GEOG - Module 6 | For Exam 2

Nature (Social Creation)

The physical universe including humans, shaped by cultural understandings, social needs, and historical power relations.

Society

The sum of inventions, institutions, philosophies, and relationships created and reproduced by human beings across space and time.

Romanticism

A 19th-century philosophy reacting against industrialization that viewed nature as a spiritual antidote to urban decay (e.g., Thoreau's Walden).

Conservation

The philosophy that natural resources should be used thoughtfully and managed sustainably as stewards for human benefit (e.g., US Forest Service).

Preservation

The philosophy that pristine natural environments should be kept completely off-limits to human exploitation and development (e.g., Sierra Club, Wilderness Areas).

Three Components of Technology

Physical objects/artifacts (tools), activities/processes (methods like farming/fracking), and knowledge/know-how (engineering skills).

Three Ways Technology Affects Environment

Resource harvesting, waste emissions during manufacturing, and waste emissions during consumer use.

Environmental Justice (EJ)

The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in environmental decisions, preventing disproportionate exposure to toxic hazards.

Flint, Michigan Water Crisis

An EJ case study where cost-cutting led to lead contamination in a low-income minority community whose protests were ignored by officials.

Dakota Access Pipeline and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe

EJ case where the pipeline threatened the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s water and sacred sites, raising concerns about Indigenous rights, environmental risks, and unequal participation in decisions.

Renewable vs Nonrenewable Resources

Renewable resources replenish naturally at or above usage rates (solar, timber); Nonrenewable resources exist in finite quantities (fossil fuels, minerals).

Land Use vs Land Cover

Land use is how humans utilize land (cropland, urban development); Land cover is the physical material on the surface (forest canopy, asphalt).

Deforestation Impact

Clearing forests for agriculture/livestock accounts for 10% of human greenhouse gas emissions and disrupts global carbon and oxygen cycles.

Microplastics

Tiny plastic particles created when ocean sunlight and wave action fragment non-biodegradable macro-plastics.

Great Pacific Garbage Patch

A massive accumulation of floating microplastics gathered in the North Pacific Ocean by circulating ocean currents (gyres).

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

The rapid warming of Earth caused by human burning of fossil fuels, which traps unnatural amounts of longwave thermal radiation in the troposphere.

Mitigation (Climate Change)

Actions aimed at reducing or preventing greenhouse gas emissions at the source (e.g., switching to solar power).

Adaptation (Climate Change)

Strategies designed to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience against unavoidable climate impacts (e.g., sea walls, heat-resistant crops).

Geoengineering

Large-scale, deliberate technological interventions in Earth's climate system to alter global temperatures (e.g., stratospheric aerosol injection).

Sustainable Development

Development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (balancing environment, society, economy).

UGA Sustainability Initiatives

Campus programs promoting sustainability through electric transit buses, dining composting, UGArden, green roofs, and pollinator projects.