REM 100 PRE-MIDTERM

What is the definition of global change?

Human induced transformation of the global environment.

Define environment

The complete range of external conditions, physical and biotic, in which an organism lives, including soil, water, climate and food supply. It includes social, cultural, and (for humans) economic and political considerations.

Define institutions

Elemental structures required for the functioning of a society. Institutions embody the particular sets of values, norms and roles that a society believes to be essential for its continued existence.

Give an example of some global issues

Global climate change

Energy crisis

Population explosion

Pollution

Loss of biodiversity

Global inequality

World hunger

Depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer

Provide examples of institutions

Governance, the law, and politics

The rules of economy and work

How education is structured

The role of the arts in society

What are the common characteristics of global issues?

global or large-scale regional effects.

persistent(multi-generations).

can result in dramatic events or series of events that capture world-wide attention.

many moving parts that are inter-connected and have complex interactions.

inter-related to other global issues.

no simple solutions.

meaningful solutions based on interdisciplinary knowledge.

expose the inter-dependence between countries and regions.

require solutions that include trade-offs

challenge the status quo in world order and global institutions.

How should global issues be addressed?

an inter-disciplinary approach that considers both the natural system and people

What does David Suzuki argue in his talk "We Are Air"?

That we are not living within an environment, but rather we are one with such environment. We breathe are that becomes us, which thus becomes other things as it is used again. His argument represent the inter-disciplinary relationships within the world.

What is a system?

a collection of interdependent parts enclosed within a defined boundary

What is the atmosphere?

Thin layer of air that covers the earth, tiny proportion of there overall mass of the earth that help the earth as we know it exist.

What is the atmosphere made of?

Nitrogen and Oxygen, but also trace gases, carbon dioxide etc.

The trace gases connect the atmosphere and biosphere.

Where does weather occur in the atmosphere?

Troposphere, the first 11 KM of the atmosphere. 98% of water vapour.

What is the stratosphere?

ozone layer which protects earth from the sun.

What global issue is within the atmosphere?

Air pollution

What percentage of water on earth is contained in the Ocean?

97%

What is the lithosphere?

the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.

What is the pedosphere?

soil, the outer layer of the earth.

What is a main driver of the carbon cycle?

Photosynthesis

What is the biosphere?

all life on earth

What is the anthroposphere?

Part of environment made or modified by humans for human use and habitat

What is a major driver of climate change?

Humans disturbing the natural energy balance

What is a closed system? Provide an example.

Energy is exchanged with the outside environment, while matter is not

Example: Earth

What is an open system? Provide an example.

Both energy and matter are exchanged with the outside environment. Example: Any of the Earth's spheres

What are the 4 main spheres?

atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere.

What makes a system open?

exchange both energy and matter.

What makes a system closed?

only exchanges energy with its environment

True or False: "Weather is what you expect, climate is what you get."

False. Opposite.

What is the closest approximate average concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere today?

400 PPM

After carbon dioxide (CO2), which long-lived greenhouse gas is having the largest influence on anthropogenic climate change in terms of radiative forcing?

Methane (CH4)

Is the water cycle an open or closed system?

closed system

Is Earth an open or closed system?

closed system

What is a biogeochemical cycle?

Pathway that describes how a substance moves through the various components (i.e., spheres) of the Earth system.

What are the parts of a cycle?

Fluxes and Reservoirs, also needs an energy source

What is the water cycle?

How water moves through the system

What are the different reservoirs in a water cycle?

Oceans, lakes, ground water, glaciers, ice caps, clouds and water vapour

What are the fluxes that move water?

Evaporation, condensation, surface run off

What are the energy sources that drive the water cycle?

The sun, the pull of gravity

What is the carbon cycle?

the flow of carbon between the atmosphere and the Earth

Where is carbon stored?

vegetation and organic materials, also in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

What is perturbation?

A disturbance to a cycle

What is an example of a perturbation?

Landslide that blocks a creek, disturbs flow of water

What is a linear system response?

The magnitude of the response is proportionate to the perturbation

What is a feedback loop?

situations there the response to a perturbation or disturbance includes an effect on the magnitude of the perturbation.

What is an example of a positive feedback loop?

Arctic sea ice decrease

What is a positive feedback loop?

Disturbance is amplified by response

What is a negative feedback loop?

Disturbance in diminished by response

What is an example of long time scales?

Ice ages, evolution, ocean circulation

What is an example of short time scales?

volcanic eruptions, seasonal changes in weather

What re examples of across time scales?

CO2 emitted today will stay in atmosphere and affect the climate system for about 100 yrs

What are the three non-linear responses?

Exponential, episodic, catastrophic

Which non-linear response is related to a positive feedback loop?

Exponential

Which non-linear response is related to a negative feedback loop?

Episodic

What is the result of perturbations?

complex, non-linear responses across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales.

What is weather?

the current state of the atmosphere with respect to temperature (hot or cold), precipitation (wet or dry), wind (calm or stormy) and sky cover (clear or cloudy).

