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ISCI 360 > Module 3: Climate Change and Ecological Overshoot > Flashcards

Module 3: Climate Change and Ecological Overshoot Flashcards

1
Q

planetary boundaries (3)

A
  • estimate of the boundaries for the biophysical processes that determine the Earth’s capacity for self-regulation
  • define the sustainable limits for human existence, and suggested that these boundaries must not be crossed if catastrophic environmental change is to be avoided
  • concern whether we understood the Earth system enough to know the real limits to environmental degradation
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2
Q

net primary productivity (NPP)

A
  • estimation of how much of the biomass (living material) produced each year by vegetation is harvested and used by humans
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3
Q

human appropriation of NPP (HANPP) (2)

A
  • through data and modelling, found that humans are appropriating nearly 1/4 of all biomass produced each year by ecosystems
  • reduces the energy amount available to other species and influences biodiversity, water flows, carbon flows between vegetation and atmosphere, energy flows within food webs, and provision of ecosystem services
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4
Q

ecological footprint analysis (3)

A
  • standard measure that can be used to related demand for natural resources to the planet’s ability to replenish resources
  • results presented as the amount of land and sea area needed to support human populations
  • uses existing data to translate human demand on the environment into the area required for the production of food and other goods, together with the absorption of wastes
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5
Q

the tragedy of the commons (2)

A
  • describes an pasture open to common use where each herdsman will try to keep as many cattle as possible to maximize their gain
  • gives rise to tragedy: each locked into a system that compels them to increase herd without limit, resulting in environmental degradation that negatively affects everyone
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6
Q

what examples did the author of the tragedy of the commons use to relate it to real world issues (2)

A
  • marine fisheries
  • pollution of the environment
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7
Q

what is the overall conclusion of the tragedy of the commons

A
  • over-exploitation of a natural resource is an inevitable consequence of human nature
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8
Q

how could the tragedy of the commons be incorrect/harmful

A
  • due to a misunderstanding of the system, the author mixes up open access and common land
  • as a result, companies used this information to seize the highly regulated common land by making the land private and using it for commercialization
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9
Q

carbon stock

A
  • quantity of carbon in a pool (reservoir containing carbon) at a specific time
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10
Q

carbon flux

A
  • transfer of carbon from one carbon pool to another (measured in mass per unit of area and time)
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11
Q

source

A
  • any process or activity that releases greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere
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12
Q

sink

A
  • any process, activity, or mechanism that removes greenhouse has, an aerosol, or a precursor of a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere
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13
Q

carbon budget

A
  • balance of the exchanges of carbon between carbon pools; examination of this budget will provide info on whether it is acting as a source or a sink
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14
Q

carbon sequestration

A
  • process of increasing the carbon content of a carbon pool other than the atmosphere
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15
Q

what are the main components of the carbon cycle, from smallest to largest (4)

A
  • atmosphere
  • land
  • ocean
  • Earth’s crust
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16
Q

what determines the overall atmospheric CO2 concentration

A
  • the rate of exchanges of atmosphere CO2 with the ocean and terrestrial ecosystems; exchange occurs continuously
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17
Q

carbon cycling in the ocean (3)

A
  • atmospheric CO2 exchanges with oceanic CO2 at the surface through diffusion
  • oceanic CO2 reacts to form bicarbonate, allowing oceans to uptake more CO2, but is limited by mineral cation supply from coastal sediment weathering
  • concentration of CO2 increases in ocean interior due to two processes: solubility pump ad biological pump
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18
Q

solubility pump (2)

A
  • process where CO2 is transported from upper ocean to interior depending on ocean circulation and mixing where cold, dense waters sink to deep oceans
  • the water dissolve and capture carbon before the water masses re-surface again after decades to centuries of years
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19
Q

biological pump (2)

A
  • microscopic organisms (phytoplankton) assimilate CO2 through photosynthesis
  • the carbon is fixed in their biomass, 25% sinks to the deep ocean and is oxidized and added to the dissolved carbon concentration
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20
Q

carbon cycling on land (natural) (2)

A
  • CO2 removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis of plants and stored in organic matter (can be for a long time); about half is released back through respiration
  • remainder joins pool of organic matter in soil and eventually returns to atmosphere through soil decomposition (can also take a long time)
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21
Q

carbon cycling on land (human activities) (2)

A
  • combustion of fossil fuels
  • land cover change
22
Q

carbon cycling on land: fossil fuels (2)

A
  • combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) from million year old organisms as primary energy source
  • releases large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere and alters the natural carbon cycle
23
Q

carbon cycling on land: land cover change

A
  • land cover change, mainly deforestation, from human population increase and expansion of human settlements
  • large areas of native forests cleared and converted into agricultural and urban areas
  • as terrestrial carbon storage occurs in forests, land cover changes resulted in net flux of carbon to the atmosphere
24
Q

how do we know fossil fuel combustion is one of the main anthropogenic sources of CO2 emissions influencing climate change

A
  • it has been proven with evidence: decrease in C13/C12 ratio over time and overall decline in O2 concentration over time
  • this could be determined because CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion is unique to natural CO2
25
Q

how do we know land-use change is one of the main anthropogenic sources of CO2 emissions influencing climate change (3)

