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214 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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How does Canada rank compared to other countries in terms of its ecological footprint? |
Third highest in the world |
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What countries will be impacted by population growth? |
- LDC predicted to grow 33% between 2005-2050 - India predicted to overtake China as most populous country
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What impacted consumption increase? Where does Canada rank? |
- Global energy consumption increased 12x between 1850 and 1970 - Wealthiest countries use 25x more energy than poorest countries - Canada in top five world energy consumers |
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Ecological Footprint |
- Measures the human use of the environment in hectares per person - Canada has the third highest - Available: 1.6 hectares/person - Used: 2.2 hectares/person - Expected to shrink - 20% of the world's population consumes 75% of resources - Richest Canadians = largest EF - People in the top 10% income had greatest EF |
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Biocapacity |
- The amount of biologically productive area available to meet humanity's needs - Biocapacity exceeded by 25% |
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Example of Easter Island |
- Collapse of a population due to overuse of resources - Did not anticipate it severity > neglected to address a problem > failed when trying to solve it |
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Carrying Capacity |
- Maximum population size that a given ecosystem can support for an indefinite period or on a sustainable basis - Canada 35% above Kyoto target - Canada is the highest producer per capita of waste products |
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Commissioner for Environment and Sustainability |
- 1997 - noted aspects where improvement was necessary - 1) Implementation Gap - 2) Lack of Coordination and Integration - 3) Inadequate Performance Review - 2008 - very little progress made in implementing sustainable development strategies |
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Changes in Natural Systems |
- More abrupt, happening faster - Earth's climate and environment is changing - Eg. global warming - trend of increasing average surface temperature since the middle of the 19th century |
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Human Activity |
- Strong evidence that human activity is the driving force behind environmental change - Example: atmospheric pollution, deforestation |
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Changing Human Societies |
- Eg. urban environments growing - Pop growth and increased consumption = economic growth and environmental change - Growing demand for a certain standard of living (eg. more people owning cars) - Changes occurring more rapidly and with a higher magnitude - Threatens the wellbeing of our society and ecosystems |
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Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) |
- By United Nations in 2000 (2001-2005); 95 countries - Used to assess the consequences of ecosystem change for human wellbeing & establish scientific basis for actions needed to enhance conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems - Findings provide options to restore, conserve and enhance the sustainable use of ecosystems - Many changes are non linear (process of degradation will increase rapidly once started) |
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Impact of Population |
- Global energy consumption increased rapidly - UN predicts over 10 billion people by 2100 |
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Age Cohorts |
- Barrel shaped chart = low birth rates, high life expectancies (commonly observed in developed countries) - Pyramid shaped chart = high birth rates, low life expectancies (commonly observed in less developed countries) - Diff countries may have similar pop sizes but diff age structures > this has a big impact on future population growth |
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Economic Growth |
- Overpopulation > poverty - Environment worsens > turning point > environment improves - Goal of development planning is to help less developed countries reach this turning point |
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Population and Economic Development |
- 4 Phases - 1) High equilibrium marked by high birth rates and high death rates - 2) High expanding marked by high BR and low DR - 3) Low expanding marked by falling BR and low DR - 4) Low equilibrium marked by low equal birth and death rates - Eventually this demographic transition stabilizes populations - Some indication of a decrease in fertility accompanying economic growth is reaching a plateau in LDC |
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Fertility Rate |
- Number of children a women has in her lifetime - Determines whether populations grow, shrink or remain stable |
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Millennium Development Goals |
- UN in 2000 - attempt to adapt global scale goals for reaching a sustainable society by 2015 - Goals: reduce poverty, achieve universal education (primary), gender equality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, ensure environmental sustainability, reduce child mortality |
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Findings of the MEA (4) |
1. Ecosystem Structure and Function - Change in structure/function of ecosystems - More land converted to cropland - Cultivated systems in 2000 covered 25% of earth's surface - Defined as areas where at least 30% of landscape is in croplands, shifting cultivation, confined livestock production or fresh water agriculture 2. Reservoir Water - Amount of water quadrupled in terms of intercepted runoff - 3-6x as much water in reservoirs as in natural rivers - Water withdrawn from/rivers lakes doubled since 1960 - 70% of water worldwide used for agriculture - 15-30% of water withdrawn for irrigation exceeds supply and is unsustainable 3. Biologically Available Nitrogen in Ecosystems - Flows of biologically available nitrogen in ecosystems has doubled - Flows of phosphorus have tripled - Amount of biologically available nitrogen may further grow by 65% 4. Distribution of Species - Becoming more homogenous (becoming more similar to other regions) - Largely a result of massive movement of species (increased travel and shipping)
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Components of the Environment |
- Atmosphere - Hydrosphere - Lithosphere - Biosphere (living systems) |
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Anthropocentric View |
- Resources valued only with respect to human utility - Value is defined relative to human interests, wants and needs - Minerals/animals don't become resources until they have value for humans - Eg. coal and copper not considered resources until humans understood how they could be used/had technology to utilize them |
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Biocentric (Ecocentric) View |
- Resources exist independently from human desires - Have ecological and existent value in their own right - Don't necessarily have immediate value to humans, but contribute to earth as a global ecosystem - Eg. grizzly bears have intrinsic value regardless of their value to people - DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ANTHRO AND BIO = non-living components are part of an ecocentric perspective, not just living beings = physical integrity of ecosystems is also important |
