Restoration ecology Recently constructed wetland regeneration in Australia, on a site previously used for agriculture Restoration ecology emerged as a separate field in ecology in the 1980s. It is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human intervention and action. The term "restoration ecology" is therefore commonly used for the academic study of the process, whereas the term "ecological restoration" is commonly used for the actual project or process by restoration practitioners. Definition[edit] E. History[edit] Restoration needs[edit] On a more anthropocentric level, natural ecosystems provide human society with food, fuel and timber. Conservation biology and restoration ecology[edit] With regard to biodiversity preservation, it should be noted that restoration activities are not a substitute, but are complementary for conservation efforts.
Environmental engineering Environmental Engineering is the integration of science and engineering principles to improve the natural environment, to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation and for other organisms, and to remediate pollution sites.[citation needed] Furthermore, it is concerned with finding plausible solutions in the field of public health, such as arthropod-borne diseases, implementing law which promote adequate sanitation in urban, rural and recreational areas. It involves waste water management and air pollution control, recycling, waste disposal, radiation protection, industrial hygiene, environmental sustainability, and public health issues as well as a knowledge of environmental engineering law. It also includes studies on the environmental impact of proposed construction projects. Environmental engineers study the effect of technological advances on the environment. Most jurisdictions also impose licensing and registration requirements. Development[edit] Scope[edit] The U.S.
Integrated geography Environmental geography (also, integrative geography,[1] or integrated geography) is the branch of geography that describes and explains the spatial aspects of interactions between human individuals or societies and their natural environment,[2] so-called coupled human–environment systems. Origins[edit] It requires an understanding of the dynamics of geology, meteorology, hydrology, biogeography, ecology, and geomorphology, as well as the ways in which human societies conceptualize the environment (cultural geography). Thus, to a certain degree, it may be seen as a successor of Physische Anthropogeographie (English: "physical anthropogeography")—a term coined by the Vienna Geographer Albrecht Penck in 1924—and geographical cultural or human ecology (Harlan H. Barrows 1923). Focus[edit] References[edit]
Environmental economics Sub-field of economics Environmental economics is a sub-field of economics concerned with environmental issues.[1] It has become a widely studied subject due to growing environmental concerns in the twenty-first century. Environmental economics "undertakes theoretical or empirical studies of the economic effects of national or local environmental policies around the world. ... Environmental economics is distinguished from ecological economics in that ecological economics emphasizes the economy as a subsystem of the ecosystem with its focus upon preserving natural capital.[3] One survey of German economists found that ecological and environmental economics are different schools of economic thought, with ecological economists emphasizing "strong" sustainability and rejecting the proposition that human-made ("physical") capital can substitute for natural capital.[4] History[edit] Topics and concepts[edit] Market failure[edit] Externality[edit] Common goods and public goods[edit] Valuation[edit]
Sustainability measurement Sustainability measurement is a term that denotes the measurements used as the quantitative basis for the informed management of sustainability.[1] The metrics used for the measurement of sustainability (involving the sustainability of environmental, social and economic domains, both individually and in various combinations) are still evolving: they include indicators, benchmarks, audits, indexes and accounting, as well as assessment, appraisal[2] and other reporting systems. They are applied over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales.[3][4] Some of the best known and most widely used sustainability measures include corporate sustainability reporting, Triple Bottom Line accounting, and estimates of the quality of sustainability governance for individual countries using the Environmental Sustainability Index and Environmental Performance Index. Sustainability indicators and their function[edit] Metrics at the global scale[edit] United Nations Indicators[edit] Metrics Auditing Coal[edit]
Ecosystem model A structural diagram of the open ocean plankton ecosystem model of Fasham, Ducklow & McKelvie (1990).[1] An ecosystem model is an abstract, usually mathematical, representation of an ecological system (ranging in scale from an individual population, to an ecological community, or even an entire biome), which is studied to gain understanding of the real system.[2] Ecosystem models are formed by combining known ecological relations (e.g. the relation of sunlight and water availability to photosynthetic rate, or the relation between predator and prey populations) with data gathered from field observations. These model systems are then studied in order to make predictions about the dynamics of the real system. Ecosystem models have applications in a wide variety of disciplines, such as natural resource management,[4] ecotoxicology and environmental health,[5][6] agriculture,[7] and wildlife conservation.[8] Types of models[edit] Model design[edit] Validation[edit] where, Applications[edit]
Green gross domestic product The green gross domestic product (green GDP) is an index of economic growth with the environmental consequences of that growth factored into a country's conventional GDP. Green GDP monetizes the loss of biodiversity, and accounts for costs caused by climate change. Some environmental experts prefer physical indicators (such as "waste per capita" or "carbon dioxide emissions per year"), which may be aggregated to indices such as the "Sustainable Development Index". Calculating Green GDP[edit] Calculating green GDP requires that net natural capital consumption, including resource depletion, environmental degradation, and protective and restorative environmental initiatives, be subtracted from traditional GDP.[1] Some early calculations of Green GDP take into account one or two, but not all environmental adjustments. Rationale[edit] The motivation for creating a Green GDP originates from the inherent limitations of GDP has as an indicator of economic performance and social progress.
