Unit 1 Flashcards
What is a perspective
The way in which an individual views and understands a particular situation
How are perspectives influenced?
With values and beliefs
What are values
Deeply held beliefs focused on the things that people see as important or desirable in life
An example of showing values
A person who has had direct experience of climate change may form personal values that reflect this
What are values surveys
Can be used to investigate the values underpinning the perspectives shown by a particular social group
What is a questionnaire
A document that asks the same questions to all individuals in the sample
What are worldviews
The lenses shared by groups of people, how societies see the world and how peoples values are shaped by many factors
Environmental Values System (EVS)
A model showing the inputs affecting our perspectives and the outputs resulting from them
State some EVS inputs
Education, worldviews, the media, cultural influences, economic factors, sociopolitical factors, religion
State some EVS outputs
Judgement, choices, courses of action
What three perspectives is the EVS separated in
Ecocentric, anthropocentric and technocentric
What is an ecocentric perspective
The idea that ecology and nature is the centre to humanity
What is an anthropocentric perspective
The belief that humans must sustainably manage the global system
What is a technocentric perspective
The belief that technological developments can provide solutions to environmental problems
What is a pressure group
A group that puts pressure on an organisation to act more sustainably correct (eg protestors)
What is Greenpeace?
An influential pressure group (NGO) that made an anti-whaling campaign
How is Greta Thunberg influential
She held school strikes to protect the climate, starting a global movement
How is Rachel Carson influential
She was the first person to highlight the environmental hazards posed by pesticides
How is Jane Goodall influential
She studied chimpanzees in the wild and set up a global community conservation organisation
What is a system
An assemblage of parts and the relationships between them that make a whole
How are the interdependent components of systems connected
Through energy and matter
What is a storage
A place where matter or energy is kept
What is a flow
Something that provides inputs and outputs of energy and matter
How are system diagrams drawn
Storages are rectangular boxes and flows are arrows marking the direction of the flow
What two forms can flows come in
Transfers and transformations
What is a transfer
A change in location
What is a transformation
A change in energy or state of matter
What is an open system
A system where both matter and energy is exchanged across the boundaries
Examples of open systems
Forests and rivers
What does organic mean
Living (open systems are organic)
What is a closed system
A system where energy is exchanged across the boundaries but matter is not
Examples of closed systems
Aquarium with a lid
What is the Gaia Hypothesis
The Earth is compared to a living organism which feedback maintains equilibrium, stating that Earth is a global control
What is an ecosystem
A community of interdependent organisms and the physical environment they inhabit
What are biomes
Ecosystems with similar climactic conditions in different parts of the world
What is negative feedback
Feedback that counteracts any change away from equilibrium, promoting stability
What is equilibrium
A state of balance among the components of a system
What is positive feedback
A source of instability or change which counteracts the equilibrium of a system
Example of a positive feedback loop
More global warming –> increased temperature –> melting of ice –> decreased albedo
What is a tipping point
A critical threshold where even a small change can have dramatic effects and cause a disproportionately large response in the overall system.
What is a model
A simplified version of reality, used to understand how systems work and interact
What are some advantages of models
They allow scientists to simplify complex things, can predict things, allow inputs to be changed and examined, the public and other scientists can understand because it is simple
What are some disadvantages of models
It may be hard to take all variables into account, different models could show different effects using the same data, may be oversimplified and less accurate, many assumptions may be made making it unreliable
What is a trophic level
The position that an organism occupies in a food chain
What is resilience
The capacity to resist damage and recover from or adapt efficiently to disturbance
What is sustainability
Using global resources at a rate which allows natural regeneration and minimises damage to the environment
What is environmental sustainability
The focus on resource depletion, pollution and conserving biodiversity
What is pollution
The contamination of the Earth and atmosphere to an extent that normal processes are severely affected
What is biodiversity
The variety of life on Earth
What is social sustainability
The focus on the survival of societies and their cultures, considering their use of language and beliefs
What is economic sustainability
The ability of the present generation to meet its needs without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their needs
What is Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
A measure of national output
What is environmental justice
The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development and implementation of environmental laws and policies
What is an ecological footprint (EF)
The focus on a given population and its current rate of resource consumption and the estimation of the area of environment needed to sustainably support this population
What is a carbon footprint
The relation to specific quantity of greenhouse gases produced by human activities
What do greenhouse gases do
Heat up the planet
What is biocapacity
The capacity of a given biologically productive area to generate an ongoing supply of renewable resources and absorb existing wastes
What is citizen science
The involvement of the public in scientific research
What are some advantages of the sustainable development goals (SDGs)
They set a common ground for policy making
What are some limitations of the sustainable development goals (SDGs)
They do not go far enough, ignore local contexts and lack supportive data
What does the planetary boundaries model do
Identifies science-based limits to human disurbances of Earth’s systems and highlights the need to focus on more than just climate change
What is a limitation of the planetary boundaries model
It only focuses on ecological systems and does not consider the human dimension necessary to act for environmental justice
What is the doughnut economics model
A model that addresses the challenges of meeting environmental and social sustainability, with human and environmental factors
What is a regenerative economy
One that works within the cycles and limits of the world
What is a distributive economy
One that shares values and opportunities more equally among stakeholders
What are the three pillars of sustainability
Economic, social and economic
What is the circular economy model
The reuse approach
What are the three principles the circular economy is based around
- Eliminate waste and pollution
- Keep products and materials in use
- Regenerate natural systems
What is the butterfly diagram
The visual representation of the circular economy, showing the different ways which materials can be kept in use
