Environmental Systems and Societies Summary IB
Topic 1
EVS: Environmental Value System. An EVS is a worldview or paradigm that shapes the way
an individual or group of people perceive and evaluate environmental issues. Can be
influenced by cultural, religious, economic, and socio-political context.
Inputs:
● Education
● Cultural influences
● Economic factors
● Socio political factors
● Religion
● Media
Output:
● Decision
● Perspectives
● Courses of action
Range of EVS:
Ecocentrism:
● less materialistic approach to life
● self-sufficiency of societies
● biorights
● self-restraint in human behaviour
● deep ecologists
Anthropocentrism:
● sustainable management of the global system
● environmental regulation and legislation (taxes)
● environmental managers
Technocentrism:
● technological developments can provide solutions to environmental problems
● Optimistic view of human role
● systems can be controlled, manipulated or changed to solve resource depletion
● Cornucopians
Systems: An assemblage of parts and the relationships between them.
● Consists of storage and flows. Storages are places where matter or energy is kept in
a system. 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, state or energy).
1
,Types of systems:
● Open: Both matter and energy are exchanged across the boundaries of
the system. They are organic → living, thus, it must interact with
their environment.
● Closed: Energy but not matter is exchanged. The Earth is a closed system.
● Isolated: Neither energy nor matter is exchanged → Do not exist
naturally. The entire universe is an isolated system.
Models: It’s a simplified version of reality. They can be used to understand how systems
work and predict how they will respond to change. For example, a model can be used to
predict the earth's surface temperatures.
Strengths:
● Allows scientists to simplify complex systems and use them to predict what will
happen.
● Input and outputs can be changed rapidly.
● Allow results to be shown and are easy to understand
Limitations
● It is impossible to take all variables into account
● Models themselves are very complex.
● Any model is only as good as the data used.
1.3 Energy and Equilibria
Laws of thermodynamics:
● First law: Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only change form.
● Second law: Energy is lost in any transformation and transfer process, increasing
entropy.
Open system → equilibrium
Steady state and static equilibrium:
2
, ● Steady-state equilibrium: Most open systems in nature. No changes over the longer
term. Oscillations in the short term. The system can return to the steady state
following a disturbance.
● Static equilibrium: No changes in the system
over time. No inputs or outputs. No natural system is in
static equilibrium. For example, a chair.
Stable and Unstable equilibrium:
● Stable: If a system returns to the original equilibrium after a disturbance.
● Unstable: A system that does not return to the same equilibrium → it
forms a new equilibrium.
Feedback: It's a mechanism that can either change a system to a new state or return it to
its original state.
Positive feedback: When a change in the state of a system leads to additional and
increased change.
● Occurs when a change in the state system leads to additional and increased
change.
● It will tend to amplify changes and drive the system towards a tipping point where a
new equilibrium is adopted.
● Destabilizing
3
, Negative feedback: Counteracts any change away from equilibrium, contributing to
stability.
● Occurs when the output of a process inhibits or reverses the operation of the same
process in such a way as to reduce change.
● It tends to reduce, neutralize or counteract any deviation from equilibrium
● Stabilizing
Tipping point: A critical moment when even a small change can have dramatic effects.
● The minimum amount of change within a system that will destabilize it, causing it to
reach a new equilibrium.
● Related to positive feedback.
Resilience: The tendency of a system to avoid tipping points and maintain stability through
steady-state equilibrium.
● Related to the recovering capacity of a system and its resistant to change.
● Complex ecosystem with high biodiversity are more resilient.
Sustainability: The use of global resources at a rate that allows natural regeneration and
minimizes damage to the environment.
Natural Capital: Resources that can produce a sustainable natural income of a good or
service. Can be renewable or nonrenewable.
Natural Income: Yield obtained from resources.
Natural resource → if produce good/services → Natural capital → if we use
it → Natural income:
Sustainable: Allowing natural regeneration. Minimizing damage to the environment.
Exploitation of the resource at maximum sustainable yield.
Unsustainable: Exploitation of the resource at maximum economic yield.
