Environmental Studies Final Exam

How are environmental problems caused?

Issues with the planet’s biophysical systems that have developed as a result of human interference

Harmful effects of anthropogenic activity on Earth’s biophysical systems

how are environmental problems caused?

rapid expansion of population

increase in energy and material consumption

anthropocentric worldview

human centric, we use things for our purposes and based on instrumental value

conservation approach

part of the anthropocentric worldview to preserve resources

Pinchot view

biocentric worldview

humans have responsibility to everything because it has intrinsic value

preservation approach

protect unaltered state

biocentric

Muir view

ecocentric/environmental worldview

intrinsic value

everything is on moral par and systematic interactions should have moral consideration

restoration approach

Aldo Leopold view

precautionary principle

when an activity raises threats of harm to environment or human health, precautionary measures should be taken even if cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically

four laws of ecology

everything is connected

everything must go somewhere

nature knows best

there’s no such thing as a free lunch

what is the tragedy of the commons?

overuse of common property resources

owned by none and available to all

personal pollution does not matter

I in IPATS

environmental Impacts

P in IPATS

population

A in IPATS

affluence

T in IPATS

technology

S in IPATS

sustainable solutions

ability to meet needs of present without compromising needs of the now

pillars of sustainability

economic

environment

social

ecological footprint

the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources

ecological overshoot

calculated calendar date where humanity’s resource consumption for the year exceeds Earth’s capacity to regenerate those resources

sustainable practices

conscious consuming

fair trade

local living economies

closed loop production

life cycle assessment

assessment of environmental impacts of all stages of production of an item

GDP

gross domestic production

monetary value of all goods and services produced within nation’s geographic borders over period of time

GPI

Genuine progress indicator

takes everything into account plus cost of negative effects related to economic activity

Net calculation

Agricultural revolution

increase in food and waste production

land clearing

loss of knowledge about natural cycles

ownership of land and water

urbanization

industrial revolution

fossil fuels

decreasing dependence on local production

urbanization

population growth

wealth and goods

information revolution

globalization

decrease in cultural diversity and biodiversity

monocultures

current human population

7.6 billion

births

increase population

deaths

decrease population

migration

changes population positively or negatively

rapid growth

lots of young ages

slow growth

pyramid

zero growth

even

negative growth

inverted pyramid

three types of biodiversity

genetic, species, ecosystem

nonrenewable energy

nuclear, coal, oil, natural gas

advantages of nuclear power

no greenhouse gases

requires small amount of fuel

disadvantages of nuclear energy

radioactive waste

not much uranium left

nonrenewable

radiation

advantages of coal

cheap

easy to mine

easy to transport

disadvantages of coal

destroy habitats

mining accidents

produce green house gases

contribute to acid rain

advantages of oil

cheap

small amount of fuel needed

easy to transport and produce

disadvantages of oil

produce greenhouse gases

air and water pollution

limited supply

advantages of natural gas

cheap

cleanest fossil fuel

easy to transport

disadvantages of natural gas

produce greenhouse gases

air and water pollution

explosive

extraction takes a lot of water

renewable energy sources

biomass, wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, wave

pros of biomass

less pollution

no acid rain

local

renewable

cons of biomass

inefficient

releases solid carbon

pros of wind

renewable

free

no ghg

few safety risk

cons of wind

lots of turbines

need wind

not always windy

ugly

cons of solar

nrg is free

no ghg

always there

cons of solar

expensive

can be cloudy

ugly

pros of geothermal

no ghg

free

cons of geothermal

not common

harmful gases and minerals

pros of hydroelectric

no ghg

water is free

renewable

cons of hydroelectric

expensive

flooding

could be no rain

pros of wave

free

no ghg

few safety risk

cons of wave

small amounts of power

transportation

expensiv

good ozone

protects us from UV radiation

bad ozone

too much ozone in the right mixture can create photochemical smog (when UV light reacts with atmosphere)

