chap 12: human and environment Flashcards
what are the 5 processes that shows that the human environmental impact has risen ?
- Small changes can have cumulative impact
- New technology increased energy use
- New lifestyles enabled by energy technology
- Increasing population
- Interconnections increasing global impact of
change
saving the planet= the impact of human activities on Earth’s geology and ecosystems= ….
anthropocene
environmental consequences?
- unintended consequences: climate change, ozone depletion (removal) , acid rain
- conscious manipulation: deforestation, agriculture
3 aspects that lead to all the collapses that affected civilization?
-runaway train
-dinosaur
-house of cards
the runaway train?
-rise in population and pollution
-acceleration of technology, concentration of wealth and power
dinosaur:
old-fashioned ideas that resist changing and are based on the belief that letting markets solve everything is the best way, but these ideas are becoming outdated and may not work well anymore.
house of cards:
History shows us that
civilizations fall suddenly:
-“mother nature always
comes to the rescue of a
society stricken with… overpopulation, and her ministrations are never gentle” (Crosby (1993)
Ecological Imperialism)= civilizations face problems like overpopulation, their collapse can be sudden, and the actions taken by nature to address issues are often harsh.
systems
interrelated parts forming a unified whole
ecology
studies relationships
between organisms and
their environments
ecosystem
a set of independent organisms, and their physical, chemical, and biological environment
example: forest
ecosphere
global ecosystem = home to everything
ex: desert ecosystem
resource divided by:
Non- renewable : stock resource in human time scale
-renewable resource: tt le temps forming and regenerating
3 environmental concerns
-
Economic goals conflict with environmental sustainability . ex: industries
-conflicting views of developed and less developed regions( developed areas emphasizing sustainability while less developed regions may prioritize economic development.)
-Individual vs grp behaviour (individual actions dont align with larger systemic changes for effective environmental sustainability.)
human impact: vegetation
-deforestation
-fire
-plant domestication
- tropical rain removal
-desertification
human impacts: animals
-Domestication
-Movement to new places with migrations
-Extreme extraction, or localized hunting
-Removal of natural habitats
-General concern for biodiversity loss
-Hypotheses of a new period of extinction
human impacts: Land
removal of resources such as rocks, clays, sand, minerals, metals, rare earth minerals, fossil fuels can:
-change ecosystems
-lower land surfaces
-change hydrology (study of water)
-leave waste heaps
-create toxic wastes
-leaving scenic scars
-Degradation and loss of arable land major impact
-Population increases
-Industrialization
-Industrial agricultural practices
human impacts: soil
-Chemical changes
-Erosion associated with deforestation and cropping
when was dust bowl ; because of what
1930s ; poor farming on practice on temperature grasslands
human impacts: air
-Smoke-producing industries
reduced in Developed regions
- Vehicle pollution is high
-Industrial and vehicle pollution high in Developing regions
-Ozone layer removal
-Subsequent legislation to ban CFCs (man-made chemicals harmful for the ozone layer.)
- Montreal Protocol, 1987/1989 (protect the Earth’s ozone layer)
2 issues of water
- scarcity (limited or insufficient in comparison to the demand for them.)
- contamination
scarcity:
Agriculture consumes 73% of global supplies
-Industry consumes about 10%
-Most of remainder goes to supply basic human needs
-Availability and use unevenly distributed
contamination
-Organic and industrial waste inserted into water cycle
-Agricultural runoff ex: fertilizers going into the water
When was sustainability introduced?
late 1970
When was “sustainable development” introduced?
1987 in a report: “our common future”
4 principles of sustainable development?
- recognize humans are part of nature (cant destroy it without consequences)
- account for environmental costs in economy (externalities)
- everyone needs to achieve acceptable living standard (peace is not possible otherwise)
- local actions can have global impact
energy
the capacity to do work
technology
the ability to convert energy
into forms useful for humans
energy resources are divided between:
- non renewable resources (stock- resources): ex: fossil fuels
- renewable resources: unlimited supply: water, wind, sun
Nuclear power supplies
__ % of the world’s electricity.
Only 30 of the world’s nearly 200 countries make some use of nuclear power.
