Topic 1

how a particular situation is viewed and understood by someone

a statement that supports a personal perspective or counters a different one

principles that people consider worthy and important in life

the way in which groups perceive, make sense of, and act in their environment

culture, religion, education, and socio-political contexts

because in the past the human population was much smaller and one amongst many

that humans are meant to explore and conquer the planet for industrial growth and that economic growth improves everything

• emphasizes value of all living organisms and ecosystems

• fights for the protection of the environment

• sees the environment as a priority over human needs & economic growth

• believing human needs and interests are the most important factor in understanding the world and making decisions about the environment

• believing that technology can solve environmental and societal problems

• often prioritizing technological solutions over ecological or nature-based solutions

• The Romans noticing water and air pollution

• Pollution being associated with the spread of diseases in Europe between the 14th and 16th century

• Soil conservation practices in China, India and Peru 2000 years ago

• individuals

• international agreements

• new technologies

• major environmental disasters

• literature

• scientific discoveries.

• the media

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, published in 1962. She explained how pesticides like DDT found their way into animals and humans, causing higher risks of cancer. Chemical industries tried to ban the book, but many scientists shared her concerns and an investigation ordered by US president John F. Kennedy confirmed her fears. DDT was banned.

• we are pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere while we know they are changing the global climate but we keep discussing what to do about it while still pumping out the gases just like running a bath to overflowing, we run in and turn off the taps, we don't stop and discuss what to do with others in the house, but the bath is still full

• Greata Thunberg - challanges world leaders to act now to reduce climate change (started fridays for future)

• Wanjiku Gatheru - inspires a generation of environmentalists and tells the stories of those most affected by climate change (founder of black girl environmentalists)

• Tokata Iron Eyes - opposed a uranium mine and the dakota access pipeline as it pollutes freshwater

• Sir David Attenborough - produced and narrated many TV series, books on natural history, and education programmes focused on climate change

• Dame Ellen MacArthur - founded the charity "The Ellen MacArthur Foundation" in 2010 to create a circular economy which has an impact on industry and global trade

• Hans Cosmas Ngoteya - promotes peaceful co-existence between wildlife and humans and created a project that helps reduce pressure on natural resources

• James Hansen - worked at NASA, studied the earths atmosphere and created graphs that show humans effect on climate and calculated a rise in global temperatures

NGOs raise public awareness on environmental issues and run campaigns to influence government policies regarding sustainability and conservation

responsible management and protection of natural resources and ecosystems

Friends of the Earth (FoE), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Global Footprint Network (GFN), Greenpeace, and Earthjustice

they campaigned to ban the international commercial trade in ivory, which led to a ban in 1989. In 2017, China, the world's largest ivory market, announced a ban on ivory sales within the country

Earthjustice sued the U.S. government over the decision to proceed with the Willow Project in Alaska, which allowed oil drilling on public lands

they use natural resources and generate waste, for example through mining, burning fossil fuels, and producing unrecyclable plastics

they make environmental policy decisions, enforce legislation like emissions controls, and participate in international agreements to address global environmental challenges

they hold Earth Summits to bring together governments, NGOs, and corporations to address global environmental issues and promote development.

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, The End of Nature by Bill McKibben, James Lovelock’s books on the Gaia hypothesis, and The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells

An Inconvenient Truth (2006), No Impact Man (2009), and Breaking Boundaries (2021)

it suggests that Earth functions as a self-regulating system, where living organisms interact with their environment to maintain conditions conducive to life

it focused on the role of human activities in global warming, and called for urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

The slogan was "Don't throw anything away. There is no away." The controversy stemmed from the misleading implication that a significant portion of Shell's refinery emissions were being recycled

it was caused by mercury poisoning due to the release of methylmercury from a Chisso Corporation factory into Minamata Bay, which bioaccumulated in the food chain and poisoned the local population

it caused loss of vision, hearing, and speech, lack of coordination, mental illnesses, and even death in severe cases

it occurred on December 3, 1984, when 40 tonnes of MIC gas leaked from a pesticide plant, exposing half a million people and causing nearly 3,000 immediate deaths

it was caused by an explosion and fire in reactor 4 of the nuclear power plant, leading to the release of radioactive material over much of Europe

Reactor 4 was encased in a metal structure in 2017, and a 30 km exclusion zone remains around the site. Biodiversity in the area has increased due to the exclusion of humans.

an earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which caused the meltdown of three nuclear reactors