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Approaches to Understanding the Environment |
1. Disciplinary - Theories associated with a given discipline - Drawback = may limit an understanding 2. Multi-Disciplinary - Specialists examine an issue from each perspectives - Draw back = combining results after research may result in a lack of connecting research 3. Cross Disciplinary - Borrows methods from other disciplines to enhance perspective - Can lead to misunderstanding, overlooking unfamiliar material 4. Interdisciplinary - Specialists from separate areas actively working together from the start - Draw back = extra $, time consuming and communication 5. Transdisciplinary - Interdisciplinary and holistic - weighing each area equally - Can lead to information overload |
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Sustainable Development |
- Development that meets the needs of the present w/o compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs - Economy, environment and social community considered together |
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Sustainable Livelihoods |
- Emphasizes conditions necessary to ensure that basic human needs are satisfied - Human entered approach to broad environmental management - Directed towards ways for local people to meet their basic needs - Critics see this as too anthropocentric |
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Resilience |
Ability of a system to absorb disturbances and still retain its basic function and structure |
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Environmental Indicators
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- Specific facets of a particular system that provide info about its current state - Eg. population of a key species within an ecosystem - Indicator doesn't help understand why a system is in that state - it helps decision makers to choose which policies to rule out - Similar indicators = indices (highest levels of aggregation and are useful for telling what is happening but don't explain why) |
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Interactions Between Biophysical and Social Systems (5) |
1) Natural System (many characteristics) 2) Observed System (few characteristics) 3) State Parameter Estimation System 4) Control System (adding fertilizer and irrigating the land) 5) Management Objectives (making changes) |
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Ecological Footprint by Component |
- Measure human use of the environment in hectares/person - Enable us to compare overall impacts of various countries - Growing gap between global ecological footprint and the world's biocapacity |
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Living Plant Index |
- Widely used index tracking species - Tracks 1,313 vertebrae species - 35% reduction in overall of planet - Gives people impression that it's better than it actually is - Current rate of resource consumption = not enough resources to keep up with our world's consumption |
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Sydney Tar Ponds |
- Sydney, Nova Scotia - Steel making process - requires high iron ore without too much sulfur - coal and iron have impurities that need to be removed - Company used blast furnaces to remove impurities - Dumped waste sludge into local water sheds - Steel company didn't test the quality of their ingredients, leading to poor products & large amounts of toxic slag waste - Waste accumulated in creek (area also received city's raw sewage) - Tar ponds formed a chemical and bacterial river system - Contaminated river systems such as Muggah Creek - Lobster fishery closed (tests found lead and mercury) - PAHs and PCBs in the watershed - Acres Internation had 3 options - cap it, store it elsewhere or incinerate it - Residents were suffering from serious health problems - Higher rate of cancer in Sydney and shorter life expectancy - Clean up: provincial government initially chose incineration - 1996 - plans changed to burial - 2007 - $400 million clean up - capping of tar ponds - Basic science should be used from the start |
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Flow of Energy |
- Heat release (loss of energy) - Always going to be a loss of heat - Eventually everything dies |
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Marine Food Web |
- Before and after disruption - Impact of reducing biodiversity = disrupts energy flow to high trophic levels - Amount of food diminshes |
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Endemic Species |
- Species that are found nowhere else on earth - 1-5% of Canada's species are endemic to Canada - Eg. Vancouver Island Marmot - Australia has 68% endemic species |
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Canada's Record on Protecting its Biodiversity |
- Federal, provinces and territories created a plan (2006) - Canada good at making plans but not an implementation - Problem: tracking and assessing is easier said than done |
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Alien and Invasive Species |
- Those found outside their normal habitat and also change their new habitat - 500 species of alien plants are now weeds - 12% of species not native to Canada |
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PAH |
- Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon - Chemicals produced by incomplete burning of organic material - May cause cancer, associated with birth defects |
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Lead |
Can be toxic and cause neurological problems, particularly in the developing nervous systems of children |
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PCB |
- Polychlorinated Biphenyl - Synthetic organic molecules than can cause cancer |
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Eurasian Water Milfoil |
- Alien/invasive species - Appeared in 1970s - Okanogan Valley, BC - Made use of lakes almost impossible (gross) - Hurt tourism industry - Still trying to remove from water 40 years later |
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Zebra Mussels |
- Alien/invasive species - Came from Atlantic attached to bottom of boats and discharged into NA waterways - Very aggressive species - Impacted Great Lakes food chain - Attacked plankton that was a food source - Also built algae, preventing people from swimming |
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Controls on Ballast Water |
- Water at the bottom of the boat - Different zones that control what boats are allowed to do with their ballast water - Attempts to control alien/invasive species - Eg. St. Lawrence River no longer allowed to change ballast water |
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According to the Commissioner for Environment and Sustainable Development (2008), Fisheries and Oceans Canada has... |
- Been too slow at detecting environmental, econ and social risks - Not properly managed the risks - Still no plans for early detection - Still no plans for rapid response - 2006 - implemented control of ballasts - Made little progress in reporting compliance w previous recommendations - States such as New York = more aggressive - "Swish and spit" against marine invaders - Seeking filtration on board, although does not exist yet
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Which 2 species are native to the Great Lakes? |
