ESS chap.1 Foundations

EVS

environmental value system: how an individual or group perceives and evaluates environmental issues. This will be influenced by cultural, religious, economic and socio-political contexts

Minata

1956

release of toxic products in water (contamination of fishes and dvlp of illnesses) : threats of industrialization

Bhopal

1984

explosion that released tons of a toxic product (thousands of victims): danger of factories

Chernobyl

1986

nuclear accident that released radioactive clouds over europe

UN Rio Earth Summit

UN conference focusing on sustainable development, we must change our behaviors and attitudes, adoption of Agenda 21

Environmental manager

believes everyone has an ethical duty to protect the earth and promote human intervention to maintain the state of natural systems

Technocentric

technology-centered, believes we can solve environmental issues by using technology, focus on economic growth

Ecocentric

earth-centered, live sustainably, preserve ecological integrity

Anthropocentric

people-centered, nature here to benefit humans, regulations to manage sustainably

Green politics

political ideology to decrease deforestation and preserve the rainforest's biodiversity

System

a set of interacting parts forming a complex whole

Open system

inputs/outputs of matter and energy (ex: forest)

Closed system

inputs/outputs of energy across its boundary (ex: cave)

Isolated system

exchange neither matter nor energy with its environment

Model + examples

a simplified version of a real complex thing/to help us understand

Example: physical (solar system), software (evolution), mathematical equations

Gaia Hypothesis

According to James Lovelock, the earth is a complex and interacting system that can reduce the impact of changes brought by humans through negative feedback mechanisms

1st law of thermodynamics

energy cannot be created/destroyed, only converted

2nd law of thermodynamics

the entropy is always increasing/there is always some loss

Entropy

the measure of the amount of disorder in a system/it always increases because energy conversions are never fully efficient

Equilibrium

balance between inputs and outputs in a system

Steady-state equilibrium

a characteristic of open systems where there are continuous inputs and outputs of energy and matter

Static equilibrium

another kind of equilibrium with no change over time

Stable (equilibrium)

the system tends to return to the same equilibrium after a disturbance

Unstable (equilibrium)

the system tends to return to a new equilibrium after a disturbance

Resilience

the ability of a system to go back to its initial state after a disturbance

Negative feedback loop

a system returns to its original state/stabilizes as it reduces change

Positive feedback loop

changes a system to a new state/destabilizes as they increase change

Sustainability

the exploitation of resources at such a rate which allows for their natural replenishment and the recovery of the ecosystem affected by their use

Ecological overshoot

the maximum level of sustainable resource exploitation. When we overshoot this limit, we cannot go back, or it takes a lot of time and effort

Ecological footprint

a model for measuring per capita land needed to provide all the resources for a person's lifestyle and to dispose of their wastes. (hectare)

Primary pollutant + example

a pollutant that is directly put into the air by human activity

Example: carbon monoxide /nitric oxide

Secondary pollutant + example

substance created by the reaction between 2 primary pollutants or a primary pollutant and water vapor

Example: Ammonium/Ozone

3 main ways pollutions can be changed

• changing the human activity that produces it

• regulating or preventing the release of the pollutant

• working to clean up or restore damaged ecosystems

Acute effect

short-term effect

Chronic effect

an effect that results from long-term exposure to a pollutant.

Emergent properties

Holistic approach

taking all aspects into consideration (ex: watch)

Natural capital

natural resources that can produce a sustainable natural income of goods or services

Natural income

the portion of natural capital that is produces as "interest"