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Economic benefits for farmers
Fertilizers can lead to higher crop yields, resulting in increased profits.
Eutrophication
Runoff from fertilizers can lead to nutrient overload in water bodies, causing excessive growth of algae.
Pesticide treadmill
A scenario where pests adapt to pesticides, leading farmers to increase pesticide strength and dosage continuously.
Respiratory problems
Pollutants (except lead) can cause issues like asthma.
Hypothesis
A statement predicting the effect of one variable on another, incorporating the terms increasing or decreasing.
Independent Variable
The variable that is manipulated by researchers and is not kept constant.
Dependent Variable
The variable that responds to changes in the independent variable.
Controlled variables
Variables other than the independent variable that are kept constant to ensure a fair test.
Control group
The group in an experiment that receives no treatment or change.
Replication
Repeating tests to increase confidence in results and reduce the impact of natural variability.
Sample Size
The number of times an experiment is replicated or the number of copies of the dependent variable tested.
Population of the world
Approximately 8 billion.
Population of the U.S.
Approximately 330 million.
Subsidies
Financial incentives provided by the government to encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices.
Carbon Cycle
The series of processes by which carbon compounds are interconverted in the environment.
Range of tolerance
The amount of stress an organism can endure before experiencing illness or death.
10% rule
Only 10% of the energy held by an organism is available to the organism that consumes it in the food chain.
Clean Water Act
Regulates the discharge of pollutants into U.S. waters and restores the quality of the nation's rivers, lakes, and wetlands.
CITES
An international trade agreement to ensure that the trade of animals and plants does not introduce invasive species or risk endangered species.
CERCLA
Gives the Environmental Protection Agency authority to oversee the cleanup of hazardous waste sites.
Montreal Protocol
An international treaty that requires countries to phase out ozone-depleting chemicals.
Kyoto Protocol
An international treaty demanding developed nations reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet binding targets.
Endangered Species Act
Protects endangered species from harassment and habitat invasion, and includes species recovery efforts.
Safe Drinking Water Act
Federal law that allows the Environmental Protection Agency to set the standard for national water quality. Bans over 90 different pollutants.
Delaney Clause
Bans the approval of any food or drug found to cause cancer in humans regardless of exposure level.
RCRA
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Manages hazardous waste from 'cradle to grave.'
List the "go - to" FRQ answers
Habitat destruction leads to a decrease in biodiversity, respiratory illness such as asthma, Ecosystem services, economic impact (jobs, money, tourism), condition causes organism to be outside of It's range of tolerance
DRY MIX
D dependent variable, R responding variable, Y - axis; M manipulated variable, I independent variable, X - axis.
Off-limits words in FRQ
'Changes' and 'is affected' use INCREASES or DECREASES instead.
Units in FRQs are used when
When units are not listed explicitly in the stem of the question.
Rule of 70
# of years to double population = 70/Annual % growth rate.
Population Growth Rate
Growth rate = (birth rate + people coming) - (death rate + people leaving)/total population x 100.
Crude Growth Rate
CGR = (CBR - CDR) / 10.
Percent change
PC = NEW - OLD / OLD x 100.
Total Energy Used
kW x hours = kWh.
Net Primary Productivity Equation
NPP = GPP - Respiration (energy lost to respiration).
Electricity production
Energy source (coal, biomass, fossil fuel, natural gas etc.) spins a turbine, which turns a generator. this causes a magnet to spin around wires = electrons move = electricity
Wetlands importance
Offer many important services such as: Flood control, Water filtration, Commercial fisheries.
Threats to wetlands
Threatened by drainage and development by the government or businesses.
Specialist vs Generalist
A specialist is highly adapted to a small set of conditions, and a generalist is able to thrive in many kinds of environments.
Invasive species
Invasive species are just extreme generalists.
What kind of species has a better chance at survival after disruption?
Generalists are more likely to survive an environmental disruption or displacement.
Air pollution sources
Can come from power plants, factories, motor vehicles, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions.
Air pollution solutions
Include catalytic converters, reduced use of motor vehicles, and wind and hydroelectric power (dams), as well as electrostatic precipitators and scrubbers.
Primary pollutant
Released directly from a source.
Secondary pollutant
Formed by chemical reactions in the atmosphere.
Dams/hydroelectric power pros
Flood control, Water storage, irrigation use, hydroelectric power (low GHG emission).
Dams/hydroelectric power cons
Habitat fragmentation, Downstream flow alteration (sedimentation, water temperature).
Eutrophication
Develops when bodies of water become over enriched with nutrients like phosphorus or nitrogen accelerating plant or algae growth.
Hypoxia
When dissolved oxygen levels drop below the threshold needed to sustain most animals.
