Environmental Exam 1

3 Core Message Humans are: part of the natural world, dependent on a healthy, functioning planet.

 What can we learn about sustainability from a vanished Viking society: 1,000 years ago, Viking settlers arrived in Greenland, Peak population was 3,000 individuals, The settlement persisted for 450 years, then disappeared.

What Are the Purpose and Scope of Environmental Science? Environmental science draws on science and nonscience disciplines to understand the natural world and our relationship to it.

Environment: the biological and physical surroundings in which any given living organism exists

Environmental science: an interdisciplinary field of research that draws on the natural and social sciences and the humanities in order to understand the natural world and our relationship with it

Environmental Science: Natural sciences, Social sciences, Humanities, Engineering

Empirical investigations provide information about: the natural world

Applied science focuses on: the practical application of scientific knowledge.

Applied science: research whose findings are used to help solve practical problems; making a better solar cell

Empirical science: a scientific approach that investigates the natural world through systematic observation and experimentation; investigating the properties of light

12 Why did the Vikings disappear from Greenland? Ice Cores, During the Viking period, temperatures dropped significantly; Little Ice Age

Mud cores: Prior to Little Ice Age, soil erosion was a significant problem.

Environmental problems are difficult to solve because: there are multiple causes and consequences •different stakeholders prefer different solutions •potential solutions come with trade-offs.

Stakeholders- the people and organizations who are involved in or affected by an action or policy and can be directly or indirectly included in the decision making process.

Environmental literacy: can help solve or prevent environmental problems; a basic understanding of how ecosystems function and a basic understanding of how ecosystems function and of the impact of our choices on the environment

Trade-offs: the imperfect and sometimes problematic responses that we must at times choose between when addressing complex problems

Living sustainably means: Creating the least amount of waste with what you have, Lasts for a long period of time, Being able to reproduce the materials you used, Any waste produced should be used by something else •Not using more than what you need

Sustainable Development: living within the means of one’s environment in a way that does not diminish the environment’s ability to support life in the future

Sustainable development: development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same

Stewardship- we have creativity and authority
The Vikings in Greenland disappeared because they made unsustainable choices.

Human impact on Earth may be so great that we may be ushering in a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene.

Geologic Time: We are currently in the Holocene epoch, However our changes our so substantial, that they may even be

Anthropocene: a proposed new geologic epoch that is marked by modern human impact

Anthropogenic: caused by or related to human action

Planetary boundaries: For which planetary boundaries are we already; In the zone of uncertainty; Beyond the zone of uncertainty?

Natural ecosystems are sustainable because of the way they: acquire energy, use matter, control population sizes, depend on local biodiversity

Nonrenewable resources: resources whose supply is finite or not replenished in a timely fashion

Natural ecosystems do not use nonrenewable resources!

Biomimicry- Using nature as a model, a field of science that uses nature as a model, mentor, and measure for our own systems

Sustainable: capable of being continued indefinitely; natural ecosystems

Renewable energy: energy that comes from an infinitely available or easily replenished source; most energy is from the sun
Biodiversity: the variety of species on Earth, ex.population control in ecosystems

Social traps: decisions by individuals or groups that seem good at the time and produce a short-term benefit but that hurt society in the long run

tragedy of the commons: the tendency of an individual to abuse commonly held resources in order to maximize his or her own personal interest

Worldview: the window through which one views one’s world and existence; this influences individual environmental ethics.

Environmental ethic: the personal philosophy that influences how a person interacts with his or her natural environment and thus affects how one responds to environmental problems

Anthropocentric worldview: a human-centered view that assigns intrinsic value only to humans

Biocentric worldview: a life-centered approach that views all life as having intrinsic value, regardless of its usefulness to humans

Ecocentric worldview: a system-centered view that values intact ecosystems, not just the individual parts

Evidence suggests that the Vikings attempted to make changes to live within the means of their environment but failed.

White-Nose Syndrome: In 2007, thousands of dead bats were discovered in New York State, Cause of death unknown; bats obviously suffered, 2 species on the edge of extinction, 6 million have died from the disease.

•White Nose Syndrome was Found in: 37 states and 5 Canadian provinces
•Science: a body of knowledge (facts and explanations) about the

The “process” enables scientists to test ideas by:gathering evidence, evaluating the quality of that evidence

 Science Is Based on: Empirical Evidence

•Empirical observations: information detected with the senses, or with equipment that extends our senses

Scientific method: the procedure scientists use to empirically test a hypothesis

Inferences: conclusions drawn based on observations

Hypothesis: an inference that proposes a possible explanation for what we have observed and is based on some previous knowledge

Scientists proposed two hypotheses about the WNS fungal disease: The white-nose infection caused by the fungus was secondary and opportunistic; it was able to grow on the bats only because their defenses had been weakened by another pathogen. 2) The fungus had been transported from some other place and was new to the region

Hypothesis 1: The white-nose infection caused by the fungus was secondary and opportunistic; it was able to grow on the bats only because their defenses had been weakened by another pathogen.

Results of Hypo 1: Close examination of internal organs revealed no abnormalities or evidence of previous infection; The skin infections caused by WNS occurred in the absence of other infections; The opportunistic hypothesis was rejected.

Hypothesis 2: The fungus had been transported from some other place and was new to the region.

Results of Hypo 2: Researchers in Europe and China identified the same fungus in their bat caves, but those bats there were perfectly healthy, This new information supported the second hypothesis.

