ESS TOPIC 1 IB

Perspectives, systems and sustainability

what is a perspective

how a particular situation is viewed and understood by an individual

what is a perspective based on

mix of personal and collective assumptions values and beliefs

what affects peoples perspectives

personal assumptions- beliefs and preconceptions

economic status- income and occupations

ethical beliefs- moral values

personal values- beliefs about family, community and responsibility

life experiences- local events

scientific understanding- worldview to wider scale

what is an argument

argument = statements to support personally held perspective.

arguments arise from perspectives.

what is an environmental value system?

model showing the inputs ( info from media, education) affecting our perspectives and the outputs (judgements, choices, actions)

what are the 3 types of values

moral

personal

societal

what are values

values are qualities or principles that people feel have worth and importance in life. they affect people's priorities, choices and actions. they can be shaped by others in a community.

what is intrinsic value

doesn't depend on benefits to people e.g in nature

what are value surveys used for

used to investigate the perspectives shown by a particular social group towards environmental issues.

What is a system

Sets of interacting or interdependent components organised to create a functional whole

What are the diagrams representing

Rectangular boxes = storage

Arrows= flows indicating the direction of flow

Size of boxes and arrows= size/magnitude of the storage or flow

What are flows

Processes that may be either transfers or transformations

What do transfers include

A change in location of energy or matter

What do transformations include

A change in the chemical nature, change in state, change in energy

What does an open system exchange

Both energy and matter across its boundary e.g a local ecosystem

What does a closed system exchange

Exchanges only energy across its boundary e.g biosphere 2

What is the earth in terms of a system

An integrated system encompassing the

Biosphere

Hydrosphere

The cryosphere

The geosphere

The atmosphere

The anthroposphere

What is the James lovelock Gaia hypothesis

Model of the earth as a single integrated system. The hypothesis was introduced to explain how atmospheric composition and temperatures are interrelated through feedback control mechanisms. Many variations were produced

What are some examples of the range of scales in a system

Small scale ecosystem such as a bromeliad in a rainforest

Large ecosystem such as a rainforest

Gaia hypothesis as an example of a global system

What are negative feedback loops?

Occur when the output of a process inhibits or reversed the operation of the same process in such a way to reduce change

Stabilising as they counteract deviation

What is the daisy world model

Shows how temperature regulation can occur due to the presence of life on planet in contrast with a dead one

What is a stable equilibrium

Condition of a system in which there is a tendency for it to return to the previous equilibrium following disturbance. E.g an ecosystem that is maintained by stabilising negative feedback loops

What is a steady state equilibrium

The condition of an open system in which flows are still occurring but inputs are constantly balanced with outputs

What is a positive feedback loop

Occurs when a disturbance leads to an amplification of that disturbance, destabilising the system and driving it away from its equilibrium

Have amplifying roles

Can lead to both an increase or decrease in a system component e.g as population declines the reproductive potential decreases leading to a further decrease

And example is the reduced albedo due to the melting ice caps leading to greater global warming

What is a tipping point

The minimum amount of change that will cause destabilisation within a system. The system then shifts to a new equilibrium or stable state.

IA positive feedback loop will tend to drive the system towards a tipping point.

Tipping points can exist within a system where a small alteration in one component can produce large overall changes resulting in a shift in equilibrium

What do tipping points result In

Regime shifts between alternative stable shifts. E.g a change of nitrate/phospate concentrations leading to eutrophication

What is a model

Simplified representation of reality

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

Forms of model include: graph, diagram, equation, simulation, words

Models are used to represent systems and processes

What is the simplification of a model and what does it cause?

Simplification included approximation and therefore loss of accuracy

Simplification will also affect how well a lab based model ecosystem approximated to a natural ecosystem

What are emergent properties

Appear as individual system components interact, the components themselves do not have these properties

Interactions between components in systems can generate emergent properties

E.g predator- prey oscillations and tropic cascades are examples of emergent properties where patterns of change occur that would not occur in isolated components

What is meant by the resilience of a system

The capacity to resist damage and recover from or adapt efficiently to disturbance.

