1. To a great extent, Economics is about connecting the dots (finding relationsh
ID: 1137995 • Letter: 1
Question
1. To a great extent, Economics is about connecting the dots (finding relationships between seemingly unrelated things). a. Our behavior impacts our ecosystem and the ecosystem services. Those impacted ecosystem services in turn have impacts on the people and economies of the global north and global south. i. Pick 5 ecosystem services from the list (1. cycle and move nutrients, Detoxify and decompose water, control agricultural pests, purify the air and water, regulate disease carrying organisms) ii. Explain how each of your 5 ecosystem services is supposed to work. iii. Thoroughly explain the human behavior that has disrupted each of those services. iv. Explain how those disruptions to each ecosystem service impacts the two different parts of the world (the global north and global south). b. For each of the 5 ecosystem services, thoroughly explain 3 things that we should start doing right now to repair or at least stop the damage to the 5 ecosystem services you selected. Be sure you provide and explain 3 recommendations for EACH of the 5 ecosystem services you selected!
Explanation / Answer
There are four primary ecosystem service
Provisioning services
• food, crops, wild foods, and spices
• water
• pharmaceuticals, biochemicals, and industrial products
• energy (hydropower, biomass fuels)
Regulating services
• carbon sequestration and climate regulation
• waste decomposition and detoxification
• purification of water and air
• crop pollination
• pest and disease control
Supporting services
• nutrient dispersal and cycling
• seed dispersal
• Primary production
Cultural services
• cultural, intellectual and spiritual inspiration
• recreational experiences (including ecotourism)
• scientific discovery
a.i) Now if we pick any of the five ecosystem service :
Carbon sequestration and Climate regulation
Waste treatment and disease regulation
Pharmaceuticals, biochemicals, and industrial products
Cultural, intellectual and spiritual inspiration
Nutrient dispersal and cycling
1. Carbon sequestration and Climate regulation
Both the biotic and abiotic ensembles of marine ecosystems play a role in climate regulation. They act as sponges when it comes to gases in the atmosphere, retaining large levels of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (methane and nitrous oxide). Marine plants also use CO2 for photosynthesis purposes and help in reducing the atmospheric CO2. The oceans and seas absorb the heat from the atmosphere and redistribute it through the means of water currents, and atmospheric processes, such as evaporation and the reflection of light allow for the cooling and warming of the overlying atmosphere. The ocean temperatures are thus imperative to the regulation of the atmospheric temperatures in any part of the world: "without the ocean, the Earth would be unbearably hot during the daylight hours and frigidly cold, if not frozen, at night".
2. Waste treatment and disease regulation
This service offered by marine ecosystem is the treatment of wastes, thus helping in the regulation of diseases. Wastes can be diluted and detoxified through transport across marine ecosystems; pollutants are removed from the environment and stored, buried or recycled in marine ecosystems: "Marine ecosystems break down organic waste through microbial communities that filter water, reduce/limit the effects of eutrophication, and break down toxic hydrocarbons into their basic components such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, phosphorus, and water".The fact that waste is diluted with large volumes of water and moves with water currents leads to the regulation of diseases and the reduction of toxics in seafood.
3. Pharmaceuticals, biochemicals, and industrial products
Biochemical resources are compounds extracted from marine organisms for use in medicines, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and other biochemical products. Genetic resources are the genetic information found in marine organisms that would later on be used for animal and plant breeding and for technological advances in the biological field. These resources are either directly taken out from an organism – such as fish oil as a source of omega3 –, or used as a model for innovative man-made products: "such as the construction of fiber optics technology based on the properties of sponges. Compared to terrestrial products, marine-sourced products tend to be more highly bioactive, likely due to the fact that marine organisms have to retain their potency despite being diluted in the surrounding sea-water".
4. Cultural, intellectual and spiritual inspiration
Marine environments have been used by many as an inspiration for their works of art, music, architecture, traditions. Water environments are spiritually important as a lot of people view them as a means for rejuvenation and change of perspective. Many also consider the water as being a part of their personality, especially if they have lived near it since they were kids: they associate it to fond memories and past experiences. Living near water bodies for a long time results in a certain set of water activities that become a ritual in the lives of people and of the culture in the region
5. Nutrient dispersal and cycling
"Nutrient cycling refers to the storage, cycling, and maintenance of nutrients by organisms and their associated processes". The ocean is a vast storage pool for these nutrients, such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. The nutrients are absorbed by the basic organisms of the marine food web and are thus transferred from one organism to the other and from one ecosystem to the other. Nutrients are recycled through the life cycle of organisms as they die and decompose, releasing the nutrients into the neighboring environment. "The service of nutrient cycling eventually impacts all other ecosystem services as all living things require a constant supply of nutrients to survive".
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