- Stonefly - Round whitefish |
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Policies Implemented Towards Invasive Species |
- Asian carp - Emerald ash - Need more support |
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Sun |
- Most important source of energy for earth system - Fuels climate, earth life support systems and cycling of matter
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What is energy? |
- The capacity to do work - Comes in many forms - Radiant energies such as sun's rays - Can be found in chemical bonds - As heat (movement of atoms) - Electrical - Mechanical energy - potential or kinetic - Potential = stored energy that is available for later use (eg. gasoline) - Energy is diff than matter - does not occupy space and has no mass |
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What are the Laws of Thermodynamics? |
To describe how energy transformations occur |
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1st Law: Conservation of Energy |
- Energy can neither be created or destroyed - merely changed from one form into another - Total amount of energy in the universe is constant - merely changed from one form into another - When an organism dies the energy is not lost, it returns to the environment in diff forms - End sum = the initial energy |
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@nd Law: Law of Entropy (Energy Degradation) |
- Tells us that when energy is transformed from one form into another, there is always a decrease in the quality of usable energy - Some energy is lost as lower quality dispersed energy to the surrounding environment (often as heat) - Entropy a measure of the disorder of randomness of a system - High quality, useful energy = low entropy - Some energy is lost as low quality energy in any transformation - For organisms - bc they must continuously expend energy to maintain themselves, whenever they use energy, some is lot |
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Low QualityEnergy |
- Most energy available for use is called low quality energy - Diffused/dispersed at low temperatures and is difficult to gather - Total energy of all moving atoms is referred to as heat which is a form of low quality energy - Against temp, this is a measure of average speed of molecules or atoms in a substance - Majority of energy in ecosphere is low quality (e.g. ocean tides) |
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High Quality Energy |
- Eg. hot fire or coal - Easy to use, easy to harness, provides intense energy - Energy disperses quickly |
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Energy and Society |
- Eg. house heating systems only need low quality - Not what we see in most developed countries - Instead we use high quality energy such as power lines |
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Fossil Fuel and Entropy |
- Use of fossil fuel is another example - Only about 10% of gas energy actually converted into mechanical energy - rest dispersed into the environment as low quality (eg. heat) - Results in an increase in entropy, as well as energy that cannot be recycled - Eg. coal takes a long time to produce while the energy contained is quickly dissipated - 2nd law of theromodynamics applies here |
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Producers |
- Autotrophs - organisms that have the ability to capture energy and manufacture matter (aka producers) - Two types of producers - First is phototrophs - green pigments in plants absorb light energy from the sun |
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Photosynthesis |
- Light energy from the sun is absorbed by the plants' green pigments - How plants capture that solar energy - Using the energy, carbon dioxin is combined w water into high energy carbohydrates - Carbs are starches, celluloses and sugars, and are therefore potential energy - Photosynthesis produces billions of tonnes of biomass throughout the world - True photosynthesis plants produce oxygen |
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Chemoautotrophs |
- Autotrophs that derive energy from chemicals available in the environment - Both phototrophs and chemoautotrophs play a critical role in earth's biogeochemical cycles - Some of the energy is passed on to other organisms - Each level of food chain is called a trophic level |
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Consumers |
- Heterotrophs - organisms that obtain their energy by eating other organisms - Herbivores eat producers - Herbivores = energy source for higher level consumers (carnivores) - Omnivores (humans, racoons, cockroaches) can get their energy from multiple trophic levels |
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Ecological Succession |
- Gradual replacement of one assemblage of species by another as conditions change over time - Two basic types of succession - primary and secondary |
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Primary Succession |
- Colonization of a once previously vegetated surface where little or no soil exists - Primary colonizers are the first species to occupy the area and must be able to withstand harsh conditions - One assemblage of species is gradually replaced by another as conditions change over time - P colonizers must be highly resistant to variations in temperature, water availability, or limited nutrient supply - Lichens combine w physical processes to break down rocks - their biomass traps water and nutrients and this allows other species to colonize - Long believed that vegetation would reach well defined stable stage called the Climax Community - This final successional stage believed to be an equilibrium w the environment |
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Climatic Climax |
- Communities do not always reach a stable climax community - climax should be seen as constantly evolving - More constant over time - Climax vegetation strongly influenced by climate and is therefore called a climatic climax |
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Edaphic Climax |
- Soil can be more important than climate in determining community composition (leading to edaphic climax) - Edaphic climax - soil conditions determine the community composition - Eg. Atable Mountain in Newfoundland (only rare plant species can grow there due to unique rocks that have high metal content) |
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Disturbance |
- Event that alters ecosystem structure and function - Natural, integral parts of healthy ecosystem |
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Cyclic Succession |
- Not always linear - Eg. hardy shrubs and trees can be first colonizers - Acyclic succession may occur when a community has progressed through several seral stages but has then returned to an earlier stage by a disturbance - These landed areas have high species diversity and are known as ecotones - Richer zones b/w communities |
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Secondary Succession |
- Sequential development of biotic communities on previously vegetated surfaces that have soil that have been disturbed - Eg. abandoned farm fields, forest after wildfire - Develops faster than primary succession and initiated by invading species such as annual weeds - Similar process occurs in aquatic environments (utrification) - Can be a challenge for farmers/resource managers |
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Immature and Mature Ecosystems |
