Environmental Value System
______ is influenced by cultural (including religious), economic and sociopolitical context, democratic or authoritarian
Environmental Value System
An assemblage of parts, working together forming a functional whole
What is a system?
Governs the flow of energy in a system and the ability to do work.
Energy is neither created nor destroyed
Entropy (chaos) of a system not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time (energy conversions are never 100%)
What are the laws of thermodynamics
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to met their own needs
What is Sustainability
the area of land and water required to sustainably provide all resources at the rate at which they are being consumed by a given population.
What is an Ecological footprint
James Lovelock states that Earth is a synergistic, self-regulating system. Planet functions as an organism.
What is Gia Hypothesis
Exchange energy but not mater (exist in experimental practices like a sealed aquarium) (Earth)
What is a closed system
response that tends to counteract a deviation from equilibrium. “fights back” - Predator Pray relationship
What is Negative feedback
the standing stock (total amount) of a natural resource. These are things that people value either economically or intrinsically
What is Natural Capital
Release of pollutants from a single, clearly identifiable site/ source
What is point source pollution
A Pesticide plant released poisonous methyl isocyanate from the plant. It is the worst industrial disaster ever.
Where is Bophal, India
A simplified version of reality that can be used to understand how a system works and to predict how it will respond to change
What is a model?
A species' average population size in a particular habitat. The species population size is limited by environmental factors like adequate food, shelter, water, and mates.
Carrying capacity
Natural resources taken do not exceed the environment’s capacity to disperse, absorb, recycle or otherwise neutralize their harmful effects
What is Natural Income?
Mostly organic compounds that are resistant to degradation (breaking down) through chemical or biological processes
what is persistent pollution
Chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons, which used to be found in everything from aerosol cans, air conditioners, deodorants, paints, and refrigerators have caused what to form over Antarctica in the spring.
What is the Ozone hole
Something produced at the end of a system. The symbol is an arrow moving out of a system
What is an Output?
Minimum amount of change within a system that will destabilize it, causing it to reach a new equilibrium
What is tipping point
a scientific appraisal of the condition and trends in the world’s ecosystems and the services they provide using environmental indicators, as well as the scientific basis for action to conserve and use them sustainably
What is the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)
Repeated and continuous pollution over a long period of time.
●Factory that continuously leaks waste from a pipe into a river over many years
What is chronic pollution?
They believe people will always find a way out of difficulties (political, economic, environmental, etc.) Economic growth defines the value of a project.
What is cornucopian or technocentric
a system in which both materials and energy are exchanged across the boundaries of the system Most common system Example: Rainforest, Ecosystems
What is An open system?
When Only 10% of the energy is available to next trophic level. The pyramid of energy is always upright because at each transfer about 80 - 90% of the energy available at lower trophic level is used up to perform metabolic activities and as heat lost to the environment
What is the 10% rule
–Provide baseline study before any environmental development
–Assess possible impacts on environment society and economy then make suggestions to mitigate impacts
–Continued monitoring of site during and after development
What is the Environmental Impact Assessment? (EIA)
Measuring abiotic factors that change as a result of the pollutant (oxygen content of water) and recording the presence or absence of indicator species
What is Indirect detection and motoring of pollution