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global change
human induced transformation of the global enviornment
enviornment
external conditions that an organism lives in like social, economic, physical.
examples of global issues
climate change, energy crisis, world hunger, pollution, population explosion
global issues charecteristics
global or large-scale effects, persistent, worldwide attention, many moving parts, inter-related to other global issues, no simple solution, interdisciplinary knowledge, interdependence between countries, solutions have trade-offs, challenge status quo
institution
structures required for functioning society
system
interdependent parts enclosed in a defined boundary
earth sytems
biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere
stratosphere
ozone layer
troposphere
weather
atmosphere
controlling global energy balance and climate change
hydrosphere
fresh water avalibility
cryosphere
sea levels rise
lithosphere
source of all raw materials
pedosphere
platform for food production
biosphere
photosynthesis and the carbon cycle
anthroposphere
environment that is made or modified by humans
earth is a
complex system and closed system as a whole
closed system
energy exchanged with outside, matter stays inside
open system
energy and matter exchanged with outside
biogeochemical cycle
pathway that describes how substance moves through spheres of earth system
flux
flows the substance
energy
drives the cycle
reservoirs
holds substance
perturbations
disturbance in the flow of substance, can be natural or human caused
equilibrium
steady state or cyclical
perturbation example
landslide, pollution, CO2 concentration
response
system’s reaction to distrubances
types of system responses
linear, feedback, non-linear (exponential, episodic, catostrophic)
linear response
response is proportionate to disturbance
feedback loop
response to perturbation effects magnitude of perturbation
positive feedback loop
increased magnitude, exponential
negative feedback loop
decreased magnitude, episodic
spatial scale
extent to which something occurs
spheres interact via cycles
composed of reservoirs, fluxes and energy
system thresholds
are tipping points that can lead to sudden changes
planetary boundaries
9 boundaries humans must respect
weather
current state of atmosphere
climate
statistical description of weather over long period of time(typically over 30 years)
Robert Heinlein’s quote
climate is what you expect, weather is what you get
climate change
significant and lasting change in statistical distribution of weather
climate change has been detected through
global surface temps, precipitation, extreme weather events, cryospheric changes, sea level
without atmoshphere
all radiation would be reflected or emitted back
with atmosphere
some radiation is absorbed
atmospheric gases
also emit radiation, thermal and evaporation make up the difference
forcing the climate system
change amount of energy from sun, change concentration of greenhouse gases and aerosols, change surface properties
land use change
darker and drier surface absorbs more energy and turns it into heat
mechanisms of climate chnage
natural greenhouse effect, force climate system, concentration and rate of change of CO2 is unprecedented
greenhouse gas
trap heat in the atmosphere and warm the planet
greenhouse gas effect
heat trapped near earth due to greenhouse gases
A-O general circulation models
show observed changes in earth are human caused
water cycle is a
closed system
avg concentration of CO2
417ppm
greenhouse effect other than CO2 with large effect
CH4 methane
natural resource
source or supply that occurs in nature without human action
material resources
of use to individuals and society
flows of energy
can be harnessed for useful purposes (solar, hydro)
attributes of the enviornment
contribute something of value like pollination (ecosystem services)
classification of natural resources
basis or origin, stage of development, renewability
biotic
living and organic
abiotic
non-living and non-organic
actual
surveyed and currently exploited
reserve
surveyed and can be exploited in future
non-renewable
form slowly or non-naturally (fossil fuels, metals, minerals)
renewable
form equally fast or faster than they are used (soil, water, land)
exhaustive vs inexhaustible
finite vs will not run out soon
factors that can change available time of resources
new reserves, new technology, change in economic conditions
resource cycle
extraction/harvest, concentration/purification, production of goods, consumption of goods, end of usefulness, reuse/recycling, waste disposal, waste assimilation into environment
factors that can change recycle practices
scarcity of original resource, technology, reusing is cheaper
reuse/recycling types
produce primary resource, produce secondary resource
sink
part of the environment used for disposal of valueless material
waste
something the owner no longer wants
recycle
converts material that lost their value into new materials
most natural resources are
exhaustable
objective of environmental resource management
manage interaction and impact of humans on the enviornment
annual extraction of materials since 1970
gone up from 22 to 70 billion tons, trade is the main reason why
global material use has gone up
due to consumption
material productivity
economic activity per unit of natural resources extracted(kg)
material intensity
natural resources extracted (kg) per unit of economic activity
how does material intensity lower in a better economy but the world is higher in material intensity
switch from material efficient economies like japan and europe to less material efficient ones like India and china
impact =
population x affluence x technology
affluence
average consumption per person (gdp per capita)
technology
how resource intensive production of affluence is
IPAT framework
the main drivers of human impact on enviornment
time it takes for a population to double
70/population
the great transformation
transformation of ecosphere from it natural state by human action
sustainable development
meets the needs of the present without compromising ability of future generations
hunter gatherer society
altered environment, depleted it and moved on
agrarian society
domesticated plants and animals, increased efficiency, larger populations
industrial revolution
steam engines fueled by coal, factories and transportation systems
anthropocene
human activities became major geological force
growth rate =
birth rate - death rate + migration
demographic transition model
transition from high birth and detah rates to low birth and death rates through industrialiation
global population growth is
decreasing and 11b predicted for 2100
high stationary
pre industrial, death and birth rates are high
early expanding
decline in death rate
late expanding
decline in birth rate
low stationary
both birth and death rates are low
declining
birth rate below death rate
canada dtm
stage 4, low stationary
CLEAN fresh water
is exhaustible
Note 
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