- Diversity will not increase indefinitely and that moderately disturbed ecosystems have higher biodiversity than those who experience either a high or low disturbance - Conditions of low disturbance = slow growing species dominate - Conditions of high disturbance = only species highly resistant to stress thrive |
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Dynamic Equilbrium |
Ecosystems do not exist in a static state but one of dynamic equilibrium |
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Inertia |
Ability of an ecosystem to withstand change |
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Resilience |
Ability to recover to the original state following a disturbance |
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Levels of Organization in Ecosystems |
- Smallest level = individual organism - Groups of individual of same species = population - All populations of all species in an environment = community - Many communities interact w their physical environments = ecosystems - Ecosystems exchange material and organisms w other ecosystems |
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Ecozones |
- Groups of ecosystems w similar vegetation and animal communities - Eg. terrestrial ecotones of Canada |
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Biome |
Many ecotones taken together and classified according to their dominant vegetation and reflecting animal adaptations to predominate climatic conditions |
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Abiotic Components |
- Play important role in determining how the living abiotic components of ecosystems are distributed - Key factors: light, temp, wind, water and soil characteristics - Soil type = critical in determining kind of vegetation growth in an area |
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Living Factor Principle |
- Determine whether an organism can survive in a given ecosystem - Eg. rainfall, essential nutrient - Dominating limiting factor is weakest link in chain of factors necessary for organism survival |
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Optimum range |
- Range of conditions ideal for species - All organisms have a range of tolerance that they can tolerate and still survive |
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Keystone Species |
- Removal of certain species from food webs can disturb the ecosystem - Species w a strong influence on whole community - Eg. beaver (modifies hydrological regime in locations) - Very significant when keystone species are removed by humans - cascade of effects |
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Hyper Abundance |
- Native species (can be pests) when pop increases to undesirable numbers - Natural habitats are disturbed & predatory species removed - Species calls often used to control pop explosions |
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Feedback Loops |
- Important aspect of maintaining ability in ecosystem - Info is fed back into a system as a result of change - Feedbacks mostly involve climate conditions - Eg. positive feedback loop, effect of increased temps in the north called polar amplification |
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Negative Feedback |
- Change in an ecosystem that leads to conditions that moderate/reduce the change - Eg. phytoplankton - their role in global warming - Produces damageable sulphide which is oxidized to sulphate in atmosphere > leading to increased cloud cover and moderate warming |
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Population |
# of individuals in a species |
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Population Density |
Population calculated for a certain area (eg. # kangaroos per km square) |
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Biotic Potential |
Max rate at which a species may increase w no environmental resistance |
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Density Dependent Species |
- Growth rate decreases w an increase of density and reach an equilibrium in the system - S shaped growth curve (high pop achieve lower growth rate |
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Density Independent Species |
- Aim to reach their biotic potential, which is the max rate at which a species may increase w no environmental resistance - Once reaching resistance, it crashes below capacity - Eg. zebra mussels - J shaped growth curve (w higher pop there is still a higher growth rate) |
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R-Strategists |
- Capacity of species to increase in number (biotic potential) - Diff reproductive strategies - Produce large numbers of young early in life and over a short time period - Invest little time in upbringing - Eg. insects, fish, annual plants - Usually small and short lived, dominate early stages - Focus on quantity of offspring |
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K Strategists |
- Focus on quality - Produce few offspring, but devote time and effort to ensuring these offspring reach maturity - Tend to live longer and are larger - Eg. larger mammals and humans - Many endangered species |
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Species Diversity |
Total # of species in an area |
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Evolution and Natural Selectoin |
- Pops adapt to changing conditions through evolution (change of genetic make up) - Genetic variability is required, sometimes there are mutations - Nat selection leads to changes in characteristics of a pop, those individuals that have genes better adapted to new conditions are more successful in survival and reproduction - Offspring = successful, new genes become common |
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Coevolution |
- Changes in one species cause changes in another - Eg. pre species evolving to be more effective in avoiding predator |
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Extinction |
- Close to 99% of species that have lived on earth are now extinct - Not a smooth constant process, punctuated by sudden catastrophic changes |
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Specification |
- Pop has undergone so much change that they can no longer interbreed w original pop = new species is born - Speciation rates have exceeded extinction rate in the past |
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Restoration Ecology |
- Field of study to repair environmental damage eg. Sydney Tar Ponds - Costly and challenging = agreement to avoid ruining ecosystems in the first place |
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Impacts of Climate Change |
- Some species disappearing - Where we will be finding trees in the future (eg. higher latitudes) - Types of vegetation will be quite diff - Trees accumulated to much drier conditions - Up to 42% of all terrestrial species on road to extinction by 2050 - Change in distribution of major food sources of fish in the ocean |
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Eutrophication |
- Natural process of nutrient enrichment of water bodies that leads to greater productivity - Will lead to almost uncontrolled growth of algae - No light > no photosynthesis > species will die > less diversity in ecosystems |
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Aquatic Dead Zones |
- Bodies of water that are deprived of oxygen - Zones are quite large - Eg. dead zone in gulf killing thousands of fish - Zone about the size of Connecticut - Died from lack of oxygen in coastal waters - Nitrogen based fertilizer washed into gulf from spring showers |
