Unit 5 Whiteboard Review Questions

Tragedy of the Commons (TOC)

  • Concept: Common property depleted by overuse.

  • Hardin's concept: Issues around shared resources.

  • Ostrom's research: Communities can manage common resources; TOC not always inevitable.

Freshwater Use

  • Most freshwater is used in agriculture (about 70%).

  • Farming practice: Irrigation.

Irrigation Types

  • Types: flood, furrow, overhead spray, drip.

  • Most efficient: Drip (underground, reduces evaporation).

  • Most expensive: Drip.

  • Next most expensive: Overhead spray.

  • Overhead spray advantage: Other advantage of overhead spay.

  • Older, low-tech method: Flood (for crops like rice).

  • Furrow: Channeling water into ditches parallel to crop rows.

  • Disadvantage of flood, furrow, and spray irrigation: One disadvantage of flood, furrow, and spay irrigation.

  • Remedy for salty fields: How to fix too salty fields.

Monoculture

  • Definition: Growing only one type of crop.

  • Disadvantage: One disadvantage of having monoculture.

Urban and Suburban Development

  • Impact on waterways: Urban/suburban build-out impacts on waterways.

  • Impermeable surfaces: Examples in urban/suburban areas.

  • Contaminants: Washing off impermeable surfaces.

  • Reduction of contaminants: Actions to reduce contaminants in waterways.

Aquifers

  • World’s largest aquifer: Name.

  • Location: Where is it located.

  • Water table: Boundary separating upper and lower parts.

  • Saturated zone: Area below the water table for well installation.

  • Unsaturated zone: Area above the water table with some pores containing water.

  • High-pumping well near coastline impact: Negative environmental impact on the aquifer.

  • Remediation of saltwater contamination: Cleanup remedy.

Tree Harvesting Methods

  • Most common method: Clearcutting.

  • Negative impact of clearcutting: Environmental impact.

  • Ecosystem service of a forest: Example.

  • Selective cutting: Removing diseased/older trees.

  • Seed-tree cutting: Leaving trees for seed dispersal.

  • Negative impact of tree plantation: Type of harvesting method.

Farming Types

  • Shifting cultivation: Clearing a small part of the forest.

  • Subsistence farming: Small-scale farming for family use.

  • Green Revolution: Farming practices introduced by Norman Borlaug.

  • Implementation: Where was the Green Revolution implemented.

  • Components: Used to increase crop yields.

  • Drawbacks: Sustainability issues.

Mining

  • Two main ways: Surface and subsurface mining.

  • Benefit of surface mining: Advantage.

  • Negative environmental impact: Impact from mining for minerals or coal.

  • Impact of sediment/mine rubble: Changes in water quality.

  • Mountain coal mining: Type of mountain coal mining uses dynamite.

Fisheries and Overfishing

  • Decrease overfishing: What can be done.

  • Negative impact of aquaculture: Environmental impact.

  • Bottom trawling: Fishing practice definition.

  • Negative impact of bottom trawling: Environmental impact.

  • Purse seining: Fishing method definition.

  • Gillnetting: Type of fishing uses miles-wide netting.

  • Longline fishing: Fishing method employing hooks.

  • Disadvantage of longline fishing: Impact.

  • Overfished fishery example: Location and fish.

  • CITES: International agreement to lessen the impact of overfishing.

  • CITES full name: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.

Sustainability

  • Three E’s of sustainability: Environment, Economy, and Equity.

  • Environment pillar concern: What are we watchful of.

  • Economy pillar concern: Main concern.

  • Equity pillar meaning: Meant by the Equity pillar.

  • Ecological footprint: Demand for resources and waste capacity.

  • Reducing ecological footprints: Suggestions.

CAFOs

  • Definition: Concentrated animal feeding operations.

  • Big issue with CAFOs: Similar to concentrating fish in aquaculture, what is one of the big issues with concentrated animal feeding operations.

  • Pesticide treadmill: Farmer sprays, most of the pests die, some overlive, and resistant pests build their population, take over crop again and the cycle continues.

  • Pesticide treadmill feedback loop: Negative/Positive.

  • General term for raising animals in a confined setting: What is a more general term for raising animals in a confined setting where they are fed grain.

  • Negative impact from CAFOs along Mississippi River: Nutrient runoff; algal blooms; fish kills.

  • Gulf of Mexico dead zone: What has developed there from draining the nutrients from the CAFOs.

  • Cause of dead zone: What causes a dead zone.

  • Another name for low oxygen conditions: Low oxygen conditions.

  • Cause of low oxygen: What causes the oxygen to be low.

  • Advantages of CAFOs: Advantages of CAFOs.

  • Alternative to CAFOs: Raising animals in CAFOs.

  • Disadvantages of alternatives: Disadvantages of these alternatives.

  • Advantages of alternatives: Advantages of these alternatives.

  • Animal waste lagoons: Where do farmers typically store wetter or more liquid waste on hog and dairy farms.

  • Environmental concern with animal waste lagoons: What is an environmental concern with animal waste lagoons.

  • Environmental solution to animal waste lagoons: Solution.

  • Meat vs. plants land use: Why does it take 20 times more land to produce the same number of calories from meat as compared to plants.

  • Air quality issue with meat production: Associated with meat production.

Overgrazing and Desertification

  • Overgrazing: Too many animals feeding in an area.

  • Desertification: Degradation of dry lands.

  • Causes of desertification: Productive land becomes desert-like.