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3/4 OED > 4.1.1/4.1.2/4.1.3 > Flashcards

4.1.1/4.1.2/4.1.3 Flashcards

-sustainable development and its critiques -characteristics of healthy enviros -SoE reports

1
Q

what has the term sustainable often associated with?

A
  • environmentally friendly
  • green
  • renewable
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2
Q

what is the challenge for society with sustainability?

A

that we must appropriately allocate resources for the survival of current and future generations of all species, while ensuring ongoing healthy enviros

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3
Q

what happened after industrialisation in terms of sustainability?

A

race for economic growth has been highly resource dependent, resulting in continued devastation for the enviro

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4
Q

how has population increases affected the enviro?

A

the exponential growth of the world’s population has intensified dependence on resources and is a significant threat to health of our enviros

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5
Q

what are examples of sustainable practices?

A
  • recycling bottles/paper/shopping bags/phones
  • using harvested timber, not old growth
  • solar panels
  • second hand clothing
  • use timber instead of plastic products
  • grow own veggies/fruit
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6
Q

what are examples of non sustainable practices?

A
  • use of cars/plastic products/coal based electricity

- failure to recycle/capture water

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7
Q

what is sustainable development defined as?

A

development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability for future generations to meet their own needs

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8
Q

what are the two key concepts of sustainable development?

A
  • overriding priority should be given to the essential needs of the poor
  • the idea of imposed limitations by the state of technology and social organisation on the enviros ability to meet present and future needs
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9
Q

what is economic development?

A

the promotion of standards of living and market productivity of a country

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10
Q

what is a major focus for economic development for many countries?

A

resource extraction

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11
Q

what does social development refer to?

A

the social wellbeing of all people with ability to meet all basic needs for survival?

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12
Q

what does SES stand for?

A

socio economic status

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13
Q

what is happening to the gap between ses?

A

the gap between the rich and poor is increasing

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14
Q

how is technology helping with environmental protection?

A

allowing the monitoring of enviros health and our impacts

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15
Q

what is an ecological footprint used for?

A

to understand humans impacts on earth

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16
Q

what does an ecological footprint help indicate?

A

how unsustainable our life choices are and identifies the need to make smarter choices in the way we use resources

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17
Q

what are some critiques of sustainable development?

A
  • vagueness of term
  • oxymoron
  • difficult to measure
  • disadvantages developing nations
  • cost
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18
Q

how is vagueness a critique of sustainable development?

A

it is able to be applied to a multitude of facets in society with little accountability or understanding and consequences for the earths resources

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19
Q

how is a critique of sustainable development that it is an oxymoron?

A

the terms ‘sustainable’ and ‘development’ are contradictory

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20
Q

what is an oxymoron?

A

a figure of speech in which contradictory terms appear in conjunction

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21
Q

how is measurement a critique of sustainable development?

A

there is no set criteria that exists. It is difficult to know how many resources future generations will require and if our current level of sustainability is sufficient

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22
Q

how is the disadvantages to developing nations a critique of sustainable development?

A

developing nations have higher emissions due to increased fossil fuel usage, therefore they also have increased environmental impacts (not by choice). It is difficult to expect a society who is unable to meet its own basic needs to decrease consumption and be mindful for future generations

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23
Q

how is cost a critique of sustainable development?

A

many are initially expensive but are cost effective in the long run

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24
Q

what are three observable characteristics of healthy environments?