The radiation leak from Fukushima was about 30% of the Chernobyl disaster, but still led to the evacuation of a densely populated area and ongoing concerns about radioactive contamination.

the plant was not built to withstand a tsunami, despite being located near the sea in an earthquake-prone area

to address global environmental issues by promoting sustainable development, creating the Agenda 21 action plan, and establishing conventions on biodiversity and climate change

they raised global environmental awareness and established frameworks for international cooperation on sustainability

the period of agricultural transformation in the mid-20th century aimed at increasing food production

it was highly successful in increasing food production and preventing famine in many parts of the world

chemicals like DDT cause cancer, this led to stricter regulations on pesticide use and the banning of harmful chemicals in many countries

the process by which natural habitats are altered or destroyed, often due to human activities like deforestation. It leads to a loss of biodiversity as species lose their homes and resources.

A set of inter-related parts working together to make a functioning whole

the part of Earth where life exists, surrounding all ecosystems, including living organisms, soil, water, and air

The part of the Earth that is made or modified by humans, including cities, roads, machines, cultivated lands, and energy networks

It reduces the biosphere by degrading land and damaging habitats through human activities such as urbanization and agriculture

the layer of gases surrounding the Earth, providing air that all living organisms need for survival

the solid parts of the Earth, including rocks (lithosphere) and soil (pedosphere)

all the water on Earth, including oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater, and water vapor in the atmosphere.

the part of the Earth's hydrosphere that consists of frozen water, such as glaciers, ice caps, and permafrost

family, school, city, nation, the Earth

they may be matter or energy

places where matter or energy is held, and they may be living or non-living

the movements of matter or energy within a system

they represent the relative sizes of the storages within the system

Storages:

Plants

Herbivores

Carnivores

Detritus

Decomposers and detritivores

Storage nutrient pool

Flows:

Light

Consumption

Death and waste

Recycling

In/Outputs:

Heat and respiration

Food brought in

Nutrients removed by wind and water

when matter or energy moves from one place to another without changing its state or chemical nature

Water moving from a river to the sea

when matter or energy changes state

1. liquid to gas

2. light energy to chemical energy

A closed system exchanges energy but not matter with its environment

It’s not a closed system because it exchanges small amounts of matter with space, though it primarily exchanges energy

an open system allows both matter and energy to cross the its boundaries to a significant degree

a state of balance in open systems where inputs and outputs are balanced, avoiding sudden changes

a water tank filling at the same rate it empties, resulting in no net change in water level

an ecosystem that has reached a steady state

It experiences ongoing processes like growth and decay, with inputs and outputs of energy and matter balancing over time

Processes that help maintain a steady-state equilibrium by counteracting changes (e.g., sweating to cool down or shivering to warm up).

A prototype space city built in Arizona to create a habitable closed system on Earth for studying closed biospheres in space colonization

It struggled to produce enough food, faced dangerously low oxygen levels, and eventually became an open system when inhabitants opened windows and doors

Rainforest, coral reef, mangroves, savanna, desert, agricultural area, and living quarters

Of the 25 small animal species, 19 became extinct, while some insects thrived

Stable equilibrium returns to the same state after a disturbance, while unstable equilibrium returns to a new state after a disturbance

a process where information triggers a reaction that may lead to further information and reactions

they boost disturbances and destabilize the system (eg. Rising global temperatures causing ice caps to melt)

The minimum change in a system that destabilizes it and shifts it to a new equilibrium or stable state

A measure of how much a surface reflects sunlight

In educational contexts, if students enjoy learning, they may engage more, leading to better education outcomes

A model proposed by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis suggesting that Earth and its biological systems function as a single entity with self-regulating negative feedback loops to maintain conditions favorable for life

The temperature at the Earth's surface remains constant, even though the Sun emits 30% more energy than when the Earth formed

It suggests self-regulation, as oxygen is a reactive gas that should be reacting and changing

The ocean's salinity remains constant despite rivers washing salts into the seas, indicating regulatory processes

He argues that Earth is "older" and less able to recover from changes, suggesting a transition to a new, hotter equilibrium state due to positive feedback mechanisms

He suggests that while humanity may survive, there could be a 90% reduction in the human population due to the shift in equilibrium

Steady-state equilibrium occurs when the inputs and outputs of a system are balanced over time, resulting in no net change in the system’s overall state

where a system remains in a fixed state with no movement or change, as all forces acting on it are balanced

a state in which continuous changes occur within a system, but these changes balance out to maintain a stable overall condition

