South 고등학교 2학년 Ecology and Environment
Chapters: 5
1. Environment and humans
Meanings of environment · Views of the environment · Ethical conflicts over environment · My local environment
- Environmental Ethics: Who Deserves Our Care? – Environmental ethics asks what we owe to nature, animals and future people. Picture a circle of moral concern. Anthropocentrism keeps only humans inside; nature has instrumental value (useful to us). Sentientism (Singer, Bentham) adds animals that feel pain: animal welfare says reduce suffering, animal rights (Regan) says animals must not be used as mere tools. Biocentrism (Schweitzer, Taylor) gives every living thing value. Ecocentrism (Leopold's land ethic, deep ecology) values whole ecosystems. Many Eastern and Indigenous traditions see humans as part of nature. Intergenerational justice and sustainability add future people. Real cases (dams, forests, animal testing, climate) often bring these views into conflict.
- Local Geography: Studying Your Own Region – Local geography is the study of the place where you live: your town, district or home region. A full description answers six questions: where it is (position), what nature gives it (relief, climate, water, soil, forests, minerals, protected areas), who lives there and how (population and settlements), how people earn a living (economy, jobs and services), what the environment is like and how it is monitored, and how all of this has changed over time. Geographers find the answers with a field study: ask a question, collect data by observing, measuring and interviewing, show it on sketch maps and graphs, and draw conclusions about strengths, problems and ideas for the future.
2. Environmental systems
Earth and social systems · Water and air cycles · Soil and its links · Parts and wholes in ecosystems
- Earth as a System: Spheres and Energy – Earth is like one big machine with five parts: rock (geosphere), water (hydrosphere), ice (cryosphere), air (atmosphere) and life (biosphere). The Sun powers it. Sunlight comes as many kinds of rays (the electromagnetic spectrum). The Sun heats Earth unevenly, and that makes winds, breezes and ocean currents. Water, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen move round and round between the spheres in cycles. Humans now change these cycles, so we must use Earth carefully.
- Soil: How It Forms, Its Layers and How to Protect It – Soil is the thin, loose top layer of the land where plants grow. It is a mix of rock grains (about 45%), organic matter or humus (about 5%), water (about 25%) and air (about 25%). Soil forms very slowly when weathering breaks parent rock and living things add humus. Five factors control it: parent rock, climate, living things, relief (slope) and time. A cut through the ground shows layers called horizons: O (litter and humus), A (topsoil), B (subsoil, where washed-down minerals collect), C (broken rock) and R (bedrock). Soil texture depends on the share of sand, silt and clay. Soil feeds plants, stores and cleans water, stores carbon and is home to countless organisms, but erosion, salt and pollution can destroy it far faster than it forms.
3. Environmental problems and issues
Water and air problems · Soil and biodiversity problems · Resources, energy, waste · Politics, economy and law of environment · Local and global issues
- Pollution: Air, Water, Land and Noise – Pollution is the release of harmful substances or energy into air, water or land faster than nature can remove them. Main air pollutants are particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and ozone; they cause acid rain and smog. Water pollution by nutrients, sewage and toxins causes eutrophication and biomagnification. We reduce pollution by cutting emissions at the source, cleaning waste before release, and the 3Rs.
- Biodiversity and the Effect of Human Activity on Ecosystems – Biodiversity is the variety of all the different species of organisms on Earth or in one ecosystem. High biodiversity makes an ecosystem stable, because species depend on each other for food, shelter and a steady physical environment, and it gives people food, medicines and clean air and water. A growing human population uses more resources and makes more waste. Pollution of water, land and air, land use for building, farming, quarrying and landfill, peat removal, deforestation and global warming all reduce biodiversity. We can protect it with breeding programmes, restoring habitats, hedgerows and field margins, reducing deforestation and carbon dioxide emissions, and recycling instead of dumping waste.
- Environmental Policy: How Societies Protect Nature – Environmental policy is the set of laws, taxes, rules and agreements a society uses to protect air, water, land, climate and living things. It is needed because pollution is an external cost: the polluter does not pay for the harm done to others, and shared resources (air, rivers, oceans) get overused. Main tools: regulation (limits, standards, bans, environmental impact assessment), market tools (pollution taxes, cap and trade permits, subsidies for clean options), protected areas, and information (labels, reporting). Key principles: polluter pays, prevention, precaution and sustainable development. People have rights to a healthy environment and duties to protect it. Policy works at local, national and global levels, because pollution crosses every boundary. Societies balance three choices: exploit, preserve or protect (use wisely).
4. Climate crisis and action
Climate change as a crisis · Biodiversity and wellbeing · Greenhouse emissions by activity · Future scenarios · Korea's climate response
- Climate Change and the Greenhouse Effect – Climate is the average weather of a place over about 30 years. Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane trap some of the heat the Earth gives off. Humans have added a lot more of these gases by burning fossil fuels and cutting forests, so the Earth is warming. This causes melting ice, rising seas and more extreme weather. We can cut emissions (mitigation) and prepare for changes (adaptation).
- Biodiversity and the Effect of Human Activity on Ecosystems – Biodiversity is the variety of all the different species of organisms on Earth or in one ecosystem. High biodiversity makes an ecosystem stable, because species depend on each other for food, shelter and a steady physical environment, and it gives people food, medicines and clean air and water. A growing human population uses more resources and makes more waste. Pollution of water, land and air, land use for building, farming, quarrying and landfill, peat removal, deforestation and global warming all reduce biodiversity. We can protect it with breeding programmes, restoring habitats, hedgerows and field margins, reducing deforestation and carbon dioxide emissions, and recycling instead of dumping waste.
- Climate Models and Future Scenarios – A climate model is a computer program that cuts Earth into a grid of boxes and repeats the rules of physics for air, sea, ice and land through time. Scientists run it with different "what if" emission stories, called scenarios, to see possible futures. Models are tested on the past, and the spread between runs shows the uncertainty.
- Climate Policy: How the World Acts on Climate Change – Climate policy is the set of agreements, laws and plans that cut greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation) and help people cope with a changing climate (adaptation). Because the atmosphere is shared, no country can solve the problem alone, so countries cooperate through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992), the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015). Under Paris, every country sets its own target (an NDC) and raises it every five years, aiming to keep warming well below 2 °C and to try for 1.5 °C. At home, governments use carbon taxes, cap-and-trade, rules and standards, and support for clean energy. Many have set net-zero (carbon-neutral) targets: by a set year, any gas still emitted is balanced by gas removed. Fairness matters: richer countries emitted most in the past, so the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, climate finance and technology sharing help poorer countries develop cleanly.
5. Sustainability and participation
SDGs · Ecological citizenship · Sustainable food, housing, transport
- The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 17 Goals for 2030 – In 2015 all United Nations member countries adopted the 2030 Agenda with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. They cover people (poverty, hunger, health, education, equality), planet (water, climate, oceans, land), prosperity (energy, jobs, industry, cities), peace and partnership. All 17 are linked: progress in one helps the others.
- Global Citizenship – A global citizen belongs to local, national and world communities at the same time. The world is interconnected, and problems such as poverty, hunger, conflict and climate change are shared. Global citizens know their rights and duties, care about people far away, reduce their ecological footprint, and act locally while thinking globally.
- Sustainability – Sustainability means meeting our needs today without taking away the ability of future people to meet theirs. It rests on three pillars — environment, society and economy. A resource is used sustainably when we use it no faster than it renews. Today humanity uses about 1.7 Earths' worth of resources a year, and this use is very unequal. Stewardship, careful planning and spatial tools like GIS help us move towards sustainability.