Studied by 11 people
Looks like no one added any tags here yet for you.
Principles of Sustainability
Dependence of solar energy, Biodiversity, Chemical Cycling
Natural Capital
Natural resources and ecosystem services supporting life and economies
Tragedy of the Commons
Depletion of public resources due to self-interest
Ecological Footprint
amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply a population in an area w/ renewable resources and to absorb and recycle the wastes and pollutants
Causes of Environmental Issues
Population growth, resource use, poverty, isolation from nature
Full Cost Pricing
include harmful environmental and health costs of producing and using goods and services in their market prices
1st law of thermodynamics
no energy is created nor destroyed
2nd law of thermodynamics
whenever energy is converted from one form to another or in a physical or chemical change, end up w/ lower-quality energy
Carbon-containing vs. others
Nonrenewable energy
from resources that can be depleted and not replenished by natural processes within human time scale
Renewable energy
gained from resources that are replenished by natural processes in a short time
High-quality energy
high capacity to do useful work
Positive feedback loop
causes system to change further into the same direction
Negative feedback loop
causes system to change in the opposite direction
Tipping Point
Ecological threshold due to positive feedback loops
nonpoint pollution
pollution from many places all at once
point pollution
pollution from a single place