It’s one of Europe's most important wetlands, home to endangered species, a crucial stopover for migratory birds and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Illegal water extraction for agriculture, has led to the drying of wetlands, threatening biodiversity and ecosystems

The region's agricultural industry, particularly berry farming, relies heavily on water access, contributing to the local economy but causing environmental harm

they have tried to regulate water use, but enforcement has been weak due to political pressure from agricultural lobbies

The benefits of water use go to farmers, but the environmental burden is borne by the park’s ecosystems, showing an unfair distribution of benefits and harms

a community of living organisms interacting with their physical environment

focusing on balanced resource management

The conflict is between conservation (preserving the wetlands and biodiversity) and economic development (agriculture, which depends on water extraction)

Earth's natural resources, such as water, soil, and biodiversity, which provide ecosystem services necessary for life

Renewable natural capital, like groundwater, can be replaced naturally, while non-renewable capital, like fossil fuels, cannot be reloaded quickly

managing resources to conserve biodiversity and avoid resource exhaustion, ensuring long-term ecosystem health and resilience

It focuses on structures and systems that promote human well-being, like health, education, and equity, ensuring these benefits for future generations

It’s about creating systems that ensure the long-term production and consumption of goods and services without harming natural resources

an economic growth indicator that accounts for environmental factors like biodiversity loss and climate change

"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

The poverty of the Global South and the non-sustainable consumption and production patterns in the Global North

the situation where humanity's annual demand on natural resources exceeds what the Earth can renew in a year

The date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services exceeds what the Earth can regenerate in that year

July 28th

The right of all people to live in a pollution-free environment and have access to natural resources, regardless of race, gender, or socio-economic status

The maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can sustainably support

EF measures the area of land and water needed to sustain a population, while biocapacity is the ability of an area to regenerate resources and absorb waste

Biodiversity, pollution levels, and energy production and consumption

the amount of forest land that could take CO₂ emissions from burning fossil fuels

it leads to resource depletion, environmental degradation, and unsustainable living conditions

the amount of land used to grow crops for human consumption, animal feed, oil crops, and rubber

Grazing land refers to the land used to raise livestock for meat, dairy, hide, and wool products

the area required to supply timber products, pulp, and fuel wood

land covered by human infrastructure, such as transportation, housing, industrial structures, and reservoirs for hydropower

The EF was 0.72 global hectares (gha) per person, indicating sustainable limits

2.8 gha per person, indicating that it would take 21 months to regenerate one year's worth of resources

1. 60% of world ecosystems degraded

2. 25% of Earth's land cultivated

3. 40-50% of available freshwater used

4. Over 25% of fish stocks overharvested

They’re goals formulated by the UN in 2015 to address global challenges, with a focus on sustainable development by 2030

The MDGs were focused on low-income and middle-income countries, addressing issues like poverty, education, and health

• Goals may not be far-reaching enough.

• Top-down and bureaucratic structure.

• Ignoring local contexts and lack of reliable data.

It identifies nine key processes regulating Earth's stability and resilience and proposes quantitative limits for human activities to avoid large-scale environmental changes

1. Focuses only on ecological systems, neglecting the human dimension.

2. Assessments of boundaries are ongoing and changing.

3. May not guide local or country-level action effectively.

they are chemical pollution and manufactured chemicals that pose environmental risks, including plastics

it measures how well the biodiversity of a given area has been maintained. A well-functioning ecosystem has a BII of over 90%, while at-risk ecosystems have a BII of less than 30%

changes to ecosystems due to human activities were more rapid in the past 50 years than at any time in human history, increasing risks of abrupt and irreversible changes

The demand for food, water, and natural resources are the main drivers, causing severe biodiversity loss and leading to changes in ecosystem services

Humans convert more atmospheric nitrogen into reactive forms than nature does, causing pollution and harm to aquatic systems

a framework for creating a regenerative and distributive economy that meets the needs of all people within the means of the planet, represented as a doughnut shape between ecological and social boundaries

The inner ring is the social foundation, ensuring no one falls short on life's essentials, and the outer ring is the ecological ceiling, ensuring humanity does not overshoot planetary boundaries

creating products or services that contribute to systems that renew or replenish themselves, minimizing the need for new inputs

1. Eliminate waste and pollution.

2. Circulate products and materials at their highest value.

3. Regenerate nature.

Regeneration of natural systems, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, improvement of local food networks, and changing consumer habits

Lack of environmental awareness, insufficient regulations, limitations on recyclability, and lack of financial resources