env221 midterm

what is intersectional environmentalism

this is an inclusive version of environmentalism that advocates for both the protection of people and the planet. it identifies the ways in which injustices happening to marginalized communities and the earth are interconnected. it brings injustices done to the most vulnerable communities, and the earth, to the forefront and does not minimize or silence social inequality. intersectional environmentalism advocates for justice for people + the planet

• coined by Leah Thomas

what are planetary boundaries (4)

• Framework introduced by Johan Rockstrom & team of Earth system scientists in 2009

• Defined as “safe operating space for humanity”: framework identifies 9 environmental limits to stay within, i.e. science-backed ‘guardrails’

• Highlights security risks from human-caused pressures on critical global processes that regulate the Earth’s stability & resilience.

• Updates regularly made, and reported on annually in the Planetary Health Check reports.

what is earths status according to the planetary boundaries

right before the high risk line

what are the 9 planetary boundaries

1. climate change

2. change in biosphere integrity

3. modification of biogeochemical flows

4. introduction of novel entities

5. land system change

6. freshwater change

7. ocean acidification

8. increase in atmospheric aerosol loading

9. stratospheric ozone depletion

how have interactions affected planetary boundaries

“Human activities have driven Earth beyond its Safe Operating Space. This transgression is not due to individual single causes, but to a network of interlinked drivers like fossil fuel combustion, land use change, and unsustainable resource use that collectively push control variables, such as atmospheric CO₂ or species extinction rate, past safe thresholds for life on Earth”

what is adaptation in human systems

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, in order to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities. - IPCC

what is adaptation in natural systems

In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate and its effects - IPCC

addresses the consequences

what is mitigation

“A human intervention to reduce emissions or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases.” - IPCC

addresses the causes

what is a tipping point

critical point at which small changes can suddenly trigger large, often irreversible shifts in Earth’s environment.

how are tipping points and planetary boundaries interconnected

both address earth system stability, but serve distinct roles

• beyond a tipping point: a system fundamentally changes due to a shift in feedback dynamics (qualitatively different)

• where quantifiable, planetary boundaries are set in a safe distance away from risks of crossing tipping points

what is the anthropocene

current era in which human activity has become the dominant force of shaping the Earth system - Paul Cruzten and Eugene Stoermer

what is the anthropocene working group

• interdisciplinary research group that studies anthropocene as a geological time unit

• provides scientific evidence to anthropocene to be formally ratified by the international union of geological sciences as an epoch

who is “we“ and “humanity“ within the anthropocene

critiques of frequent discourses of ‘we‘ and ‘humanity‘ in planetary perspectives of the Anthropocene have been raised across disciplines, since structural inequities in causation drivers are often undertheorized or focused upon

what is the doctrine of discovery

• comes from initial papal bulls (public decree from the pope)

• legal and moral justification for colonization

• long lasting legal legacy — to this day is used to justify settler sovereignty over Indigenous lands

according to Shiva, what are the 3 economies

1. natures economy: “the primary economy which all economies rest“ — natural production of goods, cycles, and services provided by the planet itself

2. the sustenance economy:“people work directly to provide the conditions necessary to maintain their lives“ — agriculture, fishing, forest management

3. the market economy: “peoples needs are subtituted for by greed, profit, and consumerism“ — captial, cash transactions, profits

according to Shiva what is the enclosure of the commons

• shift from public → private ownership of lands and resources

• made possible by terra nullius and subsequent colonial enclosures of public land

what is doughnut economics

• Kate Raworth

• addiction to endless growth

• GDP (gross domestic product): measure of the flow of economics value — doesnt tell us about communities, caring work, living world that get run down to make this number

• gdp increases, we need to decouple and use less resources (carbon, minerals, land service)

• DOUGHNUT REPLACES EXPONENTIAL GROWTH

• compass for 21st century prosperity

• from the center - humanities use of resources

• poverty deprivation hole — place where people don’t have enough resources to live, want no one in that hole

• outer limit - ecological degradation using too much of earths resources

what is green growth