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ESS (christin) > 1.4 Sustainability > Flashcards

1.4 Sustainability Flashcards

1
Q

Define sustainability

A

the use of natural resources in ways that do not reduce or degrade the resources, so that they are available for future generations

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2
Q

sustainability can be encouraged through careful application of:

A
  • ecological land use to maintain habitat quality and connectivity for all species
  • sustainable material cycles (i.e. carbon, nitrogen, water cycle) to prevent the contamination of living systems
  • social systems that contribute to a culture of sufficiency that eases the consumption pressures on natural capital
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3
Q

Define natural capital

A

natural resources that are managed to produce goods and services in a sustainable manner

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4
Q

how can we provide natural income indefinitely

A

renewable resources can be used over and over again
products and services used should not reduce the original capital

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5
Q

Natural Income

A

the yield (amount/volume) obtained from natural resources (not amount of money)

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6
Q

Distinctions between natural income and natural capital

A

NC: based on assests (e.g. forests, bodies of water)
NI: generated yields (e.g. timber, clean water)

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7
Q

Regulating services

A
  • climate regulation
  • water purification
  • flood protection
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8
Q

supporting systems

A
  • nutrient cycling
  • oxygen production
  • soil formation
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9
Q

cultural services

A
  • education
  • recreation
  • aesthetic value
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10
Q

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: what is it?

A

a scientific appraisal of the condition and trends in the world’s ecosystems and the services they provide using environmental indicators, as well as the scientific basis for action to conserve and use them sustainably

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11
Q

MEA characteristics

A
  • founded by UN
  • started 2001
  • 2005 released results for first four-year study of Earths natural resources
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12
Q

EIA definition

A

a baseline study prepared before a development project to change the use of land

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13
Q

EIA description

A

weighs up the relative advantages or disadvantages of the development on the abiotic or biotic community

abiotic: air, water, land
biotic: plants, animals, humans

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14
Q

what is the EIA used for?

A
  • Planning process that governments set out in law when large developments are considered
  • They provide a documented way of examining environmental impacts that can be used as evidence in the decision making process of any new development
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15
Q

What developments used in the EIA

A
  • Major new road networks
  • Airport/port developments
  • Building power stations
  • Building dams and reservoirs
  • Quarrying
  • Large scale housing projects.
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16
Q

EIA common components

A
  1. scoping: identifying impacts
  2. predicting the scale of potential impacts
  3. mitigation: limiting the effects of impacts to acceptable limits
17
Q

positives of EIAs

A
  • takes into consideration social factors as well
  • it suggests possible management strategies to mitigate issues
  • may be effective in stopping a potentially harmful issue
18
Q

criticisms of EIAs

A
  • poor public consultation practices
  • poorly written reports
  • costly, inefficient and time consuming practices
  • limited scope
  • information understated or omitted from reports
  • EIA treated as a separate process and not integrated into the project cycle
  • lack of monitoring and review of terms set out in reports
  • inconsistent application
  • lack of inclusion of indirect impacts
19
Q

ecological footprint definition

A

represents the hypothetical area of land required by a society, group or individual to fulfil all their resource needs and assimilation of waste

20
Q

ecological footprint can be increased by

A
  • greater reliance on fossil fuels
  • increased use of energy
  • high levels of imported resources
  • a meat-rich diet
21
Q

Ecological footprints can be reduced by

A
  • reducing use of resources
  • recycling resources
  • reusing resources
  • reducing population to reduce resource use
  • buying local products
22
Q

Discuss the value of ecosystem services to a society.

A
  • they maintain life on Earth and the services needed to satisfy human material and nonmaterial needs
  • many people ascribe ecological, sociocultural, or intrinsic values to the existence of ecosystems and species
  • The Millennium Assessment recognizes these different paradigms, based on various motivations and concepts of value, along with the many valuation methods connected with them
  • Ecosystems and the provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services they provide have economic value to human societies because people derive utility from their actual or potential use, either directly or indirectly (known as use values).
  • People also value ecosystem services they are not currently using (non-use values)
  • This paradigm of value is known as the utilitarian (anthropocentric) concept and is based on the principles of humans’ preference satisfaction (welfare)
23
Q

Explain the relationship between EFs and sustainability.

A

When humanity’s ecological resource demands exceed what nature can supply, we reach ecological overshoot
* The effects
◦ carbon-induced climate change
◦ species extinction, deforestation
◦ dead coral reefs
◦ the loss of groundwater
​
The human footprint has more than tripled since 1960

24
Q

Explain the relationship between natural capital, natural income and sustainability

A

natural capital provides natural income. when the extraction of natural income is equal to the annual yield, and this amount stays constant, then this value is sustainable. however, when more than the annual yield of natural income is extracted, then the amount of capital decreases and it becomes unsustainable.

25
Q

provisioning services

A

Food, water, timber, fiber, and genetic resources.

26
Q

key findings MEA

A

It found that human’s extensive and rapid change of the ecosystems to meet the growing demands for resources, resulted in a substantial and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on Earth.
- humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly in the past 50 years than ever before
- changes have increased poverty for some people
- overall, human actions are depleting Earths natural capital at a faster rate than it is being restored
- it may be possible to reverse changes as long as appropriate actions are taken quickly

27
Q

EIA baseline study

A

first stage of EIA, measured:
- habitat type and abundance
- species list
- species diversity
- list of endangered species
- land use
- hydrology
- human population
- soil

28
Q

What factors can be used to indicate quantitive measurements of sustainability?

A

Factors such as biodiversity, pollution, population or climate

ESS (christin) (25 decks)

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