22. SPSF 2022-13: Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services, Energy & Society
- Book 1. Sachs, J.D. (2015).
- Book 2. Mulligan, M. (2018).
- Data Activities & Discussions
- Japanese entry
Book 1. Sachs, J.D. (2015).
The Age of Sustainable Development, Columbia Uni Pr
Chap. 13: Saving Biodiversity & Protecting Ecosystem Services
I. What is Biodiversity?
Ecosystem services affect human well-being:
- provisioning: providing food, freshwater, wood, and fiber for building structures and clothing, and biomass for fuels
- regulating services: controlling the basic patterns of climate, disease transmission, and nutrient cyclings such as water, nitrogen, and oxygen
- supporting services: nutrient cycling and soil formation
- cultural services: enhancing human values, aesthetics, and religion. The textbook does not contain "preserving services", maybe because 1 to 4 came from the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005).
The relationship between ecosystem services and human well-being is illustrated in Fig. 13.1 (p.450).
Language in Danger: Diversity in cultures
II. Biodiversity Under Threat
- Humanity is now taking as much as 40-50 percent of all of the photosynthesis on the planet. We are commandeering the world's basic food supply - the output of photosynthesis - not for all species, but only for ourselves. (p.454)
III. Oceans and Fisheries
- aquaculture itself threatens the environment in many ways. The cultivation of fish in the managed fish farms can lead to spread of disease, excessive nutrient flows of many kinds, and threats to wild fish populations when farm fish escape into the wild. In short, aquaculture can be highly desirable if it is operated in a responsible manner, but that is a complex challenge given all the things that can go wrong. (p.461).
IV. Deforestation
- James Lovelock, creator of the Gaia theory of the interconnectedness of the world's ecosystems and the regulatory processes of those ecosystems at planetary scale, emphasized that when we degrade one ecosystem we impede or undermine the functioning of ecosystems in other parts of the planet. Lovelock said about eh deforestation of the tropical rain forests: "No longer do we have to justify the existence of humid, tropical forests on the feeble grounds that they might carry plants with drugs that cure human disease ... Their replacement by cropland could precipitate a disaster that is global in scale (Lovelock 1991: 14)."
V. International Dynamics
- The three multilateral environmental agreements of the Rio Earth Summit were reviewed twenty years later at the Rio+20 Summit. At that time Nature magazine conducted an in-depth analysis of what had happened under the various treaties and created a report card for each.
Book 2. Mulligan, M. (2018).
An Introduction to Sustainability: Environmental, Social and Personal Perspectives, Routledge
Chap. 5: Energy & Society
- Sun is the ultimate source of energy... At the same time, systems theory recognizes that energy is a fundamental component of all complex systems, including those designed and maintained by humans (p.71).
- direct connections between energy use and indicators of social development (p.74).
- Environmental & social costs of complex food production systems
- renewable energy sources
Data Activities & Discussions
- Deforestation
i) Go to the global forest change map: https://earthenginepartners.appspot.com/science-2013-global-forest
ii) Which countries have experienced high deforestation?
iii) Which countries have experienced high reforestation? - Share your narrative story about biodiversity and the planetary boundaries. Find something common among the stories and differences based on cultures.
Japanese entry
Japanese entry (FYI. Chap 12: Climate Change)
