Environmental Science Exam Review: Biodiversity, Agriculture, Water Resources, and Air Quality

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering exam study questions on biodiversity, conservation policy, industrial agriculture, soil regeneration, water resources, and air quality dynamics.

Biodiversity

The variety of living organisms across all levels of biological organization, encompassing both genetic diversity within individual species and overall species diversity.

Ecosystem Services

The diverse benefits that natural biological systems provide to humans, categorized into provisioning services, regulating & productivity services, cultural/aesthetic value, and supporting services.

Drivers of Biodiversity Loss

The processes degrading biodiversity, divided into direct drivers that cause immediate physical depletion and underlying (indirect) drivers rooted in social and political systems.

Possible Sixth Extinction

The present geological era characterized by scientists as experiencing accelerated global biodiversity loss on par with historical mass extinction events.

Rivet Popper Hypothesis

An ecological hypothesis proposing that ecosystems can tolerate the loss of some species up to a point, after which cumulative species losses cause abrupt collapse.

North American Bird Declines

The ecological trend showing that bird populations in North America have declined by about $30\%$ since the 1970s, disproportionately affecting common birds and grassland species.

30x30 Goal

A global conservation target committed to protecting $30\%$ of terrestrial and marine systems, assessed against ongoing progress and implementation critiques.

Nature Needs Half

An ambitious conservation initiative proposing the preservation of $50\%$ of Earth's surface, distinguished from the 30x30 goal and subject to four major critiques.

Rewilding

A conservation strategy centered around the "3 Cs" to restore apex natural processes and species, supported by successful project examples as well as implementation critiques.

FPIC

A community-centered principle and protocol in community-based and community-led conservation ensuring local populations hold decision-making authority over conservation actions.

Protected Areas

Designated reserves established for functioning biological systems and human welfare, which remain vital for biodiversity protection even when they do not alleviate poverty.

Industrialized Agriculture

A large-scale agricultural model dominated by a very few large corporations (Big Ag) focused on mechanized, high-input farming.

Farm Bill

Major federal legislation shaped around 4 core purposes that regulates food and farming in the US, including allocating the majority of subsidies to four primary crops.

CAFOs

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations; industrial agricultural facilities that confine animals in high densities, creating severe environmental and ecological impacts.

Monocultures

Agricultural fields dedicated to growing a single crop, which require substantially more chemical protection than farms with crop diversity due to high vulnerability.

Neonicotinoids, Atrazine, and Paraquat

Three specific chemical pesticides and herbicides utilized in industrial farming that carry significant toxicological and ecological impacts.

Dead Zones

Hypoxic aquatic environments caused by nutrient runoff stemming from industrial farming practices associated with Big Ag.

Maryland Family Farms

The demographic reality that $96\%$ of Maryland farms are family owned, presenting a contrast to the corporate concentration of Big Ag.

Food Chains

A documentary film highlighting the struggles of agricultural laborers, farmworker wages, and the key corporate buyers driving the food system.

Biointensive Agriculture

An ecological cultivation approach structured around 6 specific components, related to and distinguished from broader agroecology practices.

Soil Regeneration

The restorative process of rebuilding soil health, exemplified by Driftwood Farm where soil organic matter fell from $18\text{--}24\%$ in colonial times to $1.7\%$ before intervention.

IPM

Integrated Pest Management; an agricultural strategy driven by key principles and specific components designed to suppress pest populations sustainably.

New Zealand Agricultural Subsidies

A national case study in which government agricultural subsidies were completely eliminated through strategic policy reforms.

Global Freshwater Supply

The proportion of global water that is fresh, standing at only $2.5\%$, highlighting how human consumption is living beyond hydrological means.

Aral Sea

A formerly massive inland water body that underwent catastrophic desiccation and ecological collapse as a result of large-scale water diversion.

Day Zero

The critical threshold in Cape Town when municipal water supplies were projected to be completely shut off due to acute drought before being successfully averted.

High Plains (Ogallala) Aquifer

A vast underground water reservoir referred to as "fossil" water due to its ancient geologic origin and the permanent risks associated with its depletion.

Land Subsidence

The permanent sinking of the ground surface caused by groundwater overdraft, which collapses pore spaces and destroys subsurface storage capacity.

Groundwater Recharge Reduction

The inhibition of natural water infiltration into underground aquifers caused by impervious surfaces and engineered storm drains.

Orange Counties Groundwater Replenishment System

A wastewater purification and advanced recycling facility that treats water to recharge local groundwater basins.

Flint, Michigan

A municipal water crisis involving severe lead contamination and regulatory failure, regarded as a critical environmental justice issue.

Cholera in Yemen

A massive epidemic of waterborne bacterial illness driven by armed conflict and the destruction of sanitation and water infrastructure.

Bolivia’s Water War

A series of violent civil protests in Cochabamba over the privatization of water, illustrating how water access serves as a catalyst for socio-political conflict.

Primary vs. Secondary Air Pollutants

The two foundational classes of air pollution, differentiated by direct release into the atmosphere versus formation through subsequent atmospheric chemical reactions.

Fine Particulate Matter

Airborne inhalable particles measuring less than $2.5\,\mu\text{m}$ in diameter ($\text{PM}_{2.5}$) that pose severe risks to human health due to their microscopic size.

Sulfurous Smog vs. Photochemical Smog

Two distinct air pollution mixtures differentiated by their chemical drivers: industrial sulfur emissions versus sunlight-driven reactions between nitrogen oxides and organics.

Energy Efficiency Paradox

A phenomenon in which increases in energy efficiency do not produce proportional reductions in energy consumption or air pollution due to systemic rebound effects.

Chesapeake "Bay Breeze"

A regional meteorological breeze pattern that alters atmospheric dynamics and traps industrial air pollutants over local communities in Maryland.