SOS 100 Unit 2

Sustainable

Capable of being continued indefinately

Economics

The social social science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services

ecosystem services

essential ecological processes that make life on earth possible

ecological footprint

the land needed to provide the resources and assimilate the waste of a person or population

natural capital

the wealth of resources on earth

Natural interest

Readily produced resources that we could use and still leave enough natural capital behind to replace what we took

IPAT model

An equation (I\=PxAxT) that measures human impact (I), based on three factors: population (P), affluence (A), and technology (T).

internal cost

A cost-such as for raw materials, manufacturing costs, labor, taxes, utilities, insurance, or rent-that is accounted for when a product or service is evaluated for pricing

external costs

A cost associated with a product or service that is not taken into account when a price is assigned to that product or service but rather is passed on to a third party who does not benefit from the transaction

triple bottom line

the combination of the environmental, social, and economic impacts of our choices

true cost

the sum of both external and internal costs of a good or service

ecological economics

New theory of economics that considers the long-term impact of our choices on people and the environment

Closed-Loop System

A production system in which the product is returned to the resource stream when consumers are finished with it or is disposed of in such a way that a nature can decompose it

cradle to cradle

management of a resource that considers the impact of its use at every stage of the process, from raw material extraction to final disposal or recycling

discounting future value

giving more weight to short-term benefits and costs than to long-term ones

sustainable development

Economic and social development that meets present needs without preventing future generations from meeting their needs

green business

doing business in a way that is good for people and the environment

service economy

A business model whose focus is on leasing and caring for a product in the customer's possessions rather than on selling the product itself (that is, selling the service that the product provides)

Ecolabeling

Providing information about how a product is made and where it comes from. Allows consumers to make more sustainable choices and support sustainable products and the businesses that produce them

Waste

Any material that humans discard as unwanted

biodegradable

Capable of being broken down by living organisms

nondegradable

incapable of being broken down under normal conditions

municipal solid waste (MSW)

Everyday garbage or trash (solid waste) produced by individuals or small businesses.

open dumps

places where trash, both hazardous and nonhazardous, is simply piled up

Leachate

Water that carries dissolved substances (often contaminated) that can percolate through soil.

sanitary landfills

disposal sites that seal in trash at the top and bottom to prevent its release into the atmosphere; the sites are lined on the bottom, and trash is dumped in and covered with soil daily

incinerators

facilities that burn trash at high temperatures

hazardous waste

waste that is toxic, flammable, corrosive, explosive, or radioactive

e-waste

unwanted computers and other electronic devices such as discarded televisions and cell phones

Composting

Allowing waste to biologically decompose in the presence of oxygen and water, producing a soil-like mulch

Eco-industrial parks

Industrial parks in which industries are physically positioned near each other for "waste-too-feed" exchanges; the waste of one becomes the raw material for another

Refuse

The first of the waste reduction four Rs. Choose not to use or buy a product if you can do without it

Reduce

The second of the waste reduction Rs. Make choices that allow you to use less of a resource by, for instance, purchasing durable goods that will last or can be repaired

Reuse

The third of the waste reduction Rs. Use a product more than once for its original purpose or for another purpose

Recycle

The fourth waste reduction Rs. Return items for reprocessing into new products

Species

A group of plants or animals that have a high degree of similarity and can generally only interbreed among themselves

Biosphere

The sum total of all of Earth's ecosystems.

Ecosystem

All of the organisms in a given area plus the physical environment in which, and with which they interact

Habitat

The physical environment in which individuals of a particular species can be found

Community

All the populations (plants, animals, and other species) living and interacting in an area

Population

All the individuals of a species that live in the same geographic area and are able to interact and interbreed

Niche

The role a species plays in its community, including how it gets its energy and nutrients, what habitat requirements it has, and what other species and parts of the ecosystem it interacts with

energy flow

the one-way passage of energy through an ecosystem

nutrient cycles

movement of life's essential chemicals or nutrients through an ecosystem

Biome

One of many distinctive types of ecosystems determined by climate and identified by the predominant vegetation and organisms that have adapted to live there

limiting factor

The critical resource whose supply determines the population size of a given species in a given ecosystem

range of tolerance

The range, within upper and lower limits, of a limiting factor that allows a species to survive and reproduce

Biotic

The living (organic) components of an ecosystem, such as the plants and animals and their waste (dead leaves, feces)

Abiotic

The nonliving components of an ecosystem, such as rainfall, and mineral composition of the soil

reservoirs (or sinks)

abiotic or biotic component of the environment that serves as a storage place for cycling nutrients

