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ESS Notes > 1 > Flashcards

1 Flashcards

1
Q

EVS

A

A worldview or paradigm that shapes the way an individual, or group of people, perceives and evaluates environmental issues, influenced by cultural, religious, economic, social-political factors.

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2
Q

Ecocentric

A

Puts nature and ecology at the heart of humanity. It Prioritises biorights and encourages self restraint. Intrinsic value in all of nature

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3
Q

Soft Ecologists

A

Self sufficiency in resource management, but not as extreme as deep ecologists.

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4
Q

Deep Ecologists

A

Extreme form of ecocentrism. Values Earth and the environment above all else, favours self-restraint and individual action, deep mistrust of technology.

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5
Q

Anthropocentric

A

Humans must manage the global ecosystem, through taxes, regulation and legislations.

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6
Q

Technocentric

A

Technological developments will ‘solve’ environmental problems.

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7
Q

Environmental Manager

A

Earth is a garden that needs tending. Change within social and political structures.

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8
Q

Cornucopian

A

Earth’s bounty shows no bounds. Earth resources, with technology, are limitless

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9
Q

Biocentric

A

Individuals or groups who adhere to a philosophical perspective that intrinsic value on all living beings and ecosystems. Different from ecocentric as it focuses on the biotic aspects of an environment.

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10
Q

Flows

A

Represented by arrows in a system diagram. Movement of energy or matter.

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11
Q

Transfer

A

Matter or energy changing location

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12
Q

Trasnformation

A

Matter or energy changing state, chemical nature (state or energy).

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13
Q

Storages

A

Represented by boxes in a system diagram. Stores of energy or matter.

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14
Q

Reductionist Approach

A

The studying of one component of a system or model.

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15
Q

Open System

A

Both energy and matter are exchanged with its surroundings.

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16
Q

Isolated System

A

Neither energy nor matter are exchanged with its surroundings.

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17
Q

Closed System

A

Only Energy is exchanged with its surroundings.

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18
Q

First Law of Thermodynamics

A

The principle of conservation of energy, energy in an isolated system can be transformed but cannot be created or destroyed - there is limited energy in any system.

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19
Q

Second Law of Thermodynamics

A

The entropy of a system increases over time. Entropy is a measure of the amount of disorder in a system. An increase in entropy arising from energy transformations reduces the energy available to do work - less energy is available the higher up the food chain/the higher the trophic level.

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20
Q

Steady State

A

Oscillates around a mean.

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21
Q

Stable State

A

remains at a mean with some deviations.

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22
Q

Negative Feedback

A

Stabilising. When the output of a process inhibits or reverses the operation of the same process in such a way as to reduce change, counteracting deviation.

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23
Q

Positive Feedback

A

Destabilising. Tends to amplify change and can drive the system towards a tipping point where a new equilibrium is adopted.

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24
Q

Tipping Point

A

The minimum amount of change within a system that will destabilise it, cause it to reach a new equilibrium.

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25
Q

Sustainability

A

The use an management of resources that allow full natural replacement of the resources exploited and full recovery of the ecosystems affected by their extraction and use.

26
Q

Natural Capital

A

The natural resources, goods or services, that an ecosystem can provide sustainably.

27
Q

Natural Income

A

The yield of resources, goods or services, obtained from natural resources.

28
Q

Ecological Footprint

A

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 (pollution mitigation, food (crops and animals), water (fishing grounds), timber, built-up land).

29
Q

Evaluation of EF as a model

A

Pros:
Good model/Effective

Cons:
Difficult to measure
Inaccuracies are created due to globalisation between resource use and production.

30
Q

Pollution

A

The addition of a substance/agent to an environment at a rate greater than which it can be rendered harmless by the environment.

31
Q

Primary Pollutants

A

Active on emmission. CO causing headaches, fatigue and can kill.

32
Q

Secondary Pollutants

A

Formed when primary pollutants undergo physical or chemical changes. Sulphuric acid forms when sulphur trioxide reacts with water.

33
Q

Sources of Pollution

A

FF, Waste - domestic, industrial, agricultural.

34
Q

Point Source

A

The release of pollutants from a single, clearly identifiable site. CO2 emissions from a factory.

35
Q

Non-Point Source

A

The release of pollutants from multiple, dispersed sites. Agricultural run-off (nitrates and phosphates).

36
Q

Persistent Organic Pollutants

A

Organic pollutants, commonly pesticides, which remain active in the environment for an extended period of time. They can bioaccumulate.

37
Q

Biodegradable Pollutants

A

Break down quickly.

38
Q

Acute Pollutants

A

Large amounts of pollutants are released in a small amount of time.

39
Q

Chronic Pollutants

A

Long-term release of pollutants in small amounts. Can be: undetected for a long time, more difficult to clean up, wide spread.

40
Q

Direct Measures to Detect Pollutants

A

Record the amount of pollutant present. Acidity of rainwater, amount of gas in the atmosphere, amount of nitrates or phosphates present.

41
Q

Indirect Measures to Detect Pollutants

A

Record changes in abiotic or biotic factors, cause by pollutants. Oxygen content in water, population size of an indicator species.

42
Q

PMM

A
  1. Human activity producing pollutant
  2. Release of pollutant into the environment
  3. Impact of pollution on ecosystems.
43
Q

Al Gore

A

Former VP of the US. Produced 2006 documentary, ‘The inconvenient Truth’, which bought climate change into the public consciousness.

44
Q

Norman Borlaug

A

Nobel Peace Prize Winner, 1970. Green Revolution. Developed higher-yielding corn and other grain varieties, wheat, to foster independence and survivorship in the developing world. Worked.

45
Q

Jane Goodall

A

Chimpanzee biologist. Helped pioneer modern species conservation techniques, including involvement of local people and knowledge.

46
Q

Theodore Roosevelt

A

US President. Expanded American National parks Service and protected lands in the US for the enjoyment of others.

47
Q

Charles Darwin

A

Origin of Species. His views challenged the concept of God having created ‘man’ and instead reduced ‘man’ to a part of the environment.

48
Q

Henry David Thoreau

A

American writer (and ecocentrist), who first explored the idea of environmental consciousness in the mid 19th century.

49
Q

David Attenborough

A

British broadcaster, writer and naturalist. Since the 1950s he has been bringing nature into people’s living rooms.

50
Q

Greta Thunberg

A

Teenager, Swedish, climate activist.

51
Q

Biorights

A

The right held by species and landscapes to remain un-impacted by consumptive human activity.

52
Q

Intrinsic value

A

The value of something independent of and regardless of its potential use to humans.

53
Q

Resiliance

A

The tendency of a system to avoid tipping points. Diversity and the size of storages contribute towards resilience and their response time to change.

54
Q

Holistic Approach

A

Considering an environmental phenomenon as a whole, recognising the interconnections and relatedness of its individual parts.

55
Q

Strengths of Models

A

Easier to work with as simple
Predict the effect of a change of input
Applied to similar situations
Helps us see patterns
Visualise small and large things (atoms and solar systems)

56
Q

Weakness of Models

A

Accuracy is lost due to simplification
If assumptions are wrong, model is wrong
Predictions may be inaccurate

57
Q

Efficiency

A

The useful energy/work/output divided by the amount of energy consumed/inputed to the process. (x100 for percentage)

58
Q

Stable Equilibria

A

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

59
Q

Unstable Equilibria

A

The system returns to a new equilibrium after a disturbance.

60
Q

Feedback Loop

A

When information that starts a reaction in turn may input more information which may start another reaction.

ESS Notes (11 decks)

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