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Environmental Science > Chapter 1 > Flashcards

Chapter 1 Flashcards

1
Q

DDT

A
  • sprayed over towns, fields, and marshes
  • killed songbirds, bald eagles, and osprey
  • was originally meant to control the beetles that spread Dutch Elm Disease
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2
Q

Millennium Development Goals (MDG)

A

Adopted by the United Nation to reduce extreme poverty and its effects on human well-being.

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3
Q

MDG achievements

A

Halving the world poverty

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4
Q

Things MDG is working on

A
  • high population growth
  • fertility rates
  • gender equality
  • violence against women
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5
Q

How does the ecosystem support human life and economies?

A

With goods and services

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6
Q

Goods and services

A
  1. water
  2. food
  3. fuel
  4. wood
  5. leather
  6. furs
  7. raw materials for fabrics, oils and alcohols
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7
Q

Human Development Index

A

assesses the human well-being of nations through health, education, and basic living standards

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8
Q

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (ME)

A

Focused on the links between ecosystem services and human well-being (focuses on human impact on ecosystem services)

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9
Q

Environment

A

All surroundings of a living thing, such as conditions, resouces, and stimuli that are either abiotic or biotic, that affect the survival of an organism or population.

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10
Q

Environmental Science

A

A multidiciplinary academic field that integrates physical, biological and information sciences to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems.

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11
Q

Environmental science provides an…

A

integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems

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12
Q

Environmental movement

A
  • started in 1890 when the frontier closed
  • John Muir founded the Sierra Club
  • President Theodore Roosevelt promoted conservation of public lands (national parks)
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13
Q

Environmentalists

A

people and organisms with a stron focus on environmental concerns

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14
Q

Environmentalism

A

The widespread development of the environmental movement

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15
Q

Sound science vs. junk science

A

Sound science uses the scientific method in order to understand how the world works and how humans interact with it.
- Junk science doesn’t conform to the rigorous methods and practices of legitimate science.

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16
Q

Sustainablilty

A

The goal we should be working toward in our relationship with the natural world

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17
Q

Stewardship

A

managing natural resources and human well-being for the common good

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18
Q

Scientific method

A

A way of gaining knowledge

  1. Observation
  2. Question
  3. Hyothesis
  4. Experiment
  5. Analyze
  6. Draw Conclusions
  7. Submit for peer review and Communicate results
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19
Q

Natural laws

A

principles by which we can define and predict the behavior of matter and energy

  • summarize natural phenomena
  • laws of gravity, conservation of matter, thermodynamics
20
Q

Observation

A

Based on senses: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling.
- Be skeptical of any new report until it is confirmed

21
Q

Experimentation

A
  • A systematic test of a hypothesis

- Factors can be manipulated, and tested one at a time, to measure responses to particular conditions or treatments

22
Q

Control

A

the set-up that is the norm or standard to which you compare the experimental results
- does not have the variable

23
Q

Experimental treatment

A
  • has the variable (factor being tested)

- is the factor that is vhanged or manipulated in the experiment

24
Q

Independent variable

A

the variable taht you manipulate or change

25
Q

Dependent variable

A

depends on the independent variable

- responds to the changes with the independent variable

26
Q

Hypothesis

A

an educated guess about the cause of an observation

- tested through observation and experimentation

27
Q

Theory

A

a hypothesis that has been rigorously and repeatedly tested, it is supported by a great deal of data and confirmed

28
Q

Peer review

A

process roots out poor or sloppy science

29
Q

Bias

A

prejudice in favor of or against one thing due to personal feelings

30
Q

Sustainable yields

A
  • harvest resources but stay within the capacity of the populaton to grow and replace itself
  • also applies to fresh water, soils. pollution absorption
31
Q

Development

A

improvement of human well-being
- developed countries are more concerned with environmental sustainability, while developing countries are more concerned with economic development

32
Q

Equity

A

meeting the needs of the present while considering future generations

33
Q

What equity means to different people

A
  • Economists > growth, efficiency, usage
  • Sociologists > human needs
  • Ecologists > ecosystem, conservation
34
Q

Environmental justice movement

A
  • addresses environmental racism

- wealthier, politically active white communities get roads, public buildings, water, and sewer projects

35
Q

Environmental racism

A

waste sites and other industries occur in poor, nonwhite areas

36
Q

Globalization

A

the increasing interconnectedness of human activities, ideas, and cultures
- achieved largely by worldwide electronic communication

37
Q

Rachel Carson

A

Her book Silent Spring described the environmental effects of pesticides

38
Q

Part of Carson’s success was due to her…

A

meticulous documentation of her thorough research, which added to the scientific credibility of her work

39
Q

What did Rachel Carson initiate?

A

Environmental awareness that led to the modern environmental movement

40
Q

John Muir

A

founded the Sierra Club

41
Q

Theodore Roosevelt

A

pormoted conservation of public lands (national parks)

42
Q

“I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us.”

A

It is okay for us to use the resources provided to us by the Earth, but it isn’t okay for us to waste the resources and take them from future generations

43
Q

Aldo Leopold

A
  • Father of ecology, founder of field of wildlife management, helped to create the Wilderness Society
  • Promoted wilderness conservation and environmental ethics
  • wrote A Sand County Almanac
  • His land ethic included soils, water, plants, and animals
44
Q

Human population growth and trends

A
  • 7.2 billion people and growing at a rate of 1.2%/year
  • 80 million people are added each year
  • although global population growth may be slowing, growth and fertility rates are still high in developing countires
  • The world’s population has increased sixfold
  • population growth would fit a J-shaped curve
45
Q

Causes of biodiversity losses

A
  1. Conversion of natural land to crops and cities (habitat loss)
  2. Pollution and global warming
  3. Exploitation for commercial value (overharvesting, Ex; passenger pigeon)
  4. Species are hunted, killed, and marketed illegally (right whales, carolina parakeets, dodo birds)

Environmental Science (14 decks)

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