UNIDADES 1.2/1.3/1.4/1.5 / 8.1 / 8.

2
APPLICATION OF ECOCENTRIC AND TECHNOCENTRIC INTO ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS

Environmental challenges posed by the extensive use of fossil fuels In relation

with technocentric

Fossil fuels have problems associated with their use (i.e. global warming). The cornucopian belief in
the resourcefulness of humans and their ability to control their environment would lead to a
technocentric solution, where science is used to find a useful alternative (e.g. hydrogen fuel cells).

Solutions: As technocentrists, cornucopians would see this as a good example of resource

replacement: an environmentally damaging industry can be replaced by an alternative one. Rather
than seeing it as necessary to change their lifestyles to reduce the use of fuel, cornucopians would
look to develop technology to reduce the output of carbon dioxide from fuel use.

Approaches of resource managers to increasing demand for water

resources(relation n with sustainability and ecosystem)
Technocentric 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 removal of fresh water
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)

Ecocentric 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 within sustainable
levels. Monitoring would be recommended to ensure that water use remained within sustainable
limits.

Methods for reducing acid rain

The ecocentrist would argue for a change in lifestyle that reduces the need for either the energy
produced by coal, or the products that are made with that energy. For example, a reduction of heat
in the home could be achieved by dressing more warmly instead of raising the indoor temperature.
Changes in transport use would reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and could be achieved by walking or
bicycling to work or when doing the shopping.

1.2 Systems and models

What are systems?
Relate to ecosystems and society, although the systems approach

● A reductionist approach divides systems into parts, or components, and each part is studied
separately
● system can also be studied as a whole, with patterns and processes described for the whole
system.

(The arrows into and out of the tree systems diagram indicate inputs and outputs. In addition, the
diagram could be labelled with processes on each arrow.). This can be related to thermodynamics,
ecosystems and their pass of biomass between levels and processes=flow, transformation, etc.)

● Components of systems are connected through the transfer of energy and matter, with all
parts linked together and affecting each other. Examples of systems, with increasing levels of
complexity, include particles, atoms, molecules, cells, organs, organ systems, communities,
ecosystems, biomes, the Earth, the Solar System, galaxies, and the universe. The systems
approach similarities in the ways in which matter, energy and information link together in a
variety of different disciplines. Is necessary to fully understand the way in which the parts of
a complex system operate together. These interactions produce the emergent properties of
the system.

The characteristics of systems

A system consists of storages and flows. Storages = places where matter or energy is kept in a
system, and flows provide inputs and outputs of energy and matter. The flows are processes that
may be either transfers (a change in location) or transformations (a change in the chemical nature, a
change in state or a change in energy).

● Transfers include:
- harvesting of forest products
- the fall of leaves and wood to the ground.

● Transformations include:
- photosynthesis – transforming carbon dioxide (CO2), water (H2O), and light into biomass
and oxygen (O2)
- respiration – transforming biomass into carbon dioxide and water.

Examples:

Open, closed, and isolated systems

Open systems – Both matter and energy are exchanged across the boundaries of the system
Open systems are organic (i.e. living) and so must interact with their environment to take in energy
and new matter, and to remove wastes (e.g. an ecosystem).

Closed systems – Energy but not matter is exchanged across the boundaries of the system.
Examples are atoms and molecules, and mechanical systems. The Earth can be seen as a closed
system: input = solar radiation (Sun’s energy or light), output = heat energy. Matter is recycled
within the system.
 Isolated systems – Neither energy nor matter is exchanged across the boundary of the system.
These systems do not exist naturally, although it is possible to think of the entire universe as an
isolated system

Models
Simplified version of reality. Models can be used to understand how systems work and predict how
they will respond to change.

Example in ecosystems

-Models can be used to show the flows, storages, and linkages within systems
1.3 Energy and equilibria

Laws of thermodynamics and environmental systems

Energy exists in a variety of forms (light, heat, chemical, electrical, and kinetic). It can be changed
from one form into another but cannot be created or destroyed. Any form of energy can be
converted to any other form, but heat can be converted to other forms only when there is a
temperature difference. The behaviour of energy in systems is defined by the laws of
thermodynamics. This are applied to many of the processes in cosystems, biomes are sostain by
energy

First law of thermodynamics

Energy can neither be created nor destroyed: it can only change form. This means that the total
energy in any system, including the entire universe, is constant and all that can happen is change in
the form the energy takes. This law is known as the law of conservation of energy. In ecosystems,
energy enters the system in the form of sunlight, is converted into biomass via photosynthesis,
passes along food chains as biomass, is consumed,
and ultimately leaves the ecosystem in the form of
heat. No new energy has been created – it has
simply been transformed and passed from one form
to another. Heat is released because of the
inefficient transfer of energy (as in all other systems). Available energy is used to do work such as
growth, movement, and the assembly of complex molecules. Although the total amount of energy in
a system does not change, the amount of available energy does. The available energy in a system is
reduced through inefficient energy conversions. The total amount of energy remains the same, but
less is available for work. An increasing quantity of unusable energy is lost from the system as heat
(which cannot be recycled into useable energy).

