Sustainability Freshman Inquiry Jan. 13, 2010 Jeff Fletcher

Logistics Service experiences –MLK service day a great opportunity to get involved and get extra credit (Register Here)MLK service day Register Here Meet 8am for transportation to Concordia. –Ideas and/or preferences for class service project (Recyclemania?) Attending outside events for Extra Credit –See EcoWiki events calendar –Community Outreach of Our United Villages: Strengthening the Social Vitality of Communities Friday at 1pm at the School of Social Work 6th Floor Academic and Student Recreation Center, Room 660. (Flyer) 1 on 1 meetings; be sure you know your time –I’m use to clutter so don’t worry –Can meet in 3 rd floor lobby if you prefer not to meet in your room Read Kolbert Chapters 3 & 4 (Quiz on Wednesday?) –Reading for Monday after next (MLK holiday): Kolbert Chapters 5, 6, & 7 (p ) Mentor Session Today –Strategies for doing Carbon Footprint Assignment –How to do citations Can we put up Sustainability Autobiography “maps”?

Follow-Up Kolbert Ch. 1&2 Lag between Scientific understanding and public understanding (p. 10) Permafrost lets more plants grow—isn’t that a good thing to fight CO 2 increases? (p. 22) Expedition to get stuck in the ice (p. 24) Climate Models (p. 33) –NetLogo model of Climate Change Greenhouse gas effect natural (essential) (p. 38)

Plan Discuss Systems and Systems Science Identify Key Systems Ideas –Use examples from Earth Systems –Focus today on natural physical systems rather than social systems –Other systems ideas are more relevant to social systems (later this term)

Justification Sustainability involves complex and interrelated issues –e.g., Climate change involves multiple complex systems (both natural and social) –e.g., Population control involves multiple complex systems (both natural and social) So what do we know about systems that might give us a framework for more effectively addressing Sustainability?

What is a System? Consider an ecosystem and economic system: what is similar? Why are they both called systems? Why might it be useful to focus on their similar “system-ness” rather than on their uniqueness?

Systems Comprised of: –Elements Ecosystem and Economic system examples? –Interactions or relations Ecosystem and Economic system examples? A common relation between systems is hierarchical –subsystems, supra-systems –Consider some earth systemsearth systems Other ideas –order vs. disorder, order is constraint on relations relations describe structure vs. total disorder (entropy) –system and environment boundaries define systems

What is Systems Science? Consider flocking birds, schooling fish, a group of friends walking together –ornithologist, ichthyologist, sociologist Mario Bunge “Stuff-free science” How is knowledge normally grouped at a University? –System Science not as abstract as math and philosophy –But more abstract (general) than individual disciplines Systems Science emphasizes theories that cut across disciplines –Game Theory, Evolution Theory, Information Theory, Network Theory, Chaos Theory, Complexity Theory, etc Interested in addressing real-world, complicated problems, from a multidisciplinary perspective

Key Ideas About Systems What makes a system? –Elements and Relations –order vs. disorder –system vs. environment Systems States and Dynamics –Equilibria, Stability Positive and Negative Feedbacks –Non-linear dynamics Chaos Theory, Catastrophe Theory –Emergence –Structure Open vs. Closed Matter, Energy, Information

Systems can be in different states For instance, temperature or composition of atmospheric system How systems change states over time is called dynamics Equilibria –Stable vs. UnstableStable vs. Unstable –Static vs. Dynamic –Positive and Negative Feedbacks (aphids)aphids Exponential growth example of + feedback Homeostasis example of - feedback

Complex Systems Yield Surprises Most models of systems are linear –Change in state predicted to be proportional to change in inputs Most real and complex systems are non-linear –Systems with feedback are often unpredictable –Small causes can have big effects Butterfly effect from Chaos theoryButterfly effect Catastrophe theory: state is not reversible by reversing causeCatastrophe theory –Current financial crisis is great example Emergence To be continued next week …