8. Geography :Introducing Environment Change Flashcards
What stewardship? When was the industrial revolution? Name the changes during that period? What did that period impact?
environmental worldview
varying viewpoints, such as
Earth-centred as opposed to
human-centred, in managing
ecological services
stewardship the belief that
humans have a responsibility to
care for the Earth to protect its
future
Industrial Revolution the period
from the mid 1700s into the 1800s
that saw major technological
changes in agriculture,
manufacturing, mining and
transportation, with far-reaching
social and economic impacts
What is ecological service? What is ecological footprint? What are the reasons to know biocapacity of a certain area? What biocapacity?
ecological service the benefits
to humanity from the resources
and processes that are supplied
by natural ecosystems
custodial management a sense
of responsibility towards land
and the landscape. Includes the
concepts of sustainable natural
resource management and
managing natural resources, both
now and in the future.
ecological footprint a measure
of human demand on the Earth’s
natural systems in general
and ecosystems in particular;
the amount of productive land
required by each person for food,
water, transport, housing, waste
management and other purposes
biocapacity the capacity of a
biome or ecosystem to generate
a renewable and ongoing supply
of resources and to process or
absorb its wastes
What is global warming?
global warming the observable
rising trend in the Earth’s
atmospheric temperatures,
generally attributed to the
enhanced greenhouse effect
enhanced greenhouse effect
increasing concentrations of
greenhouse gases in the Earth’s
atmosphere, contributing to global
warming and climate change
What is Kyoto protocol? What are fossil fuels?
Kyoto Protocol an
internationally agreed set of
rules developed by the United
Nations aiming to reduce climate
change through the stabilisation
of greenhouse gas emissions into
the atmosphere
carbon credit a tradeable
certificate representing the right
of a company to emit one metric
tonne of carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere
fossil fuels:- carbon-based fuels
formed over millions of years,
which include coal, petroleum
and natural gas. They are called
non-renewable fuels as reserves
are being depleted at a faster rate
than the process of formation.
geothermal (power) power that
is generated from molten magma
at the Earth’s core and stored in
hot rocks under the surface. It is
cost-effective, reliable, sustainable
and environmentally friendly.
Ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Energy supply * Increasing use of renewables such as hydro-power, solar, wind, wave and tidal,
geothermal and bioenergy
* Switching from coal to gas
* Carbon capture and storage (CCS) at fossil fuel electricity generating facilities
* Developing safer and cleaner nuclear energy (although this is also debated in terms of its
sustainability)
Transport * More fuel-efficient vehicles such as electric, hybrid, clean diesel and biofuels
* Changing from road to rail and bus transport systems
* Promoting cycling and walking to work
Buildings * Installing more efficient lighting and day-lighting systems and electrical appliances for
heating and cooling, cooking and washing
* Increased use of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels
* Improved refrigeration fluids including the recovery and recycling of fluorinated gases
Industry * More efficient electrical equipment
* Heat and power recovery
* Material recycling and substitution
* Control of gas emissions
Agriculture * Improved crop yields and grazing land management
* Increased storage of carbon in the soil and reduction of methane gas emissions from
livestock manure
* Restoration of cultivated soils and degraded lands
* Improved nitrogen fertiliser application techniques to reduce nitrous oxide emissions
* New bioenergy crops to replace fossil fuels
Forestry/forests * Planting new forests
* Better harvested wood management
* Use of forestry products for bioenergy to replace fossil fuel use
* Better remote sensing technologies for analysis of vegetation and mapping land-use
change
Waste * Landfill methane recovery
* Waste incineration with energy recovery
* Composting of organic waste
* Controlled waste water treatment
* Recycling and waste minimisation
Human Space Need and Environmental Impact
Spatial Need and Human Space
* The island of Cyprus, with a density of nearly 1,000,000 per square kilometre, would provide enough space for 8 billion humans.
* Major modifications to biomes are necessary to meet Earth’s resource needs.
Human Interaction with the Environment
* Thomas Malthus predicted that population growth would outstrip agricultural production.
* Malthus’s Earth-centered environmental worldview foretold food supply issues and potential famine and resource wars.
* The Industrial Revolution in England prioritized economic development over environmental preservation.