Sewage effluent
Liquid waste that is released from municipal treatment plants or sewers.
Soil Horizon
Each layer of soil.
Soil Profile
Cross section of soil as a whole.
Topsoil
Most nutritive soil for plants.
Leaching
Dissolved particles move down through the soil.
O horizon
Organic matter decomposing, Topmost
A horizon
Topsoil, nutrient rich (second below O)
B horizon
Subsoil that accumulates metals and nutrients
C horizon
Least weathered, most similar to parent material
Sandy soil
Coarse, largest pore spaces, low water/nutrient holding capacity
Silty soil
Medium size particles and pores
Clay soil
High water and nutrient holding capacity
Loamy soil
Equal mixture of silt, clay and sand (Best for plant growth and agricultural)
Water issues in agriculture
Groundwater depletion from irrigation, pollution from fertilizer and pesticide runoff, sedimentation from erosion, manure lagoon contamination, eutrophication
Air Pollution from agriculture
GHG from farm equipment and meat production, soil particles from wind erosion
Land Degradation in agriculture
Soil erosion, loss of soil fertility (solved by crop rotation)
Biodiversity issues in agriculture
Habitat fragmentation, monocultures, pesticides killing non-targets
how do greenhouse gases come from landfills?
Anaerobic respiration of the organic matter decomposing in the landfill releases - landfills account for 14% of U.S. methane emissions
Greenhouse effect
The earth has certain gases designed to trap heat and keep earth warm enough to inhabit, but when we have too many of those gases being produced the earth gets too hot.
Impacts of increases in greenhouse gases
Melting of polar ice caps, increases in storm intensity, rising sea levels, ocean warming
Coral bleaching
Coral bleaches due to increased ocean temperatures, the symbiotic algae living in the coral leave, causing the coral to lose its main source of nutrients.
Ocean acidification
CO2 goes into the ocean because it is a carbon sink and it reacts with the water to form carbonic acid, the acid threatens to dissolve coral, shells and snail shells.
Dissolved oxygen stays better in _________________water.
Cold water holds dissolved oxygen better.
Carbon sink
anything that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases. Examples include forests, soil, and the ocean.
Species richness
How many species there are in a given area.
Evenness
How evenly the numbers of each species is.
Renewable energy source
Renewable resources naturally replenish themselves.
Non-renewable energy source
Non-renewable resources exist in finite quantities on earth without being able to renew themselves.
Global footprint
Global/ecological footprint is the total amount of land required to provide the resources needed to produce the materials needed to support a given lifestyle.
Energy conservation tactics
Cogeneration, use of public transport and carpool, electric vehicles, switching to LED lights.
Most used energy source globally
Fossil fuels.
Energy use habits of developing nations
Developing nations use biomass and coal significantly more due to a lack of access to reliable sources of energy.
Examples of Fossil Fuels
Coal, petroleum, crude oil, and natural gas.
Fracking
Fracking injects high pressure fluid into rock creating a fissure in order to extract oil or natural gas.
Pros of Fracking
Unlocking vast new energy sources, reducing reliance on oil
Cons of Fracking
Groundwater contamination, large water consumption, and methane leaks
Pros of Landfill Use
Keeps urban and rural areas clean, Methane can be used as a source of energy if captured, can become solar farms once at capacity
Cons of Landfill Use
Significant source of methane via decomposition and anaerobic respiration, groundwater contamination, habitat destruction, release of VOC's
Pros of Waste Incineration
Reduces waste volume, less methane than landfills
Cons of Waste Incineration
Releases Particulate Matter
Pros of Mining
You get the stuff
Cons of Mining
Deforestation, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, acid mine drainage, water contamination, particulate matter
Environmental Impacts of Urbanization
Habitat loss, Increased Vehicular emissions, Concrete creates more heat and allows for more runoff, Resource depletion
Solutions to Urbanization Impacts
Green Infrastructure, public transportation, and renewable energy use
Coriolis Effect
Coriolis effect asserts that because the earth is spinning, things on earth like the ocean and wind appear to move in a curved path. This happens because earth spins from east to west and the equator moves faster than the poles. In the Northern Hemisphere, objects move to the right. In the southern hemisphere, objects move to the left.
Biome for Thriving Plant Life
Warm, Humid places with high annual precipitation such as the tropical rainforest have the highest primary productivity.
Clear-Cutting
Cutting down all the trees in an area to make land for agriculture, or to acquire lumber. Problems include soil erosion, habitat displacement, flooding and landslides.
Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem services are things the environment provides TO HUMANS. Not to itself.
Provisioning Services
Provides human with provisions EX: Lumber
Regulating Services
Directly regulates humans environment EX: Pollination, erosion and flood control