Chapter 1 ESS
1.1
A perspective is the way in which an individual views and understands a particular situation.
Perspectives are based on a range of personal and collective assumptions, values and
beliefs. Perspectives also influence people’s choices and actions.
influenced and explained by:
- sociocultural norms
- scientific understandings
- law
- religion
- economic conditions
- local and global events
- lived experience
Values are deeply held beliefs focused on the things that people see as important or
desirable in life. Values can be moral, cultural, economic or environmental. Values affect
people’s priorities, judgements, perspectives and choices. Values are individually held but
are shared with, and shaped by, others in a community.
values held by business can be seen by:
- advertisements
- media
- policies
- actions
Value surveys can be used to investigate the values underpinning the perspectives shown
by a particular social group. They can be used to recognize the values underpinning the
perspectives toward a particular environmental issue and assess how these values are likely
to impact the issue.
A questionnaire is a document that asks the same questions of all individuals in the sample.
A questionnaire is a very useful tool for investigating patterns, trends and attitudes. It is
often used to complement information obtained by other techniques
Worldviews are the lenses shared by groups of people through which they perceive, make
sense of, and act within, their environment. Worldviews refer to how societies see the world
and how people’s values and perspectives are shaped through:
culture
philosophy
ideology
religion
politics
An environmental value system (EVS) is a model showing inputs affecting our
perspectives and the outputs resulting from our perspectives. The outputs are determined
by the processing of inputs and generate decisions and evaluations.
EVS inputs are:
- education
- worldvies
- the media
- cultural influences
- economic factors
- sociopolitical factors
- religious texts and doctrine
EVS outputs are:
- judgements
- positions
- choices
- course of action on how to act regarding a particular environmental issue
EVSs act within social systems. Social systems are more general than ecosystems. The
types of social systems are:
- class - based
- democratic
- authoritarian
- patriarchal (male dominated)
- matriarchal (female dominated)
- industrial (technology based)
- agrarian (agriculture based)
Social systems have flows of information, ideas and people. In social systems, there are
social levels within society. Producers in social systems are responsible for new input such
as ideas, films, books and documentaries. Consumers absorb and process this information.
There are 3 types of environmental perspectives (Worldviews): technocentric,
anthropocentric, and ecocentric.
Ecocentrism :
- nature - centred
- ecology and nature are central to humanity
- a less materialistic approach
- greater self sufficiency
- emphasizes the importance of education
Anthropocentrism:
- people - centred
- believes humans must sustainably manage the global system
- through the use of taxes, environmental regulation, legislation
- debate would be encouraged to reach a consensual, pragmatic approach to solving
environmental problems
Technocentrism:
- technology - centred
- believes that technological developments can provide solutions to environmental problems
- consequence of largely optimistic view of the role humans can play in improving humanity
- scientific research is encouraged
- form policies and understand how systems can be controlled, manipulated or changed to
solve resource depletion.
- A pro-growth agenda is deemed necessary
Technocentrists believe that technology will keep pace with and provide solutions to
environmental problems. Ecocentrists are nature-centred and distrust modern large-scale
technology; they prefer to work with natural environmental systems to solve problems and to
do this before problems get out of control. The anthropocentrists include both technocentric
and ecocentric viewpoints. An anthropocentrist believes humans must sustainably manage
the global system and this might be through taxes, environmental regulation and legislation.
Debate i encouraged so that a consensual, pragmatic approach to solving environmental
problems can be reached.
The technocentrist approach is sometimes termed a cornucopian view — a belief in the
unending resourcefulness of humans and their ability to control their environment.
Ecocentrists, in contrast, see themselves as subject to nature rather than in control of it.
Ecocentrists see a world with limited resources where growth needs to be controlled so that
only beneficial growth occurs.
example - The technocentric resource manager would suggest that future needs can be met
by technology, innovation and the ability to use untapped reserves. They would support such
measures as the removal of freshwater from seawater (desalination) if they were near an
ocean, iceberg capture and transport, wastewater purification, synthetic water production
(water made through chemical reactions or hydrogen fuel cell technology), cloud seeding.
The ecocentric resource manager would highlight the overuse and misuse of water. They
would encourage the conservation of water and greater recycling and say that water use
should be monitored to ensure that it remained within sustainable limits. An ecocentrist
would encourage water use that had few detrimental impacts on habitat, wildlife and the
environment.