Second law of thermodynamic

The transformation and transfer of energy is not 100 per
cent efficient: in any energy conversion there is less
usable energy at the end of the process than at the
beginning. states that energy goes from a concentrated
form (e.g. the Sun) into a dispersed form (ultimately
heat): the availability of energy to do work therefore
decreases and the system becomes increasingly disordered. Energy is needed to create order (e.g. to
hold complex molecules together). The second law states that the disorder in a system increases
over time. Disorder in a system is called entropy. An increase in entropy arising from energy
transformations reduces the energy available to do work. Therefore, as less energy becomes
available, disorder (entropy) increases.

The laws of thermodynamics and environmental systems

Natural systems can never actually be isolated because there must always be an input of energy for
work (to replace energy that is dissipated). The maintenance of order in living systems requires a
constant input of energy to replace available energy lost through inefficient transfers.

Example sun in ecosystem:

One way energy enters an ecosystem is as sunlight

energy. This sunlight energy is then changed into
biomass by photosynthesis: this process captures
sunlight energy and transforms it into chemical energy.
Chemical energy in producers is passed along food
chains as biomass, or transformed into heat during
respiration. Available energy is used to do work such as
growth, movement, and making complex molecules. As
we know from the second law of thermodynamics, the transfer and transformation of energy is
inefficient with all energy ultimately being lost into the environment as heat. This is why food chains
tend to be short.

The nature of equilibria

● Open systems need have a state of balance
among the components of a system
● Equilibrium allows systems to return to an
original state following disturbance.
Steady-state equilibrium= common property of most open systems in nature. In steady-state
equilibrium there are no changes over the longer term, but there may be oscillations in the very
short term.

● There is a tendency in natural systems for the equilibrium to return after disturbance, but
some systems (e.g. succession) may undergo long-term changes
● The system can return to the steady state following 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

Static equilibrium= there are no inputs or outputs of matter

or energy and no change in the system over time

Stable and unstable equilibrium

-Stable: System that returns to the original equilibrium after a disturbance

- Unstable: Does not return to the same equilibrium but forms a new
equilibrium.

Positive and negative feedback

● Homeostatic systems in animals
require feedback mechanisms to
return them to their original steady
state.

Positive feedback=
Occurs when a change in the state of a system leads to additional and increased change. Thus, an
increase in the size of one or more of the system’s outputs feeds back into the system and results in
self-sustained change that alters the state of a system away from its original equilibrium towards
instability.

● 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– Earth absorbs
more of the Sun’s energy which makes the temperature
increase even more, melting more ice
Albedo: (reflection from the Earth’s surface)

Negative feedback=
Is the feedback that counteracts any change away from equilibrium, contributing to stability.
Negative feedback is a method of control that regulates itself. An ecosystem, for example, normally
exists in a stable equilibrium, either a steady-state equilibrium or one developing over time (e.g.
succession), because it is maintained by stabilizing negative feedback loops. Negative feedback
mechanisms are stabilizing forces within systems.

● For example: increased release of carbon dioxide

through the burning of fossil fuels leads to enhanced
plant growth through increased photosynthesis. This
reduces atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide. Also
Predator–prey relationships are another example.

A system may contain both negative and

positive feedback loops resulting in
different effect within the system

Resilience and diversity in systems

Resilience: Tendency to avoid tipping points, and maintain stability through steady-state
equilibrium. Diversity and the size of storages within systems can contribute to their resilience and
affect the speed of response to change. Humans can affect the resilience of systems through
reducing these storages and diversity.

Diversity: Tropical rainforests, for example, have high diversity (i.e. a large number and proportions
of species present – see page 138) but catastrophic disturbance through logging (i.e. rapid removal
of tree biomass storages) or fires can lower its resilience and can mean it takes a long time to
recover. Natural grasslands, in contrast, have low diversity but are very resilient, because a lot of
nutrients are stored below ground in root systems, so after fire they can recover quickly

1.4 Sustainability
Means using global resources at a rate that allows natural
regeneration and minimizes damage to the environment. If
continued human well-being is dependent on the goods
and services provided by certain forms of natural capital,
then long-term harvest (and pollution) rates should not
exceed rates of capital renewal.

● Deforestation can be used to illustrate the concept

of sustainability and unsustainability
● Sustainability is living within the means of nature
(i.e. on the ‘interest’ or sustainable income generated by natural capital) and ensuring
resources are not degraded
 Sustainability can be encouraged though careful application:

Unsustainable practice with regard to soils includes

Sustainable development

● Means ‘meeting the needs of the present

without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs’.
Sustainable development consists of three
pillars: economic development, social
development and environmental
protection

Natural capital (resources) and natural income

● Resources are discussed in terms of their
use by and relationship to human
populations. Ecologically minded
economists describe resources as natural
capital. This is equivalent to the store of the
planet (or stock) – the present accumulated
quantity of natural capital. Renewable
resources can be used over and over again.
● In order to provide income indefinitely, the
products and services used should not reduce the original resource (or capital).

