Environmental

• Sustainability


  The use and management of natural resources that allow full natural regeneration of the resources exploited and full recovery of the ecosystems affected by their extraction and use
• Sustainable living


  • Using resources in a way that allows for their renewal and regeneration
• Sustainable practices


  • Reducing waste (e.g. recycling)
  • Reducing resource use (e.g. reducing water consumption)
  • Conserving energy (e.g. using public transport or cycling, eating locally grown foods)
  • Using renewable resources (e.g. solar or wind power)
  • Protecting biodiversity (e.g. nature reserves)
• Sustainable fashion


  An example of how sustainable practices can be applied to an industry (e.g. the clothing industry) that has traditionally been very wasteful, as well as very energy- and resource-intensive
• Applying Sustainable Practices to the Clothing Industry

  • Use of sustainable materials
  • Circular economy
  • Reduce water usage
  • Sustainable packaging
  • Reduce carbon footprint
  • Ethical production
  • Reduce overconsumption
• Sustainable management


  Using resources in a way that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
• Benefits of sustainable management

  • Preserves ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources
  • Promotes fair distribution of resources, benefiting current and future generations
  • Ensures long-term economic stability by avoiding resource depletion and environmental degradation
• Sustainable forestry


  • Implementing sustainable practices such as selective logging, reforestation, and maintaining biodiversity can ensure the continued provision of timber, non-timber forest products, and ecosystem services while preserving the integrity of forest ecosystems
• Renewable resources


  Natural resources that can be replaced or regenerated at a rate equal to or faster than they are being used
• Renewable resources


  • Solar energy, wind power, forests, wetlands, coral reefs, grasslands, groundwater, ozone layer
• Non-renewable resources


  Natural resources that cannot be replaced or regenerated at a rate equal to or faster than they are being used
• Non-renewable resources


  • Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas), uranium, soil, minerals (rare-earth minerals, precious metals)
• Ecosystem services


  Natural services provided by ecosystems that directly impact human health and well-being, and must be preserved for future generations
• Waste management


  Minimising waste generation and promoting practices that reduce, reuse, and recycle materials
• Circular economy


  A model of production and consumption that involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible
• Major Components of Earth's Atmosphere

  • Nitrogen (78%)
  • Oxygen (21%)
  • Carbon dioxide
  • Argon
  • Water vapour
  • Trace gases (methane, ozone, nitrous oxide)
• Nitrogen and oxygen


  Make up the majority of the atmosphere and play vital roles in supporting life on Earth
• Carbon dioxide


  Essential for maintaining the greenhouse effect and photosynthesis
• Argon


  Inert gas that does not participate in chemical reactions but contributes to the overall composition of the atmosphere
• Water vapour


  Variable component that plays a crucial role in the Earth's weather patterns, the formation of clouds and precipitation, and photosynthesis
• Trace gases


  Present in even smaller quantities but can have significant impacts on climate and atmospheric chemistry
• Structure of Earth's Atmosphere

  • Stratified into different layers based on temperature changes
  • The inner layers are the troposphere and the stratosphere
  • The troposphere is the lowest layer where weather phenomena occur
  • The stratosphere contains the ozone layer that absorbs UV radiation
• The reactions occurring in the inner layers of the atmosphere, particularly the troposphere and the stratosphere, are crucial for maintaining the balance of gases, regulating climate patterns, and supporting life
• Ozone


  • A molecule composed of three oxygen atoms (O3)
  • Primarily found in the Earth's stratosphere
  • Plays a crucial role in protecting life on Earth by absorbing a significant portion of the Sun's harmful UV radiation
• Dangers of UV Radiation


  • Damages photosynthetic organisms like phytoplankton
  • Can lead to various health issues in humans and other animals like cataracts, skin cancer, sunburn, premature skin ageing, and damage to immune systems
• Ozone Destruction & Reformation

  1. UV radiation breaks apart ozone molecules

  2. Free oxygen atoms can combine with oxygen molecules to form ozone again

  3. This creates a dynamic equilibrium in the stratosphere where ozone is continuously being broken apart and reformed
• The Natural Greenhouse Effect

  • The Sun's energy enters the Earth's atmosphere as solar radiation
  • Some thermal energy is reflected from the Earth's surface
  • Most thermal energy is absorbed and re-emitted back from the Earth's surface as longwave radiation
  • Greenhouse gases absorb this longwave radiation, trapping it in the atmosphere
• The natural greenhouse effect is an important, life-sustaining natural phenomenon, but the enhanced greenhouse effect driven by human activity has caused global average temperatures to rise dramatically over the last few decades
• The biosphere is the life-sustaining zone where the air (atmosphere), water (hydrosphere) and land (lithosphere) meet
• Biomes


  • Aquatic
  • Forest
  • Grassland
  • Desert
  • Tundra
• Biomes


  Large-scale ecological communities or ecosystem types that are characterised by their dominant vegetation, climate, and other abiotic factors that shape their biotic communities
• Ecosystems


  Include living, biotic components (such as plants, animals and other species present) and the physical environment (the non-living, abiotic components) they interact with
• Population


  A group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time
• Community


  Includes all of the populations living in the same area at the same time, where each species depends on other species for food, shelter, pollination, seed dispersal etc
• Habitat


  The local environment in which a species normally lives
• Niche


  The particular set of abiotic and biotic conditions and resources to which an organism or population responds
• A niche can only be occupied by one species, meaning that every individual species has its own unique niche
• If two species try to occupy the same niche, they will compete with each other for the same resources
• Abiotic factors


  • Temperature
  • Humidity
  • Water
  • Oxygen
  • Salinity
  • Light
  • pH
• Abiotic factors


  The non-living, physical factors that influence ecosystems and the communities of organisms living within them