Studied by 0 people
Looks like no one added any tags here yet for you.
What can we learn from a collapsed Viking Society?
Sustainability is needed for survival
Environmental Literacy
a basic understanding of how ecosystems function and of the impact of our choices on the environment
Wicked Problems
problems complex enough to have no simple solution and whose very nature changes over time
Ecology
branch of biology that focuses on the abundance and distribution of organisms in their environment
Evolution
a unifying concept of biology based on inherited changes in a population over time
Ecosystems
A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.. A unifying concept of biology based on inherited changes in a population over time
Does Ecology influence evolution?
yes
Biota
plants (flora) and animals (fauna) living in a region
Abiotic
physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms.
Environmental Biology
The study of the natural world, as a whole or in a particular area, especially as affected by human activity. An interdisciplinary field of research that draws on the natural sciences and social science and the human understanding of the natural world and our relationship to it
Waste management, wildlife management, resource management, economic, and environmental law
Studies the intersection of the above, how everything we do and are here impacts the environment, and methods of living sustainably with the environment.
Sustainability
The ability to keep in existence or maintain. A sustainable ecosystem is one that can be maintained. Meeting the needs of the present equitably and fairly without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
The Tragedy of the Commons
The tendency of an individual to abuse a public resource (the common) to maximize their own personal interest
Sustainable actions
Actions that meet the needs of the present without reducing the ability of future generations.
The Triple Bottom Line
people, planet, profit. Accounting framework that measures three dimensions of performance
Environmental social and economic
TBL Planet
Measures by pollution output, waste production, energy use, species conservation, etc. Benefits the natural order by maintaining sustainable practices and minimizing environmental impacts.
TBL People
Human health and well-being, equity, access to social resources, and benefits to the community
Any enterprise should seek to benefit multiple constituencies without exploiting or endangering any group of them
TBL Profit
Economic dimension
The pure economic value of any endeavor needs to be seen as a real financial benefit to the host society.
Is it more expensive to be more environmentally friendly?
No
Trade-offs
The imperfect response that we must choose between when addressing complex problems
What are some ways to solve wicked problems?
Trade-offs and looking at the TTB
Triple Bottom Line solutions
Good for the environment, good for society, and affordable
Ecosystems hierarchy of Scales
Cells
Individuals
Populations
Communities
Ecosystems
Biome
Biosphere
Populations
the number of organisms of the same species that live in a particular geographic area at the same time, with the capability of interbreeding
Community
A group or association of population of two or more different species occupying the same geographic area and in a particle time
Energy in Ecosystems
When organisms use energy to perform work, some energy is lost to the surroundings as heat
As a result, energy flows through an ecosystem, usually entering as light and exiting as heat.
Matter in an ecosystem
a substance that has mass and volume
solid, liquid, and gas
Gets reused, and recycled, within and between ecosystems
Open ecosystem
Exchanges both energy and matter with surrounding environments
closed ecosystem
An ecosystem in which no materials can leave or enter, but through which energy from external sources can flow.
In labs that generate them or where people intentionally make them
Energy can enter and leave.
Matter can not enter or leave.
Principles of Ecosystem Function
Matter and energy are neither created nor destroyed
Ecosystems are open to gains and losses of energy and matter
Ecosystem processes are self-regulated
Ecosystem change is essential and inevitable.
Matter cycles and energy flow influence the function
Surrounding ecosystems may influence others
Law of thermodynamics
Matter and energy can be transformed but it can not be created nor destroyed
Dynamic homeostasis
the process by which systems adjust to changes in ways that minimize how much features or processes vary from their normal values
Systems adjust to reduce change from normal
Negative feedback in Dynamic homeostasis
The system reverses a directional change
positive feedback in Dynamic homeostasis
The system reinforces change
Change is...
