Chapter 1 Review Questions

T (see “Consumption”)

F (see “Nine Planets?”)

T (see “Wicked Problems”)

F (see “Introduction”)

F (see “Consumption”)

F (see “Population”)

F (see “Population”)

F (see “Sustainable Development”)

T (see “Wicked Problems”)

The environment includes the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, biosphere in which humans, other living species, and non-animate phenomena exist. Resources are more specific (forests, wildlife, oceans, rivers and lakes, and minerals and petroleum).
(see “Defining Environment and Resources”)

In the anthropocentric view, environmental value is defined relative to human interests, wants, and needs. In the ecocentric view, aspects of the environment are valued simply because they exist and are accepted as having the right to exist.
(see “Defining Environment and Resources”)

Disciplinary understanding is associated with a single academic discipline. In the multidisciplinary approach, separate reports of different specialists are synthesized. In cross-disciplinary research a disciplinary specialist ‘crosses’ the boundaries of other disciplines to enhance their perspective. Interdisciplinary investigations involve specialists crossing other disciplinary boundaries and engaging with other specialists from the very beginning. A transdisciplinary approach seeks a holistic understanding that crosses or transcends boundaries of many disciplines, where the problem or issue is usually not viewed as in the domain of any one discipline or profession.

(see “Alternative Approaches to Understanding Complex Natural and Socio-economic Systems”)

(1) Focus the science on key issues, and communicate it in a policy-relevant form. (2) Use scientific information to clarify issues, identify potential management options, and estimate consequences of decisions. (3) Clearly and simply communicate key scientific findings to all participants. (4) Evaluate whether the final decision is consistent with scientific information. (5) Avoid advocacy of any particular solution.

(see “Science-Based Management of Resources and Environment”)

The concept of the human needs, especially those of the poor, and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs, are both key concepts of sustainable development.

(see “Sustainable Development”)

Environmental degradation is occurring faster than at any time in the past, many of the changes are nonlinear, and once these changes start, the processes of degradation will increase rapidly.

(see “The Global Picture”)

Thomas Malthus pointed out that human population growth was exponential, whereas the growth in food supply was arithmetic, and this difference would lead to famine, disease, and war. His critics disagreed because population growth was generally thought to be beneficial and new food sources were becoming available through colonial expansion and new agricultural technologies.

(see “Population”, Box 1.2)

As is listed in the section “Three Waves Regarding Approaches to Environmental Management”:

First wave - focused on rediscovering and protecting wilderness areas, and the outcome often was the creation of parks and refuges (conservationists)

Second wave - identify and highlight environmental degradation and urge governments and the private sector to reduce the damage (environmental activism)

Third wave - called for repair and remediation with a goal to achieve sustainable development

Wicked problems are ill-defined issues, with incomplete and/or contradictory information or interpretations, many stakeholders with values in conflict, and an overall system and related issues that are uncertain and confusing. A practical characteristic of wicked problems is that usually a single obviously correct solution does not exist and solutions could trigger new problems worse than the initial symptoms.

(see “Wicked Problems”)

The Anthropocene is the term for today’s epoch. Awareness of the dominant influence of humans on planetary processes has led scientists to consider formal designation of a new epoch, the Anthropocene, in the Earth’s evolution. The key point, they argue, is that the Anthropocene highlights that humans are significantly affecting the planet in its entirety. (see “The Global Picture”, Box 1.1)

Demographers, those who study population structure and growth, have noted a relationship between economic growth and population that occurs in four main phases:

High equilibrium – high death and birth rate

High expanding – lower death rate, high birth rate

Low expanding – low death rate, declining birth rate

Low equilibrium – birth and death rates in balance

(see “Population”)

(1) they may not anticipate the problem; (2) they may fail to appreciate the severity of the problem even though they are aware of it; (3) they may appreciate the problem but neglect to address it; and (4) they may perceive the problem as a serious threat, try to solve it, and fail. One of his most sobering conclusions is that many of the societies that collapsed were very successful and collapse seemed impossible, yet it happened with frightening rapidity. (see “Nine Planets?”)

Although much is being done throughout the world to curb population growth (e.g. encouraging couples to have only one child), consumption often knows no bounds (and we are continuously exhorted to buy more). “I want that” is the slogan of our times. Indeed, our whole global economic system is focused on increasing consumption levels. At the individual level, our psyches are dominated by images of the consumer goods we hanker for.
(see “Consumption”)

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Resilience is the ability of a system to absorb disturbance and still retain its basic function and structure. Almost all resource management practices involve the simplification and control of more diverse natural systems, yet diversity is an important characteristic that usually enhances resilience. The bottom line for sustainability is that any proposal for sustainable development that does not explicitly acknowledge a system’s resilience is simply not going to keep delivering goods (or services). The key to sustainability lies in enhancing the resilience of social-ecological systems, not in optimizing isolated components of the system.
(see “Resilience”)