Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Topic 1: Foundations of Environmental Systems and Societies - Coggle…
Topic 1: Foundations of Environmental Systems and Societies
Subtopic 1.1: Environmental Value Systems
Subtopic 1.2: Systems and models
Subtopic 1.3: Energy and equilibria
Subtopic 1.4: Sustainability
Subtopic 1.5: Humans and pollution
Conflict of DDT
Two Processes
Biomagnification
Concentration of a chemical substance increases at each trophic level
Top predator accumulates 1000x greater chemicals than primary consumer
Bioaccumulation
Build up of non-biodegradable chemicals
Stored in fat tissues, not recognised as a toxin by cells
What is it?
Synthetic man-made pesticide
Pros of controlling the typhus lice
Kills mosquitos that spread malaria
Causes thinning of eggshells of birdss
non- biodegradable; persistent organic pollutants
Banned for farming
Permitted for disease control
The Battle against Malaria
Estimated 250 million Malaria cases/year
South American malaria cases increased after DDT was decommissioned
Indoor residual spraying seems to limit malarial growth
Malaria is still on the rise and common af
Ecocentrism viewpoint
Human decision making should be based on eco laws
DDT may harm species and spread into the local environment
Mosquitos have the right to exist too!
Alternatives exist
Lowering Population density
Remove standing water
Bio control: natural predators
Human Factors to Pollution Management
Cultural Values
Political Systems
Some LEDCs allow pollution to encourage local industry
eg. Mexico's Macquiadoras
MEDCs sometimes dump toxic waste in LEDCs, sometimes illegally
eg. Trafigura dumped toxic waste in Cote d'Ivoire
Economic Systems
Richer countries generate a lot more waste and pollution
Everyone likes a clean and tidy environment!
All three steps of the pollution model are going to be carried out by HEDCs
MEDCs may want to regulate the pollution-causing industry
LEDCs recycle via informal trash pickers
trash pickers in Cairo
LEDCs have limited and outdated equipment
UN regulation may slow down the economy and industry