environmental sciene chapter 1 test

Sustainability

The ability to support life indefinitely.

Environmental science

The study of how humans and the environment interact.

Goal of environmental science

Understand environmental problems and find solutions.

3 principles of sustainability

Solar energy, biodiversity, chemical cycling.

Solar energy

Energy from the Sun; essentially inexhaustible.

Biodiversity

The variety of life on Earth.

Biodiversity includes

Genes, organisms, species, and ecosystems.

Why is biodiversity important?

It keeps ecosystems functioning.

Chemical cycling

The recycling of chemicals between organisms, soil, water, and air.

Why is solar energy sustainable?

The Sun provides an essentially unlimited energy source.

Why is biodiversity sustainable?

It helps ecosystems continue functioning.

Why is chemical cycling sustainable?

Chemicals are reused instead of being lost.

Sustainable yield

Using a resource no faster than it can be replaced.

Natural resources

Materials from nature that humans use.

Examples of natural resources

Wood, freshwater, minerals, fossil fuels.

Renewable resource

A resource that can naturally be replaced.

Examples of renewable resources

Wood, freshwater, sunlight.

Nonrenewable resource

A resource that forms too slowly to replace.

Examples of nonrenewable resources

Coal, oil, natural gas.

Inexhaustible resource

A resource that is essentially unlimited.

Example of an inexhaustible resource

Solar energy.

Ecosystem services

Benefits humans receive from ecosystems.

Examples of ecosystem services

Water purification and erosion control.

Natural capital

Natural resources + ecosystem services.

Depletion

Reducing the available supply of a resource.

Degradation

Damaging or lowering the quality of a resource.

Ecological footprint

The amount of productive land/water needed to support a person.

Biocapacity

An area's ability to produce resources and absorb wastes.

Ecological deficit

When ecological footprint is greater than biocapacity.

Ecological credit

When biocapacity is greater than ecological footprint.

What does an ecological footprint measure?

How much nature a person or population uses.

What happens if everyone lived like the average U.S. citizen?

We would need about 5 Earths.

IPAT equation

I = P × A × T.

I in IPAT

Environmental impact.

P in IPAT

Population.

A in IPAT

Affluence/consumption per person.

T in IPAT

Technology.

What increases environmental impact?

More people, more consumption, and harmful technology.

More-developed countries

Usually have higher affluence and consumption.

Less-developed countries

Usually have lower consumption but faster population growth.

Affluence

The amount of goods and services people consume.

Technology

Methods/tools used to produce goods and services.

Tragedy of the commons

Individuals overuse a shared resource for personal benefit.

Who coined “tragedy of the commons”?

Garrett Hardin.

Common-access resources

Resources not owned by one person and available to many.

Examples of common-access resources

Fish, oceans, atmosphere, grasslands, forests.

Why does the tragedy of the commons happen?

People benefit individually while everyone shares the damage.

Fish in the ocean

Can be renewable because fish reproduce.

Solution to the tragedy of the commons

Regulation, limits, or shared management.

Overfishing

Catching fish faster than they can reproduce.

Newfoundland cod fishery collapse

1992.

What happened to Newfoundland cod?

The cod population collapsed from overfishing.

Main cause of cod collapse

Advanced fishing technology + overfishing.

HIPPCO

Acronym for major causes of biodiversity loss.

H in HIPPCO

Habitat loss and degradation.

I in HIPPCO

Invasive species.

P in HIPPCO

Population growth.

P in HIPPCO

Pollution.

C in HIPPCO

Climate change.

O in HIPPCO

Overexploitation.

Overexploitation

Using a resource faster than it can recover.

Habitat loss

Destruction or loss of natural habitat.

Invasive species

Non-native species that harm an ecosystem.

Pollution

Harmful substances added to the environment.

Climate change

Long-term changes in Earth's climate.

Population growth

An increase in the number of people.

Fishprint

The ocean area needed to support fish consumption.

What does fishprint tell us?

How much ocean is needed for our seafood use.

Biocapacity and fishprint

If fishprint is greater, fishing is unsustainable.

What does the fishprint graph show?

Fish demand can exceed ocean biocapacity.

2006 fishprint study warning

Major commercial fish species could collapse by 2048.

Systems

A group of connected parts that interact.

Negative feedback

Reduces change and helps maintain stability.

Positive feedback

Amplifies change and makes the change stronger.

Negative feedback example

A thermostat maintaining a set temperature.

Positive feedback example

Ice melting causes more warming, causing more ice to melt.

Why is negative feedback important?

It helps keep a system stable.

Why is positive feedback dangerous?

It can push a system farther from normal conditions.

Full-cost pricing

Including environmental costs in the price of goods.

Why is full-cost pricing important?

It makes environmental damage part of the true cost.

Environmental problem

An issue caused by human activities that harms the environment.

Deforestation

Clearing forests for things like agriculture.

Result of deforestation

Habitat loss, soil erosion, and disrupted ecosystems.

Why do people in poverty sometimes have more children?

Children may provide economic support and survival security.

Why can poverty worsen environmental problems?

People may depend directly on natural resources to survive.