ENSC 101 - Exam 1 Prep (copy)

sustainability

capacity of the earth's natural systems to survive flourish, or adapt to chanting environment conditions

biomimicry

learning from the death and living things to live more sustainably

Environmental science studies connections in nature:
-How the earth works and has survived and thrived
-How humans interact with the environment
-How we can live more sustainably

What are some key principles of sustainability?

ecology

branch of biology focusing on interaction of living things with their envionment

ecosystem

set of organism interacting in a defined area

Environmentalism (environmental activism)

What do the following bullet points describe?
-Social movement dedicated to protecting the earth's life and resources
-Practiced in realms of politics and ethics
-Findings of environmental science can provide evidence

1) dependent on solar energy- the sun provides warmth and energy plants use to produce nutrients
2) biodiversity- astounding variety and adaptability of natural systems and species
3) chemical (nutrient) cycling- circulation from the environment to organisms and then back to the environment

What are the three scientific principles of sustainability?

natural capital

What keeps humans and other species alive and supports economies?

natural resources

-useful materials and energy in nature
-may be inexhaustible, renewable or nonrenewable (exhaustible)

ecosystem services

processes provided by healthy ecosystems

-solar energy
-forests, grasslands, topsoil, fishes, air, freshwater
-oil, coal, natural gas, copper, salt, sand

What is in an example of an inexhaustible natural resource?
What is in an example of a renewable natural resource?
What is in an example of a nonrenewable natural resource?

nutrient cycling

What is a vital ecosystem service?

by using renewable resources too fast

How can human activities degrade natural capital?

1) full-cost pricing
2) win-win solutions
3) a responsibility to future generations

What are the three additional principles of sustainability?

full-cost pricing

include harmful environmental and health costs in market prices of goods and services

win-win solutions

look for solutions that will benefit people and the environment

a responsibility to future generations

leave plant's life-support system in the same or better condition than it is now

more-developed countries

-industrialized nations with high average income per person
-17% of the world's population
-use 70% of the world's natural resources

less-developed countries

-83% of the world's population
-use 30% of natural resources

Many people have a better quality of life:
-humans have developed useful materials and products
-life span increasing
-food supply more abundant and safer
-exposure to toxic chemicals more avoidable

How are our ecological footprints affecting the earth?

by restoring cleared lands

How have humans protected some endangered species and ecosystems?

environment degradation

wasting, depleting, and degrading in the earth's natural capital

urban development, crop and energy production, mining, timber cutting and more

What are some human activities that directly affect 83% of earth's land surface?

yes

Are species becoming extinct 100 times faster than in pre human times?

open-access resources

atmosphere, ocean and its fishes, grasslands, forests, streams and aquifers

exploiting

The cumulative effect of many people \______ a shared resource can degrade, exhaust, or ruin it

use resource at a rate well below its sustainable yield
mutual agreement or access regulation

What is the solution to this cumulative effect of degrading resources?

ecological footprint

-amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply a population with renewable resources and recycle wastes
-sustainability measure that relates to the earth's bio capacity

ecological deficit

footprint larger than biological capacity for replenishment

IPAT
I \= Environmental Impact
P \= Population
A \= Affluence
T \= Technology

simple environmental impact model developed in the 1970's

1) agricultural revolution
2) industrial-medical revolution
3) informational-globalization revolution

Cultural changes can increase or shrink our ecological footprints
What are three major cultural events?

Basic causes of environmental problems:
-population growth
-unsustainable resource use
-poverty
-omission of harmful environmental costs in market pricing of goods and services
-increasing isolation from nature
-competing environmental worldview

What causes environmental problems and why do they persist?

