Unisite Subdivision, Del Pilar, City of San Fernando, 2000 Pampanga, Philippines

Course: C-MME3 – Environmental Marketing

Module: C-MME3, Module No.1: Environment and Environmental Science

1.1 The Environment

The Environment

It may be defined as the total of the conditions within which organisms live. It results
from interaction between non-living (abiotic) – physical and chemical – and living (biotic)
components. Interest in the interaction of organisms, including people, with one another and
with their surroundings, was stimulated by the publication of The Origin of Species by
Means of Natural Selection (1859) by Charles Darwin.

'Natural environment' is often used to indicate a situation where there has been little
human interference, and 'modified environment' where there has been a significant
alteration. However, nowadays, little of the world is a wholly natural environment. Many
organisms alter the environment, and the change they cause may be slow or rapid, localized,
or global. (Barrow, 2006)

Structure and Function of the Environment

Barry Commoner was credited as a founder of the modern environmental movement.

He was among the world’s best-known ecologists in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. He was famous
for his public campaigns against nuclear testing, chemical pollution, and environmental decay.
He is best known for his four “laws of ecology."

C-MME3: Environmental Marketing

Page 1 of 9
 Unisite Subdivision, Del Pilar, City of San Fernando, 2000 Pampanga, Philippines

First Law All healthy ecosystems are interconnected and

self-stabilizing: if any part of a natural
Everything is connected to everything ecosystem is damaged or overstressed, it can
else. trigger far broader problems.

Second Law Significant amounts of materials have been extracted from

the Earth, converted into new forms, and discharged into
Everything must go somewhere. the environment. The result too often is the accumulation
of harmful amounts of material in places where they do not
belong.

Sometimes, the notion intended to improve on

Third Law nature holds a significant change in a natural
system or is likely to be detrimental to the
Nature knows best. system.

"In ecology, as in economics, the law is

Fourth Law intended to warn that every gain is won at
some cost. In a way, this ecological law
There is no such thing as free lunch. embodies the previous three laws. Because the
global Ecosystem is a connected whole, in
which nothing can be gained or lost and not
subject to overall improvement, anything
extracted from it by human effort must be
replaced. Payment of this price cannot be
avoided; it can only be delayed. The present
environmental crisis is a warning
that we have delayed nearly too long.”
(Commoner, n.d.)

C-MME3: Environmental Marketing

Page 2 of 9
 Unisite Subdivision, Del Pilar, City of San Fernando, 2000 Pampanga, Philippines

Living organisms, including humans, and non-living elements of the environment

frequently interact in complex ways. And the study of these interactions is more known as
ecology. There are modern definitions of ecology:
 The study of the structure and function of nature;
 The study of interactions between organisms (biotic) and their non-living (abiotic)
environment;
 The science of the relations of organisms to their total environment.

Humans either adapt to or seek to modify their environment to achieve security and
well-being or satisfy greed and cultural goals. In making modifications, people create a
'human environment.'

Salient Points!

Ecological concepts and parameters which are helpful for

Environmental Management:
 Maximum Sustainable Yield: The maximum perpetuity of
a high level of annual or regular periodic output of
renewable resources.
 Carrying Capacity: The maximum number of individuals
that can be supported in a given environment.
 Assimilative Capacity: The inability to deal with outputs
or waste products. The capacity of the environment to
purify pollutants up to a point where the pollutant(s)
hinder or wholly destroy that capacity.

1.2 The Ecosystem

What is an Ecosystem?

An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms and weather
and landscape work together to form a bubble of life. Ecosystems contain biotic or living parts, as well
as abiotic factors or nonliving parts.

Biotic factors Plants, animals, and other organisms.

Abiotic factors Rocks, temperature, and humidity.

Every factor in an ecosystem depends on every other factor, either directly or indirectly. A
change in the temperature of an ecosystem will often affect what plants will grow there, for instance.

C-MME3: Environmental Marketing

Page 3 of 9
 Unisite Subdivision, Del Pilar, City of San Fernando, 2000 Pampanga, Philippines

Animals that depend on plants for food and shelter will have to adapt to the changes, move to another
ecosystem, or perish.

