Environmental Sustainability Strategies - Assignment Example

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Question 1: Sustainability In environmental terms, sustainability is the utilization of natural resources to cater for the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to cater for their own needs. This implies that an action can be taken indefinitely with little, or convenient, effect on the environment. Environmental sustainability guarantees that the Earth's natural resources will be accessible by future generations. This is because the health of the environment is strongly connected to the health of society in general (Smith, p2, 2003). Environmental sustainability strategies include activities like the adoption of a recycling culture, minimizing the utilization of natural resources, the redesign of industrial processes and end products to eradicate the release of harmful materials, the conservation and rehabilitation of degraded natural habitats and ecosystems and the use of renewable rather than non-renewable resources (Sutton, Para1, 2004). Moreover, sustainability aims to balance the requirements of the natural environment with the needs of human societies, conserving both for all species on Earth to make use of and enjoy. In addition, sustainability improves the health of the environment, biological diversity, the protection and preservation of significant ecosystems and a high quality of life (Smith, p4, 2003). Both preventive and restorative actions are the best strategies to achieve environmental sustainability in the current world. This is because the environment have been greatly degraded causing the breach of the natural ecosystem, the loss of biodiversity and reduction in the peoples livelihood. This means that prevention alone cannot achieve sustainability because the needs of the present have to be met, hence restoration should be incorporated. On the other hand restoration should not be heavily relied on as the initial approach, such that people degrades the environment so that they can restore it, rather it is good to keep away from degrading the environment in the first place. However, restoration should be applied where destruction has occurred that could prevent sustainable utilization of valued constituents of the physical environment (Sutton, Para4, 2004). Some of the issues that pose threats to realizing environmental sustainability include: degradation of the living environments (habitats) of native species, release of chemicals and other effluents in to the physical environment including water resources, release of greenhouse gases into the air than can cause global warming and the exhaustion of various mineral resources including oil (Sutton, Para2, 2004) Question 2: Conservation and Preservation Environmental preservation and conservation are both significant environmental terms driven by environmental needs, though they have differences. Preservation is making land or some other environmental resource legally unavailable to utilization or development by individuals. This means that there is total abstinence from using or utilizing a certain environmental resource. On the other hand, conservation is an active concern in sustaining, maintaining and restoring an ecosystem. In this regard, the natural resources are utilized in a sustainable way that ensures that they are not depleted (Richards, para1, 1999). Conservation involves wise utilization, adaptive management, and sustainability, and maintaining the health of environment. It also aims at ending further loss or deprivation of the environment. Conversely, preservation implies no change and no use of environmental resource thereby prohibiting anthropogenic interference in an ecosystem while keenly protecting and preserving resources. Additionally, preservation is a requirement to reserve some habitat for environments to function properly. This means performance the manner in which the communities of plants and animals have evolved through time (Schenk, p13, 2010). Moreover, conservation frequently engages removing or substituting animal and plant species to create a healthy environment. In most of the times, conservation is achieved through the help of biologists and other professionals who can establish what strategies need to be incorporated to protect an ecosystem. In contrast, preservation depends on a non-interventionist strategy. For instance, regarding conservation, the government‘s approach of the UK is presented in the Biodiversity Action Plan, which is the overriding structure for conservation initiatives in the UK. The central government sections operate as administrators, assigning several of the conservation roles to various implementing institutions. The agencies chiefly concerned are the English Nature, Countryside, the Environment Agency, the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland, the Countryside Council for Wales and the Scottish Natural Heritage (Office for National Statistics UK, p13, n.d). In addition to this, conservation uses people as an administrative tool by controlling actions such as hunting and fishing to administer natural resources. On the other hand, preservation does not contain people in the process; rather it aims to uphold the non-degraded facet of a natural environment. Human activities for instance logging that offer economic value from renewable resources are likely to be included in conservation management. The chief function of preservation is that of a guardian, which prevents any utilization of natural resources of the ecosystem. Despite these differences, both preservation and conservation uses ecological-management strategies for example restricted burning and persistent species control and maintain the reliability of the natural environment (Richards, para4, 1999). In UK, the chief concerns of both environmental conservation and preservation are mitigating air pollution and waste disposal, the sensible and sustainable utilization of energy and other resources, and meeting the UK‘s dedications for reducing acid rain, ozone depletion and global warming. Additionally, it is of main concern to encourage better awareness of the environmental issues and instil a greater sense of responsibility for it among UK citizens. These concerns encompass both preservation and conservation strategies (Office for National Statistics UK, p13, n.d). Question 3: The Process of Photosynthesis Photosynthesis is the physico-chemical process by which plants, algae and photosynthetic bacteria use light energy to manufacture organic compounds. This process leads to the discharge of molecular oxygen and the taking away of carbon dioxide from the air that is used to make starch. Photosynthesis supplies the energy and decreases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for