Sustainable Development: Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
4
Topic 1
EVS: Environmental Value System. An EVS is a worldview or paradigm that shapes the way
an individual or group of people perceive and evaluate environmental issues. Can be
influenced by cultural, religious, economic, and socio-political context.
Inputs:
● Education
● Cultural influences
● Economic factors
● Socio political factors
● Religion
● Media
Output:
● Decision
● Perspectives
● Courses of action
Range of EVS:
Ecocentrism:
● less materialistic approach to life
● self-sufficiency of societies
● biorights
● self-restraint in human behaviour
● deep ecologists
Anthropocentrism:
● sustainable management of the global system
● environmental regulation and legislation (taxes)
● environmental managers
Technocentrism:
● technological developments can provide solutions to environmental problems
● Optimistic view of human role
● systems can be controlled, manipulated or changed to solve resource depletion
● Cornucopians
Systems: An assemblage of parts and the relationships between them.
● Consists of storage and flows. Storages are places where matter or energy is kept in
a system. 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, state or energy).
1
,Types of systems:
● Open: Both matter and energy are exchanged across the boundaries of
the system. They are organic → living, thus, it must interact with
their environment.
● Closed: Energy but not matter is exchanged. The Earth is a closed system.
● Isolated: Neither energy nor matter is exchanged → Do not exist
naturally. The entire universe is an isolated system.
Models: It’s a simplified version of reality. They can be used to understand how systems
work and predict how they will respond to change. For example, a model can be used to
predict the earth's surface temperatures.
Strengths:
● Allows scientists to simplify complex systems and use them to predict what will
happen.
● Input and outputs can be changed rapidly.
● Allow results to be shown and are easy to understand
Limitations
● It is impossible to take all variables into account
● Models themselves are very complex.
● Any model is only as good as the data used.
1.3 Energy and Equilibria
Laws of thermodynamics:
● First law: Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only change form.
● Second law: Energy is lost in any transformation and transfer process, increasing
entropy.
Open system → equilibrium
Steady state and static equilibrium:
2
, ● Steady-state equilibrium: Most open systems in nature. No changes over the longer
term. Oscillations in the short term. The system can return to the steady state
following a disturbance.
● Static equilibrium: No changes in the system
over time. No inputs or outputs. No natural system is in
static equilibrium. For example, a chair.
Stable and Unstable equilibrium:
● Stable: If a system returns to the original equilibrium after a disturbance.
● Unstable: A system that does not return to the same equilibrium → it
forms a new equilibrium.
Feedback: It's a mechanism that can either change a system to a new state or return it to
its original state.
Positive feedback: When a change in the state of a system leads to additional and
increased change.
● Occurs when a change in the state system leads to additional and increased
change.
● It will tend to amplify changes and drive the system towards a tipping point where a
new equilibrium is adopted.
● Destabilizing
3
, Negative feedback: Counteracts any change away from equilibrium, contributing to
stability.
● Occurs when the output of a process inhibits or reverses the operation of the same
process in such a way as to reduce change.
● It tends to reduce, neutralize or counteract any deviation from equilibrium
● Stabilizing
Tipping point: A critical moment when even a small change can have dramatic effects.
● The minimum amount of change within a system that will destabilize it, causing it to
reach a new equilibrium.
● Related to positive feedback.
Resilience: The tendency of a system to avoid tipping points and maintain stability through
steady-state equilibrium.
● Related to the recovering capacity of a system and its resistant to change.
● Complex ecosystem with high biodiversity are more resilient.
Sustainability: The use of global resources at a rate that allows natural regeneration and
minimizes damage to the environment.
Natural Capital: Resources that can produce a sustainable natural income of a good or
service. Can be renewable or nonrenewable.
Natural Income: Yield obtained from resources.
Natural resource → if produce good/services → Natural capital → if we use
it → Natural income:
Sustainable: Allowing natural regeneration. Minimizing damage to the environment.
Exploitation of the resource at maximum sustainable yield.
Unsustainable: Exploitation of the resource at maximum economic yield.
Sustainable Development: Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
4
