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Environment

The environment includes all the living and nonliving things around us with which we interact (textbook) Reading Check: All of the living, nonliving, social, and constructed components in our world.

Environmentalism

Environmentalism is a social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world-and by extension, people-from undesirable changes brought about by human interactions.

Environmental Science

Study of how the natural world works, how our environment affects us, and how we affect our environment. Similar to environmentalism but takes a more scientific approach.

paradigm shift

A shift in scientific thinking that occurs when the majority of scientists in a field or related fields agree that a new explanation or theory is better than the old one.

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

1. Observe

2. Question

3. Research

4. Hypothesize

5. Test/Experiment

Manipulative experiment

the investigator first alters levels of the predictor variable (or factor), and then measures how one or more variables of interest respond to these alterations (Shows causal relationship)

Natural experiment

study where the experimental and control conditions are determined by nature or other factors outside of the researcher's control (Shows correlation relationship)

Hunter-gatherer

Forage or hunt food from their environment, with low environmental impact. Low population, slow growth rates, and natural shit.

Agricultural Revolution

10,000 years ago, people began agriculture. They changed water systems for more consistent water to farms and deforestation impacted the environment. Increase in population and cities began

Industrial Revolution

1700s, from rural to Urban life style that was fueled by fossil fuels and factories. Fossil fuels fucked up the air and deforestation still happened. With improved living standard, lowered death rate and prolonged life expectancy, population explosion,  specifically in cities.

Thomas Malthus

Malthusianism, basically growth will outgrow resources. He wants to restrict population growth. Paul and Anna Ehrlich wrote the Population Bomb on this mf.

Renewable Resources

sunlight, wind energy, wave energy, hydropower, water, air, soil

Nonrenewable Resources

oil, coal, natural gas, precious metals, base metals, rare earth elements, nuclear fuels, takes too fucking long to replenish

Overshoot

Excess consumption to resources, exceeding the enviroment’s capacity to regenerate them

Ecological footprint

The environmental impact of a person for their land, water consumption, and waste disposal

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

This test found Earth’s conditions showed:

1. Humans have altered ecosystems

2. For increased well-being and economic development

3. Will get worse

4. Degradation can be reversed

Triple Bottom Line

Evaluates a company’s performance on:

1. Environmental goals

2. Economic goals

3. social goals

Garrett Hardin

Wrote the Tragedy Of The Commons to emphasize the depletion of unregulated common resources that people just use, get your fucking grubby hands off them bitches not everybody needs to fucking go to the fucking beach bro

Universalist

Someone who believes that ethical principles are consistent and unchanging across all situations and cultures.

Relativist

Someone who believes that ethical values depend on cultural, social, or personal perspectives and can vary across contexts.

Intrinsic Value

(It exists) The inherent worth of something, regardless of its utility to humans; value for its own sake.

Utilitarian value

(They useful) The worth of something based on its usefulness or ability to provide benefit to humans.

Anthropocentrism

Utilitarian and conservation, humans are the center of everything, only thing that matters is humans, do things that benefit humans

Biocentrism

Intrinsic and conservation, all living (biotic) things have value

Egocentrism

Intrinsic and preservation, value well being of an entire species, community, or ecosystems over the welfare of a given individual.

Theory

A well established explanation based on data and testing

Hypothesis

A scientific reasoning or testable prediction before applicable research is done

casual relationship

Shows how an independent variable causes changes in a dependent variable

Correlation relationship

indicates a relationship or association between two variables, but does not imply that one causes the other or vice versa

Sustainability

leaving our children and grandchildren a world as rich and full as the world we live in now, conserving Earth’s natural capital, so that after we are gone our descendants will enjoy the use of resources as we have. Maximum sustainable yield - max of shit we do b4 it breaks the sustainability thingy

Conservation

Responsible use of the resources/environment, kind of like sustainability ig

Preservation

Preserve and protect the environement and natural world, basically don’t touch shit

Environmental assumptions behind neoclassical economics

1. Resources are infinite or substitutable

2. Costs and benefits are internal

3. Long term effects should be discounted

4. Growth is good

These are all short term and growth emphasized, bad bad

Neoclassical economics

Consumer preferences drive production of goods

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)

Total monetary value of goods and services made per year

GPI (Genuine Progress Indicator)

Economic activity and the positive contributions - negative impacts

Market Failure

Occurs when the free market does not allocate resources efficiently, leading to negative environmental or social outcomes. The phrase "costs > market price" refers to situations where the true costs of producing or consuming a good (including environmental harm, health impacts, or depletion of resources) are greater than the price consumers pay in the market

Market Failure preventions

1.  Government intervention with green taxes

2. Eco-labeling - certifies products and services as environmentally preferable

3. Regulations and standards

5th Amendment

Private property will not be taken for public use without compensation

14th Amendment

Prohibits denial of equal protection of laws to any person.