Theory: widely accepted explanation of a natural phenomenon;extensively and rigorously tested scientifically

Observational study: research that gathers data in a real-world setting without intentionally manipulating any variable

Experimental study: research that manipulates a variable in a test group and compares the response to that of a control group that was not exposed to the same variable

Independent variable: the variable in an experiment that a researcher manipulates or changes to see if the change produces an effect

Dependent variable: the variable in an experiment that is evaluated to see if it changes due to the conditions of the experiment

Experimental group: the group in an experimental study that is manipulated such that it differs from the control group in only one way

Control group: the group in an experimental study to which the test group’s results are compared

Statistics: the mathematical evaluation of experimental data to determine how likely it is that any difference observed is due to the variable being tested

•Correlation: two things occurring together but not necessarily having a cause-and-effect relationship

•Cause-and-effect relationship: an association between two variables that identifies one (the effect) occurring as a result of or in response to the other (the cause)

Policy: a formalized plan that addresses a desired outcome or goal •Policies need to be informed by science.

•Precautionary principle: acting in a way that leaves a safety margin when the data are uncertain or severe consequences are possible.

 Information Literacy: Published information about scientific topics abounds in our modern world. Information literacy skills help individuals determine the reliability of that information.

Primary source: Information source that presents original data or firsthand information; scientific journal such as Science
Secondary source: Information source that presents and interprets

information solely from primary sources; newspapers
Tertiary source: Information source that uses information from at least one secondary source
Media literacy: The ability to evaluate digital sources of information
Media Literacy: Evaluating Digital “News” Stories

Logical fallacies: Arguments that attempt to sway the reader without using reasonable evidence

A logical fallacy – or fallacy for short – is an argument that contains a mistake in reasoning.
Personal Attack (Ad Hominem): Rejects someone’s argument or claim by attacking the person rather than the person’s argument or claim. The fallacy of personal attack occurs only if: 1) An arguer rejects another person’s argument or claim, AND 2) The arguer attacks the person who offers the argument or claim,

Slippery slope arguments generally follow this pattern: The arguer claims that if a certain seemingly harmless action, A, is permitted, A will lead to B, B will lead to C, and so on to D.The arguer holds that D is a terrible thing and therefore should not be permitted. In fact, there is no good reason to believe that A will actually lead to D.

Critical thinking: skills that enable individuals to logically assess information, reflect on that information, and reach their own conclusions.

Tenets of critical thinking: Be skeptical, Evaluate the evidence, Beware of author Biases, be open-minded

Phytoplankton: photosynthetic plant plankton producers that support most aquatic food chains Zooplankton: nonphotosynthetic animal plankton consumers primarily feed on phytoplankton or other zooplankton

Nekton: strong swimming consumers such as fish, turtles, and whales

Benthos: bottom dwellers such as shell fish, worms, and custracean

Decompos

6 Tragedy of the Commons
• Tragedy of the Commons: is especially prevalent in oceans, where national boundaries are not present or less defined

Threats to Marine Ecosystems: Overfishing, Waste disposal, Ocean acidification, Mineral extraction

Bycatch: includes all non-target animals which are caught during

fishing (caught accidentally)
Coral reef: Largest living thing on Earth, covers less than 1% of the earths surface
Coral polyps: live in a mutually beneficial relationship with microbes called zooxanthellae
Coral Reefs have declined due to increased nutrient pollution: Has resulted in Food chain:Producers, Consumers (Primary, Secondary,Tertiary)

Zooxanthellae: Microbes that live in coral tissues

Top Down- A change high in the food chain (consumers or predators) affects populations lower in the food chain

Bottom Up- A change at the bottom of the food chain (primary producers) affects populations higher in the food chain

Ecosystem Models: can be used to explain the relationships between organisms in an ecosystem and the conditions they live in

 Models can be: Conceptual and Mathematical

 Models can be used to predict changes which may occur in the future

Population growth rate: a measure of how quickly a population will increase in size

Agricultural Revolution: Transition from hunter-gatherer to large, stationary farming societies, Led to an increase in human population

Dramatic improvements in sanitation and health care: decreased death rates

Zero-population growth: the absence of population growth; occurs when birth rates = death rates

 How Big Is the Human Population Today: More than 7.5 billion people inhabit Earth; 60% live in just 10 countries, most of those in China and India.

Population Distribution: The distribution of humans around the world is wildly uneven, Most human populations are located close to the ocean or major rivers.

 The two most populous countries are: China and India.

Pronatalist pressure: factor that increases the desire to have children. 

Childhood mortality rate: the number of children under 5 years of agethat die per every 1,000 live births in that year
High childhood mortality = more births/individual 

Age structure: the percentage of the population that is distributed into various age groups
Age structure diagrams: illustrate population breakdown by age and gender, are used to predict future population growth

•Demographic transition: a theoretical model that describes the expected drop in once-high population growth rates as economic conditions improve the quality of life in a population

 Demographic Transition:  Preindustrial, Industrializing, Mature industrial, Postindustrial
Preindustrial: birth and death rates are high but similar; population growth is slow or stationary; population size is low
 

Industrializing: better conditions lead to lower death rates; birth rates remain high, resulting in rapid population growth
Mature industrial: birth rates begin to fall but still outnumber deaths; population is still growing but at a slower rate
Postindustrial: birth rates are similar to death rates; population growth stabilizes at a new higher population size
Carrying capacity: the population size that an area can support for the long term; depends on resource availability and the rate of per capita resource use by the population

Overpopulated: the number of individuals in an area exceeds the carrying capacity of that area

Ecological footprint: the land area needed to provide the resources for, and assimilate the waste of, a person or population