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ESS Unit 1 > 1.4 Sustainability > Flashcards

1.4 Sustainability Flashcards

1
Q

Sustainability

A

The use and management of resources that alows for their full replacement and the recovery of ecosystems affected by their extraction

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2
Q

Natural capital

A

Resources that produce a sustainable natural income of goods and services

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3
Q

Difference between goods and services

A

Goods are measurable physical resources that are monetized

Services are harder to measure directly and aren’t monetized

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4
Q

Examples of goods

A

timber, agricultural crops, fisheries, soil nutrients

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5
Q

Examples of services

A

flood and erosion protection, water replenishment

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6
Q

How is biodiversity an indicator of sustainability?

A

Greater biodiversity = greater ecosystem stability.This means more resilience, which is sustainable

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7
Q

How is pollution an indicator of sustainability?

A

Less pollution means a lower impact on the environment

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8
Q

How is human population an indicator of sustainability?

A

An increasing human population increases pressure on the environment

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9
Q

How are plant and animal populations an indicator of sustainability?

A

Increasing plant and animal populations increasing ecosystem stability. There will be more energy and nutrient pathways

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10
Q

How is climate an indicator of sustainability

A

Stable greenhouse levels = stable temperatures

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11
Q

What is sustainable development?

A

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

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12
Q

What is a Millenium Ecosystem Assessment?

A

A research programme focusing on how ecosystems have changed in the last decades and predicting changes that might happen

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12
Q

What is a Millenium Ecosystem Assessment?

A

A research programme focusing on how ecosystems have changed in the last decades and predicting changes that might happen

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13
Q

According to the 2005 report, what % of world ecosystems have been degraded?

A

60%

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14
Q

What % of fish stock have been overharvested?

A

25%

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15
Q

What % of mangroves have been destroyed since 1980?

A

35%

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16
Q

What else did MAs look at?

A

The consequences of ecosystem change for human wellbeing
How to implement conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems

17
Q

What is an Environmental Impact Assessment?

A

A report prepared before a development project that will change the way land is used

18
Q

Examples of projects that use EIAs?

A

-Building power stations
-Building dams and reservoirs
- Building makor road networks

19
Q

What does an EIA assess?

A

The environmental, economic and social impacts of the project as well as its advantages and disadvantages

20
Q

EIA step 1

A

Screening: Determining whether an EIA is needed at all

21
Q

EIA step 2:

A

Scoping: deciding which impacts need to be assessed

22
Q

EIA step 3

A

Baseline study: Collecting data on the current environmental, social and economic state of the area

23
Q

EIA step 4

A

Impact assessment: what are the consequences of the development

24
Q

EIA step 5

A

Mitigation: how can we reduce or prevent the consequences?
Alternatives?

25
Q

EIA step 6

A

Monitoring: monitor environmental conditions, which may be constantly changing as the project continues

26
Q

EIA step 7

A

Assessment of project impacts

27
Q

Non technical summary in EIA report

A

Summarise report it in a way that non-specialists can understand, e.g. for the locals , the general public

28
Q

Disadvantages of EIAs

A
  1. Lack of standard practice or training for practitioners
  2. Hard for them to identiy and include indirect impacts
  3. Predicitons may be innacurate in the long term as natural systems are complex
  4. Baseline study may be incomplete due to lack of data, and EIA is limited by quality of baseline study

5.In some countries the advice of the EIAs are ignored or second place to economic development

29
Q

Advantages of EIAs

A
  1. Changes in the development plan can avoid negative environmental impacts
  2. You can learn from the experience of similar projects
  3. Improving the development plan outweighs the uncertainty of EIAs
30
Q

What is an Ecological footprint?

A

The area of land and water needed to sustainably provide all the resources at the rate at which a population is consuming them

  • It is a model
31
Q

When does an EF indicate unsustainability?

A

When the EF is greater than the area available to the population

32
Q

Describe carbon sequestration as an EF component

A

Measuring amount of forest than can sequester the CO2 emissions from fossil fuel burning

33
Q

Describe cropland as an EF component

A

The amount of land needed to provide food for human consumption, including animal feed and commercial crops

34
Q

Describe grazing land as an EF component

A

The amount of grazing land

35
Q

Describe forests as an EF component

A

The amount of forest needed to supply timber products, pulp and fuelwood

36
Q

Describe built up land as an EF component

A

The amount of land covered by human infrastructure

37
Q

What is an ecological overshoot?

A

When the current population has used up its resources and starts to use the resources of future generations

38
Q

What is an ecological overshoot?

A

When the current population has used up its resources and starts to use the resources of future generations

39
Q

Tragedy of the commons

A

When individuals act based on their own needs in ways contrary to the interests of the larger community, depleting a shared resource

40
Q

Factors resulting in a large ecological footprint

A
  • Fossil fuel reliance
  • Meat rich diets
  • Increased technology use
  • High food consumprion
41
Q

How can we reduce our ecological footprint?

A
  • Reduce population
  • More efficienct resource use
  • Reduced resource consumption
  • Reuse, recycle

ESS Unit 1 (4 decks)

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