GEO 108 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Carrying Capacity, Anthropocene, Ocean Acidification
16 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
The pb framework is based on critical processes that regulate es (earth systems) functioning. The pb framework identifies levels of anthropogenic perturbations below which the risk of destabilization of the es is likely to remain low a safe operating space . The pb framework aims to help guide human societies away from such a trajectory by defining a safe operating space in which we can continue to develop and thrive. Three of the pbs (climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, and ocean acidification) remain essentially unchanged from the earlier analysis. Two of the pbs climate change and biosphere integrity are recognized as core pbs based on their fundamental importance for the es. The precautionary principle suggests that human societies would be unwise to drive the earth system. It is important that boundaries be established for these processes. We focus on the five pbs that have strong regional operating scales: biosphere integrity, biogeochemical, land-system change, freshwater use, and atmospheric aerosol loading.