14%
nuclear energy
nuclear power plant = produces electricity from energy released by splitting uranium atoms in a controlled environment = fission.
hydroelectric power
-generating electricity from the movement of water
-2nd most-popular source of electricity, after coal.
__________ of the world’s hydroelectric power is generated
in _______________ countries.
2/3; developing
wind power
-used in:
-China,
-North America,
-Western Europe
account for around
one-fourth each of
total world production.
- noisy and lethal for bats and birds
geothermal energy
Heat released by
radioactive elements
makes Earth’s interior
hot.
passive solar
includes approaches like south-facing windows and dark surfaces. (utilizes the natural movement of sunlight without the use of mechanical or electrical devices.)
direct active solar
Photovoltaic cells ( use mechanical or electrical devices to collect, store, and distribute solar energy for immediate use)
indirect active solar
creating heat to boil water for steam (use a combination of mechanical or electrical devices and a fluid (such as water or air) to collect, store, and distribute solar energy.)
the climate
- stable for the last 10000
- 14 degrees celcius (average global temperature)
what are the 5 greenhouse effect gases?
- Water Vapor
- CO2
- CH4 (methane)
- N2O (nitrate oxide)
- CFC’s (compounds consisting of carbon, chlorine, and fluorine atoms)
whats another cycle in the natural cycles?
milankovitch cycles: influence Earth’s climate over geological time scales. These cycles involve variations in Earth’s orbit, axial tilt, and precession, and they play a significant role in shaping the planet’s climate patterns, particularly in terms of the distribution of solar radiation.
catastrophic events
meteors , volcanoes
human induced change
- global warming
- acid deposition
- ozone reduction
while talking about anthropocentric, with industrial revolution, how much did these go up? CO2, CH4, N2O (nitrous oxide.) ?
CO2 up 31%
CH4 up 151%
N2O up up 17%
CH4 = approx. ____ times the heat trapping
capability of CO2
20-25
Causes of increase of greenhouse
- burning fossil fuels for energy (wood, coal, natual gas)
- deforestation (emissions - co2 , CH4), loss of carbon sink
-Agriculture: emissions - industry : emissions
WHICH COUNTRY is number 1 source of total carbon?
China
WHICH COUNTRY is number 1 per capita of emissions?
CANADA
Whats the position 1 of environmental issues?
-Technocentric: trust in technology.
-Cornucopian: reflects an optimistic belief in limitless resources and technological solutions
- market based approaches
Whats the position 2 of environmental issues?
Ecocentric- Deep ecology: nature’s resources should be preserved for its intrinsic value
what are other positions?
ecofeminism
limits to growth
hypothesis
technocentrics
-preservation of existing technological structures
-market based approaches
-enviro. education
ecocentric
-decentralization of power (i.e socialism)
-informal transactions (outside market capitalism)
-change in ethics
who said that? “Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy”
dick cheney- vice president
when was the kyoto protocol?
1997
“the goofiest, most devastating thing ever contemplated by a
Canadian Government” who said that?
Ralph Klein - Former Alberta PM
when did occur the Paris accord?
2015 its about aiming to address climate change by bringing countries together to work towards limiting global warming.
Other responses to these environment issues?
- scientific solutions
- adaptation
- the market
- mitigation
2 aims to improve environment issues?
mitigation: reduce our impact= actions taken to reduce or prevent the emission of greenhouse gases
adaptation: adapt to a warming world
scientific solutions to reduce environmental issues:
- geo-engineering (large-scale interventions in the Earth’s natural systems)
- absorb/ store CO2
- **Sequestration or geo-sequestration: **capture and long-term storage of carbon dioxide, by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases.
-reflect sunlight and space mirrors= manipulate the Earth’s energy balance to mitigate the impact of climate change. - diposit sulfate particles in upper atmosphere
Adaptation:
-Dykes (control water levels) to keep water out
- new food varieties
the market
carbon emissions trading= “cap and trade” market-based approach to controlling pollution = quebec, 2013
- BC government, 2008= carbon taxes
canada’s approach
federal conservative government = consistent in its approach to climate change
-canada= plan on climate change
