ESS: Topic 1 - foundations

What inform and justify perspectives?

Sociocultural norms, scientific understandings, laws, religion, economic conditions, local and global events, and lived experience

What are perspectives?

How a particular situation is viewed and understood by an individual

What is the difference between a perspective and an argument?

Arguments are made to support a personally held perspective or to counter a different one

What are values?

Qualities or principles that people feel have worth and importance in life. Can be seen in our communication and actions with the wider community.

Where are values held by organizations seen?

Through advertisements, media, policy, and actions. Difference in values can lead to tensions.

What are worldviews?

Lenses shared by groups of people through which they perceive, make sense of, and act within their environment. Shape perspectives + values through culture, philosophy, ideology, religion, and politics.

Why are models that attempt to classify perspectives inaccurate?

Individuals often have a complex mix of positions

What is in EVS?

Model that shows inputs affecting perspectives and outputs resulting from perspectivesE

EVS inputs

Information from media, education, worldviewsOu

EVS outputs

Judgements, positions, actions, and choices

Technocentrism

Assumes all environmental issues can be resolved through technology. Optimistic view of the role humans play. Scientific research to form policies. Pro-growth agenda necessary.

Anthropocentrism

Views humankind as the central, most important element of existence, and splits into a wide variety of views; humans must sustainably manage the global system using taxes, environmental regulation, and legislation. Pragmatic.

Ecocentrism

Sees the natural world as having pre-eminent importance and intrinsic value. Emphasizes a less materialistic approach to life with greater self-sufficiency.

CS: environmental activist

Autumn Peltier:

• water-rights advocate, Chief Water Commissioner of the Anishinabek Nation

• Criticized former PM JT for his choices about fossil-fuel pipelines

• spoke at the UN in NY and the UN General Assembly in 2018 and Global Landscapes Forum in 2019.

CS: environmental author / media

Rachel Carson:

• marine biologist + conservationist

• Silent Spring that challenges use of DDT and other pesticides due to its impact on birds and other wildlife

• led indirectly to formation of the Environmental Protection Agency

CS: Environmental disaster

Chernobyl disaster

• explosion at a nuclear power plant released lots of radiation into the atmosphere (several times more than from Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs)

• close to 50 ppl died

• radioactivity spread over Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine

• livestock born deformed, thousands cancer deaths and illnesses in the long term

• contaminated millions of acres of forest + farmland

CS: International agreement

• promoted idea of sustainable development

• how to address balance economic development / environmental protection

• 5 major agreements

• addressed climate change, desertification, + biodiversity loss

• recommended list of development practices (Agenda 21)

system

set of interacting or interdependent components (organized to create a functional whole)

elements of a system

storages and flows (with flows providing inputs and outputs of energy and matter)

open vs closedsystem

open: exchanges energy and matter across its boundary (ex. local ecosystem)

closed: only energy (ex. Biosphere 2)

• most systems are open

ecosystems of the earth

biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, geosphere, atmosphere, anthroposphere

Gaia hypothesis

• model of the earth as a single integrated system

• used to explain how atmosphere composition and temperatures are interrelated through feedback control mechanisms

negative feedback loop

• occur when the output of a process inhibits or reverses the operation of the same process to reduce change

  • stabilizing (counteract deviation)

stable equilibrium

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

• steady-state: condition of an open system with flows but inputs are balanced with outputs

  • maintained by negative feedback loops

positive feedback loops

• occur when a disturbance leads to an amplification of that disturbance

  • destabilizing / amplifying (drives away from equilibrium)

example of positive feedback loop

• as population declines, reproductive potential decreases, leading to further decrease

• reduced albedo due to melting ice caps leading to greater global warming, further melting ice caps

tipping point

minimum amount of change that will cause destabilization within a system (system then shifts to a new equilibrium or stable state)

• result in regime shifts between alternative stable states

• ex. change of nitrate / phosphate leads to eutrophication

model

• simplified representation of reality

• can be used to understand how a system works and to predict how it will respond to change

consequence of simplification of a model

loss of accuracy

emergent properties

properties that appear as individual system components interact

• (x. predator-prey oscillations + trophic cascades)

• would not occur in isolated components

resilience of a system

ability to avoid tipping points and maintain stability (capacity to resist damage and recover from / adapt to disturbance)

