Chapter 1: Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability Flashcards
is a study of connections in nature
Environmental Science
- is everything around us
- it includes all of the living and non-living things with which we interact
The Environment
an interdisciplinary study of how humans interact with the environment of living and non-living things
Environmental Science
5 Major Fields of Study Related to Environmental Science
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Earth Science
- Social Sciences
- Humanities
study of living things (organisms)
Biology
study of chemicals and their interactions
Chemistry
study of the planet as a whole and its nonliving systems
Earth Science
studies of human society
Social Sciences
study of the aspects of the human condition not covered by the physical and social sciences
Humanities
16 Subfields of Study Related to Environmental Science
- Ecology
- Botany
- Zoology
- Biochemistry
- Climatology
- Geology
- Hydrology
- Paleontology
- Anthropology
- Demography
- Geography
- Economics
- Political Science
- History
- Ethics
- Philosophy
study of how organisms interact with one another and with their nonliving environment
Ecology
study of plants
Botany
study of animals
Zoology
study of the chemistry of living things
Biochemistry
study of the earth’s atmosphere and climate
Climatology
study of the earth’s origin, history, surface, and interior processes
Geology
study of the earth’s water resources
Hydrology
study of fossils and ancient life
Paleontology
study of human cultures
Anthropology
study of the characteristics of human populations
Demography
study of the relationships between human populations and the earth’s surface features
Geography
study of the production, distribution, and consumption of foods and services
Economics
study of the principles, processes, and structure of government and political institutions
Political Science
study of information and ideas about humanity’s past
History
study of moral values and concepts concerning right and wrong human behavior and responsibilities
Ethics
study of knowledge and wisdom about the nature of reality, values, and human conduct
Philosophy
- a key subfield of environmental science
- biological science that studies how organisms, or living things, interact with their environment and with each other
Ecology
a group of organisms with distinctive traits and, for sexually reproducing organisms, can mate and produce fertile offspring
Species
major focus of ecology
Study of Ecosystems
is a set of organisms interacting with one another and with their environment of nonliving matter and energy within a defined area or volume
Ecosystem
- a social movement dedicated to protecting the earth’s life-support systems for us and all other forms of life
- is practiced more in the political and ethical arenas than in the realm of science
Environmentalism
Three Principles of Sustainability
- Life depends on solar energy
- Biodiversity provides natural services
- Chemical/nutrient cycling means that there is little waste in nature
- is the ability of the earth’s various natural systems and human cultural systems to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely
- means meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Sustainability
7 Key Components of Sustainability
- Life depends on natural capital, natural resources, and natural services
- Many human activities can degrade natural capital
- Solutions are being found and implemented
- Sustainability begins at personal and local events
- Natural Capital
- Natural Resources
- Natural Services
the natural resources and natural services that keep us and other forms of life alive and support our human economies
Natural Capital
are materials and energy in nature that are essential or useful to humans
Natural Resources
natural resources are often classified as _____ (such as air, water, soil, plants, and wind) or _____ (such as copper, oil, and coal)
renewable resources; nonrenewable resources
are processes in nature, such as purification of air and water and renewal of topsoil, which support life and human economies
Natural Services
Equation for Natural Capital
Natural Capital = Natural Resources + Natural Services
supported by energy from the sun - another of the _____
Natural Capital; principles of sustainability
Without it, natural capital and the life it supports would collapse
Solar Energy
- one vital natural service
- the circulation of chemicals necessary for life, from the environment (mostly from soil and water) through organisms and back to the environment
Nutrient Cycling
- an important component
- the upper layer of any soil in which plants can grow
- it provides the nutrients that support plants, animals, and microorganisms living on land
Topsoil
it is the basis for one of the three principles of sustainability that if without it, life as we know it could not exist
Nutrient cycling in topsoil
exist in fixed quantities
Nonrenewable resources
e.g. coal and oil
Exhaustible Energy
e.g. copper and aluminum
Metallic Minerals
e.g. salt and sand
Nonmetallic Minerals
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Sustainable Solutions
include the high income ones (e.g. United States, Canada)
Developed Countries
include the low income ones (e.g. China, India)
Developing Countries
any presence within the environment of a chemical or other agent such as noise or heat at a level that is harmful to the health, survival, or activities of humans or other organisms
Pollution
are single, identifiable sources
Point Sources
are dispersed and often difficult to identify
Nonpoint Sources
is usually more expensive and less effective
Pollution Clean Up
reduces or eliminates the production of pollutants
Pollution Prevention
a biologist who called the degradation of openly shared resources the tragedy of the common in 1968
Garrett Hardin
where individuals or companies own the rights to land, minerals, or other resources
Private Property
where the rights to certain resources are held by large groups of individuals
Common Property
owned by no one and available for use by anyone at little or no charge
Open-Access Renewable Resources
means the ecological footprint is larger than the biological capacity to replenish resources and absorb wastes and pollution
Ecological Deficit
Footprints can also be expressed as _____.
number of Earths it would take to support consumption
scientists who developed the IPAT model in the early 1970s
Paul Ehrlich and John Holdren
IPAT Model Equation
I (Environmental Impact) = P (Population Size) x A (Affluence/Person) x T (Technology’s Beneficial and Harmful Effects)
4 Basic Causes of Environmental Problems
- Population Growth
- Unsustainable Resource Use
- Poverty
- Excluding Environmental Costs from Market
is increasing at a fixed percentage so that we are experiencing double of larger and larger populations
Human Population
Human population in 2009 was about _____.