Environmental Overload and Land Degradation
* Growing demands for food, land, and other resources have led to land degradation and loss of habitats and biodiversity.
* Change can occur naturally or be induced by humans.
* Topics for exploration include marine environments, land, inland waters, and urban or built environments.
Understanding Ecological Services and Their Impact on Human Action
Ecological Services
* Ecological services are biological and physical processes that maintain human habitability and livelihood in natural or semi-natural ecosystems.
* They are interconnected with human action, leading to sustainable practices.
* Ecological management promotes stewardship or custodial management, prioritizing caring for the land and ecological services it provides.
* The ecological footprint measures human demand for ecological services, considering the regenerative capacities of biomes and ecosystems.
Ecological Footprint
* The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth’s natural systems and ecosystems.
* It is calculated by measuring a total of six factors, including provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting.
* The total global ecological footprint was estimated at 1.75 planet Earths in 2022, indicating that humanity used ecological services at 1.75 times the biocapacity of the Earth to renew them.
Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity
- Ecological footprint and biocapacity are expressed in global hectares (gha), representing demand for resources and availability of resources.
- Global hectares (gha) cover human infrastructure, housing, industrial structures, and hydro-power reservoirs.
- Built-up land is calculated from primary production required to support fish and seafood catches.
- Fishing grounds are used for fishing.
- Grazing land absorbs CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels, land use change, and international transport.
- Forests supply timber, pulp, and fuel wood.
- Livestock is raised for meat, dairy, hide, and wool products.
- The United States’ ecological footprint per person is 8.1, higher than the world average of 2.75 global hectares.
- Wealthy countries like the U.S., Europe, and Japan have large ecological footprints and small biocapacities, leading to large ecological deficits.
- Australia and New Zealand have a large ecological reserve due to abundant natural resources, but biocapacities are diminishing, requiring further reduction.
Biodiversity Hotspots and Sustainability
* Biodiversity hotspots, comprising about 3% of Earth’s surface, are regions with high biodiversity risk due to climate change and human impacts.
* These hotspots include 44% of Earth’s plants and 35% of land animals.
* Losses of biodiversity are primarily due to habitat loss, hunting, fishing, overexploitation, water abstraction, nutrient enrichment, pollution, human introduction of invasive species, pests, and diseases.
* 30 designated biodiversity hotspots worldwide are in a conservation crisis, including the Andes Mountains, New Zealand archipelago, Himalayan region, and Western Australia’s south-west forests.
Sustainability Measures
* The Human Development Index (HDI), the Sustainable Society Index (SSI), and the Happy Planet Index (HPI) are indices that examine the link between ecological services, human wellbeing, and sustainability.
* The SSI values 21 factors across social, political, economic, and environmental considerations, ensuring sustainable human action meets present generation’s needs without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their own needs.
First Nations Australians’ Custodial Responsibility and Environmental Management
* First Nations Australians have managed their Country’s land for at least 60000 years, focusing on sustainable environmental management of ecosystems and biomes.
* Land management practices and connection to the land are based on spiritual and cultural connections, with collective custodianship.
Sustainable Food and Water Resources in First Nations Australians
- First Nations Australians used their knowledge of their Country to determine seasonal food availability from uncultivated plants and wild animals.
- The term ‘bush tucker’ describes this approach, which involves working with the land and its elements, maintaining animal habitats, and building fish traps.
- Food sources included cereal foods, fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, fish, shellfish, and medicines.
- Fire stick farming techniques were used to create a ‘park-like’ landscape of the Australian bush, attracting various birds and animals.
- The controlled burning of the landscape led to the growth of new plant growth and the emergence of ideal hunting areas.
- The arrival of Europeans led to the displacement of First Nations Australians from their Country and the compromise of many cultural practices.
Climate Change and Global Warming
- Climate change has been a global phenomenon for millions of years, with increased greenhouse gas concentrations leading to global warming.
- Burning fossil fuels like coal and oil is believed to have led to the enhanced greenhouse effect, heating the Earth and its atmosphere.
- Despite ongoing debates, most scientists agree that global warming and climate change exist and will result in changes to world weather patterns and climates from the equatorial to polar regions.