The tendency to avoid tipping points and maintain stability

What affects reailience

The diversity and size of storages within systems can contribute to their resilience and affect their speed of response to change (time lags) e.g the loss of resilience with the displacement of North American prairie systems with monoculture crops

How can humans affect the resilience of systems

Through reducing these storages and diversity. E.g the loss of resilience in deforestation resulting in reduced size of storages and loss of diversity

What is sustainability

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

Used to refer to the responsible maintenance of socio-ecological systems such that there is no diminishment of conditions for future generations

All activity is embedded in a system and in general enhancing system resilience increases sustainability

what is environmental sustainability

the use and management of natural resources that allows replacement of the resources, and recovery and regeneration of ecosystems

sustainability in this context focuses on resource depletion, pollution and conserving biodiversity

active regeneration of ecosystems is also considered a component of environmental sustainability

there are different timescales in the replacement of natural resources

what can unsustainable use of natural resources lead to?

ecosystem collapse

e.g - the impact of overfishing on Newfoundland cod fisheries

what is environmental justice?

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

Global example of injustice: e.g Gulf of Mexico in 2010 surge of natural gas blasted through the concrete causing an explosion that ripped the oil rig apart

Local example of injustice: e.g the presence of hazardous facilities such as landfills in low-income neighbourhoods

what do inequalities lead to?

Inequalities in income, race,gender and cultural identity within and between different societies lead to disparities in access to water, food and energy.

An example of inequality: the inability to afford an electricity supply, or the privatisation of water sources

What are different operating scales?

Sustainability and environmental justice issues exist at different operating scales. Different operating scales are individual, business, community, city, country or global

what are the sustainability indicators

quantitive measures of biodiversity, pollution, human population, climate change, water and carbon footprint

can be applied on a range of scales from local to global

example: carbon footprint measures the amount of greenhouse gases produced by a person, activity, business or country. Consumption, power usages, transportation affect carbon footprint. Measured in tonnes. Water footprint measures water usage per year in cubic metres

what are ecological footprints

Used to measure sustainability

The area of land and water required to sustainably provide all resources at the rate of consumption and absorb all generated waste at the rate of production for a specific population

if these footprints are greater than the area or resources available to the population - this indicates sustainability

Use footprint calculators and present comparative data on footprints graphically

what is biocapacity

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

unsustainablity occurs if the areas ecological footprint exceeds its biocapacity

Sustainability models

There are a range of sustainability models and frameworks that support our understanding, however they are simplified versions of reality therefore they have both uses and limitations

what are the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs)

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

The SDGs provide a framework for sustainable development supported by the UN and address the global challenges faced by humanity, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice

Uses: setting of a common ground for policymaking, relating to both developed and developing countries, galvanising the international community into addressing economic and social inequality

Limitations: goals not going far enough, goals being top down and bureaucratic, tending to ignore local contexts, lacking in supportive data

what is the planetary boundaries model

describes the 9 processes and systems that have regulated the stability and resilience of the Earth system in the Holocene epoch.

The model also identifies the limits of human disturbance to those systems and proposes that crossing those limits increases the risk of abrupt and irreversible changes to earth systems

Uses: identifies science-based limits to human disturbance of Earth systems, highlights the need to focus on more than climate change, alerts the public and policymakers about the urgent need for action to protect Earth systems

Limitations: focuses only on e logical systems and does not consider the human dimensions necessary to take action for environmental justice, the model is a work in progress - assessments of boundaries are changing as new data becomes available, the focus on global boundaries many not be a useful guide for local and country-level action

what is the doughnut economic model?

framework for creating a regenerative and spitrubitve economy in order to meet the needs of all people within the means of the planet

The social foundation (the inner boundary of the doughnut) is based on the social SDGs e.g water, food

The ecological ceiling (outer boundary) is based on planetary boundary science

Together they represent the minimum conditions for an economy that is ecologically safe and socially just, “safe and just space for humanity”

Goal for model is to move into the doughnut and create an economy that enables humanity to thrive in balance with the rest pf the living world. a distributive economy shares value and opportunity equally among all stakeholders

Uses: model includes ecological and social elements, supports the concept of environmental justice, has reached popular awareness and is being used at different scales to support action on sustainability

Limitations: model is a work in progress - different groups are trying to apply the model for concrete action, advocates broad principles of regenerative and distributive practice but doesn’t propose specific policies

what is the circular economy model

promotes decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources

it has 3 principles: eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products and materials, regenerating nature

the butterfly diagram from Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a useful illustration of the circular economy, its different to the linear economic model (take-make-waste)

Uses: regeneration of natural systems, reduction of greenhouse emissions, improvement of local food networks and support of local communities, reduction of waste by extending product life cycle, changed consumer habits

limitations: lack of environmental awareness by consumers and companies, lack of regulations enforcing recycling of product, some waste is not recyclable - technical limitations, lack of finance