6.8 Billion
Based on the current increase rate, there will be _____ people by 2050.
9.6 Billion
results in high levels of consumption and waste of resources
Wealth
Average American consumes _____ as much as the average consumer in India.
30 times
are afflicted with a disorder called affluenza
Shop-until-you-drop Affluent Consumers
has provided better education, scientific research, and technological solutions, which result in improvements in environmental quality (e.g. safe drinking water)
Affluence
occurs when the basic needs for adequate food, water, shelter, health, and education are not met
Poverty
a set of assumptions and values reflecting how you think the world works and what your role should be
Each individual has their own environmental worldview
are beliefs about what is right and wrong with how we treat the environment
Environmental Ethics
holds that we are separate from and in charge of nature
Planetary Management Worldview
holds that we can and should manage the earth for our benefit, but that we have an ethical responsibility to be caring and responsible managers
Stewardship Worldview
holds that we are part of, and dependent on, nature and that nature exists for all species, not just for us
Environmental Wisdom Worldview
protect natural capital and live off its income
Environmentally Sustainable Societies
provide a balance between the benefits and the costs
Trade-off Solutions
Three Big Ideas
- Rely more on renewable energy from the sun
- Protect biodiversity by preventing the degradation of the earth’s species, ecosystem, and natural processes, and by restoring areas we have degraded
- Help sustain earth’s natural chemical cycles by reducing waste and pollution, not overloading natural systems with chemicals, and don’t remove natural chemicals faster than the cycles can replace them
is a search for order in nature
Science
are curious and skeptical, and demand lots of evidence
Scientists
The Scientific Process
- Identify a problem
- Find out what is known about the problem
- Ask a question to investigate
- Perform an experiment and collect and analyze data to answer the question
- Propose an hypothesis to explain the
- Use the thesis to make testable predictions
- Test the predictions
- Accept or revise hypothesis
- Develop a scientific theory, if scientific hypothesis is well-tested and widely accepted
Critical Thinking Involves Four Important Steps:
- Be skeptical about everything you read or hear
- Look at the evidence and evaluate it and any related information
- Be open to many viewpoints and evaluate each one before coming to a conclusion
- Identify and evaluate your personal assumptions, biases, and beliefs
What is the goal of scientists?
To develop theories and laws based on facts and data that explain how the physical world works
has been tested widely, is supported by extensive evidence, and is accepted as being a useful explanation of some phenomenon by most scientists in a particular field or related fields of study
Scientific Theory
- is a well-tested and widely-accepted description of events or actions of nature that we find happening repeatedly in the same way
- cannot be broken except by discovering new data that lead to changes in the law
Scientific Law
results that have not been widely tested or are not widely accepted
Tentative or Frontier Science
consists of data, hypothesis, models, theories, and laws that are widely accepted by all or most of the scientists who are considered experts in the field under study
Reliable Science
includes results that have not been rigorously peer reviewed or that have been discarded as a result of peer review
Unreliable Science
Scientists use _____ that can take into account the interaction of many variables.
mathematical models
the age of humans
Anthropocene
For the Biggest Gains, We could Concentrate our Efforts on 4 Goals:
- An Energy Revolution
- A Food Revolution
- Manage the Ocean
- Rewild the World
is a way to measure our human demand on nature
Ecological Footprint
- represents the impact of a person, a household, a city, a business or a country on nature
- is expressed as the amount of land and water required to produce what we consume and to absorb the waste we generate
Footprint
means that we need to keep three things in mind at once
Sustainable Development
Three Things to Keep in Mind at Once
- Social Progress
- Economic Development
- Climate and Environment
ensures that the temperature is correct and the the atmosphere emits exactly the right amount of solar energy
Climate System
5 Nutrients that is Being Recycled in Chemical Cycling
- Water
- Carbon
- Nitrogen
- Sulfur
- Phosphorus
Renewable Resources:
- solar
- wind
- wave
3 Main Goals of Environmental Science
- Learn how the natural world works
- Understand how we as humans interact with the environment
- determine how we affect the environment
Rock
Lithosphere
Air
Atmosphere
Life
Biosphere
Water
Hydrosphere
Fields Under Biology
- Ecology
- Botany
- Zoology
Field Under Chemistry
Biochemistry
Fields Under Earth Science
- Climatology
- Geology
- Hydrology
- Paleontology
Fields Under Social Sciences
- Anthropology
- Demography
- Geography
- Economics
- Political Science
Fields Under Humanities
- History
- Ethics
- Philosophy