Title: Unit 4 Environmental Science VAEE Revision Lecture 2 Applied Environmental Science Monday October 14
1Unit 4 Environmental Science VAEE Revision
Lecture 2Applied Environmental Science Monday
October 14 thMelbourne University
- Peter Hamilton
- Sandringham College
2Applied Environmental Science
- ecologically sustainable development and
environmental management - environmental management tools and strategies
including - Environmental Management Systems
- Waste Minimisation,
- Life Cycle Analysis,
- Environmental Impact Assessment,
- Environmental Risk Assessment
- application of environmental management tools
and strategies to ensure ecological
sustainability of the environment and the
enhancement of environmental health
3 assessment of the environmental impacts and
environmental risks associated with one selected
environmental science project influence and
consequences of regulatory frameworks roles of
the community/media/environmental interest
groups/non-government/government agencies in
encouraging responsible environmental practices.
4Ecologically Sustainable Development. ESD
- Development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.
- This and the many other definitions of
sustainable development recognise that we need to
link development and protection of the
environment in order to protect and manage
ecosystems and natural resources which are
essential for fulfilling basic human needs and
improving living standards for all.
5Paradigm Shift
6Environmental Sustainability
- " recognises that environmental outcomes might be
achieved by actions other than "development". - and that environmental outcomes or objectives
cannot be considered in isolation of other
drivers or needs of the community. - Triple bottom line" simultaneous accounting of
- environmental,
- financial and
- social factors and objectives
- has emerged to reflect the multiple objective
nature of sustainability.
7Triple Bottom Line
8Precautionary principle
- Where there are threats of serious or
irreversible environmental damage, lack of full
scientific certainty should not be used as a
reason for postponing measures to prevent
environmental degradation. - In the application of the Precautionary
Principle, public and private decisions should be
guided by - careful evaluation to avoid, wherever
practicable, serious or irreversible damage to
the environment and - an assessment of the risk-weighted consequences
of various options."
9Inter-generational equity.
- The present generation should ensure that the
health, diversity and productivity of the
environment is maintained or enhanced for the
benefit of future generations.
10Global Scale - United Nations Agenda 21
- At the Rio De Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992 the
United Nations developed a global action plan for
sustainable development.
- 179 countries agreed to a blueprint on how to
make the future development of our world
economically, socially and environmentally sound
and sustainable. - Agenda 21 sets out actions that nations,
communities and international organisations can
all take to contribute to the goal of global
sustainability in the twenty-first century.
11Agenda 21 resulted in agreement to
- A declaration on the principles of sustainable
development The Rio Declaration - Global conventions
- Climate Change
- Conservation of Biological Diversity
- Global Plan of Action
- Land Based Sources of Marine Pollution
12National Strategy for Ecological Sustainable
Development
- Australias National Strategy for Ecological
Sustainable Development provides a national
framework for the implementation of Agenda 21.
13Australias National Strategy for ESD (1992)
resulted in the production of a range of
stategies and policies including
- National Greenhouse Strategy
- Waste Management Strategy
- Forests
- Biodiversity
- Commonwealth Oceans Policy
- National Water Quality Management Strategy
- National Environment Protection Council
- National Environment Protection Measure Air
Quality - National Packaging Covenant
14Victorian State Government Strategy a series
of statutory and non-statutory tools and programs
that implement the National Strategy
- Victorian Biodiversity Strategy
- Victorian Coastal Strategy
- Victorian Planning Policy
- Catchment Management Authorities
- Regional Catchment Strategy
- Victorian Greenhouse Strategy
- State Environment Protection Policy SEPPs
- Air
- Water
- Noise
- Landfill
- Air Quality Improvement Plan
15State Environmental Protection Policy- SEPPs
- Express in law the communities expectations,
needs and priorities for using and protecting the
environment. - SEPPs establish
- Uses and values of the environment that the
community wants to protect. - Environmental quality objectives.
- Actions and controls and programs to achieve
these objectives.
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17Local scale Local Agenda 21
- An international program that provides a
framework for developing local solutions to broad
environmental issues. - It embodies the concept of
- think global act local
- and provides a basic roadmap for Local
Governments, regional organisations and
communities to promote and implement ecologically
sustainable development at a local level.
18- The framework outlined has four key elements
- Environmental policy that sets the direction and
goals for environmental sustainability. - Systematic identification and description of
environmental outcomes across the spectrum of
environmental issues. - Systematic environmental management arrangements
(eg Environmental Management Systems) that
respond to particular issues in order to meet the
environmental outcomes. - Monitoring, assessment and reporting systems (eg
State of Environment Reporting) that provide
performance analysis and feedback.
