The Planetary Boundaries framework, first published by the Stockholm Resilience Centre in 2009, is a great example of using systems thinking to understand sustainability issues. The framework describes nine Earth system processes─biosphere integrity, climate change, novel entities, aerosols, stratospheric ozone, ocean acidification, fresh water, land use, and biogeochemical flows ─that collectively quantitatively assess the state of the Earth system with respect to human development. The changes over time to each Earth system process in the Planetary Boundaries framework are monitored by one or more control variables that are thought to be representative of the processes of change in that Earth system process as a whole. The Planetary Boundaries framework also illustrates the interconnectedness of the Earth system as a whole, making it a valuable demonstration of and a learning resource for systems thinking. Two Earth system processes, biosphere integrity and climate change, are core Earth system processes that operate at the scale of the whole system, and are closely linked to all of the other Earth system processes, showing clearly the interconnectedness of the Earth system. For example, increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to increased ocean acidification, while changes in land cover, water use, and biogeochemical flows all affect feedback between the climate and the world’s living ecosystems.
KCVS Planetary boundaries interactive electronic learning tool. In collaboration with Sarah Cornell from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the King’s Centre for Visualization in Science (KCVS) has developed an interactive resource based on the Planetary Boundaries framework. The main view of the applet presents the Earth system as a collection of wedges representing the nine Earth system processes and gives information on their control variables, their change over time, and their current state of risk.
In the “connections” view of the interactive learning tool, users can explore a network diagram that uses force-directed graphs to visualize the web of Earth system process connections and to describe some key ways in which the other Earth system processes interact with a selected process. In this view, the nine Earth system processes (i.e., the system’s components) are shown as elliptical markers, with lines drawn between them to represent important connections. When an Earth system process is selected, it moves to the center of the display, and descriptions appear on each connection; clicking on a description brings up more detail.
The third view of the interactive Planetary Boundaries learning tool is the web of chemistry curriculum connections. The curriculum view also uses a force-directed graph to help chemistry educators and students visualize interconnections among selected chemistry curriculum topics, aspects of Earth system processes, and sustainability considerations. An ongoing project by a working group of the IUPAC STCS-2030+ task force is mapping chemistry curriculum topics to each of the Earth system processes in the framework. The curriculum web view currently published online is a preliminary version showing only a few of the many connections, and it will be updated online as the IUPAC task force continues its work.
The preferred starting point for many educators will be with the list of chemistry topics they teach, and the web of curriculum connections can help an educator identify one or several entry points to integrating sustainability considerations into a course without feeling the need to redesign an entire course. KCVS and the IUPAC project group are working to develop a set of educator resources for classroom use to explore more deeply the connections between select curriculum topics and Earth system processes.