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Eutrophication and Harmful Algal Blooms in Lake Eric |
- 20% of the available freshwater - Less than 20 m deep - Oxygen leaves quickly - Major species of fish decreased |
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Phosphates in Water |
- Phosphate additives in detergent - Use up oxygen in water > kills fish and causes water to smell - Great Lakes phosphorus levels rising - Most phosphorus coming rom row crops
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Acid Deposition & Microcystis |
- Microsystis - Toxic algae damages the ocean - Growth of this algae such as zebra mussels - Microcystic bloom in Lake Erie 2011 - Toxin levels 50x higher than what is safe |
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What are biogeochemical cycles? |
- Biological, chemical and geological processes and components by which materials cycle through ecosystems - Models of these cycles help us to understand the complexity of earth's processes - Society would not exist w/o biogeochemical cycles & the bacteria that help them work - All cycles susceptible to human disturbance - eg. changed the speed of transfers bw diff components of cycles |
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What are nutrients? |
- Matter cycles among components of the ecosphere - Macronutrients - needed in fairly large amounts by all organisms - Micronutrients - required in smaller amounts by most species |
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What are gaseous cycles? |
- Have most of their matter in the atmosphere - Eg. nitrogen cycle |
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What are sedimentary cycles? |
- Hold most of their matter in the lithosphere - Eg. phosphorus and sulfur - Cycle more slowly than gaseous cycles |
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Sedimentary Cycles: Phosphorus |
Study if you want - Humans interference in P cycle - Sulfur versus phosphorus |
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Sedimentary Soils: Sulfur |
Study if you want - Humans interference in sulfur cycle |
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Gaseous Cycles: Nitrogen |
Study if you want - Nitrogen fixation - Nitrates - Human interference in nitrogen cycle |
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Gaseous Cycle: Carbon |
Study if you want - Carbon dioxide - Humans impact |
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Human's Interference in the Hydrologic Cycle |
Study if you want
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Eutrophication |
- Natural process of nutrient enrichment of water bodies that lead to greater productivity - Effects = sag curve - See more if you want |
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Acid Deposition |
- Chemicals that release nitrogen ions when dissolved in water - Measured using a PH scale that ranges from 0-14 - Includes rainfall, snow, fog and dry deposition form dust w a PH level lower than 5.6 - Increases in acidity due to human interference in sulfur and nitrogen cycles |
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Aquatic Effocts of Acid Deposition |
- Disfigurement, death and extermination of insects and fish - Food chain effects (can't produce as well) |
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Terrestrial Effects of Acid Deposition |
- Death of tissue in plant leaves - once in the soil, acids leach away nutrient - Metals dissolved in soil water inhibit plant nutrient uptake which can lead to food chain affects |
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Ecosystem Sensitivity and Acid Deposition |
- Areas w deep soils and carbonate rock = high buffering capacity, not as sensitive - Areas w think soils and no carbonate rocks are more susceptible to acid deposition |
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4 Trends Since Early 1990s |
1) Preoccupatoin w Debt Reduction - Cdn Wildlife Service no longer functioning due to funding 2) Download of Responsibilities to Other Levels - Lower levels of gvmt now in charge 3) Little Interest in Consulting Processes - Or people 4) Backing Away From Commitments to Envmtal Issues - Backed out of protocol, more emphasis on economic growth |
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Vision 2020 |
- Proposal for Hamilton-Wentworh area in the year 2020 - City that supports a pop consistent w the carrying capacity of the region - Compact urban core areas - Environmentally conscious community - Fresh air, clean streams/lakes |
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Ecocentric Perspective |
- Idea that there is a natural order that exists b/w living things - Emphasizes low impact technology - Reflecting natural order |
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Technocentric Perspective |
- Humans able to comprehend/manipulate environment to fit our own needs - Less concerned about moral activities and consequences on environment - Believe that technology will save the day no matter what |
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United States EPA |
- Fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people - When addressing negative environmental problems, no group of people should bear a greater share of the consequence |
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The Basel Convention |
- Signed in Switzerland 1989, 53 ratified - Extends principle of environmental justice to international trade of hazardous materials |
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"The Wasteland" in China |
- Underground sewer piled with remains of devices - "e-waste" |
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Social Learning |
Learning applied not only to individuals, but also to social collectives such as organizations and communities |
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Single Loop Learning |
- Emphasis is to ensure a match between intent and outcome - Eg. thermostat receives info and takes corrective action to ensure an outcome consistent w the intent |
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Double Loop Learning |
- Adresses condition where there is a mismatch bw intention and outcome - Eg. why do we want to regulate temperature in the first place? |
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Governance |
Process used to determine how policy decisions are taken and by whom |
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Ingenuity Gap |
Refers to the mismatch b/w the supply of idea needed to fix environmental problems and the availability of such ideas |
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How is context defined? |
Defined by the specific characteristics of a time and place |
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What are the 4 contextual aspects that are important for understanding the lack of progress relating to managing resources and the environment? |
1) Preoccupation of many national gvmts with debit and deficit reduction, leading to reduced funding to envmtl infrastructure and services 2) Many national and state gvmts have been downloading responsibilities for envmtl services to lower levels of gvmt, commercializing such services and privatizing these services 3) More reliance on the private sector & market forces to deliver products and services (business model) = less interest in consultation processes 4) Many gvmts backing away from commitments |
