Ess- Unit 1

Case study 1: Harambe the gorilla - environmental value system

In 2016, a three- year-old boy climbed into the the enclosure of Harambe the gorilla in at the Cincinni Zoo. The boy ended up in the moat where Harambe picked him up and carried him to dry land. Onlookers began screaming causing Harambe to become more and more agitated. A zoo keeper, fearing for the boy’s life, shot Harambe dead. The video was sent online causing widespread outrage. The boy had minor injuries and his parent were investigated but not charged. Jane Goodall said that although the gorilla was pretecting the boy, he could have killed the boy by accident.

Environmental value system

A model that shows inputs affecting our perspective and the outputs resulting from our perspective

Ecocentric philosophy

puts ecology and nature as central to humanity and emphasizes a less materialistic approach to life with greater self-sufficiency

Restraint in the use of natural resources

respects the rights of nature and the dependence for humans on nature so has a holistic view of life which is Earth-centred

Anthropocentric philosophy

Views humankind as being the central, most important element of existence. Believes humans must sustainably manage the global system, including through the use of taxes, environmental regulation and legislation

Nature is there to benefit humankind

Technocentric philosophy

Believes that technological developments can provide solutions to environmental problem and assumes all environmental issues can be resolved through technology.

Influences on environmental movements

-individuals (campaigners) e.g. Greta Thunberg, Sir David Attenborough

-pressure groups e.g. Greenpeace, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

-literature

-the media

-major environmental disasters

-international agreements

-new technologies

-scientific discoveries

Case study 2: Oil company advertising

In 2007 Royal Dutch Shell (oil company) launched a campaign with the slogan “Don’t throw anything away. There is no away”. The slogan is true, however, it was accompanied by a picture of chimneys of an oil refinery emitting flowers.

This conveyed that if we had a magic trash, we could make our rubbish disappear and we could actively find ways to recycle. For example, our greenhouses could use C02 to help us grow flowers and our waste sulfur to make concrete.

The image was accepted as it was conceptual and not likely to happen. However, the advert itself could be misleading as it implied that Shell emissions were recycled.

Case study 3: Some major environmental disasters

Minamata disaster (1956): Mercury was used in the hat-making industry into the 20th century. Hat makers were known to often suffer mental illnesses although the source of such illness was unknown.

The Chisso Corporation built a chemicals factory and required mercury compound as a catalyst. Wastewater containing the mercury was released into the Minamata Bay and bioaccumulated. The people of Minamata ate a lot of shellfish from the Bay and got poisoned. It took over 30 years to identify the problem.

Bhopal disaster (1984): In Bhopal, India, a Union Carbide pesticide plant released 40 tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas. Half a million people were exposed and 3,000 people died immediately. This is considered to be the world’s worse industrial disaster.

Chernobyl (1986): In Chernobyl, a fire resulted in nuclear reactor plant. The reactor vessel split and exposed the graphite moderator to the air, causing it to catch fire. The reactor released a cloud of highly radioactive material which drifted over much of the USSR and Europe, as far west as Wales and Scotland. Fission products from the cloud have a long half-life and accumulated in the food chain. In 2009, there were restrictions on the selling of Welsh sheep due to the high levels of radiation. Thirty one workers died and there were around 1000-4000 later deaths due to different cancers. Other estimates claim that one million people would have died as a result of the disaster. To this day reactor 4 is still dangerous and a metal structure has been built around it with a exclusion zone of 30km was established.

Fukushima Daiichi (2011): An earthquake set off a tsunami which caused damage resulting in the meltdown of three reactors in the plant. The water flooded these became radioactive and will take many years to remove. The radiation leak was about 30% of Chernobyl and radiation levels in the air were low. A third of a million people were evacuated and reports showed the accident was caused by human error as the plant was not built to withstand a tsunami even though it was close to the sea in a earthquake zone.