First Wave

1780s-1800s: Resources were readily available, encouraging westward expansion, mostly land grants and infrastructure development

Second Wave

1800s: Protect natural resources to mitigate problems caused by Westward Expansion, conservation movements

Third Wave

Mid to late 1900s: Technological resources consumption caused pollution, reduce pollution through movements/legislations/innovations

Montreal Protocol

Reduce CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbon), protecting the ozone layer

Kyoto Protocol (japanese advanced robots)

Reduce emissions of greenhouse gas emissions for developed countries

Paris Agreement

Something about mitigating climate change and global warming

Command and Control

• Government sets strict rules and penalties (e.g., emission limits for factories).

• Ensures compliance but can be rigid and costly.

Subsidy

• Government provides financial support for eco-friendly practices (e.g., renewable energy projects).

• Encourages sustainable behavior by reducing costs.

Green Taxes

• Taxes on harmful activities (e.g., carbon tax).

• Discourages pollution while generating funds for environmental programs.

Cap and Trade

• Sets a limit (cap) on emissions; companies can trade these permits.

• Creates financial incentives to reduce emissions efficiently.

Extinction

Death of the species, all of them. Extirpation is just the disappearance of a particular population of that species in an area.

Biological diversity/Biodiversity

The sum total of all organisms in an area, taking into account the diversity of species, their genes, their population, and their communities

Species richness

Refers to the number of different species in an area

Species Evenness

The distribution of a species in an area, skewed or evenly distributed

Fresh Water

water that is relatively pure, with few dissolved salts. Most of it is in glaciers, icecaps, and underground aquifers

Wetlands

• systems that combine elements of freshwater and dry land, very productive

  • eg. freshwater marshes, swamps, bogs

  • Ecosystem services: Slowing runoffs, reducing flooding, recharging aquifers, and filtering pollutants

Watershed

area of land that collects water that is then drained by a river and all its tributaries, runoffs into the river

Tributary

A smaller river flowing into a larger river

Oligotrophic

Oligotrophic lakes/ponds have low nutrient and high oxygen conditions

Eutrophic

Eutrophic water bodies have high nutrient and low oxygen conditions

Groundwater

• water that percolates/infiltrates downward through the soil, makes up 1/5 of Earth’s fresh water supply, and they are contained in aquifers

  • Can be extracted from springs and human-drilled wells

Aquifers

Groundwater is contained within aquifers, porous, spongelike formations of rock, sand, or gravel that hold water

• Unconfined aquifer - Nothing up to confine, no pressure

• Artesian Aquifer - Has an upper layer above aeration, pressure

Zone of Aeration

Aquifers upper layer, contain pore spaces partly filled w/ water but still mostly air

Zone of Saturation

Aquifers lower layer, pores completely filled w/ water

Desalination

removal of salt from sweater or other water of marginal quality

Sinkholes

areas where the ground gives away w/ little warning, result of over pumping, when aquifers loser water their substrate gets weaker and can’t support above

Safe Drinking Water Act (EPA)

Regulates discharge of wastes into rivers, streams, and wetlands

Safe Drinking Water Act

regulates 780 contaminants in drinking water

Wastewater/Greywater

water that has been used by people in some way

Residential / Agricultural / Industrial

• 70% fresh water goes towards agricultural

  • Drip irrigation to target individual plants

  • Low pressure spray to spray water downard towards plants

  • Decreasing the amount of meat we eat

• 20% freshwater goes towards industrial

• 10% goes towards residential

Nutrient Pollution (Nitrates, Phosphates, Ammonia)

• High nitrates cause algal blooms, leading to eutrophication

• Excess phosphates contribute to eutrophication

Thermal Pollution (Temperatures)

High temperatures reduce dissolved oxygen, low DO points to pollution and high DO points to healthy ecosystem

Toxic Chemical Pollution (Low pH)

Extreme pH (<6 or >9) is harmful to most aquatic life, enzyme denaturation

Sediment Pollution (Turbidity and TDS)

• High turbidity reduces sunlight penetration, affecting photosynthesis

• High TDS affects water quality and osmotic balance for aquatic organisms, cells shrink leading to death

Pathogen Pollution (Coliform Bacteria)

Measures bacteria from fecal contamination, from waste which causes aerobic decomposition and eutrophication (nutrients for algal blooms)

Louis Guillette

Found endocrine disrupting chemicals in lake, leading to alligators being all gay n shy

Physical hazards

Physical processes that occur naturally in our environments and pose health hazards. (Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, fires, floods, blizzards, landslides, hurricanes, and droughts)

Chemical hazards

Hazards caused by synthetic chemicals our society produces such as disinfectants and pesticides. Along with naturally produced chemicals by organisms can be hazardous.