Perspectives, and the beliefs that underpin them, change over time in all societies. Protests
about environmental disasters and concern about the unsustainable use of the Earth’s
resources have led to the formation of pressure groups, both local and international. The
action of such groups has resulted. in increased media coverage, which in turn has raised
public awareness about these issues.
example - greenpeace anti - whaling campaign. The campaign actively confronted Soviet
whalers in the Pacific Ocean off the Californian coast and eventually developed into the
‘Save the Whale’ campaign.
Perspectives and beliefs can also alter through the role of demographic change.
Demographic change describes the changes in human population size and structure caused
by changes in birth rates, death rates, differences in the economic factors, urbanization and
patterns of migration.
example - In USA, millennials became the largest adult generation in 2019. 75% of
Millennials are environmentally conscious, and are willing to change their buying habits to
favour environmentally-friendly products. These figures contrast with preceding generations,
who are less likely to have such a high engagement with environmental issues.
1.2
A system is an assemblage of parts and the relationships between them, which together
constitute an entity or whole.
A reductionist approach divides systems into parts, or components, and each part is studied
separately.
A system can also be studied as a whole, with patterns and processes described for the
whole system. This is the holistic approach.
A system consists of storage and flows. Storages are places where matter or energy is kept
in a system, and flows provide inputs and outputs of energy and matter.
transfer - change in location (ex - leaves falling down)
transformation - change in chemical nature, change in state, change in energy (ex -
respiration)
open system - both energy and matter are exchanged across the boundaries. They are
organic (living), so they must interact with the environment. (ex - people)
closed system - energy but not matter is exchanged across the boundaries. (ex - atoms,
molecules). Earth is also an example; meteorites and spaceships are discounted. Strictly,
closed systems do not naturally occur on Earth. (ex - Biosphere 2, experiment modelling
Earth as a closed system, built in Arizona (1987–1991). Enables the study of natural system
interactions and space colonisation. Shows small closed ecosystems are complex and
vulnerable to CO₂ fluctuations, O₂ drops due to soil microbes, and insect pests that affect
food supply.)
Gaia hypothesis - Proposed by James Lovelock (mid-1960s), inspired by Apollo 8 Earth
photos. Co-developed with Lynn Margulis, it compares Earth to a living organism with
feedback mechanisms maintaining equilibrium. Suggests Earth is a global control system
regulating temperature, atmosphere, and ocean salinity, with all components forming a
complex, integrated system that maintains homeostasis for life.
An ecosystem is a community of interdependent organisms and the physical environment
they inhabit. (ex - rainforest contains many small ecosystems).
The rainforest is an ecosystem with inputs (sunlight, nutrients, water), outputs (oxygen, soil
litter, water), and storages (biomass in trees/plants, soil nutrients). Such ecosystems can be
viewed locally within one country or more widely across countries with the same climate.
Earth is a large-scale ecosystem with energy input from the Sun and unique physical
features. The Gaia hypothesis suggests Earth functions as a single living organism.
Biomes - ecosystems with similar climatic conditions in different parts of the world. (ex-
tundra, tropical rainforest, desert).
Feedback - refers to changes to the processes in a system that cause changes in the level
of output. This feeds back to affect the level of input. it can be positive or negative.
Negative feedback - feedback that counteracts any change away from equilibrium,
contributing to stability.
Negative feedback is a self-regulating control that maintains stability in systems. Ecosystems
and the human body stay in equilibrium through stabilising negative feedback loops. (ex -
body temperature regulation (sweating cools the body) and increased CO₂ boosting plant
growth, which reduces CO₂ levels.) Negative feedback counteracts change and keeps
systems balanced.
example - When a tree falls, more light reaches the forest floor, encouraging rapid new
growth. Saplings compete to fill the gap, restoring equilibrium. This is an example of negative
feedback and succession restoring balance.
The Daisyworld model - The DaisyWorld model, a computer simulation developed by James
Lovelock and Andrew Watson, explains negative feedback loops and supports the Gaia
hypothesis. It models a planet with only black and white daisies on bare earth. Planetary
temperature depends on the balance between light absorbed and heat radiated. As the heat
from the star increases, black daisies (which absorb more energy) are abundant early on.
Later, white daisies (which reflect energy) become more abundant. This maintains the
planet’s temperature within narrow limits, showing it is self-regulating.
equilibrium - although there may be slight fluctuations in the system, there are no sudden
changes, and any fluctuations tend to occur only between closely defined limits. Equilibrium
allows systems to return to their original state following a disturbance.
In a steady-state equilibrium, the overall stability of the equilibrium remains. There is no
change over the long - term but their may be oscillations in the very short term. Fluctuations
in the system occur around a fixed level, and any fluctuation above or below this level results
in a return towards this average state.
