unit 1 Flashcards
environmental movement
term used to describe humanity’s increasing awareness of the importance of conserving the environmental health of our planet
Although it takes different forms in different countries and across different groups of people, it is essentially a worldwide campaign to continue raising this awareness and to coordinate action to help reduce the negative effects humans are having on planet Earth
The environmental movement promotes sustainable development and the sustainable use of natural resources - this can be achieved by implementing changes in public policy and encouraging changes in our individual behaviours
Various historical events have been key in the development of the environmental movement
These events and influences have come from many different areas, including:
Literature
Media
Scientific research
Technological advancements
Major international disasters
International agreements
environmental value system
is the way that an individual, or any group of people, perceives the environment and the resources it provides them with
That includes you - your environmental value system determines the way that you perceive and evaluate environmental issues, as well as the course of action you might decide to take regarding these issues
A person’s or group’s environmental value system is shaped and influenced by a variety of factors, including cultural, religious, social, political, economic and environmental factors
These factors act as flows of information into individuals within societies
Individuals then process and transform this information into their perception of the environment and how to act on environmental matters
evs inputs
- education
- cultural influences
- social influences
- economic status
- political context
- media
evs outputs
perspectives
evaluations
decisions
actions
Although there is a very wide spectrum of environmental value systems, EVSs can be broadly divided into three categories. These are:
Ecocentric environmental value systems (ecocentrism)
Anthropocentric environmental value systems (anthropocentrism)
Technocentric environmental value systems (technocentrism)
ecocentrism
Ecocentrism is a philosophical and ethical approach that prioritises the intrinsic value of nature and the environment over human needs and interests
This approach emphasises that all living organisms and ecosystems have inherent worth and should be protected for their own sake
Ecocentrism advocates for sustainable practices that maintain the balance and integrity of ecosystems and the natural world, rather than exploiting them for human benefit
This approach is often associated with environmental movements and conservation efforts that aim to protect biodiversity, ecosystems and natural resources
anthropocentrism
Anthropocentrism is a worldview that places human beings at the centre of the universe, prioritising human needs and interests over those of other living beings and the environment
This approach emphasises that humans have the right to use natural resources and ecosystems for their own benefit
Although an anthropocentric viewpoint would ideally involve sustainable managing global systems, in reality anthropocentrism often results in unsustainable practices such as overexploitation of natural resources, habitat destruction, and pollution
This approach only values preserving biodiversity when it can provide economic and ecological advantages to humans
This approach is often criticised by environmentalists and conservationists for ignoring the intrinsic value of nature and its ecosystems
technocentrism
Technocentrism is a worldview that places technology and human ingenuity at the centre of all problem-solving and decision-making processes, often overlooking the impact on the environment and other living beings
This approach emphasises the use of technology to overcome environmental problems and maintain human well-being
Technocentrism often assumes that all environmental problems can be solved through technological innovation and economic growth, which may lead to neglect of the need for conservation and sustainability
This approach is often criticised by environmentalists for being short-sighted and ignoring the complex and interconnected nature of environmental issues
The spectrum of environmental value systems (from ecocentrism to anthropocentrism to technocentrism) can be broken down into further categories
These categories can either be extreme forms of a particular end of the EVS spectrum (such as deep ecologists and cornucopians), or they can lie somewhere between two EVSs (such as soft ecologists and environmental managers) as they contain a mixture of different values and perspectives from the three broader EVS categories
deep ecologists
View nature as having intrinsic value beyond its usefulness to humans
Believe in preserving biodiversity and ecosystems as a moral obligation
Advocate for reducing human impact on the environment and promoting sustainability
Prioritise the needs of the environment over those of human societies
soft ecologists
View individual responsibility and self-sufficiency in living sustainably as highly important for societies
Believe in reducing consumption, waste, and dependence on technology
Advocate for small-scale and local solutions to environmental problems
Prioritise self-sufficiency and personal freedom over environmental regulations
environmental managers
View the environment as a resource to be managed and conserved for human benefit
Believe in balancing economic development with environmental protection
Advocate for regulations and policies that promote sustainable resource use
Prioritise the needs of human societies over those of the environment
cornucopians
View the environment as a resource to be exploited for human benefit
Believe in human ingenuity and technological advancements to overcome environmental problems
Advocate for economic growth and development as a means to address environmental issues
Prioritise the needs of human societies over those of the environment
intrinsic value
this means it is still worth something, even if it doesn’t have any obvious economic value (monetary value)
This can sometimes be difficult to understand as in today’s society we tend to view everything from a financial perspective - we see almost everything, including our homes, food, heating, water, electricity, recreational activities and holidays, in terms of money
aspects of the environment that have intrinsic value
The experience of observing wild animals in their natural habitats
The incredible views that can be seen from mountain tops
Weather events, such as snow falling or warm summer days
Swimming in rivers and lakes
systems approach
is the term used to describe a method of simplifying and understanding a complicated set of interactions
Systems, and the interactions they contain, may be environmental or ecological (e.g. the water cycle or predator-prey relationships), social (e.g. how we live and work) or economic (e.g. financial transactions or business deals)
The interactions within a system, when looked at as a whole, produce the emergent properties of the system
For example, in an ecosystem, all the different ecological interactions occurring within it shape how that ecosystem looks and behaves - if the interactions change for some reason (e.g. a new predator is introduced), then the emergent properties of the ecosystem will change too
A systems approach is required in order to understand how these different factors combine and interact with one another, as well as how they all work together as a whole (the holistic approach)
two main ways of studying a system
A reductionist approach involves dividing a system into its constituent parts and studying each of these separately - this can be used to study specific interactions in great detail but doesn’t give the overall picture of what is occurring within the system as a whole
