Untitled Flashcards Set

Climate Change - Long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Causes: cutting down forests, using fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas), and overconsumption. Resulting in Hotter temperatures, severe storms, increased drought, etc. 

Greenhouse Gases - gases in the Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat, allowing sunlight to pass through but preventing heat from escaping

Ex. CO2, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, Fluorinated Gases, Water Vapor

Net Zero - State of balancing the amount of greenhouse gases produced with the amount removed from the atmosphere (1:1 ratio)

2015 Paris Agreement - Aim to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius

7 key concepts - U.S. Conservation 

Race Relations 

• Appropriation of Native American land & resources

• Transatlantic slave trade: black indentity viewed less than human + no rights

• US conquest of half of Mexico: Mexican identity = foreigner

  • Mining taxes and private property lawsuits levied against citizens

• Asian containment and racial covenants

  • Excluded from owning properties and banned from immigrating to the US

Colonialism

• Internal Colonialism

  • Indigenous reservations were established through treaties and regulated by the Dept of War.

  • US territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam are colonies

  • Historically, POC in the United States have been subject to exploitative relationships with the federal government

• Tribal Sovereignity

  • Restricted by federal laws

  • Subject to manipulation by gov & corporate interests

Nativism

• Refers to organized efforts by some members of a society to improve their quality of life or hold on to remnants of the past by attempting to exclude or eliminate particular groups of people or ideas, beliefs, customs, and objects from a society.

Gender Relations

• Cult of True Manhood

  • Dangerous tasks, risk-taking, daring, and socialization of men

  • Owned land

• Cult of True Womanhood

  • Piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity

  • Submit to the will of the husband

Evolution of Environmental Ideologies

Power Elites & Environmental Governance

Creation of Environmental Identity

U.S. Environmental Movement - National movement that combined wilderness protection with environmental justice, demanding action from the government and polluting corporations 

Clean Air Act of 1970 - Authorized the development of comprehensive federal and state regulations to limit emissions from both stationary (Industrial) sources and mobile sources.

Environmental Racism Refers to any environmental policy, practice, or directive that differentially affects or disadvantages (intended/unintended) individuals, groups, or communities based on race or color.

Environmental Equity - Everyone getting the pollution no matter where you are located, equal distribution of resources or environmental problems

Environmental Justice - ​​Ensuring fair treatment and involvement of all people in environmental laws and policies, aiming to prevent harm to vulnerable communities.

Sacrifice Zones - Communities that are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards, often due to proximity to polluting industries.

Standing Rock - Fight for environmental justice against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016-2017, which threatened tribal water sources and sacred lands. It became a major environmental justice movement, highlighting Indigenous rights, the risks of fossil fuel projects, and the broader fight for clean water and climate action.

Global Wealth Inequality - The vast disparity in economic resources between the richest and poorest populations, which shows social and environmental injustices, including unequal access to clean water, air, and sustainable development opportunities.

Climate Justice - the impacts of climate change are not experienced equally and affirm the right of marginalized communities to manage their resources in a sustainable manner

Climate Debt - industrialized countries of the Global North have disproportionately both consumed the world’s resources and produced greenhouse gases, therefore owing a debt to developing countries

Climate Reparations - compensation for climate impacts experienced by communities most vulnerable and least responsible for the climate crisis

Capitalism & Climate Change - The profit-driven nature of capitalism often prioritizes economic growth over environmental protection, leading to increased resource exploitation, carbon emissions, and environmental degradation.

Neoliberalism & Climate Change - Neoliberal policies emphasize deregulation, privatization, and free markets, often weakening environmental protections and shifting the burden of climate adaptation onto vulnerable communities.

Deregulation - removal or reduction of government regulations on industries, including environmental protections, which allows corporations to operate with fewer restrictions, often leading to increased pollution and resource depletion.

Fossil Fuel Industry & Climate Change - The fossil fuel industry is the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, driving climate change while often lobbying against environmental regulations and renewable energy policies.

Petrostate - A country that’s economically dependent on the extraction and export of oil and natural gas

Green Revolution - increased agricultural productivity in some places but did not solve world hunger. Additionally, to address the issue of malnutrition in the developing world.

Decarbonization - reduction or elimination of carbon dioxide emissions from a process such as manufacturing or the production of energy.

Carbon Removal - the process of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it safely. Some ways carbon removal happens are through:

Direct Air Capture: Using fans to move air over materials that absorb CO2, then it is heated and concentrated

Carbon Soil Sequestration: Remove carbon, then it is stored below the soil.

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR): Captured CO₂ is injected into oil reservoirs to extract more oil, but the refined oil is later burned, releasing more CO₂.

• Refinery Feedstock: CO₂ can be used in chemical processes, but if the products are combusted, they still contribute to emissions.

