Topic 1

1.1

System: set of connected things or inter-related parts working together to make a

complex whole
Open: energy and matter in and out
Closed: only exchange of energy
Isolated: no exchange

Inputs-systemoutputs

EVS:
Refers to a worldview that shapes the way an individual or group perceive and
evaluates by environmental issues.
- Cultural
- Religion
- Economics
- Socio-political
- Educations
- Media

Significant historical influences come from: literature, media, major environmental

disasters, international agreements and technological developments.

Racheal Carson book silent spring “jump started” modern day environmental
movement. Warned the world about the harmful effects of DDT on human health. DDT
is a pesticide to kill mosquitoes; DDT sprayed on vegetation consumed by animals and
fished; consumed by humans (accumulation in animals; then biomagnification of the
pesticide when consumed by humans).

- Environmental pressure groups

- Corporate business
- Governments
- NGOS
- Influential individuals (Greta Thunberg)

EXAMPLES: (for case studies)

- Bhopal disaster: worlds worst industrial disaster; killing 20k people; these events
aware people and generate policies.
- Chernobyl disaster: in 1986 in Ukraine; considers worst nuclear disaster;
released highly reactive material in parts of Europe and Asia; has lasting effects
causing cancer.
 - Fukushima nuclear disaster: following tsunami that hit Japan; contaminated of
water bodies; caused old reactors to close in Germany, many anti-nuclear
movements; slow down their usage.

Spectrum of EVS’s:

Ecocentric: This EVS places the highest value on the ecosystem and its natural
processes. It views humans as one part of a larger, interconnected system and
aims to preserve the natural world. Ecocentrism emphasizes the importance of
biodiversity, sustainable development, and non-human life forms.

- For example, the Amazon rainforest is home to countless species of plants and
animals. An ecocentric approach would prioritize protecting the rainforest to
maintain biodiversity and preserve the natural balance of the ecosystem.
Ecocentrists would prioritize the needs of the rainforest and its inhabitants over
human needs.

Extreme form: The extreme form of ecocentrism is known as deep ecology. This EVS
goes beyond preserving the natural world and seeks to transform human society to live
in harmony with nature. Deep ecologists believe that all life forms have intrinsic value
and that humans have no right to dominate or exploit nature. They advocate for a
radical restructuring of human society to promote ecological sustainability and reject
modern industrial and technological society.

Anthropocentric: This EVS places the highest value on human needs and interests.
It views nature as a resource to be used for human benefit and emphasizes human
economic and social development. Anthropocentrism prioritizes human welfare, and
environmental issues are viewed through a human-centered lens.

- For example, an anthropocentric approach to managing forests would prioritize

human needs, such as economic growth and resource extraction. The focus
would be on managing the forest in a way that maximizes its economic potential
while still ensuring that the resource is sustainable and meets the needs of
humans.

Technocentric: This EVS places the highest value on technology and views it as
the solution to environmental problems. It believes that technological advances
can solve environmental issues and that the environment should be managed
using technology. Technocentrism emphasizes the importance of human progress
and development through technology.

- For example, a technocentric approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions

would prioritize developing new technologies, such as carbon capture and
storage systems or renewable energy sources, to address the problem. The
focus would be on finding technological solutions rather than changing human
behavior or consumption patterns.
Extreme form: Cornucopians view the environment as a resource to be exploited for
human benefit and see economic growth and consumption as positive indicators of
human progress. They believe that there are no limits to human ingenuity and that
technological progress will always provide solutions to environmental problems.
Cornucopians are optimistic about the future and believe that new technologies will
continue to improve human well-being while minimizing environmental impacts. They
reject the idea that resources are finite and argue that technological advancements will
enable humans to find new resources and increase efficiency in resource use.

1.2

Within system:
Transfer occurs when energy and matter flow and changes location but does not
change state.
Transformation occurs when energy and matter flows and changes in state.

Box: storage
Flows: arrows inwards
Inputs: arrows inwards
Output: arrows outwards

Models: is a simplified version of a real process

- Physical model
- Computer/software model
- Dataflow diagrams
- Mathematical

Strengths:
- Can predict and simplify complex systems
- Bring out patters
- Simplified versions of real life
- Inputs can be changed and outputs examined without waiting for real events
- Results can be shown to others

Limitations:
- Lack of detail may not be accurate
- Rely on the expertise of those making it
- Different people may interpret them in different ways
- Vested interests may hijack them politically
- Only as good as the data that goes in
- Different models may show different effects with same data

James’s lovelock proposed the Gaia hypothesis/theory in 1979.

 - He argued that atmosphere is the “organ” that regulated the earths; he proposed
earth is a model and maintains homeostasis: temperature, climate, ocean, and
salinity.

1.3

Law of thermodynamics:

1st law:
Principle of conservation of energy, which states that energy in an isolated system can
be transformed but cannot be created of destroyed.

