Topic 1: Foundations of Environmental

Systems and Societies

New Syllabus
First Exam-2017

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Unit 1.1: Environmental value
• Historical events, among other influences, affect the
development of environmental value systems
(EVSs) and environmental movements systems

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State what is meant by an environmental value
system?

•An environmental value system is a

particular world view which shape the
way an individual or group of people
perceive and evaluate environmental
issues.

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• EVS is more than just your opinion on a particular issue, it is a more
general overall viewpoint based upon underlying principles and
beliefs that you may not even express, but which help you decide
your viewpoint on any one issue.

• Your environmental value system will be influenced by your

• Cultural,
• Religious,
• Economic and
• Socio-political context.

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• A value can be seen as the beliefs of a person or social
group in which they have an emotional investment. Our
values are derived from a multitude of factors. These
include:
• Social Status
• Economic Status
• Education
• Religion
• Peers
• Family

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Topic

•Significant historical influences on the

development of the environmental
movement

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We will discussing the following 4 environmental
incident
•Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring
•Bhopal Gas Tragedy
•UN’s Earth Summit
•Chernobyl Nuclear accident

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1.Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring
• In 1962 American biologist Rachel Carson’s influential book
Silent Spring was published.

• Carson wrote about the harmful effects of pesticides and made

a case against the chemical pollution of natural systems.

• The book led to widespread concerns about the use of

pesticides in crop production and the consequent pollution of
the natural environment (mainly terrestrial systems).

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2.Bhopal Gas Tragedy
• On 3 December 1984, the Union Carbide pesticide plant in
the Indian city of Bhopal released 42 tonnes of toxic methyl
isocyanate gas.
• The release was caused by one of the tanks involved with
processing the gas overheating and bursting. Some 500 000
people were exposed to the gas.
• It has been estimated that between 8000 and 10 000 people
died within the first 72 hours following the exposure, and
that up to 25 000 have died since from gas-related disease.

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 3.UN’s Earth Summit

• The publication of Our Common Future and the work of the WCED
provided the groundwork for the UN’s Earth Summit at Rio in 1992.
• The summit’s message was that nothing less than a change in our
attitudes and behaviour towards environmental issues would bring
about the necessary changes.
• The conference led to the adoption of Agenda 21, which is a
blueprint for action to achieve sustainable development worldwide.

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 4.Chernobyl Nuclear accident
• On 26 April 1986, a nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl plant in the
Ukraine exploded.
• A cloud of highly radioactive dust was sent into the atmosphere
and fell over an extensive area. Large areas of the Ukraine, Belarus,
and Russia were badly contaminated.
• The disaster resulted in the evacuation and resettlement of over
336 000 people. The fallout caused increased incidence of cancers
in the most exposed areas.
• The incident raised issues concerning the safety of nuclear power
stations.

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A review of major landmark in
Environmentalism
• Refer the link :

• http://www.infoplease.com/spot/earthdaytimeline.html

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Topic -Outline the range of environmental
philosophies

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 Categories of EVS

Ecocentric Anthropocentrists Technocentrists

Deep Ecologist Soft Ecologist Environmental

Cornucopians
Manager

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People Centred
People Centred Technology Centred

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What is Technocentrists?
• Technocentrists believe that technology will keep pace with, and
provide solutions to, environmental problems.

• Technocentrists state that technology will provide solutions to

environmental problems even when human effects are pushing
natural systems beyond their normal boundaries.

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Is he Technocentrists?

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Is she Technocentrists?

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Is he Technocentrists?

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 What is Ecocentrists?

• An ecocentrist worldview sees nature as having an

inherent value.
• Ecocentrists prefer to work with natural environmental
systems to solve problems, and to do this before problems get
out of control.
• Ecocentrists see a world with limited resources where
growth needs to be to be controlled so that only beneficial
forms occur

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 Is he Ecocentrists?

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 Is he Ecocentrists?

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 Is he Ecocentrists?

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What is Anthropocentric?
• People as environmental managers of sustainable global
systems.
• Population control given equal weight to resource use.
• Strong regulation by independent authorities required.
• They people are consider as Environmental
Managers: view the Earth as a garden that needs tending.
• They hold the view that there are problems and that we
need government to legislate to protect the environment
and the resources from overexploitation and make
economies sustainable.
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• Biocentric (life-centred) thinkers see all life as
having inherent value, a value for its own sake.

• Deep ecologists place more importance on nature

than humanity. They believe in the biorights or
universal rights where all species and ecosystems
have an inherent value and humans have no right
to interfere with this.

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 Cornucopian view
• Cornucopians: include these people who see the world as
having infinite resources to benefit humanity.
• They think that through inventiveness and technology we
can solve any environmental problem.
• And continually improve our standard of living.
• Through free-market economy (capitalism with minimal
government control) we will best manage our markets and
planet.

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Activity

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Identify the value?

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Identify the value?

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Identify the value?

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Identify the value?

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Identify the value?

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Identify the value?

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Identify the value?

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Identify the value?

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• Technocentric/Anthropocentric people have the follow views:
• We are the most important species
• There will always be more resources to exploit

• We will control and manage these resources and be successful

• We can solve any pollution problem that we cause

• Economic growth is a good thing and we can always keep the economy
growing

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• Technocentric worldviews include the cornucopians and
the environmental managers.

• At the other end of the ecocentrist spectrum are deep

ecologists.

• The deep ecology movement believes that all species have

an intrinsic value and that humans are no more important
than other species.