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What year did Canada pull out of the Kyoto Protocol? |
2011 |
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Neoliberalism |
- Took prominence w Margaret Thatcher in UK and Regan in USA in the 80s - Political theory based on the belief that human's wellbeing is best achieved by encouraging individual freedom & minimizing gvmt role - Defining features: strong private property rights, free markets, free trade |
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Ecosystem Approach |
- Developed to address common problems in the management of environmental issues - Viewing people and their activities as separate from nature - Eg. relation bw land use practices and flooding, associated w removal of vegetation - Demands that links bw natural and economic/social systems be considered - Implementing this approach requires adjusting to governance in mgmt |
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Clayoquot Sound |
- Largest area of unclogged temperate rainforests left on Vancouver Island in BC - Logging and clear cutting - first old growth tree to be cut in this undisturbed area |
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Boundary Waters Treaty 1909 |
- Attempt to resolve dispute over shared waters through the IJC - No bias based on country of origin - Eg. of problems: dioxides that caused asphyxiation amongst people, causes of flooding, invasive species from USA to Cda, trade water from Great Lakes into China |
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What is an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)? |
- Identification and prediction of the impacts from development proposals - Done in response to projects that are increasing in complexity - Eg. Mackenzie Valley Pipeline - Impacts common to all initiatives - Intended or unintended, positive or negative, social and human wellbeing, physical and biological |
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Who are stakeholders? |
- Relative to a given problem - Persons/groups w legal responsibility - Likely to be affected by decisions or actions - Anyone who will be impacted |
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Soup stock Protest Video |
- Highland Companies Mega Quarry - Needed more land in Toronto - Source of limestone that was close - Land is valuable for cooks - Agricultural land provides food we eat - Valuable land on site of mega quarry - Toronto cooks don't want this construction to happen |
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Arnstein Ladder of Citizen Participation |
Degrees of Citizen Power - Citizen control - Delegated power - Partnership
Degrees of Tokenism - Placation - Consultation - Informing - Tokenism = false appearance of inclusive practices (pretending to listen but still come up w own decisions)
No Power - Therapy - Manipulation |
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What is Strategic Environmental Assessment? |
- Integrate environmental considerations to plans, programs, policies - Done at earliest stage of decision making |
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Decision Making |
- More consultation now, but not always - Public particip. incorporated into env mgmt initiatives - Decision making by public = anarchy - James Bay Hydropower Scheme - Public dissatisfaction eg. Great Lakes Waterway Agreement |
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Collaboration and Stake Holders |
- Idea of stakeholders having a right to participate in decisions - Tokenism - practice of limited inclusion or members of a minority group, creating a false appearance of inclusive practices |
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Partnerships |
- Collaboration to achieve mutual benefit - Powers shared and stakeholders agree to accept collective responsibility in problem resolution |
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Coordination |
- Effective or harmonious working together of diff groups/individuals - No single individual or organization has all the answers or authority |
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3 Main purposes of communication |
1) Raise awareness 2) Confer understanding 3) Motivate action |
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rISK ASSESSMENT |
- Determines probability of an environmentally or socially negative event - Also what it will take to deal w the consequences |
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Precautionary Principle |
- Since risks have to be estimated, calculations may be incorrect - Guideline stating that when there is a poss. of serious or irreversible env damage, lack of scientific certainty is not an acceptable reason for postponing a measure to prevent env. degradation or for assuming that damage in the future can be rectified by some kind of tech fix |
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Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) |
- Focuses on policies, plans and programs in order to integrate env. considerations at the earliest possible stage of decision making - Emphasis on opportunities, regions and sectors as opposed to projects |
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Projects no longer covered by federal EIAs (2013) |
- Ground water extraction facilities - Heavy oil or oil sands processing facilities - Pipelines and electric transmission lines not regulated by national energy board - Potash mines and other industrial mines |
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What is the evidence of climate change? |
- Since 19th C, avg. global temp. increased by 0.6 degrees celsius =/-0.2 degrees c - Variation in global surface temp bw 1856-2000 |
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Scientific explanations of climate change |
- Strong consensus that increase in ghg is from human activities - Fossil fuels and forestry culture - Impacts from forestry - Methane emissions |
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What are the implications of climate change on the cryosphere? |
- Melting ice in Arctic - Permafrost melting - soft ground, collapsing, causing landslides and ice roads to be unsafe |
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Days of extreme heat rising - video |
- # of extreme hot days rising and are hotter - 15 of top temperatures have happened since 2001 - Austrailias hottest year = 2014, higher temps than expected by 2030 - extreme drought conditions |
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projected impacts of climate changes |
- food - water - melting glaciers - ecosystems- decline in species, great # of extinctions - extreme weather events - risk of abrupt and major irreversible changes - potential of higher temps - range of mosquitos carrying infectious diseases
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Rising sea levels |
Sea level rise of 0.1m/ century during past 100-200 years |
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Coast of PEI |
- one of areas in cda most sensitive to sea level - already very soft sandstone, can be easily removed b waves |
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what is the impact of sea levels rise on pei? |
- reduced sea ice cover in gulf of st. lawrence - potential for ice ride up - increased storminess and storm surges - increased erosion: cause damage and collapse of building - may also impact charlottetown- infrastructure, back up sewage |
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Kyoto Protocol |
