Chapter 1 Flashcards
what has occurred since 2000
Nine of the 10 hottest years in global records
have occurred since 2000.
what country is warming the fastest
Canada is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world
the environment includes
includes the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere in which humans, other living species, and non animate phenomena exist.
resources
Resources are specific components of the
environment, such as forests, wildlife,
oceans, rivers and lakes, minerals and
petroleum.
anthropocentric view
-value is defined relative to human interests, wants, and needs ex) Life of
mantra ray at risk due to their value in terms of making money. Bracelet produced from mantra ray ( a large species of
flattened fish)
ecocentric or biocentric view
Ecocentric or biocentric view : resources are seen as having value independent of human wants and needs
Environmental and resource issues can be
approached from 5 views:
–Disciplinary –Multidisciplinary –Cross disciplinary –Interdisciplinary –Transdisciplinary perspectives
disciplinary
This approach is organized around the concepts, theories, assumptions, and methods associated with one academic discipline.
multidisciplinary
Specialists examine an issue from each of their disciplinary perspectives.
cross-disciplinary
A disciplinary specialist borrows concepts,
theories, and methods from other disciplines to enhance their perspective.
interdisciplinary
Various specialists work together from the
beginning of a project, leading to synthesis and integration of understanding.
transdisciplinary
extends the interdisciplinary perspective by
seeking a holistic understanding that transcends disciplinary boundaries, not viewing them in the context of any one discipline and weighing each area equally.
5 guidelines for science based management of resources and environment
- Focus the science on key issues, and communicate it in a policy relevant form.
- Use scientific information to clarify issues, identify potential management options, and estimate consequences of actions.
- Clearly and simply communicate key scientific findings to all participants.
- Evaluate whether or not the final decision is consistent with scientific information.
- Avoid advocacy of any particular solution.
sydney tar ponds
-Sydney is located in the northern part of
Cape Breton Island, NS.
-The city has a history of coal mining, steel
production, fishing, and forestry since late
1800s
-In 1899 the Dominion Iron and Steel Company (DISCO), built a steel plant on Muggah Creek that processed iron ore and coal into coke and then refined coke into steel.
what happened at sydney tar ponds
-Making high quality steel requires high
quality iron ore , processed with coal without too much sulphur
-DISCO management did not test the quality
of their ingredients, leading to poor products and large amounts of toxic slag waste
-The steel plant closed in 2001, which was a
serious blow to Sydney s economy.
studies of tar ponds
-Studies began revealing that Sydney residents were suffering from serious health problems
-higher rate of cancer in Sydney compared to the rest of Canada.
-Reduced life expectancy.
-Even though a large body of literature showed a link between health concerns and steelmaking , mining, and other industries, others have argued that other variables (e.g., lifestyle, smoking) may be the cause
of morbidity.
the northern gateway proposal
•The federal government strongly supported the project.
–They saw the benefit to all Canadians and dismissed environmental concerns
•Scientists called for an assessment accounting for the cumulative effects of all the resource developments involved.
•Politically appointed federal panel dismissed the call for assessment.
5 requirements BC gov
- Completion of an environmental review process
- Proper marine oil spill response, prevention, and recovery system in place
- Proper land oil spill response, prevention, and recovery system in place
- Address Aboriginal rights and benefits
- BC receives its fair share of fiscal and economic benefits reflecting the level of risk borne
sustainable development
is development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.
sustainable livelihoods
emphasize the conditions necessary to ensure that basic human needs are satisfied
-This concept is not without its critics as
well, who see the concept as being too
anthropocentric, however addressing
poverty is a priority that can be addressed
alongside environmental priorities.
resilience
-is the ability of a system to absorb disturbance and still retain its basic function and structure. -Resource management that enhances resilience of social ecological systems is more sustainable than the traditional approach, which focuses on optimizing output of goods and services from a natural resource system.
