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Environmental Value Systems - Coggle Diagram
Environmental Value Systems
Ecocentric
Nurturing
: Help or encourage the development of nature, environment.
Deep ecologists:
Believe in bio-rights and nature itself–has an
intrinsic value. They claim that governments should implement policies that restrict and reduce the impact of humans and human activities on the environment.
A worldview that sees all of nature as having inherent value, and is centered on nature rather than on humans.Involves minimum disturbance of natural processes.
Anthropocentric
Cornucopian
: People who believe that human’s ingenuity and resourcefulness can solve any environmental problem.
A worldview that sees humans as the source of all value, since the concept of value itself is a human creation.
Technocentric
:
Intervening/Manipluative:
Tending to influence or control the environment or nature to human's advantage via technology
It is a value system that is centered on technology and its ability to control and protect the environment
It's a
SYSTEM
has sets of
INPUTS
Anything that is fed into the system. It can be matter, energy or both. It is represented by using arrows.
has sets of
OUTPUTS
The flows of matter and energy that leave the system.
has a
BOUNDARY
It is a real or imaginary line that separates a system from its environment
has
FEEDBACKS
Sometimes part of the output re-enters the system as feedback and becomes a new input. In this case the system responds to a change (internal or external) and the feedback moves the system in the same direction (
positive feedback)
or the opposite direction (
negative feedback)
.
Positive feedback:
The output augments (enhances(increases) one component of the system and heightens the intensity of the resulting output. It destabilizes the system. It causes the system to go out of equilibrium.
Negative feedback:
It refers to a sequence of events that will cause an effect that is opposite that of the stimulus that caused the sequence of events to commence. It stabilizes the system.
three
types of systems:
Isolated system:
A system in which neither matter nor energy is exchanged between the environment and the system.
Closed system:
It exchanges energy but does not exchange matter with its surroundings.
Open system:
A system in which both matter and energy are exchanged across the boundaries of the system.
has
FLOWS
(
THROUGHPUT
)
Any process that occurs within the system. Permits the
transfer
or
transformation
of inputs into outputs.
Transformations
move energy and matter but in the process of doing so there is a change of state or form
Transfers
simply move energy or matter from one place to another without changing it in anyway.
EXAMPLE: A plant as an open system
Energy inputs: light
Energy output: heat
Matter input: Water, minerals, CO2
Matter output: Organic plant material
ECOSYSTEM
A community of interdependent organisms and the physical environment they interact with. Made up of
biotic
and
abiotic
components.
Abiotic factors
include, temperature, sunlight, pH, salinity and precipitation. These non-living factors strongly influence the living elements of the ecosystem and can operate as
limiting factors.
Limiting factors
are the resources in the environment that limit the growth, abundance and distribution of organisms/populations in an ecosystem.
Biotic factors
: Anything that is living and any interactions between the living components. That includes all the organisms (plants and animals), anything that they consume or that consumes them and human influences. Such as:
Consumers
– animals that eat plants or other animals
Decomposers
– organisms that breakdown waste into component parts for reuse.
Producers
– the plants that convert energy into matter.Producers are at the base of the food chain
Food chains
are a very simplistic representation of the relationship between the trophic levels.
Trophic level
is the position an organism (or group of organisms in a community) occupies in the food chain. Meanwhile
food web
is a number of interconnected food chains so it is a complex mass of lines.
Interactions that happen between the living components –
predation, herbivory, parasitism, mutualism, disease and competition.
Predation
is where one organism (the predator) hunts and kills another (the prey) in order to provide it with the energy for survival and reproduction.
Herbivory
is the consumption of plant material by an animal (Herbivores).
Mutualism
is where two organisms of different species exist in a mutually beneficial relationship.
Parasitism
is when an organism (the parasite) takes nutrients from another organism (the host).
Amensalism
: One species suffers and the other interacting species experiences no effect.
Neutralism
: It includes the situation where neither population directly affects the other.
Commensalism
is an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.
NATURAL CAPITAL
It includes the core and crust of the earth, the biosphere itself-teeming with forests, grasslands and other ecosystems-and upper layers of the atmosphere.
Natural capital
is the term used for "natural resources" which can be exploited to produce natural income of goods and services.
The
stock
is the present accumulated quantity of natural capital. It is a supply accumulated for future use; a store.
Natural income
is any sustainable yield or rate of harvest from the stocks.
3
categories
of Natural Capital:
Renewable
: living species and ecosystems which can be replaced by natural productivity (photosynthesis) as fast as they are used (such as food crops, timber.)
Replenishable
: non-living resources which can be continuously restored by natural processes as fast as they are used (such stratospheric ozone layer, groundwater)
Non-renewable:
Resources which cannot be replenished at the same rate which they were used such fossil fuels and minerals.
Values
of Natural Capital
Ecological value:
have no formal market price. Photosynthesis, nitrogen-fixation, soil erosion control are essential for human existence, but are taken for granted.
Aesthetic value:
have no market price and may not provide identifiable commodities, so they are not priced or undervalued from an economic viewpoint.
Economic value
: can be determined from the market price of the goods and services it produces.
Sustainability
: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their need.
Pollution and Pollution Management
Pollution
disturbs ecosystems, affects humans and our built environment. There are 2 types of pollution:
Non-point source pollution
: Comes from dispersed and not easily identified sources such as run-off from farm land. It is much harder to identify and therefore to manage and to assign responsibility.
Point source pollution:
Comes from a single, identifiable sources. Its effects are localized such as smokestack, drain pipe or car exhaust. It is easier to manage
Pollution
examples
:
Acid deposition:
acidic or acid-forming pollutants in the atmosphere deposit on the surface of Earth
Domestic Wastes
: Commonly known as trash, garbage, refuse or rubbish is a waste type of everyday items that are discarded by the public
Oil spills:
The release of crude oil into the environment. Usually occurs after tanker collisions/accident.
Smog
: Air pollution which reduces visibility and common in industrial areas.
Radiation
: Pollution due to the release of radioactive products.
Process of Pollution
Releasing pollutants to the environment
Long term impact of pollutants
Human activities known to produce pollutants
Pollution Strategies
Limit or stop the production of the pollutant
Prevent the release of the pollutant to the environment
Clean up/extract the pollutant from the environment