The income from natural capital may be in the form of goods or services:

● Other resources may not be replenished or renewed following removal of natural capital.
These non-renewable resources
Ecological footprints
● Focuses on a given population and its current rate of resource consumption and estimates
the area of environment necessary to sustainably support that particular population.
● Gives an indication of whether or not the population is living sustainably. If the EF is greater
than the area available to the population, the population is living unsustainably

8.1 Human population dynamics

Demographic variables
Demographic tools for quantifying human population

● Birth rates:

● The total fertility rate is the average number of births per woman of child. Example:

● Death rates: Number of deaths per thousand people in a population.

 ● Natural increase/ doubling time:

Human population growth:

Human population growth stresses water systems, agricultural systems, and energy systems.

● Age/sex pyramids: can tell

- Awide base indicates a high birth rate
- narrowing base suggests falling birth rate
- Straight or near vertical sides indicate a low death rate
- concave slopes characterize a high death rate
- bulges in the slope suggest immigration or in-migration

● The demographic transition model: shows the change in population structure

from LEDCs to MEDCs.

● Population dynamics: The range of factors which affect population growth is varied
and differs with different scales.
- Factors influencing the birth rate include cultural,
historical, religious, social, political, and economic
factors.
- death rate is affected by many factors. These include
the age-structure of the population, availability of
clean water, sanitation, adequate housing, reliable
food supply, and others.
National population policies
Refer to official government actions to control the population in some
way. Pro-natalist policies are in favour of increasing the birth rate. Anti-
natalist policies attempt to limit the birth rate.

8.2 Resource use in society

Related to technocentric and ecocentric povs and with sustainability
Renewable natural capital: Can be generated and/or replaced as fast as it is being used. It
includes living species and ecosystems that use solar energy and photosynthesis. It also includes
non-living items, such as groundwater and the ozone layer. (can relate with sustainability,
tghermodynamics, footprint and bioms processes)

● “natural capital” This is equivalent to the store of the planet (stock) – the present
accumulated quantity of natural capital. If properly managed, renewable natural capital
can produce natural income indefinitely in the form of valuable goods and services.

●
Sustainable and unsustainable use of renewable natural capital: Sustainability is
living within the means of nature (i.e. on the ‘interest’ or sustainable income generated by natural
capital) and ensuring resources are not degraded (i.e. natural capital is not depleted and/or
polluted) so that future generations can continue to use the resource.

Irresponsible use of a resource: concerns groundwater. Pollutants from agricultural products and
run-off from storage tanks, landfills, and septic tanks are reducing the water quality. Unsustainable
extraction from groundwater sources (aquifers) means that water tables are lowered, which can
lead to the intrusion of saltwater in coastal areas and further contamination of the supply.

Europhication: The addition of nutrients

to water in lakes and rivers, which
encourages plant growth that can take
oxygen from the water and kill fish and
other animals: massive use of fertilizers
contributes to the eutrophication of rivers
and lakes.

Types of ecosystem service:

● Supporting services= These are
the essentials for life and include
primary productivity, soil
formation, and the cycling of
nutrients.
● Regulating services =These are a diverse set of services and include pollination, regulation of
pests and diseases, and production of goods, such as food, fibre, and wood. Other services
include climate and hazard regulation and water quality regulation
● Provisioning services= Services people obtain from ecosystems and from which they obtain
goods such as food, fibre, fuel (peat, wood and non-woody biomass), and water from
aquifers, rivers and lakes.
● Cultural services= These are derived from places where people interact with nature,
enjoying cultural goods and benefits.

EXAMPLE
 RELATED TO PRINCIPAL CONCEPT:

Economic value can be determined from the market price of the goods and services a resource
produces. Ecological values, however, have no formal market price: soil erosion control, nitrogen
fixation, and photosynthesis are all essential for human existence but have no direct monetary
value. Similarly, aesthetic values (e.g. the appreciation of a landscape for its visual attraction)
have no market price.

Ethical, spiritual, and philosophical perspectives tend to give organisms and ecosystems intrinsic
value (i.e. value in their own right, irrespective of economic value).

● Direct use values= are ecosystem goods and service that are directly used by humans, most
often by people visiting or residing in the ecosystem
● Consumptive use= includes harvesting food products, timber for fuel or housing, medicinal
products and hunting animals for food and clothing.
● Non-consumptive= use includes recreational and cultural activities that do not require
harvesting of products.
● Indirect use values= are derived from ecosystem services that provide benefits outside the
ecosystem itself (e.g. natural water filtration which may benefit people downstream).
● Optional values= are derived from potential future use of ecosystem goods and services
not currently used – either by yourself (option value) or your future offspring (bequest
value)
● Existence values= on-use values include aesthetic and intrinsic values.
● Recreational value= as holiday destinations and places for people to relax. Ecotourism is a
growing source of revenue for countries with natural resources that are attractive to
tourists, and can provide an alternative income that is sustainable and does not deplete the
source of natural capital.
Dynamic nature and concept of a resource
The concept of natural capital is dynamic. Whether or not something has the status of ‘natural
capital’, and the marketable value of that capital, varies regionally and over time. This is influenced
by cultural, social, economic, environmental, technological, and political factors. Examples include
cork, uranium, lithium.