- more than 160 countries represented - objective of reducing emissions of ghgs by 2012 - 55 developed countries - targets for 38 developed nations to reduce ghg emissions - by at least 5% below 1990 levels bw 2008-2012 - China had no target |
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Ratification of the protocol |
- biding under international law - canada had expected objective of 94% - us asked to reduce to 93 - george bush caused problems - not a friend - "why is China left out?" - 18% reduction over 10 years - took effect when ratified by russia 2004 - usa conviced to sign |
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What are the main greenhouse gases? |
- CFC12 - CF2 - SF2 |
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Emissions credits |
- Credits could be earned by a nation based on land-use or forestry initiatives that reduce measurable ghg emissions - only human ghg emissions, natural fluxes excluded - potential for countries not meeting their targets to buy from countries who were doing better - one are where the protocol was criticized |
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What approach did the kyoto protocol advocate in the face of climate change? |
Adaptation Mitigation |
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Canada and kyoto prtocol |
- Signed in 2002 but no clear plan. called for reduction - car factories called for reduction - some of largest ghg excluded from list - conservatives power, mirroring bush's idea about protocol - concerns regarding economy, canada reverses position - 2004 emissions increase by 20% - 2006 canada given "fossil award" - worst in terms of emissions - china and us close behind, but given our pop size we did worse |
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2007 Bali |
"aspirational approach" groundwork to prepare kyoto and was not being met- this replaced kyoto no country should need to meet a specific target, no consequences by 2020, reduce ghg emissions by 25-40% canada - 39-53% reduction over 12 years new target for reaching this would be 2050 |
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What was Canada's worst year of emissions? |
2005 |
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Weather |
Atmospheric conditions over a short period (day, week) |
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Climate |
Composite of the variety of day to day weather conditions |
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Global warming |
- addresses changes in the average surface temperature - warming does not mean warming throughout the world - world's climate changed noticeably - variation in global average surface temp bw 1856 and 2000 |
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What causes climate? |
- driven by incoming solar energy as short wave radiation and outgoing energy emitted by earth as long wave radiation - sun radiation either reaches surface or is reflected back into space by clouds - ghgs absorb or trap short wave radiation and re radiate it as long wave radiation leading to heat - the imbalance in net radiation bw the tropics and the high latitude polar regions is a driving force in earth's climate |
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Axial wobble |
long term temp changes are associated to shifts in the amount of energy received by earth from the sun |
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reduction in permafrost snow cover |
in many areas of the world, reduced snow cover documented as well as earlier spring melting of ice on rivers and lakes permafrost is warming in many regions |
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glaciers |
- in most parts of the world, glaciers have lost more mass than they have gained - losses of glacier mass are all consistent w increases in global temperature |
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intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) |
- established in 1988 by world meteorological organization and UN envmtl program - created to assess the scientific, technical and socioeconomic info related to the understanding of the risks from human induced climate change - does not conduct research, assessments based on peer reviewed and scientific literature - these assessments triggered formulation of kyoto protocol |
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climate change impacts on agriculture |
- climate - cda could benefit from global warming since it would extend the growing season and reduce damage from severe cold - coda would be one of the rare countries to benefit - extended growing season in yukon and nwt - similar to edmonton - new bruns similar to southern on - elsewhere, farmers would be hurt by climate change |
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implications on freshwater systems |
- every part of canada (excl. southern prairies) would become wetter - there would be more precipitation - great lakes would be ice free longer, but would have lower levels - ships would have to reduce their tonnage |
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implications on fisheries |
- some species may decline in reproduction - mortality of spawning salmon in bc likely to increase |
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implications on ocean and coastal systems |
- both sea temps and sea levels will increase - lead to increased coastal erosion - will effect coastal communities - eg. maldives islands could be completely flooded by 2050 |
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implications on infectious diseases |
- cans can expect greater incidence of disease - eg. lyme, dengue fever, west nile virus, malaria - not usually apparent due to great access to sanitation in developed countries |
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retreat |
- a form of adaptation to climate change - retreat location of activity to avoid being vulnerable |
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mitigation and climate change |
- involves reducing emissions of ghgs which in turn will limit future temp changes |
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adaptation and climate change |
- involves adjusting to changing conditions - developing countries = prep for coming changes and disasters - largest challenge for adaptation strategies will occur in the future when the most significant consequences from climate change will appear |
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oceans |
- balance bw the number of c02 in the atmosphere and bicarbonate in ocean - vast and can store a vast amount of carbon dioxide - bicarbonate hock means oceans are becoming more acidic |
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ocean acidity video |
- causing trouble for bc seafood industry - growing deadly for some species - c02 converts to carbonic acid in ocean - changing water chemistry fixed problem - will result in a period of mass extinction |
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coastal cities |
- continential shelves: 18% of the ocean - provide vast majorities of earth's global fisheries (90%) - more people living close to the oceans - eg. Shanghai - estimated by 2100 that 75% of world pop will live by coast - many people on 11% of the land - fisheries provide 20% of global protein supply |
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env impacts on marine fisheries |
- more than 80% of global fisheries are fully utilized or overexploited - catches going down - global collapse at this rate - may occur by 2048 - size of top predators 20-50% smaller - fishing down the food chain- fish caught at greater depths, going deeper to avoid getting caught |
