QUICK REVISE

Environmental Sustainability and Pillars of Management

• Pillars of Sustainability:
      

What are the Pillars of Sustainability?

• Nature-Based Solutions (NBS):
      - Definition: Specific actions taken to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems.

    - Purpose: To address various societal challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits.

• Environmental Psychology and Perceptions:
      - Shifting Baseline Syndrome:

  This term refers to a phenomenon where there is a generational acceptance of degraded environmental conditions as the "normal" or baseline state.

  Each successive generation perceives the state of the environment they encountered in their youth as the standard, leading to a gradual loss of awareness regarding long-term ecological decline.

• Major Environmental Projects:
      - Room for the River:
          - This is a Dutch water management program designed to allow for higher discharge levels in rivers to prevent flooding.

  Objectives of Room for the Water river?

  
          - Non-Objective:

  Increasing industrial output is explicitly noted as NOT being an objective of the "Room for the River" project.

Atmospheric Science and Climate Change

• Atmospheric Monitoring:

  
      - Mauna Loa Observatory: This location is famous for measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) concentrations.

  
      - The Keeling Curve: This is the name given to the graph that plots the ongoing change in concentration of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) in Earth's atmosphere since 1958.

Climate Drivers and Misconceptions:

    - Examples of Natural climate drivers

-solar variability

-volcanic activity.

    - Non-Natural Driver:

-Changes in the thickness or position of the ozone layer

• Greenhouse Gases (GHGs):
      - The primary greenhouse gases resulting from human activity include:
          - Carbon dioxide ($CO_2$)
          - Nitrous oxide ($N_2O$)
          - Methane ($CH_4$)

• Ozone Layer Issues:
      - The primary cause of the ozone hole is identified as Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

• The Chemistry of Acid Rain:
      - Acid rain formation is linked to Sulfur Dioxide ($SO_2$).
      -
          - This sulfur trioxide ($SO_3$) subsequently leads to the formation of sulfuric acid ($H_2SO_4$).

Ecology and Carbon Sequestration

Mangroves:

• coastal ecosystems

• highly efficient at carbon storage

• estimated to store approximately $3 imes$ more carbon (than other types of forests)

Global Food Systems and Agriculture

• Food Demand Projections:
      - According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates, the world will require approximately $50\%$ more food by the year $2050$.

• Industrial Agriculture Trends:
      - Since the year $1961$, the use of nitrogen fertilizers has increased by approximately $800\%$.

• Soil Science:
      - Soil Formation: Natural factors in soil formation include parent material, climate, organisms, and topography.
      - Non-Factor: Human processes are NOT considered a primary natural factor in soil formation.
      - Flooded (Anaerobic) Soils: In oxygen-depleted, flooded soil conditions, the gas primarily emitted is Methane ($CH_4$).

Water Resources and Footprints

• Freshwater Availability:
      - The percentage of readily available freshwater on Earth is estimated to be approximately < 1\%.

• Groundwater Dynamics:
      - Recharge: Groundwater recharge occurs via the infiltration of rainfall through the soil down to the water table.
      - Contamination in Ireland: A specific pathogen linked to groundwater in Ireland is Verotoxigenic producing E. coli.

• Water Footprints and Virtual Water:
      - Virtual Water: This concept refers to the total volume of water used in the production of a product or service.
      - Virtual Water intensity: Example: A cotton shirt is noted for containing a high amount of virtual water.
      - Grey Water Footprint: This specific metric refers to the volume of freshwater required to dilute pollutants to the point that the quality of the water remains above agreed-upon water quality standards.