Equilibria in a natural system tend to return after disturbance. However, few may undergo
long-term changes until a steady - state equilibrium is established.
The stability of steady-state equilibrium means that the system can return to the steady state
following a disturbance. For example, the death of a canopy tree in the rainforest leaves a
gap in the canopy, which eventually closes again through the process of succession (Figure
1.37 and Topic 2, Section 2.5.6). Homeostatic mechanisms in animals maintain body
conditions at a steady state; a move away from the steady state results in a return to
equilibrium.
If a system returns to the original equilibrium after a disturbance, it is a stable equilibrium. A
system that does not return to the same equilibrium but instead forms a new equilibrium is
an unstable equilibrium.
Positive feedback loops have amplifying roles. Positive feedback occurs when a change in
the state of a system leads to additional and increased change.
For example, increased temperature through global warming melts more of the ice in the
polar ice caps and glaciers, leading to a decrease in the Earth’s albedo (reflection from the
Earth’s surface). This means that Earth absorbs more of the Sun’s energy, causing the
temperature to increase further, melting more ice.
A system may contain both negative and positive feedback loops, resulting in different
effects within the system.
A tipping point is a critical threshold where even a small change can have dramatic effects
and cause a disproportionately large response in the overall system. Positive feedback loops
drive a system towards the tipping point. Most projected tipping points are linked to climate
change and represent points beyond which irreversible change or damage occurs. For
example - increased co2 levels over 450 ppm will result in melting of the Himalayan glaciers,
a lack of freshwater, and long-term damage to many Asian societies.
Example – Krill Harvesting in the Southern Ocean:
Krill feed seals, whales, penguins, and seabirds, and are harvested for farmed fish food and
supplements. Research near South Georgia found a sustainable fishing level, but if krill fall
below 20 g m² (one-third of the maximum), a tipping point is reached, causing declines in
predators like gentoo penguins, macaroni penguins, and Antarctic fur seals — a pattern seen
in seabirds worldwide.
El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO):
ENSO causes 3–7 year cycles of warming (El Niño) and cooling (La Niña) in the tropical
eastern Pacific. It drives global climate effects like floods in western South America, droughts
in Australia and Southeast Asia, warmer winters in northern USA/Canada, more rain in
southwest USA, and droughts in Africa and India. Developing Pacific-border countries are
especially affected.
West African Monsoon:
Sea surface temperatures influence West African rains. A 3–5 °C global temperature rise
could collapse the monsoon, reducing rainfall in West Africa but increasing it in the Sahara,
leading to vegetation growth (‘greening’).
Amazon Rainforest:
Climate change and deforestation could trigger a tipping point. Rainforests sustain rainfall
through transpiration. Drier conditions increase fires and forest dieback, reducing
transpiration and water cycling, sending more water to rivers and the sea. This can cause
desertification of the Amazon basin.
Boreal Forest:
Boreal forest, or Taiga, is dominated by coniferous trees like pines and is Earth’s largest
biome across the northern hemisphere. A 3 °C rise in global temperature may cause its loss
due to water stress, lower tree reproduction, and higher risk of disease and fire.
A model is a simplified version of reality. Models can be used to understand how systems
work and predict how they will respond to change. For example, computer models can use
current and past data to predict how global surface temperatures will change during the 21st
century. All models involve simplification and a loss of accuracy.
Models can be used to show the flows, storages and linkages using the diagrammatic
approach.
Strengths of Models:
Simplify complex systems to predict changes in inputs, outputs, or storages.
Allow testing of changes without waiting for real-time events.
Results are easy to share and understand compared to full system data.
Limitations of Models:
Environmental systems are super complex; not all variables can be included.
Different models can give different predictions from the same data (e.g., climate change).
Oversimplification reduces accuracy; complex factors like atmospheric systems are hard
to fully capture.
Many assumptions in models (especially climate models) can make them inaccurate.
Model complexity vs. simplification causes criticism.
Models use varying data sets, which affects predictions.
Accuracy depends on the quality of input data, which may be unreliable.
Expertise and bias of model creators can affect results.
Uncertainty increases the further models predict into the future.
Interpretations vary, and some may manipulate model results for personal gain.
Interactions within a system can create emergent properties—traits the whole system
shows but its individual parts don’t. Examples include predator-prey oscillations and
trophic cascades, where patterns appear only when components interact, not in isolation.
Predation occurs when one organism hunts and eats another organism.
