Chapter t 1 and 2 Exam Flashcards
Biocapacity
the capacity of a given biological area to generate an on-going supply of renewable resources and to absorb its spillover wastes.
Three Scientific Principles of Sustainability
Solar Energy, Biodiversity, Chemical or Nutrient Cycling
Solar Energy
sun warms the planet, gives plants nutrients, + therefore gives animals the plant nutrients they need, etc.
Biodiversity
the variety of genes, species, ecosystems, and ecosystem processes. Provides ways for species to adapt + prevents them from getting too large.
Chemical or Nutrient Cycling
the circulation of chemicals or nutrients needed to sustain life in the environment (mostly from water and soil) through various organisms and back to the environment. We recieve energy constantly from the sun, but nothing new is produced chemically, so it must be cycled.
Natural Capital
the natural resources and ecosystem services that keep humans and other species alive and that support human economies.
Natural Income
is the yield obtained from natural resources
Natural Resources
materials and energy provided by nature that are essential or useful to humans.
Renewable Resource
any resource that can be replenished by natural processes within hours to decades, as long as humans do not use the resource faster than it can be regenerated.
Sustainable Yield
the highest rate at which people can use a renewable resource indefinitely without reducing its available supply.
Nonrenewable Resource (exhaustable)
exist in a fixed amount (or “stock) in the Earth’s crust. (ex - fossil fuel)
Inexhaustible Resource
a resource that is perpetual - ex. Solar energy
Ecosystem Services
natural services provided by healthy ecosystems that support life and human economies at no human monetary cost to us. (ex - forests purify water and air and prevent erosion)
Three Social Science Principles of Sustainability
Full Cost Pricing (Economics), Win-win solutions (Politics), Responsibility (Ethics)
Full-Cost Pricing (Economics)
include the harmful environmental and health costs of producing and using goods and services in their market prices.
Win-win Solutions (Politics)
political scientists look for compromises that will benefit the largest amount of people and the environment
Responsibility (Ethics)
it is our responsibility a people to treat the planet in ways that will leave it healthy for future generations.
Sustainability
the capacity of the Earth’s
natural systems that support life and human social
systems to survive or adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely.
Subsidy
a benefit given to an individual, business, or institution, usually by the government. It can be direct (such as cash payments) or indirect (such as tax breaks).
More Economically Developed Countries (MEDC)
industrialized nations with high average incomes per person
Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDC)
all other nations
Environmental Degradation / Natural Capital Degradation
the depleting of nature’s natural capital. (ex - shrinking forests, climate
change, and pollution.)
Ecological Footprint
the amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply a population in an area with renewable resources and to absorb and recycle the wastes and pollution such resource and use produces. (per
capita ecological footprint is the ecological footprint in a specific area.)
Exponential Growth
When a quantity increases at a fixed percentage per unit of time, such as 0.5% or 2% per year.
3 Environmental Worldviews
Planetary Management, Stewardship, Environmental Wisdom
Planetary Management (Environmental Worldview)
We are apart from the rest of nature and can manage nature to meet our increasing needs and wants.
Because of our ingenuity and technology, we will not run out of resources.
The potential for economic growth is essentially unlimited.
Our success depends on how well we manage the earth’s life-support systems mostly for our benefit.
Stewardship (Environmental Worldview)
We have an ethical responsibility to be caring managers, or stewards, of the earth.
We will probably not run out of resources, but they should not be wasted.
We should encourage environmentally beneficial forms of economic growth and discourage environmentally harmful forms.
Our success depends on how well we manage the earth’s life-support systems for our benefit and for the rest of nature.
Environmental Wisdom (Environmental Worldview)
We are a part of and totally dependent on nature, and nature exists for all species.
Resources are limited and should not be wasted.
We should encourage earth- sustaining forms of economic growth and discourage earth-degrading forms.
Our success depends on learning how nature sustains itself and integrating such lessons from nature into the ways we think and act.
The Tragedy of the Commons
a situation in which individuals with access to a public resource (also called a common) act in their own interest and, in doing so, ultimately deplete the resource.
Environmental Science
a study of connections in nature. a) - how the Earth works, survives, and thrives ; b) - how humans interact with the environment, c) - how we can live more sustainably.
Ecology
branch of biology that deals with natural organisms and how they interact with their surroundings.
Ecosystem
a set of organisms within a defined area of land or volume of water that interact with one another and with their environment of nonliving matter and energy.
Biosphere
the parts of the Earth’s air, water, and soil where life is found
IPAT
influence (I) = Population (P) X Affluence (A) X Technology (T)
Sustainability Revolution
the next revolution in which we become more sustainable.
Explain how finding solutions to environmental problems involves making trade-offs.
In a trade off, a lumber company might be persuaded to plant/harvest trees in a place that isn’t a a mature forest. In return, or in “trade off”, the government might subsidize (pay a great part of the cost) of planting new trees.
