Ess Topic 1

Ecocentric viewpoint: Holistic ideal that put ecology and nature as central to humanity and
emphasise a less materialistic approach to life with greater self sufficiency of societies
Anthropocentric viewpoint:Humans must sustainably manage the global system. This

might be through the use of taxes, environmental regulation and legislation. Debate would
be encouraged to reach a consensual, pragmatic approach to solving environmental
problems
Technocentric viewpoint: Technological developments can provide solutions to

environmental problems. Consequence of optimistic view of humans. Play in improving
whole of humanity. Scientific research is encouraged
1.2
Reductionist approach: a system can be divided into parts
Holistic approach: tries to study the components and the interactions between them as a
whole
Emerging properties appear : characteristics of a system that cannot be present in the
study of the components separately.
Systems:
● Can be alive or not alive.
● Big or small.
Biome: groups of ecosystems with similar climates.
Biosphere: part of the Earth inhabited by organisms, from the atmosphere to the depths of
the Earth's crust
The flows are processes that may be either transfers or transformations

- Transfers: Flow in a system that involves changing location,without changing shape
or state.
- Transformations: Flow in a system that involves a change in chemical nature,
change of state, or energy variation
OPEN SYSTEM → An open system exchanges matter and energy with its environment
through its limits.
CLOSED SYSTEM A closed system exchanges energy but not matter across its limits.
ISOLATED SYSYTEM An isolated system does not exchange neither matter nor energy with
its environment.
Model: simplified version of reality used to understand how a system works and to predict
how it will respond to change. It inevitably involves some approximation and therefore loss of
accuracy.
A MODEL MAY BE:

1. Physical: wind tunnel, an aquarium or terrarium
2. Software: climate change or evolution
3. Mathematician: equations
4. Scheme: systems
STRENGHTHS
• They simplify complex systems and allow predictions to be made (easier to work with than
complex reality).
• The inputs can be changed to see their effects on the system and on the outputs without
having to wait for real situations (we can predict the effect of a change on the inputs).
• We can see patterns and use them at different scales (from atoms to the solar system).
• They can be consulted with others and with the public because they are easy to
understand.
1.3
Energy exists in the form of:
- Light
- Hot
- Chemistry
- Electric
- Sound
- Kinetics
law of thermodynamics is the principle of conservation of energy, which states that energy
in an isolated system can be transformed but cannot be created or destroyed.
The principle of conservation of energy can be modelled by the energy transformations
along food chains and energy production systems.
The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of a system increases over
time. the inefficiency and decrease in available energy along a food chain and energy
generation systems.
When energy is transformed into work, part of it is lost to heat
Entropy: measures the disorder in a system. The higher the order, the more concentrated
the energy and the lower the entropy.
Steady-state equilibrium: A form of stable equilibrium characteristic of open systems that
allows the system to return to its steady state after a disturbance. There are no long-term
changes but there are short-term swings.
Static balance: Balance in which there are no changes over time because there are no
system inputs or outputs
Stable/Unstable balance:
A. Stable: the system returns to the same balance after a disturbance.
B. Unstable: the system returns to a new equilibrium after a disturbance.
Feedback: when part of the outputs of a system return as input, affecting the outputs.
Resilience: Tendency of a system to avoid inflection points and maintain stability through
stable stationary equilibrium
Inflection point: the minimum amount of change that can destabilize
a system, achieving a new equilibrium
1.4
Sustainability: use and management of resources that allow full natural replacement of the
resources exploited and full recovery of the ecosystems affected by their extraction
Natural Capital: natural resources that can produce a sustainable natural income of goods
or services
Capital: the means of production that are used to create goods that provide income.
Natural Income: yield obtained from natural resources
Ecosystems: provide life-supporting services such as water replenishment, flood and
erosion protection, and goods such as timber, fisheries and agricultural crops
Sustainable development: development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the needs of the future to meet their own needs
Overshoot: occurs when the environment’s capacity and the limits to growth are exceeded
1.5
Pollution: addition of a substance or an agent to an environment by human activity
DDT
● It’s used for agricultural insecticide and to kill anopheles mosquito (vector for the
malarial parasite).
● It’s cheap, persistent and effective
● It was banned in the US in 1972 and most MEDCs since but not banned for public
health use in most areas of the world where malaria is endemic
● DDT prevented millions of deaths from malaria
● But Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring identified that it leads to bioaccumulation

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Ecocentric viewpoint: Holistic ideal that put ecology and nature as central to humanity and

Anthropocentric viewpoint:Humans must sustainably manage the global system. This

Technocentric viewpoint: Technological developments can provide solutions to

The flows are processes that may be either transfers or transformations

A MODEL MAY BE:

Pollution: addition of a substance or an agent to an environment by human activity

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