• Deep ecologists put more value on nature than humanity.

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• Ecocentric people have the following views:
• The Earth is here for all species
• Resources are limited
• We should manage growth so that only beneficial forms
occur
• We must work with the Earth not against it
• We need the Earth more than it needs us

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I will discuss the issues using two different examples: fossil fuel
use and demand for water resources.

• Use of fossil fuels

• There are problems associated with the use of
fossil fuels, such as global warming.
• A techno centrist would say……..

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• 1.Use science to find a useful alternative, such as hydrogen fuel
cells; techno centrists see this as a good example of resource
replacement.

• 2.Develop technology to reduce the output of carbon dioxide

from fuel use rather than change lifestyles to reduce the use of
fuel.

• 3.Say that economic systems have a vested interest in being

efficient so the existing problems will self-correct given
enough time

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• Believe that scientific efforts should be focused on
removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere rather
than slowing economic growth.

• Believe that a technology-centred environmental

philosophy would predict that market pressure would
eventually result in lowering of carbon dioxide emission
levels.

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An ecocentrist’s approach to
the same problem would

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• Call for the reduction of greenhouse gases through
limiting existing gas-emitting industry, even if this
restricts economic growth

• Say that people should change their lifestyle to

reduce fossil fuel use; reduction in energy
consumption and lower consumption overall would
reduce fossil fuel use.

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Demand for water resources
• A technocentrist manager would:
• Suggest that future needs can be met by technological
innovation and the ability to use reserves that have yet to be
used support desalination activities where fresh water is
extracted from sea water would support iceberg capture and
transport, where icebergs from colder areas are used as a
source of fresh water

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• Encourage waste-water purification.

• Support synthetic water production, where water is

made through chemical reactions. Cloud seeding
could be used.

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An ecocentrist manager would:
1. Highlight the overuse and misuse of water
2. Encourage the conservation of water and greater
recycling · say that water use should be within
sustainable levels recommend monitoring to ensure
that water use remained within sustainable limits
3. Encourage water use that had few harmful impacts on
habitat, wildlife, and the environment.

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Next Unit………

• Compare and contrast the environmental value

systems of two named societies

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Judaeo-Christian and Buddhist
societies

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What is Judeo-Christian?
• Judeo-Christian is a term used by many Christians and
some Jews since the 1950s to encompass common beliefs of
Christianity and Judaism.

• It has become part o f American civil religion and is often used to

promote inter-religious cooperation.

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Judaeo-Christian

• The view of the environment in Judaeo-Christian religions

is one of stewardship.
• Stewardship is a concept where humans have a role of
responsibility towards the Earth.
• The Genesis story suggests that God put humans in charge
of the planet.
• Other biblical stories indicate that humanity should make
the most of this gift as stewards.

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Buddhist societies
• Buddhism emphasizes human interrelationships with all
other parts of nature.
• Buddhism supports the belief that it is unrealistic to think
of ourselves as isolated from the rest of nature and that
we are in fact a part of nature.
• The concept of reincarnation also emphasizes humanity’s
interconnectedness with nature.
• Buddhist monks are frequently active in a range of
campaigns, including forest conservation in Thailand.

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Communist societies &
Capitalist model

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 Communist societies
• Communist societies have been criticized for their poor environmental
record. Not Environmentally friend.
• For example, between 1947 and 1991 the Buna chemical works in East
Germany dumped ten times more mercury into its neighbouring river
than chemical work plants in West Germany.
• Cars in the East emitted 100 times more carbon monoxide than those in
the West, because they did not have catalytic converters to remove this
toxic gas.

• East German sulfur dioxide concentrations were also an environmental

issue, and were the highest in the world at the time

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Capitalist model
• In contrast, the capitalist model is seen by some as being
environmentally friendly.
• People see in the capitalist model that the free market imposes
checks and balances to ensure sound use of resources in order to
maximize profits.
• The actual story is more complex. Many of the criticisms of the
communist environmental record stem from the period of the Cold
War.
• Such criticism was used against the communist states to justify the
Cold War. Capitalism itself has a mixed record with regard to the
environment.
• In Germany, before reunification, the communist state (East
Germany) had protected the interests of farmers, foresters, and
fishermen.
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1.2 Systems and Models

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What do these pictures, have in common?

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They are all Systems

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What is the meaning of the word system?

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A system is something that:
1. Is made up of
individual component
parts that work
together to perform a
particular function

2. A bicycle is an
example of a system

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But if the parts of the bicycle are piled up in the middle of the
room, they cease to work together and thus stop being a system.

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So a system could be...?

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 • A building
• a flower
• an atom
• a political party
• a car
• your body
• furniture
• an electric circuit

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 What is ENERGY?
• Energy is defined as the ability or the capacity to do
work.
• Energy causes things to happen around us

• Energy lights our cities, powers our vehicles, and runs

machinery in factories. It warms and cools our homes,
cooks our food, plays our music, and gives us pictures
on television.

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What is MATTER?
• Matter is generally considered to be anything that
has mass and volume
• Example:
• a car would be said to be made of matter, as it occupies space,
and has mass.

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1.1.1.Outline the concept and characteristic
of systems

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 What is a System?

• A system is made up of separate parts

which are linked together and influence
each other.

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What are the characteristics of a system?

• All systems have inputs and outputs.

• According to the system, these can be inputs and outputs
of energy, matter, or information.
• All systems also have storages, flows, processes, and
feedback mechanisms.
• The systems method allows different subjects, such as
ESS, Economics, and Sociology, to be looked at in the same
way and for connections to be made between them.