7.3
9.3

The human population has grown exponentially
Current population: \____ billion people
By 2050, population could increase by \____ billion people

affluence

\______ results in increased resource consumption per person, increases environmental degradation, wastes and pollution

-better and widespread education; increased awareness of environmental issues
-money available to develop technologies with beneficial environmental impacts

What are the positive aspects of affluence?

poverty- it has harmful environmental and health effects

people that lack money to fulfill basic needs such as adequate food, water, shelter, health care and education
short-term survival is more important than environmental concerns

malnutrition

\_____ and lack of clean drinking water causes premature death for 7 million children under the age of 5 each year

companies
goods and services
tax
encourage

\_______ don't pay the environmental cost of resource use
\_____ and \______ don't include the harmful environmental costs - consumers lack info
Companies receive \____ breaks and subsidies - some subsidies \____ depletion of natural capital

lack

Increasing populations in urban areas \___ of contact with nature
People are increasingly isolated from nature

better health, reduced stress, improve mental capabilities, increased imagination and creativity, sense of connection with the earth

What are some benefits of outdoor activities?

environmental worldview

set of assumptions and values about interaction with the natural world

human-centered environmental worldview

planetary management worldview
stewardship worldview

life-centered worldview

all species have value

earth-centered worldview

natural capital exists for all species, not just humans

inexhaustible
George Perkins Marsh
John Muir
Gifford Pinchot
Leopold
Carson
major
Earth
environmental

In the 1600's European colonists considered lands resources \_______
In 1864 \______ \_____ \_____ countered this view and became an early founder of the US conservation movement
\_____ \____ promoted setting aside wilderness lands for preservation
\______ \_____ promoted scientific management of public lands
In 1949 \______ laid groundwork for environmental ethics
In 1962 \_____ documented harmful effects of pesticides
In the 1970's pollution and species endangerment became a \_____ problem - First \______ Day held
In the 1980's political backlash against \____ laws

living sustainably- live off the deaths natural income without depleting

What is an environmental sustainable society?

-learn from nature
-protect natural capital
-do not waste resources
-recycle and reuse nonrenewable resources
-use renewable resources at a rate slower than nature can replenish them
-incorporate harmful health and environmental impacts in market prices
-prevent future ecological damage and repair past damage
-find win win solutions to environmental problems
-accept responsibility to pass the death on to future generations in a condition as good as or better than what we inherited

What are some ways we can live more sustainably?

hopeless
5 to 10
social

Environmental problems are complex and widespread but not a \_______ situation
Research suggests \___ to \____ % of a population can bring about major social change
Significant \____ change can occur more quickly than most people believe

experimenting with a forest

How do scientists learn about nature?

Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire

compared the loss of water and nutrients from an uncut forest (control site) with one that had been stripped (experimental site)

30-40% more runoff
more dissolved nutrients
more soil erosion

What were the conditions of the stripped site?

data and develop

Scientists collect \______ and \____ theories, models, and laws about how nature works

1) observations
2) measurements
3) experimentation

What 3 tools of scientists?

-identify a problem
-find out what is known about the problem
-ask a question to investigate
-perform an experiment, collect data and analyze data to answer the question
-propose a scientific hypothesis to explain the data
-use the hypothesis to make the testable projections
-accept or revise the hypothesis

What are the steps in the scientific method?

developing a model

What is another way to study nature?

scientific theory

well tested and widely accepted hypothesis

it advances through:
-scientist publishing details of methods and results
-peer review
-new data and analysis can lead to revised hypotheses

Scientists are curious and skeptical and demand evidence
What does scientific knowledge advance through?

