Environmental Studies and Sustainability Lecture Review

Flashcards created from lecture notes covering environmental science principles, earth systems, atmospheric layers, planetary boundaries, history of environmentalism, Indian environmental acts, worldviews, UP state symbols, and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

What principle from the Great Law of the Iroquois guides decision-making in environmental deliberation?

In every deliberation, we must consider our impact on the next seven generations.

What two major historical events triggered rapid global human population growth over the last $100\text{ to }200$ years?

The Agricultural Revolution (transition from hunter-gatherers to farming and village life) and the Industrial Revolution ($1760-1840$, shift to urban life using fossil fuels).

What directive did the Supreme Court of India give to the UGC regarding environmental education?

The Supreme Court directed the UGC to introduce a compulsory six-month core module course in Environmental Studies at every level of college education in India.

What is the definition of a biophysical environment?

A biophysical environment is the combination of all biotic (living organisms like plants, animals, fungi, bacteria) and abiotic (non-living factors like air, water, soil, temperature, humidity, light) factors surrounding an organism.

What are the interior layers of the Geosphere and the crust thickness?

The crust is $0-100\text{ km}$ thick, followed by the Asthenosphere, Mantle ($2900\text{ km}$), liquid Outer core ($5100\text{ km}$), and solid Inner core, with a distance of $6,378\text{ km}$ to the center of Earth at the equator.

According to planetary boundary frameworks, how many planetary boundaries exist and how many have been transgressed as of $2023$?

There are $9$ planetary boundaries in total, and $6$ of them have been transgressed as of $2023$.

What is the distribution of Earth's water across the Hydrosphere?

Oceans contain $97.2\text{ percent}$ of Earth's water. Of the remaining freshwater ($3\text{ percent}$), $2.15\text{ percent}$ is locked in polar ice caps and glaciers, and only $0.65\text{ percent}$ (or roughly $1\text{ percent}$ total available freshwater) exists in groundwater, lakes, rivers, soil moisture, and the atmosphere.

What is the chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere?

Earth's atmosphere consists of roughly $78\text{ percent}$ Nitrogen, $21\text{ percent}$ Oxygen, $0.97\text{ percent}$ Argon, $0.04\text{ percent}$ Carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other gases and water vapor.

What are the vertical layers of Earth's atmosphere and their key boundary heights?

The layers are the Troposphere ($0-12\text{ km}$ at poles, $0-18\text{ km}$ at equator), Stratosphere ($12/18-50\text{ km}$, containing the Ozone layer at $20-30\text{ km}$), Mesosphere ($50-80\text{ km}$), Thermosphere ($80-700\text{ km}$, with the Kármán line at $100\text{ km}$), and Exosphere ($> 700\text{ km}$).

How are bogs and fens differentiated in wetland ecosystems?

A bog (or mire) is an acidic wetland with a $\text{pH} < 7$, whereas a fen is an alkaline wetland with a $\text{pH} > 7$.

Which wetland in India is the largest freshwater lake in Asia and the sole habitat of the dancing deer (Sangai)?

Loktak Lake in Moirang, Manipur, India.

What is the Krummholz zone in an alpine mountain ecosystem?

The zone above the treeline where tree species grow as low, prostrate, or stunted individuals under $2\text{ m}$ tall (also called knieholz or knee timber).

What is the concept of the "Tragedy of the Commons"?

An economic phenomenon where individuals acting in self-interest overexploit or deplete shared, unregulated public resources (commons) at the expense of society as a whole.

Which publication by Rachel Carson in $1962$ alerted the public to the environmental dangers of persistent pesticides like DDT?

Silent Spring.

Which university was the first higher education institution in the United States to offer an Environmental Studies major in $1965$?

Middlebury College.

What is the major timeline of key Environmental Protection Acts enacted in India?

Indian Forest Act ($1927$), Wildlife (Protection) Act ($1972$), Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act ($1974$), Water Cess Act ($1977$), Forest (Conservation) Act ($1980$), Air Act ($1981$), Environment (Protection) Act ($1986$), Noise Pollution Rules ($2000$), and Biological Diversity Act ($2002$).

Why is the Environment (Protection) Act of $1986$ referred to as an "Umbrella Act" in India?

Because it is a broad legislative act that grants central government authority to coordinate activities, implement protection measures, and set standards across various prior specialized acts (such as the Water Act and Air Act).

How do Anthropocentrism, Stewardship, and Ecocentrism differ as environmental worldviews?

Anthropocentrism prioritizes human interests and unlimited economic growth through technology; Stewardship focuses on responsible human management of resources for future generations; and Ecocentrism (Environmental Wisdom) holds that nature has intrinsic value and humans are no more important than any other species on a finite Earth.

What are the official state symbols of Uttar Pradesh for animal, bird, flower, tree, and fish?

State Animal: Swamp Deer / Barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii); State Bird: Sarus Crane (Grus antigone); State Flower: Palash (Butea monosperma); State Tree: Ashok Tree (Saraca asoca); State Fish: Chitala (Chitala chitala).

Why is the swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii) designated as "Barasingha"?

"Barasingha" means "twelve-tined," referring to mature stags having $10\text{ to }14$ antler tines, and occasionally up to $20$.

What is the classic definition of Sustainable Development provided in the $1987$ Brundtland Report (Our Common Future)?

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

How are the pillars of sustainability organized within environmental limits?

Sustainability rests on three core pillars—Economy, Society, and Environment (Profit, People, Planet)—where Economy and Society are constrained within environmental limits. Governance is considered the fourth pillar.

How many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), targets, and unique indicators are defined in the UN $2030$ Agenda?

The UN agenda contains $17$ Goals, $169$ Targets, $234$ unique indicators, and $251$ total indicator list entries.