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TYPES OF SYSTEM
1. OPEN SYSTEM
2. CLOSED SYSTEM
3. ISOLATED SYSTEM

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 Systems are defined by the source and ultimate
destination of their matter and/or energy.

1. OPEN SYSTEM: a
system in which both
matter and energy are
exchanged across
boundaries of the
system.

Most natural living systems are OPEN systems.

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Example of Open System
• An example of an open system is an ecosystem, such as a lake.

• Plants fix energy from light entering the system during the
photosynthesis.

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2. CLOSED SYSTEM: a system in which energy is
exchanged across boundaries of the system, but matter
is not. Example-Aquarium & Terrarium

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 Terrarium
A small enclosure or closed container in which selected living
plants and sometimes small land animals, such as turtles and
lizards, are kept and observed.

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Example of Closed System
• An example of a closed system is the Earth.

• Light energy enters the earth and some returned to space

in the form of heat.

• Most C.S are artificial and are constructed for

experimental purpose

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3. ISOLATED SYSTEM: a system in which neither energy
nor matter is exchanged with its envioronemt.Do not exist
naturally
NO SUCH SYSTEM EXISTS!!!

An example of an isolated system is the Universe

&Space Station(artifical)

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 Components of a system:
1. Inputs such as energy or matter.

Calories

Protein

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2. Flows of matter or energy within the systems at
certain rates.

Calorie Calorie
s s

Protein Protein

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3.Outputs of certain forms of matter or energy that
flow out of the system into sinks in the
environment.

Waste
Calorie Heat
s

Waste
Protein Matter

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4. Storage areas in which energy or matter can
accumulate for various lengths of time before being
released.

Calorie
s

Protein

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Comparing different systems

• Different subjects will contain different systems, but there

are similarities between all systems.

• Examples of different subjects are ecology, economics,

sociology, and philosophy. :

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 Describe transfer and
transformation processes

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TRANSFORMATTION OF ENERGY

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What are transfer process
• A transfer is a process where there is a change in location
within the system, but there is no change in state.

Example:
• Water is falling from clouds to the ground as rain.
• Water moving from a river to a sea

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 CLOUDS
IN THE FORM
OF
WATER
STATE

CHANGE IN LOCATION

OCEAN

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What are transformation process?

• Transformation are process that leads to the formation of

new products or change in state
Example:
• Evaporation of water from a lake into the atmosphere
• Liquid to gas, Light to chemical energy

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 Transfer vs. transformation
• Transfer involves a change in location
• e.g. water falling as rain, running off the land into a
river then to the sea
• Transformation involves a change in state
• e.g. evaporation of water from a lake into the
atmosphere

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Example :
• Photosynthesis: converts sunlight energy, carbon
dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen.

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• Transfer are process that lead to a change in
location but not a change in state

• Transformation are process that leads to the

formation of new products or c change in state

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Transfer and Transformation
• Transfer - just a movement from one place to another
….water mountain to ocean..

• Transformation - actual change of state or material --

liquid water/evaporates… CO2 to sugars/starch in plant .

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 TRANSFERS OF ENERGY

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ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS

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Flows and Storage

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Distinguish between flows and storage in relation to
systems

• Flows :Flows are movements from one place to another in

the system and are shown by arrows

• Flows are either inputs or outputs.

• Inputs are movements into a storage and outputs are

movements out of a storage

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• Storages are where something in a system and are
shown by boxes

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Inputs and Outputs

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Construct and analyze quantitative models
involving flows and storages in a system.

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 What is a Model?
• A model is a simplified description to show the structure
and working of a system.

• Models can be used to show the flows, storage and linkages

within ecosystem.

• While they are unable to show much of the complexity of

the real system, they help us to understand ecosystem
function better

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• The width of arrows can vary in size; wider arrows
are used to show larger flows.

• The size of boxes can also vary larger boxes are

used to show larger storages

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• Shows nutrient flows and storages
• The biomass storage is larger in the woodland and the
litter storage is larger in the forest
• Large output flow in the farming system because of the
HARVESTED CROPS & LIVESTOCK
• Models that include quantitative descriptions of the
system provide more meaningful information

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• Evaluate the strengths and limitations
of models.

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 EVALUATION OF MODELS
STRENGTHS
• Model allow scientist to predict and simplify complex
systems
• They allow inputs to be changed and outcomes
examined without having to wait a long time.
• Models allow results to be shown to other scientist
and to the public and are easier to understand than
detailed information about the whole system

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 LIMITATION
• Different models may show different using the
same data. For example models that predict
the effect of climate change may give very
different results.

• Models are oversimplified they may become

less accurate. for example there are many
complex factors involved in atmospheric
systems

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• Any model is only as good as the data that are used in
them .In addition the data put into the model may not
be reliable.

• Models rely on the expertise of the people making

them and this can lead to inaccuracies

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1.3 Energy and Equilibria

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 What is Thermodynamics?

Thermodynamics is the study of the energy

transformations that occur in a system.
1. It is the study of the flow of energy through
nature.
2. Within a system energy cannot be re-used.

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• The study of thermodynamics is about energy flow in
natural systems

• The Laws of Thermodynamics describe what is known

about energy transformations in our universe

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• Two laws
•First Law of Thermodynamics

•Second Law of Thermodynamics

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 1st Law of Thermodynamics
•States that energy can be transferred and transformed, but it CANNOT be
created nor destroyed.
•Law of Conservation of Energy.
•Energy of the universe is constant.