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bycatch |
non target species of marine life caught in fishing activities eg. sharks, marine animals 25% of fish caught globally is by catch |
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world hypoxic and eutrophic coastal areas |
gulf of mexico and baltic sea problem = fish try to avoid these zones of low oxygen and shift to environments less suitable for them |
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collapse of cod fisheries |
- was once the most important fishery - fish unable to catch up with the catching rate - 1977 - cda declared a 200 nautical mile - exclusive fishing zone off its coasts - hoped that this would allow cod to bounce back from the pressure - smaller fish reported |
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causes of cod fishery collapse |
- foreign overfishing - domestic overfishing - poor management by fisheries and oceans - local job and financial incentives |
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main sources of marine toxicants in cda |
- airborne pollutants - agriculture runoff - sewage - waste from refineries - eg. killer whale most polluted animals in the world |
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aquaculture |
fastest growing food production sector in the world ~50% of global fishery 4th largest producer worldwide of farmed salmon |
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problems with aquaculture |
small closures - parasites and infectious diseases buildup of waste that doesn't decompose dyes in the fish for colour farmed salmon has 11x more toxins as wild salmon |
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UN convention on the law of the sea (UNCLOS) 1994 |
>1% of the ocean is protected as a result of this globally |
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what % of Canada's coastal areas is designated as a marine protected area? |
less that 10% |
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Cda's ocean strategy |
- oceans act passed in 1998 - little resources put in place to enact law from parliament - people that 20-23% of shores are protected - in reality we do worse than international average = 0.66% |
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how does the ocean rank in terms of diversity? |
greater diversity of taxonomic groups than in terrestrial ecosystems |
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carbon and the ocean |
- oceans cover 70% of earth but account for only 50% of the net primary productivity - nutrient concentrations increase w depth - productive areas occur where upbringing nutrient to the surface |
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the majority of marine life exists in what zone? |
euphotic zone - warmer with more light |
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continental shelves |
highest productivity in the continental shelves exists at depths less than 200 m, where most fisheries occur some of the most productive marine areas in the world are near the coasts of canada |
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biomass pyramid |
- interesting diff bw terrestrial and marine ecosystems is the shape of biomass pyramid - terrestrial = greater biomass exists at the level of primary consumers, least total biomass at isotrophic levels - marine ecosystems = reverse - bc there is a high turnover of biomass at lowest level, most biomass is therefore contained in the long term closer to the top - eg. blue whales |
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what country has the longest coastline? |
CANADA - also has the 2nd largest continental shelf |
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pacific ocean |
wintering ground for important pops of sea birds and marine animals pollution a concern oil spills = deaths of seabird |
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arctic basin |
largely covered by permanent ice pack marine species live at the margins of the ice pack |
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arctic archipelago |
- characterized by the presence of polynyas; areas of permanent open water - remain ice free - polynyas - biologically productive areas - provide breathing holes for whales and hunting ground for polar bears - largest polynyas offshore of elsmere island - important hunting zone for inuits |
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northwest atlantic |
- covered in ice during winter, temp is higher than in the arctic bc of warm currents - seal hunt (a lot of controversy) |
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atlantic |
- generally ice free - abundant pop of sea birds like Northern Gannet - hosts an abundant pop of adapted coral reefs damaged from fishing activities |
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jurisdiction over cda's oceans |
- largely held by federal gvmt - 27 agencies involved - mainly concerned w mgmt of commercial fisheries - cda's oceans divided in large regional districts - provinces responsible for shorelines and agriculture - municipalities responsible for coastal zones |
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serial depletion |
- when one stock of fish after another becomes progressively depleted - total catch made up of many diff species - should result in reduced fishing efforts - instead, increased harvesting by fishing fleet until resource is too depleted - fleet then moves on to next target |
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"fishing down the food chain" |
- harvesting at progressively lower trophic levels as higher trophic levels become depleted - initially, fishing targeted large, long lived fish which no longer exist or are endangered (e.g. tuna) - now smaller fish starting to be depleted |
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artisanal fishery |
important shift away from small scale happened over past 50 years |
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factory fishing |
artisanal fishery gradually replaced by industrial factory fishing |
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olng line fishing |
millions of sharks and sea birds uncessecarily caught |
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bottom trawling |
heavy nets dragged along the bottom to catch benthic and super benthic species destroys benthic habitats eg. spawned reefs of bc coast |
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indirect impacts |
- on species who feed on targets of commercial fisheries - eg. seller sea lions forced to feed on less energy efficient prays as cod is no longer available |
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marine pollution |
80% comes from land eg. DDT, endocrine disrupters |
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offshore drilling |
source of chronic pollution mud from drilling is full of toxins that cover sea floor eg. arctic ocean |
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coral reefs |
less than 2% protected from major threats such as poaching and extraction |
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coral bleaching |
when water is too warm, algae is expelled which leads to loss of colour/coral bleaching bleaching increased, and expected to increase 80-100% by 2080 with oceans getting warmer, nowhere on earth will ocean chemistry allow the growth of corals |