This incident caused widespread anti-nuclear demonstrations and Germany announced it was closing older reactors and phasing out nuclear power generation. France, Belgium, and Switzerland all had public votes to reduce or stop nuclear power plants. In other countries plans for plants were abandoned or reduced.

system

a set of inter-related parts working together to make a functioning whole

Biosphere

all the parts of the Earth where life exits- all ecosystems

Systems diagrams

Inputs and outputs: matter or energy

Stores: living or non-living

flows: movements of matter or energy

Sizes of stores represent the size of the stores

Transfers and transformations

In transfers, the matter or energy moves from one place to another but does not change its state or chemical nature. e.g. water moving from a river to the sea

In transformations, the matter or energy changes state e.g. light converted to heat by radiating surfaces (energy to energy) or (matter to energy) burning wood or (energy to matter) photosynthesis.

open system

energy and matter are exchanged. all ecosystems are open systems exchanging matter and energy with their environment

closed systems

exchanges energy but not matter with its environment

Equilibrium

stable: condition of a system in which there is a tendency for it to return to the previous equilibrium following a disturbance.

steady-set equilibrium: is the condition of an open system in which flows are still occurring, but inputs are always balanced with outputs. e.g. water tank fills at the same rate it empties.

Case study 4: Biosphere 2

Biosphere 2 is the human attempt to create a habitable closed system on Earth. It intended to explore the use of closed biospheres in space colonization. Two missions were conducted but both ran into problems. The biosphere didnt mange to produce enough food and sometimes oxygen levels became too low. There were various ecosystems inside the biosphere; a rainforest, a coral reef, mangroves, savanna, desert, a agricultural area and living quarters. Electricity was generated from natural gas and the building was sealed off.

For two years, eight people lived in the biosphere. Oxygen levels dropped and 25 small animal species went extinct. There was also not enough food. Oxygen levels gradually fell and C02 levels fluctuated.

During the second trial it had closed after a month after two people opened the doors and windows. They used three units of energy from air conditioners to cool the air for the input of every one unit of solar.

Feedback loops

when info. starts a reaction that may input more info. which may start another reaction. e.g. if you’re cold you either put on more clothes or turn the heater on. The cold is the info. and the reaction is the clothes or turning on the heater.

Negative feedback

When there is a problem which cause a change. This change stabilizes the system and counteracts the deviation. e.g. your body temp. rises due to it being hot. Your body begins to sweat and become red from blood flow. This allows your body to lose heat.

Positive feedback

when a disturbance leads to an amplification of that disturbance which destabilizes the system. This drives it away from its equilibrium and towards its tipping point. e.g. in lower income countries, there are usually poor standards of education. This causes an increase in pop. growth, adding on to poverty.

Tipping point

the min. change in a system that destabilizes it and causes a shift

characteristics of a tipping point

-they involve positive feedback

-threshold point cant be precisely predicted

-changes are long lasting

-hard to reverse

-significant time lag between the pressures driving the change and the appearance of impacts

examples of tipping points

-lake eutrophication: adding nutrients to a lake causing plants to grow excessively

-extinction of keystone species

-death of coral reefs

Factors affecting ecosystem resilience

-the more diverse and complex the ecosystem is, the more resilient it tends to be as there are more interactions

-greater diversity means there is likely a species that can replace another, maintaining biodiversity

-species that can shift geographical ranges are more resilient

-the larger the ecosystem, the more resilience

-climate: in colder areas plant growth is slower

-species that reproduce faster can recover quicker: they can recolonize faster

-Humans can remove the threat

-Humans can decrease resilience by reducing biodiversity

Emergent properties

property of a system but not the whole system

Case study 5: Maasai land rights

There are over one million indigenous Maasai people who live in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They’re traditionally transhumance nomadic pastoralist who herd cattle over large areas of land. After British colonization, there was no consideration for the local people. Land was privatized and national parks were created. Local authorities moved the Maasai people to small areas of land that were not compatible with their pastralism as they thought their herds would overgraze. They ended up being moved to a conservation area in Tanzania but their lives became worse as the plans prioritized wild animals and income from tourism. They are advocating for land rights, however they do not have one leader and there isnt any international advocate for their case. The issues are:

• lack of income from tourism to communities

• cultural differences between groups

• lack of inclusion

• lack of communication

• land grabs

• climate change causing droughts

• increasing population

• scale of tourism industry

Ecological footprint

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

Sustainable Development Goals

• The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a comprehensive set of social and environmental objectives that were established as targets for the 2030 Agenda