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 First Law of Thermodynamics

ENERGY 2
PROCESS
ENERGY 1 (WORK)

ENERGY 3

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In Ecosystem where you can apply first law

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Photosynthesis: an example of the First Law of
Thermodynamics: Energy Transformation

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 Photosynthesis is the First Law of
Thermodynamics

Heat Energy
Light Energy

Photosynthesis
Chemical Energy

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Energy at one level must come from
previous level

Sun

Producers (rooted plants)

Producers (phytoplankton)
Primary consumers (zooplankton)
Secondary consumers (fish)

Dissolved
chemicals Tertiary consumers
(turtles)

Sediment

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Decomposers Topic -1
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Using the first law of thermodynamics explain why the
energy pyramid is always pyramid shaped (bottom bigger
than top)
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• The titan arum or Amorphophallus titanum s a flowering plant
with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world.
• The titan arum's inflorescence can reach over 3 metres (10 ft) in
circumference.
• The leaf structure can reach up to 6 metres (20 ft) tall and
5 metres (16 ft) across
• The corm is the largest known, weighing around 50 kilograms
(110

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 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
1. The Second Law is the Law of Entropy(disorder, randomness or
chaos).

2. It is essential state that as energy is transformed from one state to

another state ,the conversion is never 100% efficient and therefore
energy is always lost to that system.

3. Every energy transformation or transfer results in an increase in the

disorder of the universe

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The Second Law of Thermodynamics
in numbers: The 10% Law
For most ecological process, theamount of energy that is passed from one trophic level to
the next is on average 10%.

Heat Heat Heat

900 J 90 J 9J

Energy 1 Process 1 Process 2 Process 3

1000 J 100 J 10 J 1J

J = Joule SI Unit of Energy

1kJ = 1 Kilo Joule = 1000 Joules

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•Any conversion is less than 100% efficient and
therefore some energy is lost or wasted.

•Usually this energy is lost in the form of HEAT (=

random energy of molecular movement). We usually
summarize it as respiration.

Chemical Chemical Mechanical

Solar energy
energy energy
energy (moving,
(photosynthesis) (food) thinking,
living)
Waste Waste Waste Waste
heat heat heat heat

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 How efficient is the cow
Consumers and the in the use of the food it
2nd law of Thermodynamics takes daily?

Respiration
2000 kJ.day-1

10% for growth

565
2850 kJ.day- kJ.day-1
1 Urine
Food Intake and
Faeces

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The Ecosystem and the 2nd law
of Thermodynamics

Heat

Heat
Heat

Heat

Heat

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Why both the laws are important in
ecosystem or environment?
• Both the laws are important because when
analyzing the energy transfers in an ecosystem
and living organism is general

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• 1.One way energy enters an ecosystem is as sunlight. This
sunlight energy is then changed into biomass by
photosynthesis.

• 2.That is photosynthesis captures sunlight energy and

transforms it into chemical energy.

• 3.Chemical energy in producers may be passed along food

chain as biomass or given off as heat during respiration

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• 4.Available energy is used to do work such as growth, movement and
making complex molecules.

• 5.All the energy leaves the ecosystem as heat. No new energy has been
created.

• 6.It has simply transformed and passed from one form to another.

• 7.Although matter can be recycled, energy cannot and once it has been
lost from the system in the form of heat it cannot made available again.

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What is Equilibrium
• Equilibrium is the tendency of the system to
return to an original state following disturbance,
a state of balance exists among the components
of that system.

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3 TYPES

1. STEADY –STATE EQUILIBRIUM

2. STATIC EQUILIBRIUM

3. STABLE & UNSTABLE EQUILIBRIUM

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 STEADY –STATE EQUILIBRIUM EXAMPLE
death
birth

If these birth & death rates are equal there is no net change
In population size

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 QUESTION
WHERE YOU CAN SEE STEADY –STATE
EQUILIBRIUM IN ECOSYSTEM

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Food chain & Food web are the example of Steady –State Equilibrium

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 Steady –State Equilibrium
• A Steady –state equilibrium is a characteristic of open system
where there are continuous inputs and outputs of energy and
matter, but the system as a whole remains in a more or less
constant state.

• Most open systems in nature are in steady-state equilibrium.

• This means that even though there are constant inputs and outputs
of energy and matter there is overall stability within the system.

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 Rate of water entering = Rate
of water leaving
Hence the level of water is
constant

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 STATIC EQUILIBRIUM
• Static Equilibrium in which there is no change over time

• The force within the system are in balance, and the components remain
unchanged in their relationship.

• In Static Equilibrium there are no inputs or outputs of matter or energy and

no change in the system over time.

• No natural system are in static equilibrium because

all natural system have inputs and outputs

of energy and matter
Gurucharan IBESS Topic -1 197
let us consider two children sitting on a see-
saw. At balance point (i.e., the equilibrium
position) no movement of children on the see-
saw occurs.

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 QUESTION
WHERE YOU CAN SEE STATIC
EQUILIBRIUM IN ECOSYSTEM

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• Most non living system are in Static Equilibrium

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STABLE & UNSTABLE EQUILIBRIUM

• In a stable equilibrium the system tends to return to the

same equilibrium after a disturbance

• In an unstable equilibrium the system returns to a new

equilibrium after disturbance

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STABLE EQUILIBRIUM

UNSTABLE EQUILIBRIUM

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 FOREST FIRE -DISTURBANCE

AFTER DISTURBANCE

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SELF ASSESSMENT TEST
• What is the difference between a steady state equilibrium and a
static equilibrium?
• Which type of equilibrium applies to ecological systems and why?

