Lecture 1 Flashcards
Global Change
Human induced transformation of the global environment.
Environment
Surroundings that shape an organisms life
EX. Climate change, food supply - social, economic, environmental
Examples of Global Change
population explosion, global warming, ozone depletion, world hunger
System
A collection of interdependent parts enclosed within a defined boundary
4 spheres of the earth’s system
Atmosphere
Hydrosphere
Lithosphere
Biosphere
Atmosphere
Air
Troposhere - lowest layer, where weather is
Stratosphere - Ozone layer
Air pollution
Hydrosphere
Water
Vital for development of life
Cryosphere - places where water is in solid form (frozen)
Available fresh water = approx. 1%
Lithosphere
Crust
Foundation of Earth system
Plate techtonics
Pedosphere - soil: outer most layer of earth
Biosphere
Forest & stuff Sum of all biological activity Driver of carbon cycle Creates and maintains oxygen Anthroposphere - part of environment that is modified by humans for use in human activities and human habitats
Closed system
Earth
Matter stays in, energy flows in and out
Open system
All the spheres
Matter and energy flows in and out
The spheres interact with each other
Components of a cycle
Energy (solar, gravity) goes into a reservoir (ocean, atmosphere)
that goes into fluxes (evaporation, runoff, precipitation)
then goes into a different reservoir
EX. Other cycles: carbon and rock cycle
Also has inputs and outputs
Perturbations
Occurrences that can fluctuate/change the cycle
Causing the cycle to have to compensate to create equilibrium again
Responses
Positive and Negative Feedback
Positive Feedback
Amplifying
Increase in magnitude
Spiral out of control (has nothing to keep it in check)
Positive Feedback is not always a bad thing but for climate, it is
Ocean water which absorbs more sun radiation
= Warm temp
= Sea Ice will melt
Negative Feedback
Regulating
Decrease in magnitude
Keeps things in check
EX. Air Conditioning: when house is hot, AC turns on then when its cool enough, it’ll turn off. It regulates.
Climate warming =
Increase cloud cover =
Decreased incoming solo radiation
= Cool climate
Types of system responses
Long term - ice age
Short term - forest fire
Across time scale - CFC’s have long term affect on ozone layer
Resource Cycle
1) Resource
2) Concentration/purification
3) Production
4) Consumption
5) Recycling
6) Designation of goods
7) Waste
8) Waste goes into environment
Types of Waste
Material resources - taken from environment, has no more human use
Flows of energy - results from human activity, not useful
Attributes of the environment - not valued
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Hunter-Gatherer Society
Most food, obtained from wild plants and animals
Small groups to move easier
Once ground is depleted they move to new area
Agrarian Society
"agriculture" Became more productive with growing food Other trades were developed and urban areas Helped move away from food production Low population density
Industrial Revolution
Colonies - resource wealth was able to sustain the mother land and played a significant role in this revolution
Caused development to take off
Coal breaks connection between natural production rates of biomass fuel and level of industrial activity
Allowed us to change globe
The Great Transformation
Massive social and economic re-organization of Western societies over the last 500 years with profound effect on global environment.
IPAT Framework
Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology
Created by Barry Commoner, Paul R. Ehrlich and John Holdren
I = PAT
Impact
Population - increase of land use, resources, and pollution
Affluence - average consumption per person (GDP) - environmental impact
Technology - represents how resource intensive the production of affluence is - Improvements in technology can reduce environmental impact.
Overpopulation
Population > carrying capacity
Resource depletion
ecological footprint
measures how much land and water area a popula- tion requires to produce the re- sources it consumes
Biocapacity
represents the planet’s current biologically productive areas, which provide resources and can also absorb much of the waste we generate, especially our carbon emissions
Ways to deal with overpopulation
Make a bigger pie - being innovative
Put fewer forks on the table - reduce # of children
Teach better manners - change interactions-social justice
Requirements of Free Market
Large number of buyers and sellers
All economic agents behave rationally; producers maximize profits and consumers maximize their satisfaction or “utility”
Inputs being supplied and goods being produced are individually owned and divisible; thus, property rights exist
Market Failure
when the market does not allocate scarce resources to generate the greatest social welfare
Commons
Everybody owns the land
if everyone is using land, resources are being depleted
No rules, self-interest
Forms of Property Rights
- Private property
- Community-ownedproperty(communalregulation)
- State-ownedproperty(publicdomain)
- Open access (no property rights - unregulated)
- Common heritage of mankind
externality
the cost or benefit of the production or consumption of a good or service is experienced by people other than the producer or consumer.