Producer

An organism that converts solar energy to chemical energy via photosynthesis

Consumer

An organism that obtains energy and nutrients by feeding on other organisms

cellular respiration

The process in which all organisms break down sugar to release its energy, using oxygen and giving off CO2 as a waste product

carbon cycle

Movement of carbon through biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem. Carbon cycles via photosynthesis and cellular respiration as well as in and out of other reservoirs, such as oceans, soil, rock, and atmosphere. It is also released by human actions such as the burning of fossil fuels

nitrogen cycle

a continuous series of natural processes by which nitrogen passes successively from air to soil, to organisms, and then returns back to the air or soil

nitrogen fixation

Conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into a biologically usable form, carried out by bacteria found in soil or via lightning

phosphorus cycle

A series of natural processes by which the nutrient phosphorus moves from rock to soil or water, to living organisms, and back to soil

population dynamics

changes over time in population size and composition

minimum viable population

The smallest number of individuals that would still allow a population to be able to persist or grow, ensuring long term survival

population density

the number of individuals per unit area

population distribution

the location and spacing of individuals within their range

clumped distribution

a distribution in which individuals are found in groups or patches within the habitat

random distribution

A distribution in which individuals are spread out over the environment irregularly, with no discernable pattern

uniform distribution

A distribution in which individuals are spaced evenly, perhaps due to territorial behavior or mechanisms for suppressing the growth of nearby individuals

population growth rate

The change in population size over time that takes into account the number of births and deaths as well as immigration and emigration numbers

growth factor

Resources individuals need to survive and reproduce that allow a population to grow in number

resistance factors

things that directly (predators, disease) or indirectly (competitors) reduce population size

biotic potential (r)

The maximum rate at which the population can grow due to births if each member of the population survives and reproduces

exponential growth

The kind of growth in which a population becomes progressively larger each breeding cycle; produces a J curve when plotted over time

logistic growth

The kind of growth in which population size increases rapidly at first but then slows down as the population becomes larger; produces as S curve when plotted over time

carrying capacity (K)

Maximum population size that a particular environment can support indefinitely

density-dependent factors

Factors, such as predation or disease, whose impact on a population increases as population size goes up

density-independent factors

Factors, such as a storm or an avalanche, whose impact on a population is not related to population size

Life-history strategy

Biological characteristics of a species (life span, fecundity, maturity rate) that influence how quickly a population can potentially increase in number

r-selected species

species that have a high biotic potential and share other characteristics, such as short life span, early maturity, and high fecundity

K-selected species

Species that have a low biotic potential and that share characteristics such as long life span, late maturity, and low fecundity; generally show logistic population growth

boom-and-bust cycles

Fluctuations in population size that produce a very large population followed by a crash that lowers the population size drastically, followed again by an increase to a large size and a subsequent crash

top-down regulation

The control of a population size by factors that reduce population size (resistance factors) such as predation, competition, or disease

bottom-up regulation

The control of population size by factors that enhance growth and survival (growth factors) such as nutrients, water, sunlight, and habitat

community ecology

the study of all the populations (plants, animals and other species) living and interacting in an area

Ecosystems

All the organisms in a given area plus the physical environment in which they interact

indicator species

A species that is particularly vulnerable to ecosystem perturbations, and that, when we monitor it, can give us advance warning of a problem

food chain

a simple, linear path starting with a plant (or other photosynthetic organism) that identifies what each organism in the path eats

food web

a linkage of all the food chains together that shows the many connections in the community

trophic levels

feeding levels in a food chain

Detritivores

Consumers (including worms, insects, crabs, etc) that eat dead organic material

Decomposers

Organisms such as bacteria and fungi that break organic matter all the way down to constituent atoms or molecules in a form that plants can take back up

gross primary productivity

A measure of the total amount of energy captured via photosynthesis and transferred to organic molecules in an ecosystem

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

A measure of the amount of energy captured via photosynthesis and stored in a photosynthetic organism

Resilience

The ability of an ecosystem to recover when it is damaged or perturbed

species diversity

The variety of species in an area; includes measures of species richness and evenness

species richness

the total number of different species in a community

species evenness

the relative abundance of each species in a community

Ecotones

Regions of distinctly different physical areas that serve as boundaries between different communities

edge effects

The different physical makeup of an ecotone that creates different conditions that either attract or repel certain species (e.g., it is drier, warmer and more open at the edge of a forest and field than it is further in the forest)

edge species

species that prefer to live close to the edges of two different habitats (ecotone areas)

core species

species that prefer core areas of a habitat- areas deep within the habitat, away from the edge

keystone species

A species that impacts its community more than its mere abundance would predict, often altering ecosystem structure

Predation

Species interaction in which one individual (the predator) feeds on another (the prey)

competition

species interaction in which individuals are vying for limited resources