Cullen Krieg

Dr. Jack

CODES

September 14 2023

 

Analysation of Sustainable World

In chapter three of Sustainable World it speaks about how present-day conditions need an individual or group of individuals to have a full understanding of the issue which will allow room for present-day solutions. An analysis of the problem allows the problem drivers to become detected by the problem solvers. The problem drivers are usually known as stress or pressure that is being enacted on an individual or topic. A driver can vary vastly, it could come from humans or from natural causes. Eutrophication has many different contributing factors of why it takes place: Watershed area, Population density, Human activities, Natural sediment load, Presence of dams, Flushing rate, Coastal wetland area, Government policies, and Cultural norms. No matter what happens in the world, Eutrophication will most likely always take place.

After the problem drivers and the system that they are affecting it is very important to look past the larger issues that most individuals can see but to zoom in and realize what is going on in a smaller portion and take the time to look more in depth of what is happening. Being able to analyze closer to the problem allows an individual to see different, smaller problems that could be combined to cause the bigger picture problem. As an example from the book, if farmers were to grow a certain crop that the townspeople didn’t want it would cause a problem because the farmer had spent so much time and effort maintaining his crops and his produce isn’t being sold because the townspeople wanted carrots instead of corn. 

There are two different broad drivers, one being indirect and the other being direct. Direct is when it is directly affecting the behavior of a system whereas indirect is when the behavior in a more spatial way, not a direct punch to the problem. An example of direct factors that are directed towards an Ecosystem is: habitat change, climate change, invasive species, overexploitation of species, and nutrient pollution. These are drivers that will have a major hard hitting impact on the ecosystem. The five different indirect drivers towards an ecosystem are: demographic, economic, socio political, cultural & religious, and scientific & technological. These are the drivers that will affect an ecosystem in a slower, more laid back kind of way.

Most individuals establish a causality in a system. When they establish this they are making the set of drivers and the influence on the certain system very evident. In the book they relate it back to a cause and effect situation, which I completely agree with because the individual has a cause towards the system and the effect is the outcome of his or her cause. A way that increases throughout a system is influence, the power of influence goes a long way. If an individual sees another doing something and joins them in taking part of whatever the cause towards the system is, the effect will become greater. Implementing solutions to fix the problem allow individuals to weed out the drivers that are causing the direct problem. But it is also important to look at the relationships from the drivers to the system to try and come out with a better understanding of what exactly is happening.