An example of a predator-prey relationship is the lemming and the snowy owl in the northern
polar regions. The graph below shows fluctuations in their populations over the past years:
Predator-prey interactions are controlled by negative feedback mechanisms involving time
lags that regulate population sizes. When predator numbers, such as snowy owls, decrease
due to limited prey, the prey population (lemmings) grows. This increase in prey leads to a
delayed rise in predator numbers, which then causes the prey population to decline. As prey
numbers fall, predator numbers also decrease, and the cycle repeats. Predation serves as a
selective pressure by removing weaker or sick individuals first, resulting in a healthier, more
genetically fit breeding population. This cyclical pattern is an emergent property,
demonstrating how population fluctuations arise from the complex interactions between
species rather than from the behavior of individual species alone.
A trophic level is the specific position an organism occupies in a food chain, with
producers forming the first trophic level. A trophic cascade refers to the top predator’s
impact on the trophic level below it (its prey) and the consequent ripple effects through lower
trophic levels. Predators regulate prey populations, which increases survival and diversity at
subsequent trophic levels. These interactions produce emergent properties that shape
ecosystem structure and function. Anthropogenic removal or addition of apex predators
disrupts this balance, triggering shifts in population dynamics, ecosystem complexity, and
nutrient cycling.
Before removal of the apex predator:
Low abundance of large herbivores controlled by predation pressure
High plant species diversity sustained by limited herbivore grazing
Balanced predator community with both large and small carnivores
Diverse bird populations supported by structurally complex habitats and abundant
resources
After removal of the apex predator:
Herbivore populations increase dramatically due to predator absence
Decline in plant diversity and complexity caused by overgrazing
Reduced bird diversity owing to habitat simplification and food scarcity
Loss of large predators; dominance of small predators (e.g., foxes).
The resilience of a system, whether ecological or social, refers to its tendency to avoid
tipping points and maintain stability through a steady-state equilibrium. It is defined as the
capacity to resist damage and recover from or adapt efficiently to disturbance. Both
diversity and the size of storages within systems contribute to resilience and influence the
speed of response or time lags. Systems with large storages or high diversity are less likely
to reach tipping points and shift to new equilibria.
Human activities can reduce these storages and diversity, thus lowering resilience. For
example, tropical rainforests have high diversity—large numbers and proportions of species
—but catastrophic disturbances like logging (rapid removal of tree biomass storages) or fires
can reduce their resilience and prolong recovery times. Conversely, natural grasslands have
low diversity but high resilience due to significant nutrient storage below ground in root
systems, allowing rapid recovery after fires.
Example — Disturbance of Tall Grass Prairie: Native to central USA, tall grass prairies
maintain stability through high biodiversity, complex food webs, and nutrient cycles. Their tall
grasses (1.5–2 m, sometimes up to 3 m) and deep soils, enriched by organic matter, enable
quick recovery from periodic fires. Plants protect growth points below ground, facilitating
regrowth. However, conversion to monoculture wheat farming, a one-species system,
reduces diversity and resilience. These monocultures are vulnerable to pests and fire
damage, and their structurally poor soils require artificial nutrient inputs, resulting in poor
recovery after disturbance.
Large storages and high biodiversity, such as in tropical rainforests, increase system
resilience by reducing the risk of tipping points and shifts to new equilibria. A resilient
ecosystem maintains structure, functions, and processes despite disturbance. Humans
reduce resilience by lowering storages and diversity. Tropical rainforests have high diversity
and large carbon storage in trees, but disturbances like deforestation lower resilience. For
example:
Deforestation and reduction of storages decrease productivity by removing primary
producers (trees).
Reduced producers cause loss of habitat diversity and fewer niches, threatening
specialised species.
Simplified ecosystems lead to species extinction, shorter food webs, and decreased
stability.
Tropical rainforest soils are thin with low nutrient storage; most nutrients are stored in
biomass and decomposing matter. Disturbance causes rapid nutrient loss through erosion
and biomass removal, further lowering resilience.
1.3 - Systems and Sustainability
System
A set of interrelated components working together to form a whole.
Systems can be open, closed, or isolated, depending on energy and matter exchange.
Open systems exchange both energy and matter with surroundings. Example: a forest
ecosystem.
Closed systems exchange only energy. Example: Earth in the short term.
Isolated systems exchange neither energy nor matter. Example: idealized thermodynamic
systems.
Models
Simplify reality to understand, predict, or manage systems.
Uses include predictions, testing hypotheses, and teaching concepts.