also has effects on human health

how is tropospheric ozone formed

sunlight plus nitrogen oxides and VOCs

pH of rainwater

5.5

pH of acid rain

3-4

sources of acid rain

sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides

natural, stationary, mobile

harmful effects of acid rain

property or structural damage

foliage damage

weakened plant defenses

lake acidification

causes of climate change

increases in greenhouse gases which warm the planet and disrupt natural cycles

greenhouse gases

water vapor

carbon dioxide

methane

nitrous oxide N20

ozone O3

chlorofluorocarbons CFC

greenhouse effect

trapping of some of infared radiation within atmosphere which keeps earth’s daily temperature fluctuations within small, habitable range

environmental impacts of climate change

warmer temperatures increasing range of pest insects

more intense and destructive hurricanes

loss of glaciers

reduction in sea ice

sea level rise

solutions to climate change

decreasing fossil fuel consumption

improve energy efficiency

reduce deforestation

reduce agricultural practices known to release greenhouse gases

Lorax summary

The onceler is telling a story after the environment has been destroyed

He finds the truffula trees and really loves how soft they are and how they smell good

He builds a store and chops down a truffula tree

The Lorax comes out of the tree stump

The Onceler starts to knit something out of the truffula tufts, a thneed, and starts selling them

The Lorax tries to save the trees while the Onceler’s business begins to get more lucrative

The Onceler calls his family who all come to help him and are motivated by riches

The Onceler starts to chop down even more trees and expand his business, with a high demand

He builds a highway to increase traffic to his business which pollutes the air

He also builds a neighborhood and town by clearning out everything in the area (Onceler Hills)

The Onceler dumps all of the trash into the nearby river

His factories release toxins and gases into the atmosphere

The Barbaloot bears eat the fruits of the truffula tree and have to leave when there is none left to eat

The Onceler says that if he didn’t destroy the environment someone else would - TOC

The swans have to leave because of the smog

The Onceler uses all the thneeds and then cannot run his business anymore

The Lorax lifts himself away and leaves a pile of rocks with the word Unless

The Onceler gives the boy a truffula seed, the last one

How is the Lorax related to IPATS

The population of the town grows

The affluence grows as the thneeds become more lucrative

Technology develops to start the business

There are no sustainability measures taken so the impact is huge

How does the I in IPATS relate to the Lorax?

The impact of the Onceler’s action is that all of the animals, including the Lorax, have to leave

He also goes bankrupt because of his overuse of resources

How does the P in IPATS relate to the Lorax?

The Onceler creates a town around his thneed business that experiences population growth, which increases the demand for the production of the thneeds

How does the A in IPATS relate to the Lorax?

The Onceler becomes richer and richer, leading to his ability to produce more and more as well as different products

How does the T in IPATS relate to the Lorax?

The Onceler uses different technology to help his production process, which leaves more of an impact on the environment

How does the S in IPATS relate to the Lorax?

The Onceler takes no sustainability measures at all, making the impact of the PAT part greater because there is nothing to mitigate it

How are ecosystems and biodiversity illustrated in the Lorax?

The barbaloot bears have to leave because they eat the Truffula fruit and there is none left for them to have

The birds have to leave because they can’t breathe the toxic air

The fish leave because their rivers are too polluted

How are water resources illustrated in the Lorax?

The Onceler uses the river to dispose of waste, polluting it

How are global climate and atmosphere illustrated in the Lorax?

The Onceler’s factories heavily pollute the air, evidenced by the transition from beautiful blue skies to black smog

How are land use illustrated in the Lorax?

The Onceler chops down every single tree in the area and clears the land even of grass to build his factories and town

What is the moral of the Lorax?

The world that we see the Onceler create is the world we are going to have unless we care and take steps to manage it

If you had a chance to rewrite the story of the Lorax, what sustainable solutions would you recommend to Mr. Once-ler and why

I would recommend him to consume the truffula trees more sustainably right at the beginning

If he would have managed his consumption and planted new trees, his affluence and growth would be slower but would sustain him over his lifetime and he would not end up destitute at the end while preserving the environment around him