Lec 4: The Context for EM, ctd Flashcards
What are the 5 systems to be considered when speaking of sustainable development?
ecological systems
- they are our support system
climate systems
health systems
cultural and social systems
- different cultures emerged due to different relationships with the environment
economic systems
+ miscellaneous biophysical processes that we cannot control: volcanoes, meteors, etc
What are the 3 conclusions from “reading the signals”?
1) increased technology complexity increases vulnerability
2) we need to invest in learning how to manage our relationship with the environment
3) we need informed citizens, experts in different fields, and communication
In what ways do organisms influence their environment?
- Ameliorative (succession and symbiosis)
- Damaging
- Local extinction
In what regards is the human influence on its environment different from other species’?
1) the scale of influence
Spatially and temporally our scale of influence is much larger than other species’
2) the fact that in human eyes, human life has a special sanctity
3) Analytic capacity
We can consciously do something about our environment
What are environments? What makes HUMAN environments different?
- the entire sustaining contexts for life
- this context is variable for humans (determined by resources, technology, and cultural values). Environment is a non-specific term
is predictability high or low in environmental systems?
low. they are complex.
through which types of systems can management work?
cultural systems
What are the 2 problem sets in “our common future”?
overconsumption and deprivation
Can we find a common feature that addresses both overconsumption and poverty?
Why are our “current needs” subjective?
because we don’t know what future generations’ needs will be, nor what their abilities to live within the environment we create for them will be.