the survival of almost all life on our planet. In addition, it provides oxygen that is necessary for the existence of organisms that consume oxygen. The process of photosynthesis has a deep effect on the earth's climate and atmosphere even though it takes place in cells or organelles that are classically only some microns across (Whitmarsh & Govindjee, para1, 1995). Moreover, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere mostly depends on this process. The process of Photosynthesis depends on the quantity of plants and other vegetation available (Ghosh, para9, 2000). This process happens in two major stages, the first stage is the light reactions or dependent and the second stage is the light independent stage. In the light stage, the light reaction takes up the light energy and uses it to make high-energy molecules, which are then utilized in the light independent stage to take in carbon dioxide and manufacture carbohydrates. This is the initial stage of the process, which changes solar energy into potential energy. This step needs sufficient sunlight for the process and therefore, it is called the light-dependent stage of the process (Manohar, para2, 2000). The light independent stage takes place in the stroma of the leaves of a plant. This stage is called the light independent stage because the reactions involved do not require the presence of sunlight. In this stage, the products of the light dependent reaction are utilized. The light independent reactions have three stages, which are carbon fixation, reduction reactions and ribulose 1.5- biphosphate regeneration. The immediate result of the light independent reactions is glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate and water. The glyceraldehydes 3 phosphate molecules are then used to make more complex carbohydrates (Manohar, para6, 2000). The protein compounds attached in the photosynthetic film have an exclusive orientation in the outer and inner segment. The irregular plan of the protein compounds permits some of the energy produced during electron transport to generate an electrochemical ramp of protons across the photosynthetic membrane (Whitmarsh & Govindjee, para15, 1995). Ghosh (para13, 2000) indicates that photosynthesis is directly related to the life and survival of all the other living creatures on earth. The process provides oxygen that is needed for breathing by all animals and organisms. Moreover, the process provides energy and food for nearly all forms of life on earth. Animals utilize the by-product of the process, which is oxygen, while its product, which is carbohydrate, is used as food. Only plants are able to produce their own food – animals depend on the food manufactured by the plants through the process of photosynthesis. Moreover, the process of photosynthesis helps in carbon sequestration. This is reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that may cause severe global warming and may be harmful to the animals and humans. Question 4: Global warming Global warming is the increase of the standard measured global temperature caused by the increase of the greenhouse gasses in the air. It is believed that the temperature of the earth was just below 15-Celsius degrees (59-Fahrenheit degrees) but over the last century, it has increased by roughly 0.6 Celsius degrees (1-Fahrenheit degree) and is estimated further warming of 1.4 to 5.8 Celsius degrees by 2100. It is widely believed that these green house gasses are usually and largely manmade. The major greenhouse gas that accounts for most of the warming is carbon dioxide. It is released in to the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels and the release of vehicle exhaust fumes. Constant warming of the planet because of the green house effect of global warming is likely to lead to rising of sea level, the recoil or melting of mountain glaciers and ice floating on northern oceans, complexity of animals and plants in coping with the impacts and sickness or even death for humans due to hunger and diseases. Moreover, global warming will lead to food insecurity due to reduction in precipitation and high temperatures (Pennington, para2, 2011). Anthropogenic actions for example car emissions, oil refining, burning of fossil fuels for instance coal, oil and natural gas or even power generation emits various gases into the environment. These gases are methane, carbon nitrous oxide, dioxide, and other gases produced in many manufacturing processes such as perfluorinated compounds, hydro fluorocarbons, and chlorofluorocarbons. With more of these artificial gases present in it, Earth's high-altitude ozone layer that shield it from the damaging ultraviolet radiation is demolished making it a better insulator since it preserves more heat from the sun (Pennington, para3, 2011). An Oxford-style debate referred to as Intelligence Squared in the U.S. attempted to establish whether Global warming war a Crisis or not. In this debate, the proposal was "Global Warming is Not a Crisis." Prior to the debate, roughly 30 percent of the spectators agreed with the motion, while 57 percent did not agree to it and 13 percent were not decided in a conducted vote. The debate appeared to affect a number of people: After the debate, about 46 percent were for the motion, approximately 42 percent were against it and about 12 percent were not decided. For example, Philip Stott, emeritus, professor of biogeography at the University of London asserted that Climate always changes. He added that, it is always cooling or warming and is never constant and if it were constant, it would in fact be the first time for about four and a half billion years (Malakoff, para6, 2007). References Ghosh, P., Importance of Photosynthesis, Viewed February 2 2011, Malakoff, D., 2007, Global Warming is Not a Crisis' Viewed February 2 2011, Manohar, U., 2000, Steps of Photosynthesis, Viewed February 2 2011, Office for National Statistics UK., n.d, Environmental protection expenditure by the UK general government sector, 1996-1997, 2000-2001, Viewed February 2 2011, Richards, B.S., 1999, Ecosystem Preservation vs. Conservation, Conservation, Viewed February 2 2011, Schenk, J., 2010, Examining the use of terms, Conservation" "Restoration" and "Preservation" between Natural Resource Professionals and Literature Reviews, Viewed February 2 2011, Smith, S.E., 2003, In Environmental Terms, What Does Sustainability Mean? Viewed February 2 2011, Sutton, P., 2004, A perspective on environmental sustainability: A paper for the Victorian Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability, Viewed February 2 2011, Whitmarsh, J. & Govindjee., 1995, The Photosynthetic Process, Viewed February 2 2011, Pennington, I., 2011, Global Warming Definition, Viewed February 2 2011, Read More