IB Environmental G11 All Units

Environmental Value Systems

  • Ecocentric: Values biorights and ecosystems; minimizes human interference with wildlife.

  • Anthropocentric: Focuses on long-term human needs; views nature as utilitarian, emphasizing sustainability.

  • Technocentric: Relies on technology for solutions, involved in geoengineering.

    • Cornucopians: Believe technology can solve all problems; enhance human life.

    • Environmental Managers: Seek to reduce environmental issues through sustainable methods.

  • Deep Ecologists: Advocate for non-interference with nature.

  • Soft Ecologists: Promote sustainable living over industrial practices.

  • Soft Reliant: Focus on sustainable resources and biodiversity.

Major Environmental Disasters

Chernobyl

  • Event: Reactor No. 4 explosion at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (April 26, 1986).

  • Cause: Design flaws and operator errors during a safety test.

  • Impact: Massive release of radioactive materials, contaminating large areas of Europe.

Fukushima

  • Event: Nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi in Japan (March 11, 2011).

  • Cause: Triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami.

  • Impact: Significant damage leading to radioactive material release.

Maasai Land Rights

  • Overview: Maasai people's concerns about land ownership and protection.

  • Response: Organize protests against land privatization, displacement, and loss of grazing areas to raise awareness and influence policy.

Influences on Environmental Movement

  • Key Groups: Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, WWF, Global Footprint Network, Earthjustice.

  • Role: Independent pressure groups use campaigns to influence public opinion and government policies.

Systems in Environmental Studies

Definitions

  • System: A set of interrelated parts functioning together.

    • Open System: Ecosystem.

    • Closed System: Thermos Bottle, Refrigerator.

    • Isolated System: "Biosphere 2."

Steady State Equilibrium

  • Definition: Open system in balance; flows of energy are constant over time.

Feedback Mechanisms

  • Positive Feedback Loop: Disturbance leads to further change (e.g., hypothermia).

  • Negative Feedback Loop: System stabilizes and returns to original state (e.g., fever response).

Gaia Hypothesis

  • Concept: Earth's systems are interlinked, self-regulating through negative feedback loops.

  • Founders: Proposed by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis in the 1970s.

  • Arguments: Earth maintains habitable conditions despite external disturbances.

Ecosystem Complexity and Stability

  • Linkage: Higher complexity often equals greater resilience and stability to disturbances.

  • Examples: Diverse ecosystems withstand stress better than simple ones.

Ecosystem Resilience

  • Definition: Ability to return to initial state after disturbances; related to biodiversity and complexity.

  • Factors: Species diversity, genetic diversity, geographical range, ecosystem size, and reproductive rates influence resilience.

Sustainability Concepts

Definitions

  • Sustainability: Human activities benefiting the environment and humanity long-term.

  • Natural Capital: Raw materials supporting life and essential processes.

  • Natural Income: Revenue from natural capital extraction.

Types of Natural Capital

  • Renewable: Replenished quickly (e.g., forests).

  • Non-renewable: Takes geological timescales to replace (e.g., fossil fuels).

Environmental Footprint

  • Concept: Measures sustainability based on consumption versus Earth's regenerative capacity.

  • Earth Overshoot Day: Marks when humanity exceeds Earth's regenerative capabilities for the year.

Biodiversity and Ecological Concepts

Key Terms

  • Limiting Factors: Factors that slow population growth as it nears carrying capacity.

  • Density-Dependent vs. Independent Factors: Both can regulate population size but function differently.

  • Bioaccumulation: Accumulation of pollutants in organisms at lower trophic levels.

  • Biomagnification: Increase in pollutant concentration up the food chain.

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