A
  • quality and adequacy of water, air and soil
  • amount of biodiversity
  • amount of pest and introduced species
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25
what is the health of enviros linked to and influenced by?
- land clearing - urbanisation - over grazing - pollution - pollution - chemicals - climate - invasion of weeds/pests
26
what does a healthy environment provide us with?
- clean water and air - food - place to recreate, inspire and connect to
27
when monitoring environment health what are the range of indicators used?
- air, water, soil adequacy and quality - amount of pests and introduced species - amount of biodiversity
28
what are characteristics that can be tested to determine the quality and adequacy of water?
- taste, odour, appearance (turbidity) - temp - pH levels
29
what is an advantage of testing water quality and adequacy by taste, odour and appearance?
requires no additional equipment
30
what are other effects of testing water adequacy and quality by taste, odour and appearance?
- less light - warmer water - particles get into gills - habitat loss
31
how does less light effect the taste, odour or appearance of water?
effects plant growth
32
how does the water warming effect the taste, odour or appearance of water?
due to more particles in water (increased turbidity)
33
how does particles getting into gills effect the animals?
gets into their gills and makes breathing harder
34
how does water quality effect habitat loss?
holes and crevices are filled with silt
35
what does testing water temperature show?
how warm or cold the water is?
36
does warm water have more or less oxygen?
less oxygen
37
what are other effects on water temp?
- removing trees - turbidity - runoff
38
how does removing trees increase water temp?
more sunlight and less shade
39
how does turbidity increase water temp?
more particles absorb more heat increasing temp
40
how does runoff increase water temps?
more turbidity
41
what does extreme temp change result in?
deaths of most organisms
42
what does testing the pH level of water indicate?
the acidity or alkalinity of the water
43
what pH level is neutral?
7
44
what pH level should pure water have?
7
45
what can alter the pH levels in water?
- soil and rock - chemicals released from industry - carbon dioxide dissolved
46
roughly what percentage of elements make up air?
-78% nitrogen -21% oxygen and small amounts of hydrogen and carbon dioxide
47
where do air pollutants mainly come from?
discharges of gases and particles, mostly from industry, motor vehicles and domestic wood burning
48
what are some forms of air pollution on a global scale?
- enhanced greenhouse effect | - ozone depletion
49
what health problems does air pollution cause?
mainly respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis
50
what is smog?
one of the most widespread forms of air pollution in built up areas
51
what does soil enable?
- plant growth - resist erosion - store water - retain nutrients - environmental buffer in the landscape
52
what process produces soil?
primary succession- formed rock, broken down by ice, wind and water
53
what characteristics of soil can be tested?
-colour -moisture -texture -structure organic content -pH -salinity -temp
54
what does the colour of soil indicate?
the moisture and organic contents
55
what minerals can alter soil colour?
phosphorus, iron and aluminium
56
what is humus?
dark, fertile soil
57
what can increased salinity in soil result in?
- decreased crop yield - decreased biodiversity - damaged infrastructure
58
what does soil's moisture help determine?
the type of plants that will survive in that area
59
what can soil structure affect?
movement and availability of air, water and nutrients
60
what does soil structure affect?
- rainfall infiltration - retention - soil strength
61
how does the soil's organic contents influence?
number of plants, animals and micro-organisms in soil
62
what does the temp of the soil affect?
- climate - plant growth - germination - life cycle of small creatures - available nutrients - decomposition rate
63
what does pH levels of soil affect?
what nutrients are available to aquatic life
64
what are the different levels of biodiversity?
- genetic diversity - species diversity - ecosystem diversity
65
what is genetic diversity?
the genetic information in the genes of all species eg.colouring
66
what is species diversity?
the variety of species
67
what is ecosystem diversity?
the variety of habitats, natural communities and ecological processes in the biosphere eg.alpine, marine etc.
68
is aus considered too have high or low levels of biodiversity?
high levels, with about 450,000 species representing 10% of estimated inhabitants of earth
69
what are the reasons for loss of biodiversity?
- habitat destruction - introduced species - water, air and soil pollution - climate change
70
what is a pest?
an animal or plant that interferes with human land use
71
why were most of the pests introduced to aus?
for food or hunting purposes
72
what has happened to native species as a result of pest introduction?
been forced to compete or adapt.. many species have become extinct as they were unable to adapt and survive
73
what are examples of introduced species and their effects?
- rabbits= widespread erosion | - hard hoofed animals=compacting fragile soil, degrading the enviro
74
what are weeds defined as?
a plant that grows where it is not wanted
75
how are weeds spread?
- hooves of farm animals - wind - waterways - soil on camping equip - soil on walking boots - tyres or mud on work vehicles
76
what does an enviro overrun with pests or introduced species indicate?
less healthy
77
what does SoE stand for?
State of Environment
78
what do SoE reports include?
- value and current condition - pressures affecting - drivers of pressures - effectiveness of management - outlook for the enviro for the future
79
what is the purpose of the SoE reports for australians?
- provides data on the state of specific enviros | - provide analysis of how the aus enviro is being managed (for improvements) and what key national issues are
80
who releases SoE reports?
federal government
81
how often is a SoE report released?
every 5 years
82
what info does soE reports contain?
- current conditions - pressures on enviro - management strategies and initiatives
83
what are the state and trends of SoE reports?
- atmosphere - built enviro - heritage - biodiversity - land - inland water - coasts - Antartic enviro - marine enviro
84
what is a major focus of sustainability?
social equalisation, where all humans have access to basic needs (clean water and food), education and higher qualities of life
85
what does turbidity affect?
- temp | - appearance
86
what is a state and trend strength of biodiversity?
-improved technical advances are more available for biodiversity assessment, monitoring and management, including for organisms which previously were difficult to identify and monitor
87
what is a state and trend weakness of biodiversity?
Australia's biodiversity continues to decline
88
what is a weakness since 2011 of biodiversity?
- list of nationally threatened species and ecological enviros has increased - land clearing rates are increasing in states such as QLD
89
how effective are the management strategies for biodiversity?
- Aus Gov supports efforts to conserve native plants and animals and ecosystems through programs such as National Landcare - the threatened species strategy has listed 20 mammal and bird species for priority
90
what are the three focus SoEs?
- biodiversity - built enviros - atmosphere
91
what is a state and trend strength of atmosphere?
air quality in urban areas is generally good
92
what is a strength since 2011 of the atmosphere?
Aus's greenhouse gas emissions per person has decreased from 24.1 tonnes in 2011 to 22.2 tonnes in 2015
93
what is a state and trend weakness of atmosphere?
Aus average temperature has increased 1 degree since 1910
94
what is a weakness since 2011 of the atmosphere?
adverse human health impacts to occur at lower concentrations of air pollution than previously thought -increased respiratory problems such as asthma
95
how effective are the management strategies for the atmosphere?
Aus signed the Paris Agreement in dec 2016 aiming to hold the increase in global average temperature
96
what is a state and trend strength of built enviros?
Aus urban amenities is generally good. Our urban populations continue to consume significant resources but are using energy more efficiently than in 2011
97
what is a strength since 2011 of the built enviros?
demand for electricity and household electricity consumption have fallen because of improved energy efficiency of appliances and machinery
98
how effective are the management strategies for the built enviros?
smart cities plan-vision for the future- aims to contain development within existing urban areas
99
what is a state and trend weakness of built enviros?
population growth in our major cities, along with aus's reliance on private cars leading to greater traffic volumes and increased congestion
100
what is a weakness since 2011 of the built enviros?
with water restrictions easing across many regions since 2011 Aus households have been increasing their water consumption

3/4 OED (8 decks)

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