Foundations of ESS

Study and revision resources

1. Environmental Value Systems (EVS)

Environmental Value Systems

These are worldview or paradigms that shape the way an individual or group of people perceive and evaluate environmental issues.

There are many factors that will affect a persons environmental values. Parental influences, educational experiences, news and media, the society that they live in

Video 1.

2. Systems and Models

Fig 3.7: WTO 2017 Report
Fig 3.7: OECD Aims

3. Energy and equilibria

Fig 3.15: Systems and Models slideshow
Fig 3.14: Feedback Loops

4. Sustainability

Fig 3.7: OECD Aims
Fig 3.6: Tragedy of the commons

Ecological Footprint and Earth Overshoot

Nature
Fig 3.7: Earth Overshoot Historical
Nature
Fig 3.7: Earth Overshoot Day per Country
Fig 3.6: Ecological Footprint

Ecological Footprints

Tasks

Use the 3 web link to answer the following questions:

  1. What is the Earth overshoot day (use this link)
  2. Study figure 1: Describe the pattern shown in the graph below (use data). [3 marks]
  3. Suggest 3 reasons for the pattern shown. [3 marks]
  4. Why should we be concerned about the pattern (link your answer to sustainability) [3 marks]
  5. Study figure 2 Explain why some countries have much earlier dates than others. (include population levels, development, natural resources, biomes) [8 marks]
  6. Use this link to calculate your own Ecological Footprint. Screenshot the result and insert in your doc. [2 marks]
  7. How could you reduce your ecological footprint - suggest 2 main ways. [2 marks]

5. Pollution

Fig 5.12: Introduction to pollution
pollution management stages diagram
Fig 5.13: Pollution management strategies

Pollution Managment

Tasks

  1. Explain why stage 1 is the best option for dealing with polluting activities?
  2. What are the limitations of altering human activity?
  3. How would an ecocentrist approach pollution management?
  4. How would a technocentrist approach pollution management?
Fig 1.54: Plastic Bag tax

Single use plastic bag charge

Tasks

  1. Use this Guardian article to describe how successful the charge has been in the UK (absolute numbers of bags and the %).
  2. What limitations are there with this approach to managing pollution?
  3. Cigarettes cause a lot environmental pollution - why do so many people still throw them on the ground or the beach?.
  4. Why is it hard to change people's behaviours?
Fig 1.56: Volkswagen Diesel Pollution

Volkswagen Cheats emissions tests

Tasks

  1. Use this CarandDriver article and video 1.54 to answer the following:
  2. What have Volkswagen done? How is it causing pollution?
  3. Read the What’s going to happen to Volkswagen? section (near the bottom of the article)
  4. What is the punishment being handed to VW?
  5. What stage of the pollution management diagram does this fit in?
Fig 1.58: BBC; Great American Oil Spill

BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Tasks

  1. Describe the pollution event that occurred.
  2. How has the pollution event been managed?
  3. Have BP been held accountable/punished? How?
  4. Which stage of the pollution management diagram does this fit into?
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