutant, in small amounts.
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