• depend on biodiversity, abundance of abiotic resources, structure of the ecosystem, adaptability of the species, size of the ecosystem, climate limitations, and reproductive rate

• humans can decrease it by reducing biodiversity

factors that contribute to systm resilience

diversity, size of storages within systems

sustainability

measure of the extent to which practices allow for the long-term viability of a system

why are newly formed systems vulnerable to disturbances

they do not yet have abundant storages, feedback mechanisms, and flows

why are mature systems vulnerable to disturbances?

regions where abiotic conditions are not amenable to life can take an extended period of time to recover

CS: points of no return

• atlantic ocean has a single current: Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC)

• transports the energy of 1M average-size nuclear plants

• off the coast of Greenland, the warm waters get so cold, heavy, and salty they plunge to the ocean floor

• but melting ice is pouring Bns of tons of freshwater into the oceans, diluting the current and making it less likely to sink

• can slow down / stop AMOC

• can cause plummeting temps, + foot and a half of sea level rise, cause more storms over Europe, and endanger crops

3 spheres of sustainability

environmental, economic, social

social sustainability

focus on creating structures + systems to support human well-being

economuc sustainability

focus on creating economic structures + systems to support production and consumption of goods + services

environmental sustainability

use and management of resources that allows full natural replacement of exploited resources + full recovery of affected ecosystems

natural capital

natural resources that can supply a natural income of goods or servicesg

examples of goods

timber, fibre, minerals, foods, fisheries, agriculture

ecosystems services

life-supporting services which can be categorised as supporting, provisioning, regulating, and cultural services

natural income

yield obtained from natural resources

brundtland report of 1987

introduced social and economic aspects of sustainability to sustainable development

sustainability indicators

quantitative measures of biodiversity, pollution, human population, climate change, material and carbon footprints, and others

CS: unsustainable use of natural resources

• newfoundland cod fishery

• 8M tons of cod caught between 1647 and 1750

• fishery employed 65000+ people, and bringing in more than 265M dollars in today’s currency

• 1950s: factory ships from Europe

• catch far exceeded cod’s ability to replenish itself

• 1992: collapse of fishery (annual catch dwindled to 1700 tonnes), finally placed a ban

gross domestic product (GDP)

measure of the monetary value of final goods and services produced and sold in a given period by a country

green GDP

measures environmental costs and subtracts these from GDP

environmental justice

the right of all people to live in a pollution-free environmental, and to have equitable access to natural resources, regardless of issues such as race, gender, socio-economic status, or nationality

CS: local example of environmental injustice

• Mercury poisoning near Grassy Narrows First Nation

• English-Wabigoon River contaminated since 1960s and 70s (paper mill dumped 9T of mercury into the water)

• created high levels of methylmercury (even more toxic), which accumulates

  • builds up in organisms

• bioaccumulation and then biomagnification

  • population exhibits signs of mercury poisoning: tremors, insomnia, memory loss, headaches, cognitive and motor dysfunction

CS: international example of environmental injustice

• deepwater horizon oil spill

• natural gas leak that ignited on the deepwater rig platform

• 11 killed, 17 injured

• rig capsized and oil discharged into the gulf of mexico

• more than 60 000 barrels of oil per day

• 1/3 of the gulf’s federal fishing waters closed

• affected tourism in beach areas

  • still contamination by PAHs in 2020

ecological footprint

used to estimate the demands that human populations place on the environment

carrying capacity

the number of population a unit of land can support (inverse of EF)

biocapacity

capacity of a biological productive area to generate a supply of renewabl resources and to absorb its waste

when is an area unsustainable

when EF > biocapacity

carbon footprint

measures amount of GHGs produced in CO2 equivalents in tonnes

GHGs

raise the surface temp of the earth

water footprint

measures water use (in m3 per year)

biocapacity

capacity of a given biologically productive area to generate an ongoing supply of renewable resources and to absorb its resulting wastes

UN sustainable development goals (SDGs)

set of social and environmental goals and targets to guide action on sustainability and environmental justice

uses and limitations of SDGs

• uses: setting of a common ground for policmaking, relating to both developed and developing countries, galvanizing the international community into addressing economic and social inequality