Salient Points!

 An ecosystem consists of a community of organisms together

with their physical environment.
 Ecosystems can be of different sizes and can be marine,
aquatic, or terrestrial. Broad categories of terrestrial
ecosystems are called biomes.
 In ecosystems, both matter and energy are conserved. Energy
flows through the system – usually from light to heat – while
the matter is recycled.
 Ecosystems with higher biodiversity tend to be more stable
with more excellent resistance and resilience in the face of
disturbances, disruptive events. (Khan Academy, 2020)

Types of Ecosystem
Marine ecosystems Ocean ecosystems are most common on Earth, like oceans and living
organisms. They contain over 75% of the Earth's surface.
Freshwater ecosystems Are the rarest, covering only 1.8% of the Earth’s surface
Terrestrial ecosystems Land, covering the remainder of the Earth. It can be further grouped
into broad categories called biomes, based mainly on climate.
 Tundra is a treeless region found in the Arctic.
 Taigas are also known as coniferous forests.
 Temperate deciduous forests are most notable because
they go through four seasons.
 The tropical rainforest is hot, moist biome found near the
Earth’s equator.
 Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is primarily
grasses.
 Deserts are barren areas of the landscape where little
precipitation occurs.

1.3 How Stable is the Ecosystem?

Matter is Recycled

According to Khan Academy (2020), the matter is recycled through Earth's ecosystems –
though it may move from one Ecosystem to another as it does when nutrients are washed away into a
river. The same atoms are used repeatedly, assembled into different chemical forms, and incorporated
into the bodies of different organisms.

As an example, let us see how chemical nutrients move through a terrestrial ecosystem. A land
plant takes in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and other nutrients, such as nitrogen and

C-MME3: Environmental Marketing

Page 4 of 9
 Unisite Subdivision, Del Pilar, City of San Fernando, 2000 Pampanga, Philippines

phosphorus, from the soil to build the molecules that make up its cells. When an animal eats the plant,
it uses the plant's molecules for energy and as a building material for its cells, often rearranging atoms,
and molecules into new forms.

When plants and animals carry out cellular respiration – break down molecules as fuel –
carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Similarly, when they excrete waste or die, their
chemical compounds are used for energy and building material by bacteria and fungi. These
decomposers release simple molecules back into the soil and atmosphere, where they can be taken up
a new into the next round of the cycle. (Khan Academy, 2020)

Energy Flow is One-Way

Energy, unlike matter, cannot be recycled in ecosystems. Instead, energy flow through an
ecosystem is a one-way street – generally, from light to heat.

Energy usually enters ecosystems as sunlight and is captured in chemical form by

photosynthesizes like plants and algae. The energy is then passed through the Ecosystem, changing
forms as organisms metabolize, produce waste, eat one another, and eventually die and decompose.

Each time energy changes form, some of it is converted to heat. Heat still counts as energy –
and thus, no energy has been destroyed – but it generally can't be used as an energy source by living
organisms. Ultimately, the energy that entered the Ecosystem as sunlight is dissipated as heat and
radiated back into space.

This one-way flow of energy through ecosystems means that every Ecosystem needs a constant
energy supply, usually from the sun, to function. Energy can be passed between organisms, but it
cannot be recycled because it is lost as heat in each transfer. (Khan Academy, 2020)

Stability and Dynamics of Ecosystems

Definition of Stability
 Lack of change in the structure of an ecosystem.
 Resistance to perturbations.
 A speedy return to steady-state after disturbance.

Ecosystems are dynamic systems. Natural ecosystems are rarely static. As mentioned above,
energy is constantly flowing through an ecosystem, and chemical nutrients are continually being
recycled. At higher levels of the organization, organisms are dying and being born, populations are
fluctuating in their numbers, and climate patterns vary seasonally and in less predictable ways.

