Definitions

Question 1

Environmental Value System

Answer 1

A set of paradigms that shapes the perception of:

Environmental threats

How they may impact the environment

Whether or not that matters.

Question 2

Ecocentric

Answer 2

Ecocentrism proposes that there is an intrinsic value to natural resources and natural systems and that spiritual, social and environmental dimensions are all integrated.

Question 3

Anthropocentric

Answer 3

Anthropocentrism is a human-centred worldview that believes nature is there not because it has any intrinsic value, but because we can use all of its natural resources for our benefit.

Question 4

Technocentric

Answer 4

Technocentric value systems have absolute faith in technology and industry. Natural processes need to be understood so that they can be controlled and replaced by technology if necessary.

Question 5

Deep ecologist

Answer 5

Deep ecologists hold the more extreme views and their overall philosophy is to stop all development.

Question 6

Soft ecologist

Answer 6

Mainly ecocentric but with some anthropocentric elements.
Small scale development Community identity that keeps development in check.

Believes that living things have intrinsic moral value; favors self-restraint, legislation, and community organizing and participation; mistrust of technology.

Question 7

Environmental manager

Answer 7

Humans are environmental managers of sustainable global systems. Economic growth and resource exploitation are acceptable so long as they are strongly regulated by independent authorities.

Question 8

Cornucopian

Answer 8

Believes that we can carry on with development because technology will solve any problems that arise.

Question 9

Biocentric

Answer 9

An ethical perspective holding that all life deserves equal moral consideration or has equal moral standing, the rights and needs of humans are not more important than those of other living things.

Question 10

System

Answer 10

A system is a set of interrelated parts and the connection between them that unites them to form a complex whole and produces emergent properties.

Question 11

Systems approach

Answer 11

A systems approach allows us to visualize a complex set of interactions.

It is based on the generalization that everything is inter-related and interdependent.

Question 12

Reductionism

Answer 12

the practice of analysing and describing a complex phenomenon in terms of its simple or fundamental constituents

Question 13

Model

Answer 13

A model is a simplified version of reality that tells a story about what happens in the natural world.

Question 14

Storage

Answer 14

Space or a place for accumulation of a substance. In system diagrams they are usually represented by a box (sometimes size box represents size of the storage)

Question 15

Flow

Answer 15

Energy flows, the ultimate source of all energy in any system is solar radiation from the sun.

Question 16

Transfer

Answer 16

Transfers simply move energy or matter from one place to another without changing it in anyway.

Question 17

Transformation

Answer 17

Transformations move energy and matter but in the process of doing so there is a change of state or form.

Question 18

Open system

Answer 18

An open system exchanges matter and energy with its surroundings.

Question 19

Closed system

Answer 19

A closed system exchanges energy but does not exchange matter with its surroundings.

Question 20

Isolated system

Answer 20

An isolated system exchanges neither energy nor matter with its surroundings.

Question 21

First law of thermodynamics

Answer 21

The law of conservation of energy is the first law of thermodynamics, which states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

Question 22

Second law of thermodynamics

Answer 22

The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of a system increases over time; the only way to avoid entropy is a continuous input of additional energy.

Question 23

Entropy

Answer 23

Entropy is the increase in disorder and randomness in a system. In energy terms it means that an increase in entropy means a decline in the amount of energy available to do work.

Question 24

Stable equilibrium

Answer 24

The condition of a system in which there is a tendency for it to return to a previous equilibria condition following disturbance.

Question 25

Steady-state equilibrium

Answer 25

Steady state equilibrium has many small changes over shorter periods of time and the changes occur within limits. Small changes in part of the system will be countered by negative feedback and the system is bought back to the same state as before

Question 26

Negative feedback

Answer 26

This type of feedback promotes stability in a system as it reverses the change and returns the system to the original state of equilibrium

Question 27

Positive feedback

Answer 27

Positive feedback amplifies a change in the system and keeps it going in the same direction. So a small disturbance in the system causes an increase in that disturbance.

Question 28

Resilience

Answer 28

A resilient ecosystem will respond to a disturbance with self-regulating mechanisms (negative feedback) that return the system to a steady state after any disturbance.

Question 29

Tipping point

Answer 29

A tipping point is part of a system that kick-starts self-perpetuating positive feedback loops that push the systems to a new state of equilibrium.

Question 30

Sustainability

Answer 30

Sustainability is the management of the exploitation of resources that allows for replacement of the resources and full recovery of the ecosystems that may be affected by extraction.

Question 31

Natural capital

Answer 31

Natural capital is natural resources that produce sustainable natural income of goods and services

Question 32

Natural income

Answer 32

Natural income is the yield from natural capital.

Question 33

Natural income of goods

Answer 33

Goods are marketable commodities that can be exploited by humans

Question 34

Natural income of services

Answer 34

Services are natural processes that provide benefits for humans such as water replenishment, clean air and protection against erosion.

Question 35

Environmental Impact Assessment

Answer 35

The process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made.

Question 36

Ecological footprint

Answer 36

The Ecological Footprint (EF) the amount of land and water that is required to support a human population at a given standard of living – providing all the resources and assimilating all the waste.

Question 37

Pollution

Answer 37

Pollution is the addition of substances into the natural environment at a rate that is greater than that at which they can be rendered harmless and which causes adverse changes.

Question 38

Organic pollutant

Answer 38

An organic pollutant is something that is or was living, such as human sewage, silage, etc. They are carbon-based and they may or may not be toxic.

Question 39

Inorganic pollutant

Answer 39

An inorganic pollutant is one that is non-living and generally does not contain carbon.

Question 40

Point source pollution

Answer 40

Point source pollution is a single identifiable source of pollution.

Question 41

Non-point source pollution

Answer 41

Non-point source pollution is pollution from diffuse sources, this is difficult to monitor and control.

Question 42

Primary pollutants

Answer 42

Primary pollutants are released into the environment directly from a source in the form they are produced.

Question 43

Secondary pollutant

Answer 43

Secondary pollutants form when primary pollutants react with the environment and other pollutants. They tend to be more toxic, such as ground level ozone, acid deposition.

Question 44

DDT

Answer 44

DDT is an organochloride insecticide that is colorless, tasteless and odorless. Because it is a persistent organic pollutant (POP), it can’t be broken down.

Question 45

Persistent pollutant

Answer 45

Persistent pollutants do not breakdown easily and the most dangerous ones are the persistent organic pollutants (POP’s). These pollutants are insoluble in water but often soluble in fat (lipid soluble) so they pass through the food chain in ever increasing concentrations, for example DDT and other pesticides.

Question 46

Chronic pollution

Answer 46

Chronic pollution is the persistent long-term release of a pollutant at low concentrations. For example, run-off from urban areas washes oil from the roads into rivers.

Question 47

Acute pollutant

Answer 47

Acute pollution occurs suddenly and in large quantities over a short period of time, for example a sudden rupture in an oil pipe is an acute problem.