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The Environment: A choice amongst values?

A value is something that has a significant meaning to a person.
Ex: I value Music
We take care of something we value. Thus, if we really value the
environment, we should take care of it.
A core question is whether the ends justify the means. In other words, is
the important thing the action itself, or the consequences of the action?
This is all a matter of opinion.

The Environment and our relationship to it – Ethics:

Egocentric Approach
Anthropocentric Approach
Biocentric Approach
Ecocentric Approach

Egocentric Approach
Human ego is the most important.
No matter how nature is being harmed, the only entity that should
be protected is always the human being.
Egoistical behaviour
Sees nature as a resource to be used limitlessly by humans.

Anthropocentric Approach
This approach accepts that nature must be protected because we need it
to be able to survive

Biocentric Approach
All biotic species enjoy equal status.
Human beings are by no means superior.
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Ecocentric Approach
An ecocentric perspective is one that holds that the biodiversity and
habitats of the Earth (including its climate, water, soil, and all life forms)
have inherent importance in the sense of environmental ethics, implying
that they should be preserved and respected even though human beings
do not use them as commodities.

Environmental Racism
Environmental racism is a type of discrimination where people of low-
income or minority communities are forced to live with a thirst for
resources (ex: dumping of e-waste = electronical waste, breathing in
polluted air etc.)

I’m
confused

Environmental racism is when people do not have power and are living a
harder life than others because of pollution or environmental
issues that they have no control over.
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Environmental vs. Economical values

We give something an Environmental value by considering how it
may sustain the environment.
We give something an Economical value by considering how this
will impact the economy.

Responsibilities: Environmental, social and economic

Respect the environment, making rational use of natural
resources and taking steps to prevent pollution from the
different processes involved in our industrial operations.
Promote the sustainable use of raw materials and natural
resources.
Humans beings are responsible for many aspects. As a
society we must take care of others, the environment and
the economy. For example, one must make sure to be
careful of what he says to others and the way he treats
them. One must also take care of the environment by for
example, recycling. It is our right to enjoy a clean, safe
space but it is also our duty to take care of everything and
anything that is around us.

Tragedy of the commons

The tragedy of the commons is a situation in a shared-

resource system where individual users, acting
independently according to their own self-interest, behave
contrary to the common good of all users by depleting or
spoiling the shared resource through their collective action.
(Egoistic)

Ecological footprint
It is the amount of environment necessary to produce
goods.
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The Ecological Footprint measures how fast we consume

resources and generate waste compared to how fast nature
can absorb our waste.

Sustainable development
Sustainable development is very important as it entails three core
elements: Economic growth, social inclusion and environmental
protection.
If we do not balance our social, environmental and economic
objectives, then there will be no sustainable development. (Read
more in the book)
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The 9 principles of sustainable Development

1. Respect and care for the community of life.
2. Improve the quality of human life.
3. Consere the Earth’s vitality and diversity.
4. Minimize the depletion of non-renewable sources.
5. Keep within the Earth’s carrying capacity.
6. Change personal attidutes and practices towards the environment.
7. Enable communities to care for their own environments.
8. Provide a national framework for integrating development and
concentration.
9. Create a global alliance.

Sustainable development is the idea that human societies must live and
meet their needs without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs.
Further reading: Systems of knowledge, An interdisplinary approach pages 150 -152

Local Environmental issues

1. Land use
Land use involves the management and modification of natural
environment or wilderness into built environment such as settlements
and semi-natural habitats such as arable fields, pastures, and managed
woods. Land use by humans has a long history, first emerging more than
10 thousand years ago.
An increase in population puts pressure on more land use.
Transport pressures

2. Air Quality
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The main contributors to air pollution in Malta are energy generation

(gas) and the use of private transport instead of public transport.
Recent studies show that on average in Malta more than 500 people die
prematurely every year due to air pollution alone.

3. Fresh water
Natural water resources in Malta are very limited.
The two major sources of fresh water are aquifers and desalinated
water.
4. Marine Pollution
In Malta’s case, given that the island’s marine area within its territorial
waters is 14 times as large as its terrestrial space and already suffers on
its eastern shores from fairly heavy pollution, it is in our self-interest to
ensure that controls on plastic pollution are strenuously encouraged.

5. Waste management
Nowadays in Malta, instead of just the black bag, households are
responsible of separating food waste, recyclabe waste and general
waste.

Urbanization
Urbanization refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the
decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways
in which societies adapt to this change.
Urban development can magnify the risk of environmental hazards such
as flash flooding. Pollution and physical barriers to root growth promote
loss of urban tree cover. Animal populations are inhibited by toxic
substances, vehicles, and the loss of habitat and food sources.
Industrialization and urbanization lead to water scarcity. This is because
the modern lifestyle of the urban people has created more demand for
water, both for domestic purposes and increased consumption of
energy.
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Rodents, bats and hedgehogs find it extremely hard due to the loss of
habitat as a result of agriculture, pollution, climate change and the
spread of towns and cities.

Smart Growth
• Smart growth is an approach to development that encourages a mix of
building types and uses, diverse housing and transportation options,
development within existing neighbourhoods, and community
engagement.
• Smart Growth Examples: Create Walkable neighbourhoods and preserve
open spaces.