3 types of resources
- perpetual
- renewable
- non-renewable
Sustainable Yield (Environmental sustainability)
The highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing it available supply.
Environmental Degradation
Depletion or destruction of a potentially renewable resource that is used faster than it is naturally replenished.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
The experts concluded that many of the
changes are non linear and once they start,
the processes of degradation will increase
rapidly
population facts
- A key variable that affects our impact on the planetary life support system is the number of people being supported; over 7 billion as of late 2011.
- Global energy consumption has risen sharply as the population has increased, as has pollution.
- 4.3 people are born every second worldwide, 80 million per year.
- Under replacement level fertility levels, the UN predicts over 10 billion people by 2100.
what factors kept populations in check 10,000 year ago
Diseases, famine and war.
why did population increase after 1600
Due to increased food supply, better sources of power and better hygiene.
population growth
-It took thousands of years to reach 1 billion
people (in 1804).
-It took 150 years to increase that to 3 billion
-The most recent billion took only 12 years.
gap between rich and poor
About 1.2 billion of the world’s population lives in developed countries. The rest (about 5.6 billion) live in middle or low income countries.
population age structure
Birth rates, death rates and life expectancy
determine population age structure shape.
-Different countries may have similar
population sizes, but differing age
structures; this can have a huge impact on
future population growth.
fertility rate
Fertility rate is the number of children a
woman has over her lifetime, and varies
greatly amongst countries, determining
whether populations grow, shrink or remain
stable.
demographic transition
There is a relationship between economic growth and population that occurs in four main phases as a population passes through a demographic transition
4 demographic transitions
- High equilibrium (high birth and death rates)
- High expanding (high birth rate, low death rate)
- Low expanding (falling birth rate, low death rate)
- Low equilibrium (low, equal birth and death rates)
Demographic transition stabilizes populations
consumption
-The richest 20% are responsible for more than 75% of global consumption; the poorest 20% consume less than 2%.
-The wealthiest countries use 25 times more energy per capita than the poorest countries.
-Canadians are among the top per capita consumers
of energy in the world.
planetary carrying capacity
- Stresses on Earth s life support system result from overconsumption and resulting pollution, as well as overpopulation and resulting poverty, which put pressure on planetary carrying capacity.
- Critical thresholds are being reached and surpassed, leading to sudden, possibly irreversible change with enormous consequences for the Earth.
- Humanity is driving most global biophysical processes.
- Biodiversity loss, climate change, and interference in the nitrogen cycle have already exceeded safe limits.
4 reasons past civilizations have collapsed
- Not anticipating a problem
- Anticipating a problem but not its severity
- Anticipating a problem but neglecting to address it
- Anticipating a problem, trying to address it, but failing
- These societal collapses were often rapid, and caused by environmental degradation.
staying below 2 c
-To stay below the temperature threshold (maximum 2˚C increase) is required to prevent catastrophic environmental damage, we need two planets to sustain current carbon dioxide emission levels.
-Emissions are unequally distributed spatially, with the wealthiest countries having the highest per capita and
overall carbon footprints, despite lower population densities.
-Reducing Canada’s environmental impact requires changes in policy and legislation and implementation.
indicators
One of the goals of science is to provide understanding of complex problems, and one way of doing this is to
use of indicators.
ecological footprints
enable us to compare various
countries overall impacts.
DPSIR
(Drivers Pressures State Impact Response)
frameworks help to develop causal linkages between indicators; used by Canada and USA.
driving forces
1): forces causing environmental change (e.g. population pressures energy generation, transport, industry, tourism
pressure indicators
2): pressures on the environment caused by drivers or human activities directly affecting the environment.
state indicators
observed changes in the environmental components (e.g. air quality, water quality, soil quality and vegetation quality, habitat).
impact indicators
societal impacts due to changes in environmental components. Temp increase ( a state indicator)
response indicators
response of the society to the problem (e.g. reasons, actions, regulations, taxes, laws)