- Climate is the long-term weather patterns of a particular area, highly variable over the Earth’s surface.
- Human activity is increasing the rate of global warming leading to climate change, particularly in the past few hundred years.
- The greenhouse effect is the mechanism where solar energy is trapped by water vapour and gases in the atmosphere, heating the atmosphere and helping to retain this heat.
- The three most important gases responsible for the greenhouse effect are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane.
- Changes in the balance of greenhouse gases are a natural event, leading to different climatic conditions on the planet.
- The term ‘enhanced greenhouse effect’ indicates that heating of the atmosphere is moving at a rate above what could be expected by natural processes of change.
- All parts of the world are vulnerable to the impacts of the enhanced greenhouse effect and associated climate change.
Global Action on Climate Change
- Climate change is a global phenomenon, with greenhouse gases affecting other countries.
- Only a few countries’ actions to reduce greenhouse gases have little impact.
- International cooperation, especially from the largest polluters, is required.
- Since the 1990s, countries have agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) conferences.
- The Kyoto Protocol, an agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions, has been developed, with 128 countries agreeing.
- To meet the target, countries must reduce their emissions levels.
- Countries can offset these reductions against their own targets by implementing projects in other countries.
- Companies can buy and sell the right to emit carbon gases, gaining credits for energy efficiency and carbon sinking.
Australia’s Climate Change Actions
- The 2011 Garnaut Report and 2021 IPCC findings indicate Australia’s national interest in mitigating climate change.
- The Labor government announced their Commitments to Climate Change in 2022, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 43% below 2005 levels by 2030.
- The plan includes establishing a Department of Climate Change, passing a climate change bill, creating a Climate Change Authority, and releasing an annual climate change statement.
- Australia has committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, aiming for the amount of CO2 removed from the atmosphere to match or exceed the amount emitted.
- The government plans to achieve this using existing and emerging technologies, not introducing a carbon tax or price.
- Australian households produce about one-fifth of Australia’s greenhouse gases, resulting in about 15 tonnes of CO2 per household per year.
- The Australian Conservation Foundation has suggested a ten-point plan for every household to reduce greenhouse gas pollution.
Green Energy Emission Reduction Strategies
- Switch to Green Power: Choose renewable energy from electricity retailers and ensure it is accredited GreenPower.
- Share a Car: Share a car with your family to reduce greenhouse emissions.
- Take fewer Air Flights: Reduce domestic and international flights to reduce greenhouse emissions.
- Use Less Power to Heat Water: Use less hot water and switch off the water heater when away to reduce energy use.
- Eat Less Meat: Reduce red meat intake to save water and greenhouse pollution.
- Heat and Cool Your Home Less: Insulate walls and ceilings to cut heating and cooling costs by 10%.
- Replace Old Showerhead with Water-Efficient Alternative: Save about 44,000 litres of water a year and up to 1.5 tonnes of greenhouse pollution from hot water heating.
- Turn Off Standby Power: Reduce home’s greenhouse emissions by up to 700 kg a year.
- Cycle, Walk, or Take Public Transport: Save about 500 kg of greenhouse pollution each year and save about $770.
- Make Your Refrigerator More Efficient: Ensure clean coils, well-ventilated coils, and proper door seals. Keep fridges and freezers in a cool, well-ventilated spot to save up to another 100 kg a year.
Fossil Fuels and Renewable Energy
- Fossil fuels have been used for energy production since the Industrial Revolution, with coal, oil, and gas being the most common.
- Renewable energy sources like hydro-power, solar, wind, wave and tidal, geothermal, and bioenergy are environmentally friendly alternatives.
- These sources do not produce greenhouse gases and are replenished quickly.
- The shift towards renewable energy fuels signifies a shift from a human-centered to an Earth-centered worldview, leading to a more sustainable energy use with lower environmental impact.
- Countries worldwide are developing sustainable energy industries, with the US producing 1.66% of its energy needs from solar power and renewable energy sources accounting for 10% of its total electricity generation.
- In 2021, 29% of Australia’s total electricity generation was from renewable energy sources.
- The IPCC confirmed 2007 recommendations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 2022, with economic, social, and environmental consequences for each mitigation action.