Greenwashing While greenwashing is not new, its use has increased over recent years to meet consumer demand for environmentally friendly goods and services. The problem is compounded by lax enforcement by regulatory agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission in the United States, the Competition Bureau in Canada, and the Committee of Advertising Practice and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice in the United Kingdom. Critics of the practice suggest that the rise of greenwashing, paired with ineffective regulation, contributes to consumer skepticism of all green claims, and diminishes the power of the consumer in driving companies toward greener solutions for manufacturing processes and business operations.[6] Usage[edit] Hotel "greenwashed" laundry card The term greenwashing was coined by New York environmentalist Jay Westervelt in a 1986 essay regarding the hotel industry's practice of placing placards in each room promoting reuse of towels ostensibly to "save the environment."
Aarhus Convention The UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, usually known as the Aarhus Convention, was signed on 25 June 1998 in the Danish city of Aarhus. It entered into force on 30 October 2001. As of March 2014, it has 47 parties—46 states and the European Union.[1] All of the ratifying states are in Europe and Central Asia. The EU has begun applying Aarhus-type principles in its legislation, notably the Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC). Liechtenstein and Monaco have signed the convention but have not ratified it. The Aarhus Convention grants the public rights regarding access to information, public participation and access to justice, in governmental decision-making processes on matters concerning the local, national and transboundary environment. Content[edit] General features[edit] The Three Pillars[edit] Further reflections[edit] Compliance Committee[edit] Pollutant Release Protocol[edit]
Social responsibility Social responsibility is an ethical theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystems. A trade-off may[citation needed] exist between economic development, in the material sense, and the welfare of the society and environment. Social responsibility means sustaining the equilibrium between the two. It pertains not only to business organizations but also to everyone whose any action impacts the environment.[1] This responsibility can be passive, by avoiding engaging in socially harmful acts, or active, by performing activities that directly advance social goals. Student social responsibility[edit] Student social responsibility is the responsibility of every student for his/her actions. Corporate social responsibility[edit] Emerging normative status of social responsibility[edit] See also[edit]
Sullivan principles The Sullivan principles are the names of two corporate codes of conduct, developed by the African-American preacher Rev. Leon Sullivan, promoting corporate social responsibility: The original Sullivan principles were developed in 1977 to apply economic pressure on South Africa in protest of its system of apartheid.[1] The principles eventually gained wide adoption among United States–based corporations. For more, see #The Sullivan principles below.The new global Sullivan principles were jointed unveiled in 1999 by Rev. Sullivan and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.[2] The new and expanded corporate code of conduct, as opposed to the originals' specific focus on South African apartheid, were designed to increase the active participation of corporations in the advancement of human rights and social justice at the international level. The Sullivan principles[edit] In 1977, Rev. Sullivan, looking back on his anti-Apartheid efforts, recalled: The original principles[edit]