Principles of Environmental Science - EVR 1001

Comprehensive review flashcards covering definitions, scientific methods, global environmental quality metrics, human dimensions, planetary boundaries, and the four historical stages of environmentalism from EVR 1001.

How does Environmental Science approach the study of the complex systems in which we live?

It uses scientific approaches to find basic explanations for how systems function.

What primary academic fields are integrated into Environmental Science?

Biology, chemistry, earth science, and geography.

Why does Environmental Science frequently inform policy decisions?

Because it provides information for decision making regarding resources and the living systems we occupy.

Why is Environmental Science considered fundamentally global?

Because many systems at varied locations are interdependent on one another.

In Environmental Science methods, what is quantitative reasoning?

Comparing numbers and interpreting graphs to evaluate changes in values, such as population changes over time.

What is the role of uncertainty in scientific inquiry?

Understanding how much we do not know in order to improve confidence about what we do know.

What two core principles are central to the scientific method's ability to test theories?

Reproducibility and replication.

How is probability used by scientists when confronting uncertainty?

As a statistical measure based on previous observations to indicate what is likely to happen, rather than what definitely will happen.

By how much has the atmospheric concentration of $\text{CO}_2$ increased over the last $200$ years?

It increased from $280\,\text{ppm}$ to $410\,\text{ppm}$.

What increase in global mean temperatures by $2100$ do climate models project based on current trends relative to $1990$ temperatures?

An increase of $2\text{ to }6\,^\circ\text{C}$.

How many people globally lack access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation?

At least $1.1\text{ billion}$ lack safe drinking water, and twice that many lack adequate sanitation.

How many annual deaths are attributed to polluted water, and what age group is most affected?

More than $15\text{ million}$ people each year, most of whom are children under $5$ years of age.

What proportion of the global population is projected by the UN to live in water-stressed conditions where demands exceed supplies by $2025$?

As many as $\frac{3}{4}$ of the world population (up from approximately $40\%$ currently).

According to UN estimates, how many metric tons of air pollutants are released globally each year?

More than $2\text{ billion}$ metric tons.

What fertility rate does the UN Population Division predict most countries will reach by $2050$, and what will the resulting stabilized population be?

Fertility rates below the replacement level of $2.1$ children per woman, stabilizing the human population at about $8.9\text{ billion}$ people.

Why does hunger remain a critical worldwide problem even though food insecurity has declined by about $40\text{ million}$ people?

Because food resources are unevenly distributed, leaving over $850\text{ million}$ people chronically undernourished.

According to soil scientists, what proportion of all agricultural lands currently shows signs of degradation?

$\frac{2}{3}$ of all agricultural lands.

What four primary drivers are eliminating biological species at rates comparable to the extinction that ended the dinosaurs?

Habitat destruction, over-exploitation, pollution, and the introduction of exotic organisms.

What percentage of large marine predators has been depleted globally?

An estimated $90\%$ reduction.

What proportion of the $441$ monitored marine fish stocks are severely depleted or in need of better management?

More than $\frac{3}{4}$ of the evaluated fish stocks.

What are the four categories of ecosystem services provided by environmental systems?

Provisioning services, supporting services, regulating services, and cultural services.

What are supporting ecosystem services?

Services that maintain basic ecological functions, including water purification, production of food and atmospheric oxygen by plants, and decomposition of waste by fungi and bacteria.

What are regulating ecosystem services?

Services that regulate ecological processes, including atmospheric maintenance of temperatures suitable for life and carbon capture by green plants.

What are planetary boundaries, and for which three systems have they already been crossed?

Thresholds of irreversible environmental change; boundaries have already been crossed for climate change, biodiversity loss, and nitrogen cycling.

How is sustainable development defined?

Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

What disparity exists regarding global resource consumption among wealthy regions?

$15\%$ of the world's population consumes about half of the world's metals, food, energy, and other resources.

What is the international poverty line cited, and what demographic constitutes $70\%$ of those living below it?

Living below $\$1.90\text{ per day}$, with women and children making up $70\%$ of that population.

What four factors are used by the UN to calculate the Human Development Index (HDI)?

Life expectancy, years of schooling, gross national income, and income equity.

Why are the world's approximately $500\text{ million}$ indigenous people critically important for safeguarding biodiversity?

They possess valuable ecological wisdom and safeguard little-disturbed habitats that serve as refuges for rare and endangered species.

What are the four historical stages of environmental science?

1. Resource conservation for optimal use; 2. Nature preservation for moral and aesthetic reasons; 3. Concern over health and ecological consequences of pollution; 4. Global environmental citizenship.

George Perkins Marsh

diplomat and author, whose $1864$ book 'Man and Nature' provided the foundation for North American environmental protection

What was the guiding philosophy behind Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot's 'pragmatic utilitarian conservation'?

Resources should be managed not solely for their beauty, but to provide homes and jobs for people, using resources for 'the greatest good, for the greatest number, for the longest time.'

What major environmental event did Gifford Pinchot organize and chair in $1908$?

The White House Conference on Natural Resources.

John Muir

naturalist and first president of the Sierra Club, who advocated for nature preservation based on moral and aesthetic grounds

Aldo Leopold

father of wildlife ecology He believed: "conservation is the positive exercise of skill and insight, not merely a negative exercise of abstinence or caution."

landmark $1962$ book sparked the modern environmental movement by exposing the threats of toxic chemicals and pollution

Silent Spring Rachel Carson

When was the first national Earth Day established?

$$1970$$

What is the central focus of the fourth stage of environmental history, known as global environmental citizenship?

Linking environmental quality directly to social progress on a global scale with an inclusion mindset involving both developed and developing nations.