-thinking critically
-have a skeptical outlook
-evaluate evidence and hypotheses using inputs from a variety of reliable resources
-identify and evaluate personal assumptions, biases, and beliefs to distinguish facts and opinions before coming to a conclusion
-imagination, creativity and intuition are also vital

Critical thinking and creativity are important in science

scientific theory

is widely tested and supported by evidence

scientific law or law of nature

is well-tested, widely accepted description of what happens repeatedly and in the same way in nature

reliable science
unreliable science
tentative science

What are the three different types of science?

reliable science

data, hypothesis, models, theories, and laws widely accepted by experts

unreliable science

results presented as reliable without peer review or having been discredited

tentative science

preliminary scientific results without adequate testing and peer review

prove or disprove
probability
bias
systems
mathematical
statistical

Science has limitations
Scientists cannot \______ or \_____ anything absolutely
Science attempts to establish high \______
Scientists not free of \____ about their own hypotheses and results
\_______ in the natural world involve a many variables and complex interactions- \______ models and \_____ tools help deal with these

matter

is anything that has mass and takes up space

solid, liquid, or gas

What are the three physical states that exist in matter?

elements and compounds

What are the two chemical forms of matter?

elements

have unique properties and cannot be broken down chemically into other substances

periodic table

Known elements are arranged in a chart called the \____ \_____ of elements

compounds

two or more different elements held together in fixed portions

elements and compounds

\______ and \_____ are made of atoms, molecules, and ions

atomic theory

the theory that states that all elements are made of atoms

nucleus
positive
no
negatively

Subatomic particles:
-\_____ of the atom
-protons have a \_____ charge
-neutrons have \___ charge
-\______ charged electrons orbit the nucleus

same
protons

Each elements has a unique atomic number
It is the \_______ as the number of \____ in the nucleus

mass number

number of protons plus neutrons in the nucleus

isotope

form an element with the same atomic number but different mass number

molecule

-combination of two or more atoms of same or different elements
-held together by chemical bonds

ions

-atom or group of atoms with net positive and negative electric charge
-formed when electrons are gained (anion) or lost (cation)

acidity

measure of comparative amounts of hydrogen ions (H+) and hydroxide ions (OH-) in a volume of water solution

the pH

What is the acidity measured with?

neutral
acidic
basic

\______ solution has a pH equal to 7
\______ solution has a pH < 7
\______ solution has a pH \> 7

sodium chloride (NaCL) - tends to dissolve in water and break into ions
water (H2O)
contain at least two carbon atoms
the exception is methane CH4
hydrocarbons and simple carbohydrates

Chemical Formula
What is an example of an ionic compound?
What is an example of a covalent compound?
What do organic compounds contain? And what is the exception? What are some types?

macromolecules

\__________ are complex organic molecules
they contain: complex carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids

cells

-fundamental units of life
-all organisms have one or more of these

genes
genetic information

-sequences of nucleotides within DNA
-instructions called \____ \_____
-create inheritable traits

chromosomes

they are composed of many genes

physical
chemical

Matter can change
\_______ change is no change in chemical composition
\_______ change is change in chemical composition

matter conservation
never
rearrange

principle of \____ \______ states that the mass of an object or collection of objects \_____ changes over time, no matter how the constituent parts \____ themselves

energy
lower or less-useable

The mass can neither be created nor destroyed
Whenever energy is converted from one form to another in a physical or chemical change:
-No \______ is created or destroyed (1st law of thermodynamics)
-We end up with \____ quality or \_____ energy than we start with (2nd law of thermodynamics)

energy

the ability to do work

kinetic energy

energy of movement, heat, and electromagnetic radiation

potential energy

stored energy, can be changed into kinetic energy

renewable energy

gained from resources that are replenished by natural processes in a relatively short time

nonrenewable energy
Ex) fossil fuels

gained from resources that can be depleted and are not replenished by natural processes within human time scale

solar energy

energy from the sun, 99% of the energy that keeps us warm and supports plants and other organisms

commercial energy

energy sold in the marketplace, supplements suns energy, 90% comes from burning fossil fuels: oil, coal and natural gas

high-quality energy
Ex) high temperature heat, strong winds, energy released by burning fossil fuels

concentrated energy with high capacity to do useful work

low-quality energy
Ex) low temperature moving molecules

dispersed energy with low capacity to do work

1st law of thermodynamics

also called the law of conservation of energy
energy is neither created nor destroyed in physical and chemical changes