12 - Environment Flashcards
Arable Land
Land capable of being farmed
Carbon footprint
Amount of CO2 we generate in our daily activities
Collective goods
Things that benefit everyone no matter if everyone pays for it - think Truman poli sci
Genetically modified organisms
Organisms whose genetic makeup is intentionally altered to produce some advantage
Global Environmental Facility
UN entity made by UN Framework Convention on Global Climate Change to collect and distribute cash to fight climate change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Scientific body with 194 countries created by UN Environment Programme and World Meteorological Org. in 1988
Kyoto Protocol
Imposes mandatory reductions in fossil fuel emissions for 37 countries and the European Community - added to UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1997 and enforced starting 2005
Malthusian Dilemma
Population growth outgrows food growth - theorized by Thomas Malthus
Slash-and-burn agriculture
Practice of clearing fields by cutting and burning down forests/vegetation to prepare for new fields - common in many developing countries
Sustainable development
Promoting economic growth without screwing up the environment
Time horizon problem
The fact that the worst effects of environmental problems haven’t yet been seen but to prevent them we need to act now
Tragedy of the commons
No one state is responsible for protection of common goods so most don’t but it hurts us all
UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
UN agency dedicated to environmental protection, created in 1972
UN Framework Convention on Global Climate Change (FCCC)
1992 treaty calling for reduction of fossil fuel emissions to 1990 levels by 2000
