APES Unit 0: Intro to Environ. Sci.

environmentalism

social movement

environmental science

the sum of all the conditions surrounding us that influence life (determined by biotic and abiotic)

environmental studies

-science
-policy
-economics
-ethics and social justice

what are the 4 big ideas?

1. energy transfer

2. interactions between earth systems

3. interactions between different species and the environment

4. sustainability

energy transfer

-describes how energy moves through earth's systems, from the sun to ecosystems and human activities
-solar energy drives processes like photosynthesis, which transfers energy to plants, then to animals and humans through food chains. -energy also flows via heat (1st and 2nd laws)

interaction between earth systems

-refers to the dynamic interplay among earth's subsystems: atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water), lithosphere (land), and biosphere (living organisms)
-example: volcanic eruptions (lithosphere) release gases affecting climate (atmosphere), which impacts water cycles (hydrosphere) and species survival (biosphere)

interactions between different species and the environment

-encompasses how species, including humans, interact with each other and their surroundings -examples: predator-prey relationships, pollination, and human activities like agriculture or urbanization
-these interactions influence ecosystem balance; for instance, overfishing disrupts marine food webs, while reforestation supports biodiversity

sustainability

FUTURE RESOURCES

triple bottom line

how the government makes decisions
-environment
-economics
-social justice
-(center) sustainability

ecosystem services

life supporting processes and resources provided by the ecosystem

provisioning

provide basic needs for humans

supporting

support provisioning services

cultural

improve lifestyle through the beauty of nature

regulating

keep ecosystems in balance (prevent problems)

tragedy of commons

tendency of a shared, limited resource to become depleted if not regulated

renewable resources

naturally replenishing resources that can be used indefinitely if managed sustainably
- examples: solar energy, and wind energy

somewhat renewable resources

resources that can be renewable under specific conditions, but may become depleted if overused
- examples: trees and fish

nonrenewable resources

finite resources that cannot be replenished on a human timescale once depleted
- examples: fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas), minerals like copper or uranium, and nuclear

externalities

the cost of a product that’s not included in the purchase price

internal cost

included in the price of the product

external cost

not included in the price of the product

environmental indicators

qualitative and quantitative data that indicate the current state of the environment and the services it provides

biodiversity

-total number of different species
-monoculture: only one species of an org./anim.
-decrease in habitat = decrease in B.D.

food production (define the green revolution)

G.R.: all about technology (you need tech to make more food)
-an increase in productivity over the years

human population

-technology causes an increase in the human population
-now we need more food/resources (must be more efficient)
-an increase in waste (losing space to put the waste though)

resource depletion

-land
-air
-water
-developed vs. developing nations

global warming

the average global surface temperature and CO2 concentration in the atmosphere

climate

the long-term pattern of temperature, humidity, wind, precipitation, and atmospheric conditions in a region over time
-this is influenced by latitude, elevation, ocean currents, and atmospheric conditions composition

anthropogenic

“caused by humans”
- describes environmental changes or pollution from human activities
- climate change, defrosting, pollution, burning fossil fuels for electricity

greenhouse effect

the warming of the earth’s surface when certain gases trap heat from the sun (normal warming)

ecological footprint

how much land my life takes up

ecological overshoot

(not sustainable)
- when the ecological footprint is greater than biocapacity

biocapacity

the amount of space in the world

total population

the ecological footprint (only for one country)

per capita

the ecological footprint per person (small average)

ultraviolet light (strongest)

(UVA ,UVB, and UVC)
- this deals with the timing of plants (so they know when to reproduce)
- power solar panels
- UVA = tan or burn
- UVB = cancer
- UVC = blocked (never gets to us)

visible light (medium)

(strong) VIBGYOR (weak) —> green’s reflected
-

infrared (weakest)

-all about heat (keeps us warm)
-part of the greenhouse effect and global warming

(experimental design): question

effect of independent variable on dependent variable

(experimental design): hypothesis

must be directional —> “if” “then”

(experimental design): independent variable

what’s changed or manipulated between groups

(experimental design): dependent variable

the data or outcome that’s collected/measured

(experimental design): graphs

-the dependent variable is on the Y-axis
-the independent variable is on the X-axis