  • These goals aim to provide a universal framework for addressing urgent global challenges whilst promoting sustainable development and environmental justice

  • The SDG model recognises that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality and generate economic growth—all while tackling climate change and working to preserve ecosystems such as our oceans and forests

• The SDG model consists of 17 goals and 169 targets covering various aspects of sustainable development

Uses and limitations of the SDGs

Uses of the SDGs

1. Common ground for policymaking:

   • The SDGs provide a shared agenda for governments, organisations (NGOs and IGOs) and communities to develop policies and initiatives

2. Global relevance:

   • The SDGs are applicable to both developed and developing countries, encouraging a universal approach to sustainability

3. Galvanising the international community:

   • The SDGs encourage collaboration and collective action among nations and stakeholders to address economic and social inequalities

Limitations of the SDGs

1. Insufficient ambition:

   • Criticisms suggests that the SDGs do not go far enough in addressing the magnitude of global challenges

2. Top-down approach:

   • Some argue that the SDGs are bureaucratic and fail to adequately involve local communities in decision-making processes

3. Ignoring local contexts:

   • The SDGs may overlook the unique socio-cultural, economic and environmental contexts of different regions

4. Data deficiency:

   • The lack of comprehensive and accurate data hinders monitoring and evaluation of progress towards achieving the SDGs

Planetary boundary model

• Scientists created the model to specify the ecological systems on Earth within which humanity could operate safely.

• It identifies limits to human disturbance on these processes and systems to prevent abrupt and irreversible changes

Earth has natural limits, and human activities must stay within these limits to maintain a safe and stable environment.

The model identifies nine planetary boundaries. Each boundary represents an important Earth system or environmental process that humans need to protect.

Some important examples are:

• Climate change: The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere affects global temperatures and weather patterns.

• Freshwater change: The amount of freshwater humans use affects rivers, lakes, groundwater, and ecosystems.

• Biogeochemical flows: Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilisers can pollute water and cause algal blooms.

The model distinguishes between a safe operating space and an area of increasing environmental risk.

• Inside the boundary: The Earth system is considered to be within a relatively safe zone.

• Beyond the boundary: The risk of significant environmental disruption increases.

Crossing a boundary does not mean that the planet immediately collapses. It means the risk of destabilising Earth's systems becomes greater.

Uses and Limitations of the Planetary boundary model

1. Identifies science-based limits:

   • Provides clear boundaries based on scientific understanding of Earth systems

2. Highlights of the need for comprehensive action:

   • Shifts focus beyond climate change (which dominates current discussion) to address other critical environmental issues

3. Raises awareness:

   • Alerts the public and policymakers about the urgency of protecting Earth's systems

1. Ignores societal factors:

   • It focuses only on ecological systems and does not consider the human dimension necessary to take action for environmental justice

2. Work in progress:

   • Assessments of boundaries are constantly changing as new data becomes available

3. Global focus may not suit local action:

   • Boundaries may not align with local or national priorities, making necessary actions challenging to implement at these smaller scales

Doughnut economics models

We need an economy that meets everyone's basic needs without damaging the planet or exceeding its environmental limits.

Think of an actual doughnut:

• The hole in the middle represents people who lack basic needs.

• The doughnut itself represents the safe and just space for humanity.

• The outside represents environmental limits that humanity should not exceed.

The aim is to get humanity into the middle of the doughnut, where everyone can live well while respecting the planet.

There are two main boundaries:

Social foundation (inner boundary): The social foundation represents the minimum conditions people need to live a decent and healthy life.

It is based on the social aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). What happens when we fall below this boundary?

We experience a social shortfall.

For example, if people do not have access to clean drinking water, their basic human needs are not being met.

Ecological ceiling (outer boundary)

The ecological ceiling represents the environmental limits of the Earth that humanity should not exceed.

It is based on the science of the nine planetary boundaries.

Examples include:

• Climate change.

• Biodiversity loss.

• Freshwater use.

• Land-system change.

• Pollution and nutrient cycles.

What happens when we exceed this boundary?

We experience ecological overshoot.

For example, burning too many fossil fuels increases greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to climate change.

