Environmental Systems and Societies | Chapter 1

natural capital

Natural resources, services that support life, natural processes. The Goods and services that are not manufactured but have value to humans.

photosynthesis

a process of producers making their own food (glucose) and producing oxygen from water and carbon dioxide

Agenda 21

a referendum and schedule for environmental protection, drafted at the United Nations' Earth Summit of 1992

diffusion

allowing the movement of nutrients and water into the tree

global warming

an increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect

greenhouse gases

any of the gases whose absorption of solar radiation is responsible for the greenhouse effect, including carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, and the fluorocarbons

storages

are places where matter or energy is kept in a system

renewable resources

can be used over and over again

isolated system

neither energy nor matter is exchanged across the boundary of the system

static equilibrium

no change over time; when the state of equilibrium is distributed, the system adapts a new equilibrium; can't occur in living systems

biodegradable pollutants

ones tha tar enot stored in biological matter or passed along food chains

persistent pollutants

ones that cannot be broken down by living organisms and so are passed along food chains

cornucopians

people who see the world having infinite resources to benefit humanity. Believe that the env-tal problems could be solved with technologies, improving our living standards

positive feedback

results in a further decrease of output and the system is destabilized and pushed into a new state of equilibrium

food chains

shows a flow of energy from one organism to the next

model

simplified version of reality

system

something that is made from seperate parts that are linked together and affect each other

Environmental Impact Assesment (EIA)

to establish the impact of the project on the environment

sustainability

using global resources at a rate that allows natural regeneration and minimizes damage to the environment

non-renewable resources

will eventually run out if they are not replaced

natural income

(yield, harvest, services) Yield from the natural capital.

less economically developed countries (LEDCs)

A country that is considered lacking in terms of its economy, infrastructure and industrial base. The population of a lesser-developed country often has a relatively low standard of living, due to low incomes and abundant poverty

non-point source pollution

more dispersed rouces from which pollutants originate and enter the natural environment

enhanced greenhouse effect

The greenhouse effect is a central component to keeping our Earth warm. This process maintains the temperature of the Earth such that the planet is warm enough to develop and sustain life

Environmental Value Systen (EVS)

a particular worldview or set of paradigms that shapes the way an individual, or group of people, perceive and evaluate environmental issues

trophic level

a position that an organism or a group of organisms in a community occupies in a food chain

respiration

a process of breaking down food in order to release energy

transfers

a change in location

transformations

a change in the chemical nature, a change in state or a change in energy

pesticide

a chemical preparation for destroying plant, fungal, or animal pests.

tipping point

a critical treshold when even a small change can have dramatic effects and cause a disproportianately large response in the overall system

paradigms

a framework containing the basic assumptions, ways of thinking, and methodology that are commonly accepted by members of a scientific community

society

a group of individuals who share some common characteristics

diversity

a large number and proportions of species present

pollution

contamination of the Earth and atmosphere to such an extent that normal environmental processes are adversely affected. polluted ellements are disagreeable, toxic and harmful

point-source pollution

discrete sources of contaminants that can be represented by single points on a map and the source of the pollution can be tracked

entropy

disorder in a system

biomes

ecosystems with similar climatic conditions in different parts of the world

open systems

energy and mass in, energy and mass out

first law of thermodynamics

energy can neither be created nor destroyed: it can only change in form (aka law of conservation of energy)

second law of thermodynamics

energy goes from a concentrated form into a dispersed form: the availability of energy to do work therefore decreases and the system becomes increasingly disordered

closed system

energy in and no mass transfers, energy out

transpiration

evaporation of water from leaves

Ecological Footprint (EF)

focuses on a given population and its current rate of resource consumption and estimates the area of environment necessary to sustainably support that particular population

technocentric

human carrying capacity can be expanded continuously through technological innovation and development

anthropocentric

human-centered, humans are not dependent on nature, but nature is there to benefit the human kind

steady-state equilibrium

in open systems, continuous inputs and outputs of energy and matter, system as a whole remains in a constant state, no long term changes.

resilience (of a system)

its tendency to avoid tipping points and maintain stability through steady-state equilibrium

sutainable development

meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

acid rain

precipitation, as rain, snow, or sleet, containing relatively high concentrations of acid-forming chemicals, as the pollutants from coal smoke, chemical manufacturing, and smelting, that have been released into the atmosphere and combined with water vapor: harmful to the environment

flows

provide inpunts and outputs of energy and matter

deep ecologists

put more value on nature than humanity. Believe in biorights - universal rights of all species and ecosystems; advocate strong policy and population change

ecocentric

reduce the use of non-renewable resources and minimize their use of renewable ones

Green Revolution

refers to a time between the 1940s and the late 1960s when developments in scientific research and technology in farming led to increased agricultural productivity worldwide

Earth's albedo

reflection from the Earth's surface

baseline study

study is taken because it is important to know what the physical and biological environment is like before the project starts so that it can be monitored during and after the development

DDT

synthetic pesticide which exemplifies a conflict between the utility of a pollutant and its effect on the environment

unstable equilibrium

system returns to a new equilibrium after disturbances

system diagrams

systems can be represented as diagrams, storages are usually represented as rectangular boxes, and flows as arrows with the arrow indicating the direction of the flow

negative feedback

tends to neutralize or counteract any deviation from an equilibrium and tends to stabilize systems

environment

the external surroundings that act on it and affect its survival

biomass

the living mass of an organism or organisms but sometimes refers to dry mass

biosphere

the living part of the Earth

biodiversity

the numbers of species of different animals and plants in different places

biomagnification/biological amplification

the process whereby the concentration of a chemical increases at each trophic level

bioaccumulation

the retention or build-up of non-biodegradeable or slowly biodegradeable chemicals in the body

stable equilibrium

the system returns to the same equilibrium after disturbances

environmental movement

the worldwide campaign to raise awareness, and coordinate action, tot tackle the negative effects that humans are having on the planet