Chapter 1 pt. 3 Flashcards
Human society isn't operating sustainably because: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
- We extract nonrenewable resources such as fossil fuels as if they were present in unlimited supplies
- we consume renewable resources such as fresh water and forests faster than natural systems can replenish them
- we pollute the enviornment w/ toxins as if the capacity of the environment to absorb them is limitless
- a small fraction of the human population dominates a large percentage of Earth’s resources
- our numbers continue to grow despite Earth’s finite ability to feed us, sustain us, and absorb our wastes
Ganet Hardin was a professor of ______ ________ at the University of California-Santa Barbara
human ecology
_____ _______ was a professor of human ecology at the University of California-Santa Barbara
Ganet Hardin
Ganet Hardin wrote about _______ ____________ dilemmas
human environmental
______ ______ published essay,”The Tragedy of Commons”
Garnet Hardin
An analogy describing the conflict between individual interest and management of shared resources
“The Tragedy of Commons”
those parts of our environment available to everyone but for which no single individual has responsiblity- the atmosphere and climate, fresh water forests, wild-life, and ocean fisheries
common-pool resources
Bill Freudenberg pointed out that medeval commons were successfully managed but became degraded after they were ____________
privatized
Bill Freudenberg was a __________
sociologist
Elinor Ostrum was an __________
economist
Elinor Ostrum demonstrated that common pool resources can be:
1.
2.
3.
- sustainably managed by communities with shared interests
- strong local governance
- community enforced accountability
shared responsibility for the sustainable care of our planet
stewardship
Agenda 21, an action plan of ___________ ___________ in which future economic development will be reconciled with environemental protection
sustainable development
economic development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability to future generation to meet their own needs
sustainable development
What three factors are necessary for sustainable development?
- Environmentally Sound Decisions
- Socially Equitable Decisions
- Economically Viable Decisions
What is the triple bottom line of sustainability?
- Planet
- People
- Profit
the interdisciplinary study of humanity’s relationship with other organisms and the nonliving physical environment
environmental science
According to the “Tragedy of Commons” what is short-term and long-term?
short-term: individual welfare
long-term: environmental stability and societal welfare
What are the fields of environmental science?
● Biology ● Ecology ● Economics ● Geography ● Geology ● Sociology ● Politics ● Physics ● Chemistry ● Demography
a set of components that interact and function as a whole
system
A system considers a broad look at _________ ________ rather than details of the ____ or ___
overall processes
parts
steps
the branch of biology that studies the interrelationships between organisms and their environment
ecology
_________ is a basic tool of environmental science
ecology
A natural system consisting of a community of organisms and its
physical environment
ecosystem
___________ are organized into larger and larger systems
ecosystems
Many aspects of Earth’s systems are in a steady state or, a ____________ ____________, in which the rate of change in the opposite direction
dynamic equilibrium
___________ occurs when a change in one part of the system leads to change in another part
Feedback
What type of feedback is this: Change triggers a
response that counteracts the changed condition
Negative feedback
What type of feedback is this: works to keep an undisturbed system in dynamic equilibrium
Negative feedback
What type of feedback is this: Change triggers a
response that intensifies the changing condition
Positive feedback
What type of feedback is this: leads to greater change from the original condition
Positive feedback
