Unit 1: Environment and Sustainability Flashcards

Vocabulary terms and definitions from Unit 1: Environment and Sustainability regarding ecological footprints, worldviews, and resource management.

Earth-centered worldview

A perspective that considers humans as a part of the earth, and that the earth exists to support all things.

Ecological Footprint

A tool that measures the amount of nature/natural resources humans use to live.

Ecology

Scientific study of how organisms interact with each other and the environment around them

Ecosystem

A community of living things living together in a single area, all subsisting off one another

Ecosystem Service

The benefits that humans obtain from healthy natural systems

Environment

The sum of all factors that contribute to the development and survival of local living organisms in a specific area

Environmental degradation

Deterioration of natural environments through depletion in resources and destruction of ecosystems

Environmental ethics

A philosophy that studies the moral relationships between humans and nature

Environmental Science

Science that studies many aspects of nature and the environment to find solutions to complex ecological problems

Environmental worldview

Belief that values entire environments and ecosystems over how natural resources can help humanity

Environmentalism

Broad movement dedicated to preserving, protection, and improving the environment and nature in general

Environmentally sustainable society

A society that meets current human needs without catastrophically damaging the environment

Exponential growth

Occurs when a population at a constant rate per individual in an ideal environment with unlimited resources

Human-centered worldview

Worldview that places human importance above all else, regardless of consequence

Inexhaustible resource

A natural supply of a resource that never runs out

Life-centered worldview

A worldview that places intrinsic value and importance on all living things

Natural capital

Earths stock of natural resources that includes all living things

Natural income

The yield per year of the earths renewable resources

Natural resource

The resources that the earth provides, such as water, lumber, and plants that organisms use to survive

Nonpoint source

An indirect source of pollution that does not have a single identifiable point of origin

Nonrenewable resource

Natural materials that exist only in limited amounts

Point source

A single identifiable source of pollution

Pollution

Contaminants introduced to the environment through various agricultural, economical, and transportational practices

Renewable resource

Natural assets that the earth regularly and safely produces

Sustainability

The ability to meet current need without harming the ability to do so again in the future