Professional Documents
Culture Documents
• 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.
4.Chernobyl Nuclear accident
• Economic growth is a good thing and we can always keep the economy
growing
• Technocentric worldviews include the cornucopians and
the environmental managers.
• 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.
2. A bicycle is an example
of a system
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.
So a system could be...?
• A building
• a flower
• an atom
• a political party
• a car
• your body
• furniture
• an electric circuit
What is ENERGY?
• Energy is defined as the ability or the capacity to do
work.
• Energy causes things to happen around us
• Plants fix energy from light entering the system during the
photosynthesis.
2. CLOSED SYSTEM: a system in which energy
is exchanged across boundaries of the system, but
matter is not. Example-Aquarium & Terrarium
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.
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.
Calories
m an
Hu
ody
B
Protein
2. Flows of matter or energy within the
systems at certain rates.
Calories Calories
an
m
Hu
lis m
bo
eta
M
Protein Protein
3.Outputs of certain forms of matter or
energy that flow out of the system into
sinks in the environment.
Waste
Calories
man Heat
H u
lis m
bo
eta
M
Waste
Protein Matter
4. Storage areas in which energy or matter can
accumulate for various lengths of time before
being released.
Human
Metabolism
Calories
• fat
• insulation
• muscle fiber
Protein • hair, nails
• enzymes
RECAP
• What is open system? Example
• What is closed system? Example
• What is Isolated system? Example
• Components of a system
Comparing different systems
Example:
• Water is falling from clouds to the ground as rain.
• Water moving from a river to a sea
CLOUDS
IN THE FORM
OF
WATER
STATE
CHANGE IN LOCATION
OCEAN
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
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
Example :
• Photosynthesis: converts sunlight energy, carbon
dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen.
• Transfer are process that lead to a change in location but not a
change in state
• 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
• 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
• 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
AUGUST SUMMATIVE-11B6
• Date : 31/08/2015-Monday
• Syllabus :
Topic 1: Foundations of environmental systems and societies
• 1.1 Environmental value systems
• 1.2 Systems and models
• 1.3 Energy and equilibria
• Time :10:30am-11:45am
• Paper :Paper 2 –Section A
• Total Marks: 40
• Book Page number :1-25
• Evaluate the strengths and limitations of
models.
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
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 rely on the expertise of the people making them and this can
lead to inaccuracies
1.3 Energy and Equilibria
LAWS OF THERMODYMANICS
What is Thermodynamics?
ENERGY 2
PROCESS
ENERGY 1 (WORK)
ENERGY 3
169
Photosynthesis: an example of the First Law of
Thermodynamics: Energy Transformation
170
Photosynthesis is the First Law of
Thermodynamics
Heat Energy
Light Energy
Photosynthesis
Chemical Energy
171
Energy at one level must come from
previous level
Sun
Producers (phytoplankton)
Primary consumers (zooplankton)
Secondary consumers (fish)
Dissolved
chemicals Tertiary consumers
(turtles)
Sediment
184
•Any conversion is less than 100% efficient and
therefore some energy is lost or wasted.
Respiration
2000 kJ.day-1
186
The Ecosystem and the 2nd
law of Thermodynamics
Heat
Heat
Heat
Heat
Heat
187
RECAP
• 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.
RECAP
• What is First Law of Thermodynamics
• What is Second Law of Thermodynamics?
• What is EQUILIBRIUM?
• Three types of equilibrium
EQUILIBRIA-
STEADY-STATE-STATIC
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.
3 TYPES
2. STATIC EQUILIBRIUM
If these birth & death rates are equal there is no net change
In population size
QUESTION
WHERE YOU CAN SEE STEADY –STATE
EQUILIBRIUM IN ECOSYSTEM
Food chain & Food web are the example of Steady –State Equilibrium
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.
• This means that even though there are constant inputs and outputs
of energy and matter there is overall stability within the system.
Rate of water entering = Rate
of water leaving
Hence the level of water is
constant
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.
UNSTABLE EQUILIBRIUM
FOREST FIRE -DISTURBANCE
AFTER DISTURBANCE
RECAP
• What is First Law of Thermodynamics
• What is Second Law of Thermodynamics?
• What is EQUILIBRIUM?
• Three types of equilibrium
WORLD’S LARGEST FLOWER
Rafflesia
Found in the Indonesian rain forest
RECAP
1. What is Equilibrium
3. STATIC EQUILIBRIUM
FEEDBACK
PROCESS OUTPUT
INPUT
The sense of cold is the information, putting on clothes or heating up is the
reaction
cold
clothes
heating up
POSTIVE FEEDBACK
Teacher is successful
Showing interest
NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
Showing distraction
Positive and Negative
Feedback
Negative feedback systems
Walking in hot sun, temperature rises
•Predator/prey relationships
TIGER-PREDATOR SPOTTED DEER-PREY
• Predator/prey relationships are usually controlled by negative feedback
where:
D
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
CLOSED CANOPY IN
RAINFOREST
MORE LIGHT AT
GROWTH OF
THE FOREST FLOOR
YOUNG TREES
ANSWER THIS
• IDENTIFY THIS BIRD
SARUS CRANE
at a height of up to 1.8 m (5.9 ft)
POSTIVE FEEDBACK
Poverty Positive feedback
UV radiation Radiated by
atmosphere
as heat (66%)
Lower stratosphere
(ozone layer)
Visible
light Greenhouse
Absorbed Troposphere effect
by ozone
Heat
Absorbed
by the earth
Heat radiated
by the earth
Earth
Sub-topic 1.4: Sustainability
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.
Examples of Natural Capital
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.
• Natural capital provides a wide variety of valuable ecosystem
services including flood control, climate stabilization,
maintenance of soil fertility, and even beauty and play.
Human capture
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.
Values of Natural Capital:
• Economic value: can be determined from the market
price of the goods and services it produces.
• This means that it takes 1.5 years for the Earth to regenerate the
renewable resources that people use,
• 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.
RECAP
RECAP
• What is Natural Resources?
• What is Natural Capital?
• Example of Natural Resources?
• Values of Natural resources
• Ecological overshoot
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.
Mining Area
3.The number of endangered species assessment of land-use type
and use coverage
4.Assessment of hydrological conditions in terms of volume,
discharge, flows, and water quality
• 5.Assessment of the present human population in the
area in terms of soil quality, fertility, and pH
Evaluation of EIAs
• Strengths
• EIAs can lead to changes in the development plans and avoid
negative environmental impacts.
•http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/
Sub-topic 1.5: Humans and pollution
What is Pollution?
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
Nonpoint-source pollution is the cumulative result of our everyday personal actions
and our local land use policies.
Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is water pollution
affecting a water body from diffuse sources.
• Secondary Pollutant
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.
• Solid domestic waste can cause the release of methane gas from
landfill sites.
• Sewage can cause eutrophication.
Source 3: Agriculture
• The main pollutants from agriculture include run-off
of manure and fertilizers. This may cause
eutrophication.
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