Difference between the two rings

Social foundation	Ecological ceiling
Inner boundary	Outer boundary
Protects human well-being	Protects the planet
Minimum standards people need	Maximum environmental pressure
Falling below = social shortfall	Going beyond = ecological overshoot

The safe and just space for humanity is between these two boundaries.

Regenrative and distributive economy (dougnut)

A regenerative economy is an economy that restores and renews nature instead of depleting natural resources.

It works with natural cycles and respects the Earth's ecological limits.

Examples:

• Replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy, such as solar and wind.

• Planting trees and restoring forests.

• Using circular economy practices, such as repairing, reusing and recycling products.

• Supporting regenerative agriculture that improves soil health.

A distributive economy is an economy that shares wealth, resources, opportunities and economic benefits more fairly among society.

It aims to reduce inequality and ensure that economic opportunities are not concentrated in the hands of a small group.

Examples:

• Universal basic income.

• Fair wages for workers.

• Equal access to education and healthcare.

• Progressive taxation, where higher earners pay a larger proportion of their income in tax.

• Supporting small businesses and local communities.

Uses and limitations of the doughnut model

1. Supports environmental justice:

   • The model includes both ecological and social elements, so it supports the concept of environmental justice

2. Raises awareness:

   • The model has reached popular awareness and highlights the interconnectedness of social and environmental issues, raising public understanding and engagement in sustainable development efforts

3. Applied at various scales:

   • From countries to cities to individual businesses, the model helps sustainable development efforts by providing a flexible framework adaptable to different contexts and scales

4. Promotes interdisciplinary collaboration:

   • Encourages collaboration between economists, environmentalists, policymakers and communities to address complex sustainability challenges

1. Lacks specificity:

   • The model is a work-in-progress that offers broad principles but lacks detailed guidance on specific policies and actions needed for implementation. Some critics argue that the model is too theoretical and lacks practical solutions for complex economic issues

2. Challenges in application:

   • Different contexts may require specific approaches and translating the model into realistic and effective strategies at local or national levels can be complex

3. Changing nature:

   • As our understanding of sustainability evolves and new data emerges, the boundaries of the model may need adjusting

Circular economy model

Principles of the circular economy

• The circular economy model has three main principles:

1. Eliminating waste and pollution:

   • Focuses on reducing waste generation and minimising environmental pollution

   • Encourages the redesign of products and processes to eliminate waste at the source

     • For example, designing products that use biodegradable materials, in order to reduce landfill waste

2. Circulating products and materials:

   • It involves maintaining products, components and materials at their highest utility and value, for as long as possible

   • Promotes reuse, repair, remanufacturing and recycling to extend product lifecycles

     • For example, furniture companies offer repair services to extend the lifespan of their products

3. Regenerating nature:

   • Aims to restore and enhance natural capital while promoting economic growth

   • Includes practices such as reforestation, sustainable agriculture and ecosystem restoration

     • For example, using regenerative agriculture techniques to improve soil health and biodiversity

• Within the circular economy, there are two cycles:

  • The biological cycle is where the biodegradable products are returned to the natural environment

  • The technical cycle where products are recycled, reused, repaired or remanufactured

Uses and Limitations of the circular economy model

1. Regeneration of natural systems:

   • Supports ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation

2. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions:

   • Promotes energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources

3. Improvement of local food networks and support of local communities:

   • Encourages sustainable agricultural practices and local food production

4. Reduction of waste by extending the product life cycle:

   • Emphasises product durability, repairability and recyclability

5. Changed consumer habits:

   • Encourages mindful consumption and responsible product choices

1. Lack of environmental awareness by consumers and companies:

   • Challenges in educating consumers and businesses about the importance of circular practices

2. Lack of regulations enforcing the recycling of products:

   • Inadequate policies and regulations to incentivise and enforce recycling

3. Some waste is not recyclable (technical limitations):

   • Certain materials pose challenges for recycling due to technical constraints

     • For example, mixed-material packaging that is difficult to separate and recycle effectively

4. Lack of finance:

   • Financial barriers to implementing circular economy initiatives, especially for small businesses

     • For example, there can be high upfront costs for transitioning to circular production methods

Environmental value system

a particular worldview or set of paradigms that shapes the way individuals or societies perceive, evaluate, and respond to environmental issues