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Sub-topic 1.3: Energy and equilibria

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Define and explain the principles of
positive feedback and negative feedback.

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 What is FEEDBACK?
• Feedback occurs when part of the output from a system returns
as input , in order to influence later outputs.
• This is also called FEEDBACK LOOP

FEEDBACK

PROCESS OUTPUT
INPUT

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The sense of cold is the information, putting on
clothes or heating up is the reaction
cold

clothes
heating up

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 POSTIVE FEEDBACK
Respond Positively in the class

Teacher is successful

Showing interest

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 NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

Respond negatively in the class

Methodology is not appropriate

Showing distraction

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Positive and Negative Feedback

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 Negative feedback systems
Walking in hot sun, temperature rises

HEAT- ONE ACTION IS INCREASING

Body will lose heat

Back to the original state

SWEATING- ONE ACTION IS DECREASING

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Negative feedback systems
• Negative feedback systems include a sequence of
events that will cause an effect that is in the
opposite(increasing and then decreasing)
direction to the original stimulus and thereby
brings the system back to its equilibrium
position.

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Example of Negative Feedback

Predator/prey relationships

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TIGER-PREDATOR SPOTTED DEER-PREY

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• Predator/prey relationships are usually controlled by negative
feedback where:

The increase in prey  increase in

predator decrease in prey decrease in
predator increase in prey---and so on in a
cyclical manner.

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Lynx-European Wild Cat

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Snowshoe hare

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The classic study in Northern Canada between the Wild Cat and the hare
populations is famous for its regular 11 year cycle of rising and falling
populations.

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Negative feedback
• Predator Prey is a classic Example
• Snowshoe hare population increases
• More food for Lynx  Lynx population increases
• Increased predation on hares  hare population
declines
• Less food for Lynx  Lynx population declines
• Less predation  Increase in hare population

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 CLOSED CANOPY IN
RAINFOREST

YOUNG TREES COMPETE

WIND BLOWS DOWN
FOR LIGHT AND TO REPLACE
OLD TREE
THE OLD TREE

MORE LIGHT AT
GROWTH OF
THE FOREST FLOOR
YOUNG TREES

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POSTIVE FEEDBACK

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Poverty Positive feedback

Poor standards of education

Absence of family planning

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Positive feedback
• Positive feedback includes a sequence of events that
will cause a change in the same direction as the
stimulus and thereby augments the change, moving the
state of the system even further from the equilibrium
point.

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Positive feedback Example-Albedo Effect

Gurucharan IBESS Topic -1 233

 Positive feedback
• Change leads to increasing change – it accelerates
deviation
Example: Global warming
1. Temperature increases  Ice caps melt
2. Less Ice cap surface area  Less sunlight is reflected away
from earth (albedo)
3. More light hits dark ocean and heat is trapped
4. Further temperature increase  Further melting of the ice

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Sub-topic 1.4: Sustainability

Gurucharan IBESS Topic -1 237

What is Natural Capital & Natural Income?
• Natural capital is the term used for ‘natural
resources’ which can be exploited to produce
natural income of goods and services.
• The income from the natural capital is called
as NATURAL INCOME
• e.g. trees as timber that can be harvested
and sold for money.

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Examples of Natural Capital

Gurucharan IBESS Topic -1 239

 Natural Capital OF
EARTH
It includes the core and crust of the
earth, the biosphere itself - teeming
with forests, grasslands, wetlands,
tundra forests, deserts, and other
ecosystems.

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• Natural capital provides a wide variety of valuable ecosystem
services including flood control, climate stabilization,
maintenance of soil fertility, and even beauty and play.

• Globally, and within the bioregion, natural capital is being

depleted through over-harvesting, development, poor
agricultural practices, toxic contamination, and other causes.

Human capture

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 Types of Ecosystem Services-Natural Capital
• Supporting services: These are the essentials for life
and include primary productivity and nutrient cycling.
• Regulating services: These include climate regulation
and pollination.
• Provisioning services: These are the services people get
from ecosystems, such as food and water.
• Cultural services: These are produced from places
when people interact with nature.

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 Values of Natural Capital:
• Economic value: can be determined from the market
price of the goods and services it produces.

• Ecological value: have no formal market price.

Photosynthesis, nitrogen-fixation, soil erosion control
are essential for human existance, but are taken for
granted.

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• Aesthetic value: have not market price and may not provide
identifiable commodities, so they are unpriced or undervalued
from an economic viewpoint.

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• Explain the concept of sustainability &
concept of sustainable development

Gurucharan IBESS Topic -1 245

What is Sustainability?
• Sustainability means living within the means of
nature.
• The concept of sustainability implies using
resources at a rate at which they can be renewed by
nature.
• It focuses on the rate of resource use.

Gurucharan IBESS Topic -1 246

100 tress Planting

1000 trees logging

50 trees logging

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 What is Sustainable development?
• Sustainable development is development that meets the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs. It contains
within it three key concepts:

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 What is Sustainability?
• Sustainability is the extent to which a given
interaction with the environment exploits and uses the
NATURAL INCOME without causing long term
deterioration of NATURAL CAPITAL.

• Harvesting renewable or replenishable resources at a

rate that will be replaced by natural growth.

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Which one is Sustainable?

