Introduction to Environmental Science

Vocabulary flashcards covering the core terminology, ethical perspectives, scientific principles, and key concepts introduced in Lesson 1: Introduction to Environmental Science.

Environmental Science

A STEM field focusing on environmental health, sustainability, human impacts on the environment, and creating solutions by combining various approaches of natural sciences.

Environment

The total surroundings, encompassing all living things, non-living things, built environments, and social relationships and institutions with which humans interact.

Built Environment

Human-created living centers and physical structures, such as buildings, that form part of the total environment.

Natural Resources

Substances and energy sources needed for human survival.

Renewable Resources

Natural resources that are perpetually available (such as sunlight, wind, and wave energy) or renew themselves over short periods of time (such as timber, water, and soil).

Non-renewable Resources

Natural resources that exist in finite amounts and can be depleted through use, such as oil, coal, and minerals.

Thomas Malthus

An economist who argued that human population growth must be controlled, or it will outstrip food production, leading to starvation, war, and disease.

Neo-Malthusians

Researchers, such as Paul and Anne Ehrlich (authors of The Population Growth Bomb, 1968), who argue that population growth causes disastrous environmental effects and that agricultural advances have only postponed crises.

Tragedy of the Commons

A concept described by Garrett Hardin in 1968 stating that unregulated exploitation of shared resources leads to depletion because no single individual has an incentive to care for the resource.

Ecological Footprint

The environmental impact of a person or population, defined as the amount of biologically productive land and water needed to provide resources and to dispose of or recycle waste.

Overshoot

The condition in which humans have surpassed the Earth's capacity to support us, currently using 30% more resources than are sustainably available.

Environmentalism

A social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world, distinct from environmental science, which is the objective pursuit of knowledge about the natural world.

Observational (Descriptive) Science

Research where scientists gather information about subjects that are not well known or cannot be manipulated in experiments, such as in astronomy, paleontology, taxonomy, and molecular biology.

Hypothesis-driven Science

Research that proceeds in a structured manner using experiments to test hypotheses through the scientific method.

Scientific Method

A technique for testing ideas through observation, asking questions, formulating hypotheses, generating predictions, testing predictions, and analyzing results.

Hypothesis

A statement or potential explanation that attempts to answer a scientific question and can be tested through experimentation.

Peer-review

A process where other scientists provide comments and criticism on research to guard against faulty science and improve research quality.

Theory

A consistently supported and widely accepted explanation of one or more cause-and-effect relationships that has been extensively and rigorously tested.

Paradigm Shift

A major change in the dominant view or scientific consensus that occurs when sufficient new data accumulates.

Ethics

The study of good and bad, right and wrong, or the set of moral principles and values held by a person or society that guides behavior.

Relativists

Ethicists who believe that ethical principles vary depending on the social context.

Universalists

Ethicists who believe that concepts of right and wrong remain the same across all cultures and situations.

Ethical Standards

Criteria that help differentiate right from wrong, including virtue, the Golden Rule, and utility.

Environmental Ethics

The application of ethical standards to relationships between human and non-human entities.

Anthropocentrism

An ethical perspective holding that only humans have rights, evaluating costs and benefits based solely on human impact, and attributing no value to non-human entities.

Biocentrism

An ethical perspective holding that all life has ethical standing and intrinsic value, opposing human actions that destroy living things.

Ecocentrism

A holistic ethical perspective that values entire ecological systems, including species, communities, and non-living components.

Preservation Ethic

An ethical viewpoint advocated by John Muir stating that unspoiled nature should be protected in a pristine state for its own inherent value and human fulfillment.

Conservation Ethic

An ethical viewpoint advocated by Gifford Pinchot stating that natural resources should be used wisely for the greatest good for the most people.

Land Ethic

An ethical perspective proposed by Aldo Leopold asserting that humans should view themselves and the land as members of the same community with a obligation to treat the land ethically.

Ecofeminism

A philosophical perspective arising in the 1960s and 1970s asserting that a patriarchal, male-dominated society is a root cause of both social oppression and environmental degradation.

Environmental Justice

The fair treatment of all people regardless of race, income, or ethnicity with respect to environmental protection and exposure to environmental hazards.

Sustainability

A guiding principle of environmental science focused on living within our planet's means so Earth can sustain humans and other organisms for the future.

Natural Capital

The accumulated wealth of Earth's resources and natural systems, which humans are withdrawing 30% faster than it is being produced.

2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

The most comprehensive scientific assessment of the condition of ecological systems, finding that human alteration of ecosystems has fueled development at significant environmental costs.

Sustainable Development

The practice of using resources to satisfy current human needs without compromising the availability of resources for future generations.