53
will be poorer in the long term and the remnants
of chemical compounds contaminate the environment and sometimes even food as well.
Mining deranges the upper part of the lithosphere while building activities transform the
natural surface changing several of its properties.
Most of these are preferable for humans but deteriorate natural habitats contributing significantly
to the destruction of wild species.
Contamination of the hydrosphere and overloading of aquatic ecosystems (overfishing, unintended fish catching, whale hunting) result in
their collapse, degradation, and decreasing biological diversity. In time certain fishing and hunting branches will go into bankruptcy due to
ignoring ecological rules. Nature thus reacts on
society and indicates the limits of utilisation.
As it was mentioned before, the atmosphere
was transformed from a reductive to an oxidising
one over three billion years as a result of the activities of life making it suitable for supporting
higher life. An opposite process was triggered by
burning fossil energy resources. It would be nonsense to believe that free oxygen in the atmosphere would run low in a foreseeable future due
to its vast quantity. The ratio of carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will
increase, however, until humans obtain energy
from burning coal containing fuel. The resultant
climate change could cause serious consequences
on the global society. Numerous other pollutants
are released into the atmosphere due to production
and consumption endangering human health.
Interactions and their consequences described
here briefly are discussed in more detail in Chap.
4. Changes in the organisation of the society in
order to avoid unwanted feedbacks are also discussed. How the society would be truly sustainable in the long term (over centuries and
millennia) is also analysed. How global environmental and social problems could be prevented
and not only the consequences of catastrophes
remediated are also thought over.
From systems theory point of view it is an
important question whether there is a grade of
anthropogenic effects on the global Earth system
that when reached positive feedbacks would
become dominant in the operation of the system
and it would collapse, i.e. conditions inappropriate for human life would develop on Earth. As for
the time being, no such threshold has been identified by scientists.
Scientific analyses basically discuss two types
of limits. The global threshold or tipping point is
used—among others—by ecological footprint
calculations proposed by Wackernagel and Rees
(1996) on the basis of which the area required for
the total consumption of humanity is calculated.
According to the authors, the ecological footprint
of the global society reached the biocapacity of
the Earth (as a global threshold) and has significantly exceeded it since then, i.e. the resources of
the planet are overused resulting in the pollution
and degradation of natural elements (earth, water,
air). Reliability of the calculations, however,
caused scientific debates (numerous sources of
error are acknowledged by the authors themselves as well). The method calculating the estimated ecological footprints of individuals found
on the Internet—despite scientific uncertainties—may contribute to people having a more
economical, environmental friendly lifestyle.
Rockström et al. (2009) termed the limits of
consumption as planetary boundaries analysing
in detail nine parameters (from climate change to
biosphere integrity) assessing whether humanity
went over the limits associated with them and
whether changes caused in relation to them are
irreversible or not. The result is yes in certain
cases (e.g. perishing species) and we are near
irreversible in other cases (e.g. climate change)
and there are processes in relation to which our
knowledge is not enough to clearly identify the
limits (e.g. in the case of pollutant chemicals).
Further study of the complex Earth system is
necessary from thresholds point of view as well.
This would mark undoubtedly the limits of
human activities that must not be stepped over if
the sustainable development of the global society
is to be truly realised.
2.6.5.1 The Basic Environmental
Problem and Sustainable
Development
The human society has been in continuous interrelationship with its environment since its existence. On the one hand, its existence depends on
the natural environment (air, water, food, raw
2.6 Earth Models, “World Models”
will be poorer in the long term and the remnants
of chemical compounds contaminate the environment and sometimes even food as well.
Mining deranges the upper part of the lithosphere while building activities transform the
natural surface changing several of its properties.
Most of these are preferable for humans but deteriorate natural habitats contributing significantly
to the destruction of wild species.
Contamination of the hydrosphere and overloading of aquatic ecosystems (overfishing, unintended fish catching, whale hunting) result in
their collapse, degradation, and decreasing biological diversity. In time certain fishing and hunting branches will go into bankruptcy due to
ignoring ecological rules. Nature thus reacts on
society and indicates the limits of utilisation.
As it was mentioned before, the atmosphere
was transformed from a reductive to an oxidising
one over three billion years as a result of the activities of life making it suitable for supporting
higher life. An opposite process was triggered by
burning fossil energy resources. It would be nonsense to believe that free oxygen in the atmosphere would run low in a foreseeable future due
to its vast quantity. The ratio of carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will
increase, however, until humans obtain energy
from burning coal containing fuel. The resultant
climate change could cause serious consequences
on the global society. Numerous other pollutants
are released into the atmosphere due to production
and consumption endangering human health.
Interactions and their consequences described
here briefly are discussed in more detail in Chap.
4. Changes in the organisation of the society in
order to avoid unwanted feedbacks are also discussed. How the society would be truly sustainable in the long term (over centuries and
millennia) is also analysed. How global environmental and social problems could be prevented
and not only the consequences of catastrophes
remediated are also thought over.
From systems theory point of view it is an
important question whether there is a grade of
anthropogenic effects on the global Earth system
that when reached positive feedbacks would
become dominant in the operation of the system
and it would collapse, i.e. conditions inappropriate for human life would develop on Earth. As for
the time being, no such threshold has been identified by scientists.
Scientific analyses basically discuss two types
of limits. The global threshold or tipping point is
used—among others—by ecological footprint
calculations proposed by Wackernagel and Rees
(1996) on the basis of which the area required for
the total consumption of humanity is calculated.
According to the authors, the ecological footprint
of the global society reached the biocapacity of
the Earth (as a global threshold) and has significantly exceeded it since then, i.e. the resources of
the planet are overused resulting in the pollution
and degradation of natural elements (earth, water,
air). Reliability of the calculations, however,
caused scientific debates (numerous sources of
error are acknowledged by the authors themselves as well). The method calculating the estimated ecological footprints of individuals found
on the Internet—despite scientific uncertainties—may contribute to people having a more
economical, environmental friendly lifestyle.
Rockström et al. (2009) termed the limits of
consumption as planetary boundaries analysing
in detail nine parameters (from climate change to
biosphere integrity) assessing whether humanity
went over the limits associated with them and
whether changes caused in relation to them are
irreversible or not. The result is yes in certain
cases (e.g. perishing species) and we are near
irreversible in other cases (e.g. climate change)
and there are processes in relation to which our
knowledge is not enough to clearly identify the
limits (e.g. in the case of pollutant chemicals).
Further study of the complex Earth system is
necessary from thresholds point of view as well.
This would mark undoubtedly the limits of
human activities that must not be stepped over if
the sustainable development of the global society
is to be truly realised.
2.6.5.1 The Basic Environmental
Problem and Sustainable
Development
The human society has been in continuous interrelationship with its environment since its existence. On the one hand, its existence depends on
the natural environment (air, water, food, raw
2.6 Earth Models, “World Models”