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What does ecological overshoot mean?

• Humanity’s annual demand on the natural world has exceeded

what the Earth can renew in a year.

• This “ecological overshoot” has continued to grow over the years,

reaching a 50 per cent deficit in 2008.

• This means that it takes 1.5 years for the Earth to regenerate the
renewable resources that people use,

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• At present, people are often able to shift their
sourcing when this happens; however at current
consumption rates, these sources will eventually
run out of resources too – and some ecosystems
will collapse even before the resource is
completely gone.

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 What is an indicator of sustainability?
• An indicator is something that helps you understand where you are,
which way you are going and how far you are from where you want
to be.
• A good indicator alerts you to a problem before it gets too bad and
helps you recognize what needs to be done to fix the problem.

• Indicators of a sustainable community point to areas where the

links between the economy, environment and society are weak.
• They allow you to see where the problem areas are and help show
the way to fix those problems.

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•Describe and evaluate the use of
environmental impact assessments
(EIAs)

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What is Impact Assessment?

•Impact assessments are carried out to

assess the consequences of individual
projects.

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What is Environmental impact assessment?

• Environmental impact assessment is the formal

process used to predict the environmental
consequences (positive or negative) of a plan,
policy, program, or project prior to the decision to
move forward with the proposed action.

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What is the purpose of an EIA?

• An environmental impact assessment (EIA) must be

carried out before any development project gets
permission to begin.
• Development projects that need an EIA include
airports, new housing, river dams, mines, and so on.

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What are EIAs used for?
• EIA’s is the part of planning process that governments set out in
law when large development are considered.

• They provide a documented way of examine environmental

impacts that can be used as evidence in the decision making
process of any new development.

• The development that need EIA’s differ from country to country

Gurucharan IBESS Topic -1 275

The major project included the EIA’s are
• New road networks
• Airport and port developments
• Building power stations
• Building dams and reservoirs
• Large scale housing projects

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• The purpose of an EIA is to
• Establish the impact of the project on the
environment predict possible impacts on
habitats, species, and ecosystems.

• Help decision makers decide if the development

should go ahead or not

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Model sentence: The first stage of an EIA is to carry out a
baseline study.

• The baseline study is undertaken because it is important

to know what the environmental and biological
environment is like before the project starts so that it can
be monitored during and after the development.
• The baseline studies includes the following steps

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1.Habitat type and abundance

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2.The number of species (animals and plants)
present estimation of the species diversity

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3.The number of endangered species assessment of land-use type
and use coverage

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4.Assessment of hydrological conditions in terms of volume,
discharge, flows, and water quality

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• 5.Assessment of the present human population in the
area in terms of soil quality, fertility, and pH

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Evaluation of EIAs
• Strengths
• EIAs can lead to changes in the development plans and avoid
negative environmental impacts.

• It can be argued that any improvement to a development

outweighs any negative aspects.

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Limitations

• It is often difficult to put together a complete

baseline study due to lack of data. Sometimes
not all of the impacts of the development are
identified.

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• The value of EIAs in the environmental decision-making
process can be compromised in other ways.
1. Some countries include EIAs within their legal framework,
with penalties and measures that can be taken if the
conditions of the EIA are broken.
2. Other countries, however, simply use the assessment to
inform policy decisions and do not incorporate them into
their legal framework.
3. Some countries ignore the information and suggestions of
an EIA, or put the conclusions of EIAs second place to
economic concerns.

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• Environmental impact prediction is speculative due to the
complexity of natural systems and the uncertainty of feedback
mechanisms.

• The complexity of natural systems and the uncertainty of feedback

mechanisms may mean that EIA predictions may be inaccurate in
the long term.

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Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

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What is Millennium Ecosystem Assessment?

• The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) is a

major assessment of the effects of human activity
on the environment. It popularized the term
ecosystem services, the benefits gained by humans
from ecosystems.

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MEA Objective
• The objective of the MA was to assess the
consequences of ecosystem change for human well-
being and the scientific basis for action needed to
enhance the conservation and sustainable use of
those systems and their contribution to human
well-being

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MEA Purpose
• The MA has involved the work of more than 1,360 experts
worldwide.
• Their findings, contained in five technical volumes and six
synthesis reports, provide a state-of-the-art scientific appraisal of
the condition and trends in the world’s ecosystems .
• The services they provide (such as clean water, food, forest
products, flood control, and natural resources) and the options to
restore, conserve or enhance the sustainable use of ecosystems.

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What is Ecological footprint?
• The maximum number of a species or ”load”
that can be sustainably supported by a given
environment.

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 Ecological Footprint
• The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the
Earth's ecosystems.
• An ecological footprint measures the total amount of land and resources
used.

• It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area

necessary to supply the resources a human population consumes, and to
assimilate associated waste.

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Ecological footprint?
• Using this assessment, it is possible to estimate how much of
the Earth it would take to support humanity if everybody followed a
given lifestyle.

• It is a standardized measure of demand for natural capital that may be

contrasted with the planet's ecology

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2007

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 Ecological Footprints: the facts
• Indicator that measures how us humans influences
the environment•
• By showing how large land and sea areal that is
required for what we consume and produce.
• Also, in order to take care of the waste that we leave
after us.
• The footprint is an indicator that can apply to a
person, a city, a country and/or the whole world.

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 Components of the ecological footprint
• The ecological footprint consists of four main
categories as shown below:
• 1. Energy land: Land used for fossil fuel energy use
• 2. Consumed land: Land that has been built on
• 3. Currently used land: farmland, forests, and
gardens
• 4. Land of limited availability: unused forests and
deserts.