Equilibrium is the steady-state of an ecosystem, in which its composition and identity remain
generally constant despite fluctuations in physical conditions and the makeup of the biotic community.
Ecosystems may be knocked out of equilibrium by disturbances, disruptive events that affect their
composition.

C-MME3: Environmental Marketing

Page 5 of 9
 Unisite Subdivision, Del Pilar, City of San Fernando, 2000 Pampanga, Philippines

Some disturbances are a result of natural processes. For example, fire is a disturbance caused
by lightning in a prairie or forest ecosystem. Other disturbances are the result of human activities.
examples include acid rainfall, deforestation, algal blooms, and the introduction of invasive species.
(Khan Academy, 2020)

Resistance and Resilience

Ecologists sometimes use two-parameter to describe how an ecosystem responds to

disturbance. These parameters are resistance and resilience.

 Resistance is the ability of an ecosystem to remain at equilibrium despite disturbances.

 Resilience is how readily an ecosystem returns to equilibrium after being disturbed.

1.4 The Environmental Limits

Environmental limits can be defined as the point beyond which the environment exceeds its
ability to provide essential resources. These needs lead to the depletion of natural resources, the
destruction of ecosystems, and increased pollution, making it harder to achieve environmental
sustainability. (Study.com, 2020)

Resources

Resources may be grouped as:

Non-renewable Finite or exhaustible and can be used only once.

Renewable If well managed and there is no natural disaster, these can be used
indefinitely.
Inexhaustible Resources such as sunlight, gravity, wind power, and wave power are
virtually impossible to damage or over-exploit.

Von Liebig’s Law of the Minimum states that whichever resource or factor necessary for
survival is in short supply is the critical or limiting one that restricts population growth (e.g., water,
space, nutrients). Liebig's law recognizes critical resources limiting ecosystem function and the
survival of organisms. When dealing with human development, recognizing essential resources and
critical thresholds can be difficult due to the 'interface' of technology, culture, and trade.

Part of the role of environmental management should be to exercise sound stewardship over
natural, human, and economic resources.

C-MME3: Environmental Marketing

Page 6 of 9
 Unisite Subdivision, Del Pilar, City of San Fernando, 2000 Pampanga, Philippines

1.5 The Environmental Crisis

The table will give you a better insight into the relationship of the environment to population, poverty,
and economic growth.

Population, Resources,  We may reach a limit to the number of people whose needs
and the environment can be met by the Earth's finite resources.
 Accelerating environmental degradation would severely
compromise the ability of present and future generations
to meet their needs.
 The rate and timing of fertility declines, and thus the
eventual size of the world population, will largely depend
on governments' commitment to creating economic and
institutional conditions that are conducive to limiting
fertility.
Poverty and the  The poor are usually the primary victims of environmental
environment degradation.
 The poor suffer more from environmental decay because
they must often live on degraded lands that are less
expensive. After all, the rich avoid them.
 Too often, again, high fertility is blamed for problems that
are attributed to poverty itself.
Growth versus the  Evidence indicates that the very poor cause considerable
environment environmental destruction as a direct result of their
poverty.
 It follows that increasing the economic status of the most
disadvantaged group would provide an environmental
windfall.
 However, as everyone else's income and consumption
levels in the economy also rise, there is likely to be a net
increase in environmental destruction.

C-MME3: Environmental Marketing

Page 7 of 9
 Unisite Subdivision, Del Pilar, City of San Fernando, 2000 Pampanga, Philippines

References

(2020, June 12). Retrieved from National Geographic:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/green-lifestyle-quiz/

(2020, June 13). Retrieved from Khan Academy:

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/ecology/intro-to-ecosystems/a/what-is-an-
ecosystem

(2020, June 13). Retrieved from National Geographic:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/tundra-biome/

Barrow, C. (2006). Environmental Management for Sustainable Development. Routledge Taylor &
Francis Group

C-MME3: Environmental Marketing

Page 8 of 9
 Unisite Subdivision, Del Pilar, City of San Fernando, 2000 Pampanga, Philippines

C-MME3: Environmental Marketing

Page 9 of 9