1.1 - Key Principles Of Sustainability Flashcards
Ecology
The study of how organisms interact with their environment and with each other
Species
A group of organisms with distinctive traits. Ones that can mate produce fertile offspring.
Ecosystem
Organisms interacting with one another and with their environment of nonliving matter and energy within a denied area or volume.
Environmentalism
A social movement dedicated to protecting the earth’s life-support systems.
Examples of natural resources
Air, Renewable energy (sun, wind, water flow),
Life, Nonrenewable minerals (iron, sand), Water, Nonrenewable energy (fossil fuels), Soil, Land
Examples of natural services
Air purification, Climate control, UV protection, population/pest control, Water Purification/treatment, Food production, Soil renewal, Nutrient recycling
Nutrient recycling
Circulation of chemicals necessary for life. Ex: Topsoil
Sustainability
Ability of the earth’s various natural systems and human cultural systems and economies to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely.
Components of sustainability
Natural capital, human activities degrading natural capital, environmental scientists search for solutions, finding trade-offs or compromises
Natural capital
The natural resources and natural services that keeps us and other forms of life alive and support out economies
Natural resources
Materials and energy in nature that are essential or useful to humans (can be renewable or nonrenewable)
Natural services
Functions of nature which support life and human economies.
Natural income
The renewable resources provided by natural capital.
Environmentally sustainable society
A society that meets the current and future basic resource needs of its people in a just and equitable manner without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their basic needs
-We are living very unsustainably
-We are over-using ~62% of the earth’s natural services