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Ecological footprints can be increased by:
1. Greater reliance on fossil fuels
2. Increased use of technology and energy (but technology can also
reduce the footprint)
3. High levels of imported resources (which have high transport costs)
4. Large per capita production of carbon waste (high energy use, fossil
fuel use)
5. Large per capita consumption of food
6. A meat-rich diet-Need large are of land

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 Ecological footprints can be reduced by:
1. Reducing use of resources
2. Recycling resources
3. Reusing resources
4. Improving efficiency of resource use
5. Reducing amount of pollution produced
6. Improving country to increase carrying capacity
7. Reducing population to reduce resource use
8. Using technology to increase carrying capacity
9. Using technology to intensify land

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HOW BIG IS YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT?

•http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/

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Sub-topic 1.5: Humans and pollution

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What is Pollution?

Undesirable change in the physical, chemical, or

biological characteristics of the air, water, or land that
can harmfully affect the health, survival, or activities
of human or other living organisms.

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• Pollution can be natural or the result of human activities.
• It can also be a combination of the two.

• An example of a natural source of pollution is a volcanic

eruption.
• Volcanoes emit large quantities of sulfur dioxide, which can
cause acid rain.

• Other types of pollution are related to human activities

including acidification of forests and buildings, and
eutrophication of streams and ponds
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TWO TYPES OF POLLUTION
1. POINT SOURCES POLLUTION

2. NON POINT SOURCES POLLUTION

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 What is mean by Point Source?
Point source pollution refers to the release of pollutants
from a single site.

Pollution originating from a single point such as pipes,

ditches, wells, vessels, and containers.

A point source is a single identifiable localized source of

something.

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 Examples for Point Source Pollution
Water pollution from an oil refinery wastewater discharge
outlet.
Noise pollution from a jet engine.
Light pollution from an intrusive street light
Thermal pollution from an industrial process outfall.
Radio emissions from an interference-producing electrical
device.

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 What is Non-Point Source Pollution ?
Non-point source pollution refers to the release of pollutants from a number
of widely dispersed origins, such as the gases from the exhaust systems of
many vehicles.

A type of pollution can sometimes be point source and at other times non-
point source. If there is only one source of the pollution, then it is point
source pollution.

Pollution that occurs when irrigation runs over land or through the ground,
picks up pollutants, and deposits them into rivers, lakes, and coastal waters
or introduces them into ground water.

Pollution released from diffuse sources e.g. Pesticides from fields or many
single sources such as the exhausts of cars in a city
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Nonpoint-source pollution is the cumulative result of our everyday personal actions
and our local land use policies.

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Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is water pollution
affecting a water body from diffuse sources.

Nonpoint source pollution can be contrasted with

point source pollution, where discharges occur to a
body of water at a single location.

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RIVERS, STREAMS, RESRVOIRS AND BAYS IDENTIFIED AS HAVING
BEEN IMPACTED BY NON-POINT-SOURCE POLLUTION

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 Management Strategies & Issues
Point Source • Non Point Source
• Easier to monitor emissions at • Monitoring requires extensive
source survey techniques
• Easier to control emissions at source • Emissions control requires
• Responsibility easily established and widespread changes
managed by law • Responsibility shared amongst
• Localized effects can be managed many requiring greater effort to
enforce change
• Effects are spread over a wider
area

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Point Source or Non Point Source of Pollution ?

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Point Source or Non Point Source of Pollution ?

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Point Source or Non Point Source of Pollution ?

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TOPIC :

MAJOR SOURCES OF POLLUTIONS

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 What is Pollutant?
A pollutant is a waste material
that pollutes air, water or soil.

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Two types of Pollutant
1. Primary Pollutants

2. Secondary Pollutant

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 Primary & Secondary Pollutant
• Primary pollutant are those pollutants that are directly emitted from
for their sources.
• Like CO2, CO as these gaseous are directly emitted form burning of
fossil fuel.

• Secondary pollutants are those which are formed from the

combination of primary pollutants with some other compound.
• Like smog which is formed by combination of smog and fog.

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Examples of Primary & Secondary Pollutant

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Source 1: Fossil fuels

• The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide and

sulfur dioxide.
• It can also release oxides of nitrogen and particulate
matter.

• These can contribute to many impacts, such as

acidification and global warming. In some cases they may
have an effect on human health.

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 Source 2: Domestic waste
• The main pollutants from domestic waste include solid
domestic waste and sewage.

• Solid domestic waste includes paper and glass.

• Solid domestic waste can cause the release of methane

gas from landfill sites.
• Sewage can cause eutrophication.

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Source 3: Agriculture
• The main pollutants from agriculture include run-off
of manure and fertilizers. This may cause
eutrophication.

• The use of pesticides can also cause pollution. The

use of pesticides may eventually kill animals though
biomagnification and bioaccumulation.

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 Source 4: Manufacturing industry
• The main pollutants from the manufacturing
industry include solid waste and industrial
dumping.

• These may result in land contaminated with

heavy metals, such as cadmium and copper.

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Persistent organic pollutants

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What are Persistent organic pollutants
(POPs)?
• Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxic chemicals that
adversely affect human health and the environment around the
world.
• Because they can be transported by wind and water, most POPs
generated in one country can and do affect people and wildlife far
from where they are used and released.
• They persist for long periods of time in the environment and can
accumulate and pass from one species to the next through the food
chain.