A
  • CO2 emissions from land-use change is more difficult to calculate and can only be estimated through models
  • estimated using book-keeping method that tracks carbon stored in vegetation and soil for each hectare of land cultivated, harvested, or reforested; based on self-reporting data
  • due to difficulties calculating CO2 fluxes from land-use change, the literature shows differing total anthropogenic emissions of carbon
26
Q

land-use change is one of the main anthropogenic sources of CO2 emissions influencing climate change: what two factors give rise to uncertainties (2)

A
  • availability of land-use data, especially related to rate of deforestation
  • availability of data on changes in carbon stocks resulting from land management, such as harvesting and burning
27
Q

what is causing global warming/climate change/changes in Earth as a system

A
  • humans
28
Q

ecological overshoot (2)

A
  • the phenomenon which occurs when the demands made on a natural ecosystem exceed its regenerative capacity
  • occurring right now because of human; our needs surpass the regenerative capacity and resources of a single earth
29
Q

what are the causal factors to ecological overshoot? (2)

A
  1. species/populations have the biological disposition to expand exponentially when possible
  2. humans have an unparalleled capacity for social learning
30
Q

causal factors of ecological overshoot: expansion (2)

A
  • species/populations have the biological disposition to expand to fill all accessible habitats AND to use all available resources for continued growth and reproduction
  • stock will grow unless a stabilizing feedback mechanism keeps it in check
31
Q

wha stabilizing feedbacks normally keep populations in check and what does it result in (2)

A
  • population reaches a threshold where it is too big and resource depletion occurs(no more food, space, etc)
  • results in loss of infinite growth/ a crash before stabilization of the population size
32
Q

how are humans bypassing the stabilizing feedbacks that normally act on species populations (4)

A
  • outcompeting other species by modifying the environment
  • health care
  • social learning
  • we construct our reality (laws, politics, economy, etc)
33
Q

is human population growth an example of a amplifying feedback loop?

A
  • yes: the bigger the population, the more mating that occurs and the more offspring that is produced
34
Q

causal factors of ecological overshoot: social learning (3)

A
  • we learn from others (both genetically and non-genetically related to us), thus bypassing costly trial-by-error learning
  • supports cumulative culture and innovation
  • we socially construct our realities and the way we perceive those realities
35
Q

what is the result of the population growth of humans

A
  • we have a huge (and still growing) capacity for consumption, but Earth did not get any larger; PROBLEM
36
Q

what fueled the exponential growth of humans

A
  • extensive use of fossil fuels allowed more agriculture mechanization, leading to removal of stabilizing feedbacks due to food and resource abundance
37
Q

how does technology and efficiency address ecological overshoot

A
  • the though that we can support the growth with efficiency is incorrect; more efficiency will lead to increased consumption due to faster inflow into the stock
38
Q

symptoms of overshoot: atmospheric CO2 (2)

A
  • increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate change
  • 45% increase above pre-industrial levels leads to a change in the chemistry of the ecosphere
39
Q

symptoms of overshoot: surface temperature

A
  • the average temperature per year is getting warmer
40
Q

symptoms of overshoot: plunging biodiversity (2)

A
  • human population and economic growth are competitively displacing wild species from their habitats and food sources
  • results in extinction and displacement; replacement of wild species with livestock to support humans and room for humans to live
41
Q

symptoms of overshoot: world energy (2)`

A
  • increase in consumption of all energy types
  • positive: renewable energy use is increasing, but this is not the solution if overall energy consumption continues to grow as this will still increase carbon emissions
42
Q

the boom-bust population cycle (3)

A
  • populations will experience a ‘boom’ when favourable growth conditions occur (humans here right now)
  • when nutrients are depleted (unavoidable as we are confined to a finite number of resources on Earth), stabilizing feedbacks will cause the population to go through a ‘bust’
  • pattern common to non-human species introduced to a resource-rich system
43
Q

why can humans avoid the uncontrolled collapse of population (‘bust’) (4)

A
  • high intelligence
  • the ability to plan ahead
  • the capacity to exercise moral judgement
  • empathy/compassion for other people and species
44
Q

how can humans avoid the uncontrolled collapse of population (‘bust’)

A
  • decrease the overshoot/resource need to be under the carrying capacity of the Earth
45
Q

project drawdown (2)

A
  • global initiative to rank hundreds of solutions to current climate projections
  • aim to show which climate issues are most important to achieve a future point in time when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline (inflow < outflow)
46
Q

product footprint

A
  • evaluates life cycle of products and ranks actions
47
Q

do you personal choices reduce your contribution to climate change

A
  • yes: can be small (upgrading light bulbs, recycling) or large (one less baby, car free life)
48
Q

why are cars bad for climate change (2)

A
  • the cost to manufacture, refine fuel, run the vehicle, and for maintenance are high; lots of emissions
  • more car users take up more space, creating need for more space for roads/parking, creating an increased need to own a car to get to further away places; amplifying feedback loop that requires even more emissions
49
Q

why is air travel bad for climate change

A
  • a single flight can take up ALL of the suggested yearly emissions (to avoid ecological overshoot) for an individual
50
Q

why is a plant-based diet good for the environment

A
  • just subbing one plant-based item for a animal-based item can achieve huge emissions reductions and free up cropland

ISCI 360 (11 decks)

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