ESS Chapter 1 Notes

Topic 1.1 Perspective

1.1.1: A perspective is how a particular situation is viewed and understood.
1-1. A perspective is the way in which an individual views and understand a particular situation.
1-2. Perspectives are based on a range of personal and collective assumption (ideas shared and
held by a group of people), values, and belief.
1-3. Personal perspective give rise to a wide range of different positions on environmental issues
and on social ones.
1.1.2: Informing and justifying perspectives.
1-4. Perspectives are informed and justified by sociocultural norms, scientific understandings,
laws, religion and economic conditions.
1-5. Perspectives are also affected by local and global events and lived experience, among other
factors.
1-6. The case of Coal mines and Maldives islands may exemplify the above statements:
 People living near coal mines, such as in Gillette, Wyoming, often view coal mining as
essential because it provides employment and economic stability for the local
population.
 Since a large proportion of households in the region depend directly or indirectly on the
coal industry, residents tend to oppose reductions in coal use, fearing economic decline
and job losses.
 Their perspective is shaped by collective assumptions that coal mining is necessary for
community survival and national energy security.
 In contrast, people living on low-lying islands in the Maldives experience the direct
impacts of climate change, including rising sea levels, frequent flooding, and loss of land.
 Due to their lived experience, they are more likely to support the reduction of fossil fuel
use and the adoption of alternative energy sources.
 Their perspective is influenced by the immediate threat climate change poses to daily
life, leading to the belief that urgent global action is required to mitigate its effects.
 This contrast demonstrates how personal experiences and collective assumptions shape
perspectives on energy use, resulting in conflicting viewpoints on coal and fossil fuels.
1.1.3 Values
1-7. Values are deeply held beliefs focused on the things that people see as important or
desirable in life.
1-8. Values affect people’s priorities, judgements, perspectives and choices
1.1.4 Showing values.
1-9. The flow of showing values is as follow: Experience → Perspective → Beliefs → Values →
Judgements → Actions
1-10. A person who has had direct experience of a phenomena, such as climate changes: rising
sea levels or flooding, may form personal values reflect his life experience
1-11 Perspectives shape how people interpret the world, forming beliefs that become the
foundation of their values.
1-12. Values influence judgement, decision-making, and actions, linking perspectives directly to
behaviour.
1-13. The values underlying perspectives are expressed through communication and
actions within the wider community.
1-14. Individuals may engage in local or global action (e.g. climate activism) based on their
values.
1-15. Organisations and businesses also demonstrate values through policies, advertising,
media, and practices, such as promoting sustainable development and renewable energy.
1.1.5 Values surveys
1-16. Value surveys can be used to investigated the values underpinning the perspectives shown
by a particular group, as well as how these values are likely to impact an issue.
1-17. A questionnaire asks the samequestions of all individuals in the sample. This allows the
investigation of patterns, trends, and attitudes, by both setting questions and obtaining
answers.
1.1.6 Worldviews
1-18. Worldviews are the lenses shared by groups of people through which they perceive, make
sense of, and act within, their environment.
1-19. Worldview contrasts with perspectives, which is how a particular situation is viewed and
understood by an individual.
1-20. Different belief systems result in different values and behaviours toward environmental
management and conservation.
1-21. These contrasting perspectives show that environmental attitudes are socially and
culturally constructed, not universal.
1-22. Therefore, approaches to environmental issues and sustainability vary between societies,
depending on underlying religious and philosophical assumptions.
1-23. An example for this would be the case of Abrahamic and Buddhist societies:
 Abrahamic religions view humans as stewards of the Earth, responsible for managing the
environment as a gift from God.
 In contrast, Buddhism sees humans as an inseparable part of nature, emphasizing
interdependence, impermanence, and a humble, respectful relationship with the
environment.
1.1.7. Environmental value systems
1-24. An EVS is a model showing the inputs affecting our perspectives and the outputs resulting
from our perspectives.
1-25. EVS inputs are education, worldviews, the media, cultural influences, economic factors,
sociopolitical factors, religious texts and doctrines.
1-26. EVS outputs are judgements, positions, choices, COA on how to act regarding
environmental issues.
1.1.8 Environmental perspectives and their categories.
1-27. Environmental perspectives can be classified into the broad categories of technocentric,
anthropocentric, and ecocentric.
1-28. The range of environmental value system is as follow:
1-29. The technocentric believe that technology will keep pace with and provide solutions to
environmental problems, while ecocentrists are nature-centred and distrust modern large-scale
technology.
1-30. An anthropocentrist believes humans must sustainably manage the global system and this
might be through taxes, environmental regulation and legislation.
1-31. Technocentrism (cornucopian view) assumes humans can use technology to control the
environment, leading to an optimistic belief in unlimited resources.
1-32. Ecocentrism sees humans as part of and subject to nature, recognising that resources
are finite.
1-33. Ecocentrists argue that growth must be limited so only beneficial, sustainable
development occurs.
1-34. At the extreme, self-reliant ecologists reject materialism and favour low-impact
environmental solutions.
1-35. Example for a technocentrist approach to reducing carbon dioxide emissions: the
treatment of Carbon dioxide, using a range of techniques that use up Carbon dioxide for
industrial processes.
1.1.9 Change in perspective
1-36. Perspectives and beliefs evolve over time, especially in response to environmental
disasters and unsustainable resource use.
1-37. These concerns have led to the formation of local and international pressure
groups promoting responsibility to protect the planet for current and future generations.
1-38. Pressure groups increase media coverage, raising public awareness of environmental
issues.
1-39. Greenpeace is one of the most influential NGOs, operating independently of governments.
1-40. Founded in the early 1970s, Greenpeace became well known for its 1975 anti-whaling
‘Save the Whales’ campaign.
1-41. This campaign shifted public opinion on whale hunting and contributed to its eventual
ban, setting a model for future environmental action.
1.1.10 The development of the environmental movement
1-42. The environmental movement developed as awareness grew about human impacts on the
environment and the limits of Earth’s resources.
1-43. It has been shaped by individuals, influential literature, media coverage, environmental
disasters, scientific discoveries, new technologies, and international agreements.
1-44. Over time, perspectives shifted from viewing nature as something to exploit toward the
need for sustainable management and global cooperation.
1-45. Pressure groups and NGOs (e.g. Greenpeace) have played a key role in influencing public
opinion and policy.
1-46. Advances in science and technology have provided evidence of environmental
damage and tools to monitor and manage it.

