ch 1 study guide Bio 2002 SP 25

Finite resources

Resources that are limited in availability and cannot be replenished on a human timescale.

Environment

The surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates; essential for survival.

Environmental Science

The study of interactions between the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment.

Nonrenewable resources

Natural resources that cannot be replenished in a short time frame, such as fossil fuels.

Renewable resources

Resources that can be replenished naturally over time, such as solar energy.

Exhaustible resources

Renewable resources that can be depleted, like fresh water.

Inexhaustible resources

Renewable resources that are essentially unlimited, such as sunlight.

Natural resources

Materials and components that can be found in nature and used for economic gain.

Ecosystem services

Benefits provided by ecosystems to humans, such as pollination and clean water.

Population growth

An increase in the number of individuals in a population, which can amplify human impact on the environment.

Ecological Footprint

A measure of human demand on Earth's ecosystems, representing the amount of land and water area required.

Earth Overshoot Day

The date when humanity's resource consumption for the year exceeds Earth's capacity to regenerate those resources.

Ecological overshoot

When humanity's demand on the biosphere exceeds what the planet can regenerate in a year.

Tragedy of the commons

A situation in which individual users of a shared resource act independently according to their own self-interest.

Natural Capital

The world's stocks of natural assets, including geology, soil, air, water, and all living things.

Environmentalist

A person who is concerned with or advocates for the protection of the environment.

Scientific method

A systematic process for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge.

Hypothesis

A proposed explanation for a phenomenon, based on limited evidence.

Manipulative experiments

Experiments that involve changing one or more variables to observe the effects.

Observational science

A type of science that involves gathering data through observation without manipulating the environment.

Peer reviewed journal

A scholarly publication in which an article is evaluated by experts in the field before publication.

Paradigm shift

A fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions in a scientific field.

Sustainability

The capacity to endure in a relatively ongoing way across various domains of life.

Cornucopian view

An optimistic viewpoint that advocates that human ingenuity will solve environmental challenges.

Cassandra view

A pessimistic perspective that emphasizes the dire consequences of environmental degradation.