Sustainability Essential Final Exam

What is the main “idea” behind the “Anthropocene”?

Humanity is now the main driver of earth-system processes at the planetary scale.

What is a tipping point?

The point at which abrupt and often irreversible changes occur in a system.

When we refer to the “Great Acceleration”, what are we referring to?

The increase in the scale of the human enterprise from 1950 onwards.

Which of the following statements are correct? (Please choose all that are correct)

• By 2050, 6.3 billion people will live in towns and cities.

• In the next 40 years there will be a doubling in urban populations.

• The dominant factors driving environmental impact are consumption rates and technology.

What is so special about the Holocene?

Compared to paleo-climatic records of extreme variations in temperature, sea level and other indicators of environmental change over the last 100,000 years, the Holocene (the last 10,000 years) was a period of unprecedented climatic stability.

How much did the average temperature vary during the Holocene?

±1 degree Celsius

What are important resilience strategies?

Enhance the ability to navigate change and prepare for the unexpected.

What is an ecosystem service?

A service provided by ecosystems beneficial to human beings such as the pollination of crops by certain insects and seafood production.

In the context of planetary boundaries, what is a regime shift?

A sudden, large, and persistent changes in the way social-ecological systems function.

Why is it important to be aware of possible regime shifts?

Because they are often difficult to predict and costly to reverse.

Pick three key features of regime shifts from the list below:

• Substantial change in ecosystem services.

• Change that persists over time.

• Alternative regimes are maintained by feedbacks.

What is Earth resilience?

The ability of the earth system to withstand disturbances without shifting into a new state characterized by different structures, feedbacks and functions.

What is the most important aspect to take into account when determining if a threshold has been crossed and thus a tipping point has occurred?

A change in the structure of a system.

How have the boundary values of the nine Planetary Boundaries (PBs) been determined?

All of the above.

Are PBs global thresholds?

No.

Why isn’t ocean acidification a local problem like other kinds of marine pollution?

Because it is caused when atmospheric CO2 dissolves in the oceans all over the world, and humans are increasing global atmospheric CO2 concentrations.

Where in the world is the most severe ozone depletion?

Over Antarctica.

Ozone depletion will increase if...

... more Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and similar synthetic compounds are emitted.

What is functional biodiversity as opposed to genetic diversity?

Functional diversity is the diversity of ecological processes that species perform in an ecosystem.

What are the essential functions of nitrogen and phosphorous?

They are the elements taken up by microorganisms and drive all primary production.

Why is it important to limit nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) flows?

Because excess N and P disrupts biogeochemical cycles.

What are atmospheric aerosols?

Liquid droplets and fine solid particles suspended in the atmosphere.

What is a reason why atmospheric aerosols are important to the Earth system?

They play an important role in the global water cycle, climate system and atmospheric chemistry.

What is the basic idea of the PB concept?

Safeguarding a Holocene-like state as humanity’s desired state of the planet.

Which of the following statements aligns with the concepts of sustainability?

Since land was considered not to be a limiting factor for economic and social development in the mid and late 1900s, it was removed from the economic model. That is why ecological economics was developed during the 1980s aiming to reconnect to land by referring to “natural capital”.

Which three countries (of those studied) have the highest consumption of CO2 per capita and year?

• USA

• The Netherlands

• Belgium

In what ways does urbanization represent an opportunity for sustainable development? (Please choose all that apply)

• With 60% of urban areas still to be built, there is an opportunity to get urban development on a green path.

• Cities can act as hubs of innovation.

• Cities can be built to provide ecosystem services to urban residents, such as the generation of a cooling effect through planting trees

• Cities can represent unique learning and education platforms.

What is special about the exponential function with base e? (Please choose all that apply)

• The special property of the exponential function with base e is that it is equal to its own derivative and antiderivative.

• It has the easiest derivative of all exponential functions.

If S₁ and S₂ are solutions to a linear equation, which of the following is also a solution? (Please choose all that apply)

• B⋅S₁ (with B being a natural number)

• S₁ + S₂

• S₁ − S₂

What does a differential equation describe?

The relationship between a function and its derivatives.

Which law of Thermodynamics do I predominately violate with the following statement: “My machine has an efficiency of over 1.7!”

Second law of Thermodynamics.

What is the main difference between ocean surface waves and sound waves?

Ocean waves are typically transverse waves, whereas sound waves are longitudinal waves.

T or F: The “surprise dilemma” is universal; ecosystem change cannot always be predicted.

True

T or F: You keep resilience in a system by constantly disturbing and probing it to its boundaries.

False

T or F: The best way to ensure that a forest is resilient to fire is to never burn it.

False

T or F: Resilience is about how to maintain the self-organizing capacity of a system.

True

T or F: Reviewing a “ball-and-cup” diagram, a deep cup of the existing state (where the ball is) represents a low level of resilience.

False

T or F: Resilience is always desirable, in all kinds of systems, at all time.

False

T or F: PFAS can be found in all parts of the polar bear’s brain, but the highest concentrations are found in particular regions. These regions regulate thirst, hunger, temperature and fatigue, for example.

False

T or F: Sustainability needs to incorporate measures to eradicate poverty, improve social justice and link sustainability initiatives across scales.

True