2nd law:
The entropy of an isolated system not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time.
Entropy: is a measure of the amount of disorder in a system

- Energy conversion are never 100% efficient.

- An increase in entropy from energy transformation reduces energy available.
- Less and less energy is available as you move up the food chain.

Equilibrium is tendency of a system to return to its original state after disturbance.

- Static: non-living systems
- Steady state (succession): continuous inputs and outputs remains in a constant
state (human body temperature)
- Stable: the system tends to return to same equilibrium after a disturbance
- Unstable: the system returns to a new equilibrium after a disturbance (following a
tipping point)

- Tipping point: experiences a shift to a new state with significant changes.

Changes are long lasting.
Changes are hard to reverse.
Significant lag time

- Feedback mechanisms
Positive will drive system towards these tipping points:
Amplify changes; (e.g.: rising temperature will increase ice melting that will result in
less albedo and increasing global temperature to rise and algae growth)
Negative will stabilize and resist such changes:
Counteracts deviation; return to original equilibrium (e.g.: human body changes to
respond to temperature and high biodiversity in ecosystem complicated/complex
food chain and predator-prey relationship to help maintain their population in long
term)
1.4

Sustainability:
Use and management of resources that allows full natural replacement of resources
exploited and full recovery of the ecosystems affected by their extraction and use.

Sustainable development:
Meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generation to
meet their own needs.

In 2001, the United Nations initiated the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. The
objectives were two-fold:
Assess links between ecosystem change and human well-being.
Establish strategies to achieve sustainable use of ecosystems.

Findings:
Humans are using natural resources unsustainably
60% of the ecosystems studied were being used un-sustainably.
Changes were becoming so extensive that ecosystems were reaching tipping points
and the consequences were hard to predict.
Ecosystem degradation was impacting the poorer countries more

Natural capital is a term used for natural resources that can produce a sustainable
natural income of goods or services. E.g.: food, fresh water, timber, fuel, fertile soil
(can be use sustainably and non-sustainably if overused)
Natural income is the yield obtained from natural resources. (

An ecological footprint (EF) is the area of land and water required to sustainably provide
all resources at the rate at which they are being consumed by a given population.
If the EF is greater than the area available to the population, this is an indication of
unsustainability.

- Using resources above earth capacity

- Allows direct comparison between LEDCs and MEDCs

Large footprint:
• Reliance on fossil fuels
• Increased us of technology
• High level of importations
• Large production of carbon waste
• High food consumption
• Meat-rich diets

Reduced footprint
• Reduced resource consumption
• Recycling and reuse
 • Improved efficiency of resource use
• Reduced pollution
• Exportation of waste
• Use of technology
• Reduced population

1.5

Pollution is the addition of a substance or an agent to an environment through human

activity, at a rate greater than that at which it can be rendered harmless by the
environment, and which has an appreciable effect on the organisms in the environment.

In forms of:
- Organic/inorganic substances
- Light
- Sound
- Heat
- Invasive species

- Non-point: Pollution which cannot be traced back to a single origin or source;

Regulation is more challenging; Large-scale intervention; (e.g.: Agricultural
runoff, Vehicle exhaust, Industrial emissions)
- Point: Pollution that can be traced back to a single origin or source (ex. sewage
treatment plant discharge); Regulation is simpler
- Persistent: resistant to environmental degradation through chemical, biological,
and photolytic processes. Accumulate in the food web and pose adverse effects
in human and wildlife; (e.g.: Heavy metals, older pesticides such as DDT, PCBs,
Dioxin)
- Biodegradable: capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living
organisms. Does not build up in individuals or get passed along food chains (e.g.:
wool, leather, plants, cloth, paper)
- Acute: large amounts of pollutant released at one time causing a lot of harm
(Bhopal disaster 40 tones of chemicals)
- Chronic: long term release of small amount (Minamata mercury bioaccumulated
in fishes in Japan)
- Pollutants may be primary (active on emission)
- Secondary (arising from primary pollutants undergoing physical or chemical
change)

Pollution Management Strategies

• Level 1 - Changing human activities to prevent/reduce the release of pollutants.

– Give alternatives (electric cars, solar power, mass transit
– Education
– Legislation (charge more for electricity/gas)
 – Economic incentives (subsiy)
– Difficult to achieve base it is necessary to change behavior of people,
business and/or government)

• Level 2 - Preventing or regulating the production/release of pollutants.

– Legislation and regulation (emissions standards for cars
– Develop technology for extracting pollutants.
– Monitoring is easy.
– Strategy fails to fully address the problem because pollutant is still being
produced.

• Level 3 - Working to clean up or restore damaged ecosystems.

– Las resort, there is already an impact.
– Removing pollutant from ecosystem (think trash)
– Replanting/restocking lost or depleted populations.
Topic 2