What is climate?

the statistical description (average and

variability) of the weather at a location over longer periods of time (typically over 30 years)

What is climate change?

Significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution (average and/or variability) of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years.

Is the climate warming?

Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia.

The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased.

How do we know the climate is changing?

Many types of observations indicate that the climate is changing. The change is accelerating, and some areas are changing much more than others.

What is the greenhouse effect?

the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.

What is climate forcing?

An energy imbalance imposed on the climate system either externally or by human activities.

What does climate forcing result in?

persistent climate forcings cause the temperature of the Earth to change until an energy balance is restored.

What is a natural resource?

a source or supply that occurs in nature without human action and can be used for the benefit of human society.

Name some material resources of use to individuals and society

minerals, timber, fossil fuels

What are some flows of energy which can be harnessed for useful purposes?

solar energy, hydro

What are some attributes of the environment that contribute something of value (aka ecosystem services)?

pollination by bees, purifying of water/air

What are the basis of origin?

Biotic and Abiotic

What is the difference between biotic and abiotic?

Biotic: Living and organic Abiotic: Non-living and non-organic

What are the stages of development?

Actual, Reserve, Stock, Potential

What is the difference between renewable and non-renewable resources?

Renewable form equally fast or faster than they are used

What is an example of non-renewable resources?

Fossil fuels

Nonmetallic minerals

(e.g., limestone) • Metals

What is an example of renewable resources?

Soil

'Land' products

(e.g., forests)

Water

Ecosystems

Renewable energies

What are the characteristics of exhaustible resources?

Finite, Production and consumption rates are

similar

What are the characteristics of non-exhaustible resources?

Unaffected by human use, Will not run out in foreseeable future

How to calculate how long a resource will last?

Available Time = Quantity of Reserve divided by Production Rate

What factors could change the available time of resources?

Finding new reserves

New technologies allowing previously inaccessible reserves (stock) to be exploited

Changes in economic conditions

Increase/decrease in market price make exploitation of certain reserves feasible/unfeasible

New technologies allowing substitution of resource

Changes in consumer behavior

True or False? Renewable resources will never run out.

False. Renewability is no guarantee that a resource will be maintained.

How can we ensure that exhaustible resources are maintained?

Resource Management

True or False? Non-Renewability means that we will have a shortage of a resource in the future.

False. Non-renewability does not necessarily imply future scarcity.

What is reuse?

Materials or products can be used again without major processing.

What is recycle?

Convert materials that lost their value into new materials.

What factors can change recycle practices?

Scarcity of original resource (i.e., need to preserve)

New technologies create new opportunities for recycling

Reuse cheaper/more energy efficient than production (e.g., aluminum)

Socially unacceptable degradation of environment by disposal (e.g., plastic bags)

What are the reuse and recycling types?

1) Produces primary resource

Back into the same original source material

Examples: metal, glass

Metal > Metal > Metal ...

2) Produced secondary resource

• Resource for production of new source material

• Examples: paper, plastic

Wood > Paper > Paper or other paper-based products

What are the stages of the resource cycle?

Extraction from Earth

Concentration / purification

Use for goods production

Consumption of goods

Designation of goods / by-products as waste

Reuse/recycling of secondary resources (materials and energy)

Waste disposal

Waste assimilation into the environment

What determines the size of the fluxes in the resource cycle?

they depend on the resource and how we use it

What is resource and environmental management?

the management of the interaction and impact of human society on the environment.

What fields are included under REM?

Land use planning

Water management

Resource extraction

Waste management

Pollution reduction

Biodiversity conservation

Agriculture

Forestry

Fisheries

What is the IPAT framework?

Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology

Define population within IPAT

Population of an area

(e.g., country, the world)

Increased land use

Increased resource use

Increased pollution

Define affluence in IPAT

Average consumption per person

Commonly expressed as GDP per capita (gross domestic product per person) = average economic activity per person

Increased consumption/economic activity > Increased environmental impact

Define technology in IPAT

Represents how resource intensive the

production of affluence is

(i.e. how much environmental impact is involved in creating, transporting and disposing of the goods, services and amenities)

What is the purpose of the IPAT framework?

describes express the key factors influencing the impact of human activity on the environment.

What is the great transformation?

the trans- formation of the ecosphere from its 'natural state' by human action.

What is sustainable development?

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

Is the hunter gatherer society sustainable?

Locally no, regionally and globally yes

Is the Agrarian society sustainable?

Yes, in all ways.

Is the industrial society sustainable?

No, in none of the ways.

How do you calculate growth rate globally?

Birth rate minus death rate

What is the extra step in calculating regional growth rate?

Add or subtract for migration

What are the steps of demographic transition?

High stationary, early expanding, late expanding, low stationary, Declining

What are the characteristic of the high stationary step?

Pre-industrial societies

Death and birth rates are high and

roughly in balance.

Produces relative constant and young population.

Cost of having children was low and once a bit older, they contributed significantly to household.

Fluctuations in food supply tended to translate directly into population fluctuations.