Biological hazards

Hazards created from ecological interactions among organisms. Infectious disease or transmissible diseases, which are just organisms fulfilling their ecological roles.

Cultural hazards

Hazards that result from the place we live, our socioeconomic status, our occupation, or our behavioral choices. Smoking cigarettes are a choice, which greatly increase chances of lung cancer.

Vector

An organism that transfers the pathogen to the host. Mosquitoes acts as a vector, which transmits diseases to humans.

Malnutrition

Can foster a wide variety of illnesses, as poverty and poor hygiene can encourage diseases to occur

Radon (Indoor demon)

A carcinogen that is a highly toxic radioactive gas that is colorless and undetectable without special kits. It seeps from the ground through the bedrock into homes.

Lead (Lead poisoning) (Indoor demon)

A neurotoxin that is a heavy metal, that can cause damage to the brain, liver, kidney, and stomach when ingested. It can occur through drinking water from old pipes, or stupid lil doods eating fucking paint off the wall

Asbestos (Indoor demon)

A carcinogen, its thin microscopic fibers allows it to insulate heat, muffle sound, and resist fires. But the structure also make it dangerous when inhaled, causing lung acid which leads to cancer

PBDEs (Polybrominated diphenyl ethers)

These endocrine disrupters/carcinogens serve as fire retardants and are found in many products requiring heat tolerance. Also being one of the 12 POPs, it accumulates and persists for a hella long time

Environmental Toxicology

Deals with toxic substances that come from or discharged into the environment. It includes the study of health effects on humans, animals, and ecosystems. Animals serve as indicators of health threats that could soon affect humans.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

Endocrine disruptors which are by-products in most paints, electrical wiring, sealants, and transformers.

Rachel Carson

Her book Silent Springs 1962 brought awareness to pesticide dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) to the public

Carcinogens

Best known toxicant, chemicals or types of radiation that cause cancer. It is hard to identify, and takes time to show itself due to its long lag time between exposure and detection.

Mutagens

Toxicants that are chemicals that cause DNA mutations, which can lead to cancer or birth defects.

Teratogens

Toxicant chemicals that affect the development of human embryos in the womb which leads to birth defects. A well known drug is thalidomide, developed as a sleeping pill for women that were pregnant :((((

Allergens

Toxicants that overactivate the immune system, causing an immune response when one is not necessary.

Neurotoxin

Toxicant that is various chemicals that assault the nervous system and the brain. Consisting of heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium. Also is used in pesticides

Minamata Bay (1930s - 1960s)

A Japanese chemical factory dumped mercury waste into Minamata Bay. Thousands of people in and around the town on the bay were poisoned by eating fish contaminated with the mercury along with the cats convulsing/dying.

Endocrine Disrupters

Toxicant that interferes with the endocrine/hormone system. They mimic the hormones by interacting with receptor molecules just as the actual hormone would. They work in small doses just like the real hormones. Disrupts the endocrine system by blocking the action of hormones or accelerating their breakdown. Sometimes impairs the brain and nervous system too

Theo Colburn

In 1966, she wrote Our Stolen Future, which showed various criticisms from scientists that endocrine disrupting shit was bad

Tyrone Hayes

A scientist from UC Berkley, found in frogs gonadal abnormalities similar to those of Guillette’s alligators, attributing them to atrazine. In labs, male frogs in water containing low doses of herbicides became feminized, warning that humans are at risk due to how even low doses well below the EPA’s guidelines could cause effects

Bisphenol A (BPA)

Endocrine disruptor used in many plastics, epoxy resins, coats of metal canned foods, and drinking cans. An estrogen mimic, it leaches out of many of these products into water and food. Recent studies show birth defects and abnormalities in lab animals.

Travels through water

• In the form of runoff, caries toxicants from large areas of land and concentrates them in small volumes of surface water

• Can leach into groundwater and contaminate drinking water supplies

• Can enter into organisms’ tissue and be absorbed

• We can use aquatic organisms as indicators, since if they’re sick then the water is shyt