A holistic approach involves looking at all processes and interactions occurring within the system together, in order to study the system as a whole
a system is comprised of storages and flows
the flows provide inputs and outputs of energy and matter
the flows are processes that may be either
Transfers (a change in location)
Transformations (a change in the chemical nature, a change in state or a change in energy)
Transfers and Transformations
These are two fundamental concepts in systems (and systems diagrams) that help to understand how matter and energy move through a system
transfers
Transfers are the movement of matter or energy from one component of the system to another, without any change in form or quality
For example, water flowing from a river to a lake is a transfer
transformations
Transformations, on the other hand, involve a change in the form or quality of matter or energy as it moves through the system
For example, when sunlight is absorbed by plants, it is transformed into chemical energy through the process of photosynthesis
three main types of systems
Open systems
Closed systems
Isolated systems
The category that a system falls into depends on what
on how energy and matter flow between the system and the surrounding environment
open systems
Both energy and matter are exchanged between the system and its surroundings
Open systems are usually organic (living) systems that interact with their surroundings (the environment) by taking in energy and new matter (often in the form of biomass), and by also expelling energy and matter (e.g. through waste products or by organisms leaving a system)
An example of an open system would be a particular ecosystem or habitat
Your body is also an example of an open system - energy and matter are exchanged between you and your environment in the form of food, water, movement and waste
closed systems
Energy, but not matter, is exchanged between the system and its surroundings
Closed systems are usually inorganic (non-living), although this is not always the case
The International Space Station (ISS) could perhaps be seen as a closed system
It is a self-contained environment that must maintain a balance of resources, including air, water, and food, as well as waste management, energy production, and temperature control
The ISS cannot exchange matter with its surroundings
The Earth (and the atmosphere surrounding it) could be viewed as a closed system
The main input of energy occurs via solar radiation
The main output of energy occurs via heat (re-radiation of infrared waves from the Earth’s surface)
Matter is recycled completely within the system
Although, technically, very small amounts of matter enter and leave the system (in the form of meteorites or spaceships and satellites), these are considered negligible
Artificial and experimental ecological closed systems can also exist - for example, sealed terrariums, containing just the right balance of water and living organisms (such as mosses, ferns, bacteria, fungi or invertebrates) can sometimes survive for many years as totally closed systems, if light and heat energy is allowed to be exchanged across the glass boundary
isolated systems
Neither energy nor matter is exchanged between the system and its surroundings
Isolated systems do not exist naturally - they are more of a theoretical concept (although the entire Universe could be considered to be an isolated system)
model
simplified version of reality
A model is often used to represent a system
The model can then be analysed or tested to learn more about how the system works and to predict how the system might respond to change
For example, weather models are used to predict how our weather systems change over time, allowing us to create weather forecasts
Some models can be very simple, such as a child’s model car, whilst other models can be highly complex and require the power of supercomputers, such as the computer models that are currently being used to predict how our climate will change in the future
To some extent, due to their very nature, all models involve some level of approximation or simplification, and therefore some loss of accuracy (even the very powerful and complex models)
strengths of models
Models simplify complex systems
Models allow predictions to be made about how systems will react in response to change
System inputs can be changed to observe effects and outputs, without the need to wait for real-life events to occur
Models are easier to understand than the real system
Results from models can be shared between scientists, engineers, companies and communicated to the public
Results from models can warn us about future environmental issues and how to avoid them or minimise their impact
limitations of models
Models can be oversimplified and inaccurate
Results from models depend on the quality of the data inputs going into them
Results from models become more uncertain the further they predict into the future
Different models can show vastly different outputs even if they are given the same data inputs
Results from models can be interpreted by different people in different ways
Environmental systems are often incredibly complex, with many interacting factors - it is impossible to take all possible variables into account
energy
exists in many different forms, including light energy, heat energy, chemical energy, electrical energy, and kinetic energy
The way in which energy behaves within systems can be explained by the laws of thermodynamics
first law of thermodynamics
Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be transformed from one form to another
It means that the energy entering a system equals the energy leaving it
The transfer of energy in food chains within ecosystems demonstrates the principle of conservation of energy
Energy enters the system (the food chain or food web) in the form of sunlight
Producers convert this light energy into biomass (stored chemical energy) via photosynthesis
This chemical energy is passed along the food chain, via consumers, as biomass
All energy ultimately leaves the food chain, food web or ecosystem as heat energy
second law of thermodynamics
The entropy of a system increases over time
entropy
is a measure of the amount of disorder in a system
As entropy increases (through inefficiencies in energy transformations) the energy available to do work decreases
This is because the transformation and transfer of energy is any system is never 100% efficient
In other words, in any energy conversion, the amount of useable energy at the end of the process is always less than the amount of energy available at the start
the second law of thermodynamics explains
the decrease in available energy within ecosystems
In a food chain, for example, energy is transformed from a more concentrated (ordered) form (e.g. light energy the Sun), into a more dispersed (disordered) form (heat energy)
equilibrium
refers to a state of balance occurring between the separate components of a system
Open systems (such as ecosystems) usually exist in a stable equilibrium
This means they generally stay in the same state over time
They can be said to be in a state of balance
A stable equilibrium allows a system to return to its original state following a disturbance
main type of stable equilibrium
steady-state equilibrium
steady-state equilibrium
occurs when the system shows no major changes over a longer time period, even though there are often small, oscillating changes occurring within the system over shorter time periods
These slight fluctuations usually occur within closely defined limits and the system always return back towards its average state
Most open systems in nature are in steady-state equilibrium
For example, a forest has constant inputs and outputs of energy and matter, which change over time
