Quiz 2 Feedback - Winter 2012

Q1 WATERSHED: SYSTEMS AND ACCOUNTING

Healthy, forested watershed can provide better ecosystem services, such as year-round clean water, if they are covered with trees. We also know that, in some cases, a small amount of effort in restoration can pay off in a big way because of positivie feedback in the watershed.

a - (1) Describe the systems view of this "positive feedback".

key point is more water leads to even more water

b - (2) Describe how you can account for improvements in the watershed using an accounting approach, and what the challenges are.

list of parameters

challenges:

key challenge is how to account for positive feedback

OK answer: what to count and not count

c - (2) How does this relate to the idea that "everything is connected" and what is the benefit of this concept to environmental restoration?

you could make a small change and have it ripple through the entire system

if you make some change, do you get to count the beneficial consequences from positive feedback or connections throughout the system, or just the immediate change?

Q2 WATER USE

a (2) - What are the biggest uses of water in the US and what is the relative consumption for domestic use (in %)?

Agriculture and thermo-electric plant cooling

domestic use is several percent of the total

b (1) For the water that used by these two major demands, what is the fate of that water used in each and how might this lead to different impacts on the environment?

water used for ag and power plants have different fates

 

c (2) - For water that is consumed by the public (i.e. you and I), how much of it is embedded water? Describe what "embedded water" is.

embedded water in food is 65% and 30% in other goods

water that is used in the whole process of creating that good or offering that service

Q3 IMPACT OF AGRICULTURE

a (1) - What are several important impacts that agricultural practices have on the environment?

water, power (especially fossil fuels) and land

erosion and pollution

b(2) - Explain how the three world views (Individualist, Hierachist, and Egalitarian) would consider agriculture differently?

c (2) - How does considering these different world views help us address the uncertainties of the environmental impacts from employing different agricultural approaches?

use the assumptions from the different worldviews to create scenarios

compare the predictions of these and compare how one world view fares under the assumptions from another world view