• Burning CO₂: Some captured CO₂ is burned, creating additional emissions instead of being permanently stored.

Overconsumption - Excessive consumption or use of goods and services (energy, land, water, or materials) that cause harm or detrimental effects to humans and/or the environment, namely by exceeding the carrying capacity and life-supporting systems of the planet and its ecosystems

Environmental Privilege - results from the exercise of economic, political, and cultural power that some groups enjoy, which enables them exclusive access to coveted environmental amenities such as forests, parks, mountains, rivers, coastal proper, open lands, and elite neighborhood

Part 2

Wealth Inequality -  The unequal distribution of resources and opportunities, where a small percentage of people control the majority of wealth, often worsening social and environmental issues

Fast Fashion - Mass production of cheap, trendy clothing at the cost of exploitative labor, environmental pollution, and excessive waste

Green Consumerism - Encourages people to buy environmentally friendly products to help them shift toward sustainable habits.

Ex. Reusable Water Bottles, Metal Straws, Sustainable Fashion, Renewable Energy

Greenwashing - Deceptive strategy where companies/organizations promote their item as environmentally friendly to take advantage of consumers to view their item for sale as environmentally beneficial when it is not

Conference of the Parties (COP) - The annual United Nations climate summit where world leaders negotiate and set global climate policies under agreements like the Paris Agreement

Climate Science / Change Denial - Psychology of belief that emphasizes that people have a choice to believe a denial of reality that is at odds with scientific evidence

Climate Science Denial Tactics

1. Disinformationist = “Bad Science”

2. Claim bad science is driven by radical ideology

3. Demand equal time in the media

Climate Vulnerability - The degree to which communities or ecosystems are at risk from climate change impacts like rising sea levels, extreme weather, and resource scarcity.

Climate Refugees - People forced to migrate due to climate-related disasters such as floods, droughts, and sea-level rise, often lacking legal protections

“Natural” Disasters - Events like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods, which are shaped by humans through urbanization, deforestation, and climate change, making them not entirely “natural”.

Disaster Capitalism - The Practice of exploiting crises–such as natural disasters, economic collapses, or pandemics–for financial gain. Policies are made to benefit the wealthy, privatize public services, or increase corporate power, often at the expense of vulnerable populations.

The Holocene - Geological term for the post-glacial geological epoch of the past ten to twelve thousand years

The Anthropocene - A more recent geological term for the growing impacts of human activities on earth and the atmosphere, characterized by the plundering of Earth’s resources and dumping of excessive amounts of waste products in the environment.

The Anthropocene & Industrialization - The rise of fossil fuels, mass production, and urbanization accelerated environmental destruction, pollution, and climate change

The Anthropocene & Colonization - Colonial expansion exploited land and resources, displacing Indigenous peoples and causing deforestation, biodiversity loss, and long-term ecological damage

Fire Management (Prescribed Burns) - Controlled fires reduce wildfire risk, restore ecosystems, and maintain biodiversity by clearing excess vegetation and promoting healthy plant growth 

Environmental Policy Paradigm Shift - Fundamental change in how societies approach environmental issues, moving from exploitation and deregulation to sustainability, conservation, and climate action.

The Nature-Culture Divide - The False separation of humans from nature, often used to justify environmental destruction and overlook human dependence on ecological systems.

Decolonizing Global Conservation - Challenging conservation practices that exclude or displace Indigenous and local communities, instead prioritizing their knowledge, rights, and leadership in protecting ecosystems

The National Park Model of Conservation - The foundation of national parks in the US is an early form of green grabs

Green Grabs - The appropriation of land and resources for environmental purposes, often displacing local or Indigenous communities under the guise of conservation or climate action

Community-Based Conservation - Conservation efforts involve locals and Indigenous communities in decision-making, recognizing their knowledge and rights while ensuring environmental sustainability

Militarized Conservation - The Use of armed forces, surveillance, and strict law enforcement to protect wildlife and natural areas, which leads to human rights being abused against local communities.

Market-Based Conservation - Conservation driven by economic incentives, such as carbon credits, ecotourism, or biodiversity offsets, favoring businesses over local communities.

Defining Biodiversity -  The variety of life on Earth, including species diversity, genetic diversity, and ecosystem diversity, essential for ecological balance and resilience.

“Land is a Relationship” - A perspective often held by Indigenous cultures that land is not just a resource but a living entity with reciprocal relationships between humans, animals, and ecosystems.

More-than-human world - Recognizing that humans are not separate from nature but part of a larger network of relationships with animals, plants, and ecosystems.

Rights of Nature (Natural Rights) - A legal and philosophical movement granting ecosystem and species legal rights, recognizing them as living entities rather than property