Chapter 1

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

a comprehensive set of goals aimed at addressing the most important needs of people in the developing countries to improve their well-being, adopted by the United Nations at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

international goals for world development between 2015-1030, replacing the millennium development goals

goods

products, such as wood and food, that are extracted from natural ecosystems to satisfy human needs

services

ecosystem functions that are essential to human life and economic well-being, such as waste breakdown, climate regulation, and erosion control. These can be further categorized as regulating, supporting, cultural, and provisioning services

global climate change

the cumulative effects of rising levels of greenhouse gases on Earth’s climate. These effects include global warming, weather changes, and a rising sea level

greenhouse effect

an increase in the atmospheric temperature caused by increasing amounts of carbon dioxide and certain other gases that absorb and trap heat, which normally radiates away from Earth

nitigation

reducing greenhouse gas emissions by a variety of strategies and policies

biodiversity

the diversity of living things found in the natural world. The concept usually refers to the different species but also includes ecosystems and the genetic diversity within a given species

environment

the combination of all things and factors external to the individual or population of organisms in question

environmental science

the multidisciplinary branch of science concerned with environmental issues

environmental movement

the upwelling of public awareness and citizen action that began during the 1960s regarding environmental issues

sustainability

a property whereby a process can be continued indefinitely without depleting the energy or material resources on which it depends. As one of the unifying themes of the text, sustainability is the practical goal toward which our interactions with the natural world should be working

sound science

the basis for our understanding of how the world works and how human system interact with it. It stems from scientific work based on peer-reviewed research and is one of the unifying themes of this text

steward/stewardship

a steward is one to whom a trust has been given. As one of the unifying themes of this text, stewardship is the actions and programs that manage natural resources and human well-being for the common good

sustainable yields

the taking of a biological resource (fish, forests) in a manner that does not exceed the capacity of the resource to reproduce and replace itself

sustainable society

a society that functions in a way so as not to deplete the energy or material resources on which it depends. Such a society interacts with the natural world in ways that maintain existing species and ecosystems

sustainable development

development that provides people with a better life without sacrificing or depleting resources or causing environmental impacts that will undercut the ability of future generations to meet their needs

development

a term referring to the continued improvement of human well-being, usually in the developing countries

equity

an ethical principle where people’s needs are met in an impartial and just manner

scientific method

the process of making observations and logically integrating those observations into a model demonstrating how the world works. Often involves forming hypotheses, experimenting, and conducting further testing for confirmation

science

a process by which understanding of the natural world is gained; it relies on the scientific method

sound science

the basis for our understanding of how the world works and how human system interact with it. It stems from scientific work based on peer-reviewed research and is one of the unifying themes of this text

junk science

information presented as valid science but unsupported by peer-reviewed research. Often, politically motivated and biased results are selected to promote a particular point of view

observation

things or phenomena that are perceived through one or more of the basic five senses in their normal state. In addition, to be accepted as factual, observations must be verifiable by others

model

in the scientific method, observations may be out together to form a larger picture of how a system works, called a model

experimentation

in the practice of science, the testing of hypotheses by setting up situations where cause and effect are investigated, using careful measurements of conditions and responses

hypothesis

a tentative guess concerning the cause of an observed phenomenon that is then subjected to experimentation to test its logical or empirical consequences

null hypothesis

in a test of a hypothesis, this is a comparison— what one would expect to see if there were no effect of one variable on another

theory

a conceptual formulation that provides a rational explanation or framework for numerous related observations

natural laws

generalizations derived from our observations of matter, energy, and other phenomena. Though not absolute, natural laws have been empirically confirmed to a high degree and are often derivable from higher-level theory

concepts

valid explanations of fate from the natural world that often allow predictions but do not reach the level of validity of natural laws

National Academies of Sciences

top scientists elected by their peers to a group that often speaks to scientific issues

stewardship

a steward is one to whom a trust has been given. As one of the unifying themes of this text, stewardship is the actions and programs that manage natural resources and human well-being for the common good