Explain how the development of the environmental movement has been influenced by
individuals, literature, the media, major environmental disasters, international agreements,
new technologies and scientific discoveries.

The development of the environmental movement has been influenced by a combination of

social, scientific, and political factors. Individuals such as environmental activists and scientists
raised awareness and inspired action by highlighting environmental damage and ethical
responsibility. Influential literature, such as Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, exposed the
harmful effects of pesticides and marked a turning point in public environmental awareness.

The media has played a crucial role by publicising environmental issues and disasters, increasing
public concern and pressure on governments. Major environmental disasters, such as oil spills
and nuclear accidents, acted as catalysts by demonstrating the real and immediate consequences
of environmental mismanagement.

Scientific discoveries provided evidence for issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and
pollution, giving the movement credibility and urgency. New technologies, including satellite
monitoring and pollution detection, made environmental damage more visible and measurable.
Finally, international agreements (e.g. climate and conservation treaties) formalised
environmental concern at a global level and encouraged cooperation between nations,
strengthening the environmental movement worldwide.

Topic 1.2 Systems

1.2.1 and 1.2.2. Systems
1-47. A system is an assemblage of parts and the relationships between them, which together
constitute an entity or whole
1-48. Systems can be studied using a reductionist approach, which breaks them into individual
components and studies each part separately.
1-49. In contrast, the holistic approach studies the system as a whole, focusing on overall
patterns and processes, and is commonly used in modern ecology.
1-50. A systems approach helps show how components interact and relate to one another
within the whole system.
1-51. It is a way of visualising complex interactions and can be applied across many disciplines,
including ecology, society, economics, and politics.
1-52. System components are interdependent, linked by transfers of energy and matter, with
changes in one part affecting others.
1-53. Systems exist at increasing levels of complexity, from particles and atoms to ecosystems,
the Earth, and the Universe