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• Many POPs are currently or were in the past used as
pesticides, solvents, pharmaceuticals, and industrial
chemicals.

• In May 1995, the United Nations Environment Programme

Governing Council investigated POPs.

• Initially the Convention recognized only twelve POPs for

their adverse effects on human health and the environment,
placing a global ban on these particularly harmful and toxic
compounds and requiring its parties to take measures to
eliminate or reduce the release of POPs in the environment.
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 Biodegradable pollutants
• Those pollutants which can be broken down into simpler, harmless,
substances in nature in due course of time (by the action of micro-
organisms like certain bacteria) are called biodegradable pollutants.

• Domestic wastes (garbage), sewage, agriculture residues, paper,

wood, cloth, cattle dung, vegetable stuff or plants are biodegradable
pollutants.

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Methods of monitoring pollution

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Method 1: Air pollution
• There are many pollutants that can be monitored or
measured. Chemicals include SO , and NO .
• There are a number of ways in which these can be
measured. These include:
• Use of a monitor or probe
• Use of filter paper in a container
• Weighing the filter paper before and after collection taking
the material filtered for chemical analysis.

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 Air Pollution monitor

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 Air Pollution monitor Centres
in new Delhi

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 Air pollution monitor

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 Filter paper in air pollution

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Method 2: Water pollution

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 METHODS OF CHECKING WATER QUALITY

Typical tests carried out include:

1. Trace metal analysis.
2. Pesticides and related substances.
3. Heavy metal analysis.
4. Physical parameters.
5. Microbiological indicators.

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Outline approaches to Pollution
Management

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• There are a number of ways in which the
impacts of pollution can be managed .
• These include:
1. Changing human activities
2. Regulating and reducing quantities of
pollutants released at the point of emission
3. Cleaning up the pollutant and restoring the
ecosystem after pollution has occurred

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 HUMAN ACTIVITIES
• Human causes of pollution are widespread and
includes
1. Farming
2. Industrial practices,
3. Urbanization,
4. Development of transport, and the
5. Transport and burning of energy sources.
• The result depends on the amount of material
released into the environment.

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CFC -Example

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What is CFC?
• A chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) is an organic
compound that contains only carbon, chlorine, and
fluorine.

• Many CFCs have been widely used as refrigerants,

propellants (in aerosol applications), and solvents.

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 Strategies that alter human activity-CFC

• A good example is CFCs and ozone depletion.

• The use of CFCs has been reduced by using
alternative gases/substitutes.
• There has also been an international treaty that
bans the use of CFCs. This treaty is known as the
Montreal Protocol.

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 EVALUATION :Human Activity
• The main advantage of this strategy is
that it prevents the effects of ozone
depletion from happening in the first
place.

• Most countries did not start reducing

ozone-depleting substances until after the
impacts were seen and understood
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Strategies that manage the release of a pollutant-CFC

• CFCs are the pollutant that destroys ozone.

It is possible to recycle CFCs from disused
refrigerators.

• Emission regulations have been developed

that limit the amount of CFCs that may be
used.

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 EVALUATION
• Trying to get different countries to agree to
regulations on emissions is very difficult to
achieve.

• LEDCs believe that they have not had the benefit

from the pollutant. They believe that rich
countries have benefited from the pollutant and
that it has helped them to develop.
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 Strategies that manage the long-term impact of a
pollutant on the ecosystem-CFC
• To protect against increased UV radiation,
people need to protect their skin with
sunscreen and/or protective clothing.

• People should also avoid being outside during

the hottest part of the day.

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EVALUATION
• The major disadvantage with these strategies is
that they are tackling the effects of ozone depletion
rather than preventing them from happening.

• An advantage is that the technology is now

available that will help develop resistance to the
impacts of increased UV radiation

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 Paul Muller
Nobel Prize for his discovery of the insecticidal properties of DDT.

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 What is DDT?
DDT (from its trivial name, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) is
one of the most well-known synthetic pesticides.

It is a chemical with a long, unique, and controversial history.

In 1939 DDT was used with great success in the second half
of World War II to control malaria and typhus among civilians and
troops

DDT was made available for use as an agricultural insecticide and

its production and use duly increased.

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 DDT and malaria
Those in favor of the use of DDT to combat malaria argue
that:
• It is an efficient method to eradicate malaria in Europe
and has practically done just that in India.
• They defend the effectiveness of the substance given the
low cost of use and the fact that there are no issues with
patents.

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• The US ban on DDT is cited by scientists as a major
factor in the comeback of the bald eagle (the national
bird of the United States) and the peregrine
falcon from near-extinction

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 DDT and the environment
• Among the diverse effects of DDT on the health of animals, many
highlight:
• Problems in reproduction and development.
• Possible defects on the immune system and premature death of
birds.
• Effects on the liver and kidney.
• Reduction in the quality and quantity of microscopic animals in
phytoplankton

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 Debating a global ban on DDT
Against
For
• WHO states DDT is safe if
• Research has linked DDT to used properly
premature births, low birth
weight and abnormal mental
developments • Alternatives are not as
effective
• Alternative methods of pest
control exist • Annual deaths from malaria
are still over 1 million
• Spraying cannot eradicate the
mosquitoes • Previous decisions to ban
DDT saw a resurgence of
mosquitoes and rise in
• The ecological effects are well deaths from malaria in
documented many countries

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Thank you
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Made by
K.Guru Charan kumar,ESS Teacher, India
• MYP Teacher
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