19Environmental Management Tools
Oh Brad, We must do something before its too
late!
20Environmental Management System
- An Environmental Management System is a
management system that is - based on environmental criteria, standards and
performance. - aimed at continual environmental improvement
performance and ecological sustainable
development.
21Environmental Management Systems
- The principles of EMS
- Environment policy
- Implementation
- Environment audit
- Review and improvement
- EMS ensure
- environmental and safety risks are identified,
- progress is made towards reducing risks,
- a process is in place to ensure that procedures
are monitored and reviewed. - The basic framework of EMS is a risk management
tool based on - Risk Identification
- Risk Assessment and
- Risk Control
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23ISO14001International Standards Organisation
- Certification of EMS is based on
- the standard requirements set by AS/NZS ISO 14001.
- A standard developed by the ISO for
Environmental Management Systems which aims to be
flexible enough to apply in all organisations and
regions despite variations in organisational
structure and regional considerations.
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25To be awarded ISO14001 Certification
organisations must demonstrate
- A commitment to comply with all legislative
requirements. - A defined and documented corporate environment
policy. - Commitment to continual environmental
improvement. - A management representative with responsibility
for implementing and maintaining the system. - Specification of environmental objectives at all
levels within an organisation.
26ISO14001 Key elements cont
- Monitoring of compliance with requirements and
achievement of objectives. - Procedure for corrective action and dealing with
emergencies. - Establishment of an environmental management
program. - Designation of responsibilities.
- Means and time frames.
- Employee awareness and training.
- Establishment and maintenance of an audit program.
27Waste Minimisation
- Involves the minimisation of
- waste generated by a process,
- resources utilised in the production process,
- including raw materials and energy utilised or
degraded in waste disposal, to air, water, soil,
landfill.
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29Life cycle analysis (LCA)
- An analysis of all the environmental impacts of a
product during it's entire life cycle. - aims to quantify the level of energy and raw
materials used as well as the solid, liquid and
gaseous wastes produced at every stage of a
products life or process including - Materials acquisition
- Manufacture
- Use
- Transport
- Disposal
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31Life Cycle Analysis of Glass vs. Polycarbonate
Sidelights on a Motor Vehicle
System Overview
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35Environmental Risk Assessment.
- Provides detail of the potential adverse effects
of substances or activities on humans and the
environment. - Risk assessment integrates
- Toxicological data,
- Human experience,
- Exposure information,
- Fate of a chemical,
- Transportation data,
- Statistics and probability.
36Environmental Risk Assessment
- Steps involved
- Hazard Identification what are the problem
chemicals and what problems might they cause. - Exposure Assessment how long will the exposure
occur, what dosage will be received. - Risk Estimation what is the probability of the
chemicals causing harm, is the risk acceptable. - Risk Management and Prevention plans to manage
or remove the risks identified. - Risk Communication Communication of the
issues to stakeholders and community. - Collection and monitoring of relevant data
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42Risk Management
- involves the intelligent anticipation of events
that could have harmful consequences and the
adoption of courses of action aimed at either
stopping the feared events or minimising their
impact. - Includes strategies to
- Prohibit the use of a potentially damaging
process/object/substance. - Regulating or modifying activities.
- Reducing the vulnerability of those threatened.
- Regular ongoing monitoring of environmental
impacts. - Development and implementation of post -event
emergency response procedures. - Institution of compensation schemes.
43ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTEIA(National)/
EES (Victoria)
- A decision making tool required which determines
the environmental effects of a construction or
project prior to it's implementation.
44ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT
-
- Matters of national environmental significance
are subject to a rigorous assessment and approval
process. - The Commonwealth tool for an EIA is the
Environment (Protection) Impact of Proposals Act
1974. - The object of the Act is to ensure, to the
greatest extent that is practicable, that matters
affecting the environment to a significant extent
are fully examined and taken into account in
relation to Commonwealth actions and decisions.
45- Description of the proposed action and
alternatives. - Prediction of the nature and magnitude of the
likely environmental changes. - Identification of the relevant human concerns and
social impacts. - Definition of criteria to be used in measuring
the significance of environmental changes,
including relative weightings given to different
changes. - Estimation of the significance of predicted
environmental changes , and recommendations
regarding acceptance or rejection of the project. - Description of mitigation measures to be adopted.
- Recommending monitoring procedures to be
followed after the action is completed. - Evaluation of the implementations of not
proceeding with the project