GEO 200 Exam 1

Conservation

Natural resources should be used thoughtfully, and humans should serve as stewards, not exploiters of the natural world. Utilitarianism - greater good for the greatest number of people

Preservation

Certain species, habitats and resources should remain off limits to human use, regardless of whether the use maintains or depletes the resource in question.

Sustainability (3 E’s)

The management of natural resources in ways that do not diminish or degrade Earth’s ability to provide them in the future.

Environment

Economy

Equity

Sustainability Development

Development that meets the needs of the present without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet theirs

Transcendentalism

The belief that nature has moral and spiritual value and should be preserved for its own sake and human renewal.

Transcendentalists

Henry Thoreau

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Rachel Carson

Founder of environmental science

Led to the creation of the EPA

Wrote Silent Spring

Environmental Science

The study of how humans interact with the environment of living things (plants, animals, bacteria) and nonliving things (water, air, energy)

Geographic Scale

zoom in- larger scale-area represented decreases

zoom out-smaller scale-area represented increases

Ecology

Studies the flow of energy through an ecosystem

Ecosystem

Communities of life and the physical environments with which they interact

Photosynthesis

How CO2 and energy is fixed on Earth

Ecosystem Services

Any positive benefit that wildlife or an ecosystem provides to humans

Ecological footprint

The average amount of productive land and ocean needed for food, water, housing, energy, transport and waste disposal

Anthropocene Epoch

A proposed new ecological epoch with human activity as the cause of major decrease in biodiversity

Climate Change

The long-term alteration of Earth’s climate caused mainly by human-driven increases in GHG

GHG

A gas in the atmosphere that redirects long-wave radiation from Earth’s surface back toward the surface, causing a warming effect

CO2

N2O

Methane

Water vapor

IPCC

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Establish to assess the latest research on climate change, its impacts, and possible adaption strategies for policymakers worldwide

Biodiversity

The variety of species and life in the world or in a particular ecosystem

Temperature Controls 1

Latitude - the further from the equator, the cooler the temps (less direct solar radiation)

Elevation - the higher the elevation, the cooler the temps (less air pressure, adiabatic process)

Adiabatic Process

The increase or decrease in temperate of an air parcel without the addition or subtraction of heat

Permafrost Loss (Impacts of CC)

Thawing permanently frozen ground, releasing methane, contributing to the speed of climate change

Vector-Borne Disease (Impacts of CC)

Illnesses transferred to humans by vectors (mosquitoes, ticks), due to the expansion of their ranges

Melting Ice (Impacts of CC)

Shrinkage of glaciers, sea ice, and ice sheets. Causes sea levels to rise, habitat loss, loss of freshwater, and faster climate change through reduced reflectivity (Albedo effect)

Rising sea levels (impacts of CC)

Causes the displacement of people and ecosystems

Hazards (Impacts of CC)

Increased frequency and severity of hazards such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and heat waves

Coral reef die off (Impacts of CC)

Caused by lower PH in the ocean (acidification), causing less biodiversity and less carbon fixation

Decreased biodiversity (Impacts of CC)

Reduces biodiversity by killing species, destroying habitats, and disrupting ecosystems on land and in the ocean

Temperate Controls 2

maritime/continental- nearness to ocean moderates temp range, land heats up and cools down faster than the oceans

warm or cold currents - western sides - cold current - drier, eastern sides - warm current - wetter

Geoengineering

Large-scale intentional technological inventions in Earth’s systems aimed at counteracting climate change