Change is inevitable and essential
Is Disturbance always bad
no
4 fundamental Principles of Acting Sustainability
Managing resources, Understanding boundaries, Maintaining balance and integration, Embracing change
Managing resources
Must conform to laws of mass and energy conservation
Use of nonrenewable violates that law
Nonrenewable is the amount of resources in an ecosystem that declines with any level of use (coal)
Understanding boundaries
-Boundaries cannot be arbitrary•State lines-Boundaries must be functional•River including watershed
Boundaries must be functional like rivers or watersheds
Maintaining balance and integration
To be sustainable, actions must maintain the homeostatic capacity of ecosystems. Actions must incorporate the complexity of ecosystems
Complexity in the scientific method
difficult to predict outcomes and yields uncertainty
Bases of the Scientific Method
Observation
information detected with senses and/or equipment that extends our senses
Variables
Properties that are being measured
Hypothesis
a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.
Predictions
a forecast of something to happen. If-then statements (what will happen if the hypothesis is supported)
Observational science
doesn't utilize controlled experiments; observes the occurrence of a phenomenon under natural conditions
Correlations
quantitative relationships between different variables
Does observational science show cause and effect?
no
Experimental science
Science that begins with and depends on careful experiments and measurements
The procedure is to reject a hypothesis or determine the efficacy of something previously untired.
Scientists manipulate one or more factors that influence the phenomenon being studied.
Establishes the cause-and-effect relationship between variables
Independent variable
the cause
Treatment variable
What is being tested
The one that is being manipulated
Dependent variable
THE EFFECT
Outcome variable
What is being measured
Evaluated to see if it changes due to conditions in the experiment
Synthesis
Collection of many studies and hypotheses support larger ideas, such as theories
Environmental Economics
the study of cost-effective allocation, use, and protection of the world's natural resources
Economic Systems
organized way a society provides for the wants and needs of its people
Subsistence economy
Society meets the needs of the environment without gaining wealth
Barter and trade; no currency
Planned economy
Gov. regulates all aspects of the economy
Regulates price of goods and services and level of production
Controls by regulations, incentives, subsidies, grants, and taxation
Top notable: North Korea and Cuba
Free market economy
Production and consumption take place in markets guided by prices
Gov. doesn't influence the market
They let the market and prices govern themselves
Commodities run the free market economy
Goods, and services that are exchanges
Currency is used during transactions
Resources harvested from the environment and exchanged for currencies
Ability to generate profit/wealth through this
Supply and demand
Price and production set through supply and demand interactions (equilibrium of buyers and sellers)
Consumers try to get satisfaction from their transactions from producers who want to maximize their profit from transactions.
Economic value: availability
Consumers pay based on price and need
It is not a fixed amount
The less you have the more you are willing to pay and the more you have the less you're willing to pay
Can lead to abuse (tragedy of the commons)
Market Complications
Free markets may deplete and pollute resources
Limited resources
Economic models treat resources as infinite resources and lead to overharvesting to build wealth
Pollution is released because it is cheap to use resources that release them.
Externalized costs and benefits
impact people who are not buyers/sellers
Positive externalities
benefits created by a public good that are shared by the primary consumer of the good and by society more generally.
Consumers benefit
negative externality
Consumers suffer
Economic Valuation
the price tag for nature that people are willing to pay
Marginal value
Willingness to pay compared to alternative (difference in cost)
What is the cost of the alternative and are they willing to pay the cost
Travel- cost Valuation
how much people will pay for travel to visit an ecosystem
Someone willing to pay to go see that
The travel industry
Hedonic valuation
difference of real estate prices affected by environmental alternatives
The difference in the price of location is based on where it is at
Contingent valuation
value based on what people will pay for actions aimed at conservation
Ecological Valuation
the value of the ecosystem measured by the cost of possible loss of the ecosystem. Natural Captial: Earth's resources humans depend on (ecosystem services)
what will it cost us if we lose it
Natural Captial
Earth's resources humans depend on (ecosystem services)
Ecological valuation: what will it cost us if we lose it
Natural capital is all the earth's recourses that are necessary to produce the ecosystem services we depend on