Limitations include oversimplification and potential inaccuracy.
Feedback
Negative feedback reduces change, stabilizing the system. Example: predator-prey
populations.
Positive feedback amplifies change, potentially destabilizing the system. Example: ice
melting reduces albedo, increasing warming.
Resource
A stock or supply of materials, energy, or organisms used to meet human needs.
Renewable resources can be replenished naturally over short timescales (e.g., timber,
freshwater).
Non-renewable resources exist in finite amounts or are replenished over geological
timescales (e.g., fossil fuels, minerals).
Potentially renewable resources can be sustainable if use does not exceed regeneration
rate (e.g., fish stocks, soil fertility).
Sustainable Yield
The rate at which a renewable resource can be used without depleting its stock.
Energy
The capacity to do work.
In ecosystems, energy flows via food chains/webs, with energy lost as heat at each trophic
level (Second Law of Thermodynamics).
Human systems rely on primary energy sources: solar, fossil fuels, nuclear.
Material Flow
Matter cycles in ecosystems (carbon, nitrogen, water), humans extract materials, often
disrupting cycles.
Carrying Capacity
Maximum population an environment can support indefinitely.
Population growth depends on birth/death rates, immigration/emigration.
Overshoot occurs when population exceeds carrying capacity, often followed by population
crash.
Technology, consumption patterns, and resource use affect carrying capacity.
Sustainability
Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.
Measured via indicators such as ecological footprint, carbon footprint, water footprint, and
biocapacity.
Sustainable development considers ecological, social, and economic factors.
Ecological Footprint (EF)
The area of productive land and water required to support a population's resource
consumption and absorb its wastes.
EF > biocapacity → unsustainable.
EF < biocapacity → sustainable.
Carbon Footprint
Total greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted by human activities, measured in CO₂ equivalents.
Includes CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, CFCs, HFCs.
Reduction strategies: public transport, renewable energy, vegan diets, heat pumps, improved
cooking, refurbishment.
Carbon offset: Compensating emissions via environmental projects (e.g., tree planting).
Water Footprint
Total freshwater used to produce goods/services, measured in m³/year.
High-water-use foods: beef, cheese, coffee, sugar.
Reducing footprint: changing diet, improving efficiency, using local water resources
sustainably.
Biocapacity
Capacity of biologically productive areas to generate renewable resources and absorb
wastes.
Sustainability occurs when EF ≤ biocapacity.
Example: Costa Rica pre-1990s was sustainable; post-1990 EF exceeded biocapacity.
Citizen Science
Public involvement in scientific research to collect/analyze environmental data.
Crowdsourcing allows large-scale data collection for local/global issues (e.g., climate
change, biodiversity).
Examples: Project BudBurst (phenology), Wildlife Trusts monitoring.
Success depends on citizen engagement, training, institutional support, and regional
context.
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
17 goals, 169 targets, adopted 2015, implementation by 2030.
Goals address poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, peace,
and justice.
Limitations: top-down, bureaucratic, may ignore local contexts, data gaps.
Planetary Boundaries
Limits to human disturbance of Earth system processes, beyond which risks of abrupt
environmental change increase.
9 boundaries: climate change, biodiversity loss, nitrogen/phosphorus cycles, land use,
freshwater, ocean acidification, stratospheric ozone, atmospheric aerosols, novel entities.
Crossed boundaries (2015): climate change, biodiversity loss, nitrogen/phosphorus, land
use.
Updates: freshwater (green water included), novel entities (plastics, pollutants).
Doughnut Economics Model
Visual framework linking social foundation (inner ring, SDGs) and ecological ceiling (outer
ring, planetary boundaries) to define a safe and just space for humanity.
Goal: satisfy human needs within planetary limits.
Principles: regenerative (work within cycles), distributive (equitable access to resources).
Current state: billions below social foundation; multiple planetary boundaries exceeded.
Example: shifting from linear 'take-make-use-waste' to circular, regenerative, and distributive
systems.
Circular Economy Model
Economic system decoupling growth from finite resource consumption, promoting
sustainability.
Principles: eliminate waste/pollution, keep materials/products in use, regenerate natural
systems.
Supported by renewable energy and material efficiency.
Benefits: reduce greenhouse gases, local food networks, extend product lifecycle, change
consumer habits.
Limitations: lack of awareness, technical/financial constraints, incomplete recycling
infrastructure.
Example: Vehicle remanufacturing in China — 60% less energy, 70% less material,
government subsidies, industrial zones for best practices.