________________________________________________

Waste
• Waste comes in many different forms. Solid waste is mostly generated in
our homes, factories and industries, schools and other buildings.
• The throw-away culture describes a society where people do not keep
things for a very long time and dispose of said things instead of giving
them away. Ex: Throwing clothes away instead of donating them to
people in need.

Construction waste

• Construction waste: Waste being generated from the construction

industry and includes materials like bricks, concrete, ceramics and tiles.
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• In Malta, construction waste started being diverted from landfills to

unused quarries (barrier).
• Some of the benefits of this practice are: reducing visual pollution and
contributing to the sustainable land-use of our country.

Electronic waste (E-waste)

• Electronic waste, best known as E-waste refers to the disposal of broken
or old electronic components and materials. (Ex: Broken headphones,
old phones, stereos, music players and many more).
• When electronics end up in landfills, toxics like lead, mercury and
cadmium leach into the soil and water, harming the environment in the
process.
• When E-waste is warmed up, toxic chemicals are released into the air
damaging the atmosphere.

The chemicals
in electronics,
when they are
mishandled
during
disposal, are
also harmful
to human
health!
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Plastic waste

• Plastic waste, or plastic pollution, is 'the accumulation of plastic objects

(ex: plastic bottles and much more) in the Earth's environment that
adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, and humans.
• The term ‘plastic soup’ refers to all of the plastic polluting the ocean and
marine life.

Waste as a resource

• Solid waste can be burned to generate energy and ultimately electricity.

• Old clothes can be turned into face masks, especially in the current
situation where we are facing a pandemic.
• Old CD’s can be recycled to create Christmas trees.
• Converting waste into arts and crafts.

Waste Management Hierarchy

• The waste management hierarchy is a concept regarding the waste

management and it acts as a base for developing the various waste
management strategies.
• The purpose of the hierarchy is to generate the maximum amount of
beneficial products from the available wastes.
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_____________________________________

Tourism and its Environmental impact

Tourism
• Tourism is an economic activity.
• The latest figures showed that more than 2.1 million tourists have visited
the Maltese Islands in the first nine months of 2019. That's an increase
of 4.8 per cent over the same period last year.
• Apart from the fact that tourists (when we are not living in a global
pandemic) leave a lot of money behind, their stay also impacts the
environment.
What attracts tourists to Malta?
• Climate
• Our beautiful beaches.
• The fact that it is a safe country and people are free to a certain extent.
• If something was to happen while on holiday, they will be able to receive
medical treatment.
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Environmental impact
The negative environmental impacts of tourism include:

• Depletion of local natural resources.

• Higher demand for electricity - Fossil fuel energy sources, such as coal,
natural gas, and oil are used to meet energy demands for much of the
world. Burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil produces greenhouse
gases that trap solar radiation in the atmosphere and cause climate
change.

Sustainable Tourism
• Sustainable tourism is the tourism that takes full account of its current
and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the
needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.
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Biodiversity
• Biodiversity is a term used to describe the enormous variety of life on
Earth.
• Trees are extremely important as they are the ‘lungs’ of the human
population. They filter carbon dioxide and in turn give us the oxygen we
breathe.
• Species richness (variety of different species) is higher in tropical regions
than it is in temperate or Polar Regions.
• Hot spots usually contain large numbers of plant and animal species, and
they have also been subjected to unusually high levels of habitat
destruction by human activity.

Causes of biodiversity loss

• Human population growth

• Land conversion
• Increase in the production of waste and pollutants
• Climate change
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‘Our common future’ also referred to as the Brundtland report

(1987), IUCN (1991) published ‘caring for the Earth: a strategy
for sustainable living’. This is a summary of the report that
identified 9 principles toward sustainable living.

1. Respect and care for the community of life.

2. Improve the quality of human life.
3. Conserve the Earth’s vitality and diversity.
4. Minimize the depletion of non-renewable resources.
5. Keep within the Earth’s carrying capacity.
6. Change personal attitudes and practices.
7. Enable communities to care for their own environments.
8. Provide a national framework for integrating development and
conservation.
9. Create a global alliance.

Threats to Malta’s biodiversity

Malta’s biodiversity continues to be threatened mainly by:

• Land development – Malta’s land area is subject to strong pressures for

building development, as land is required to provide for housing and
other needs.
• Over-exploitation – The exploitation of wildlife for food, research and
private collection, negatively affects wild populations if uncontrolled.
• Invasive alien species – When introduced outside their natural
environment, they are capable of out-competing native organisms. This
can lead to serious socio-economic impacts. As a result, many native
organism in Malta are decreasing and may go extinct, ex: Maltese
hedgehog.
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Fresh Water and its management

• Fresh water is a vital resource for the function of all terrestrial
ecosystems and humans.
• Fresh water is limited both in quantity and quality. Additionally, it is
under increasing pressure from climate change, overexploitation and
contamination.
• Population growth, economic development, and urbanisation are
putting pressure on the world’s water resources. Thus, a more
sustainable approach to the management of water resources must be
developed.

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End of module J