Chapters 1 & 2 Flashcards
What are the top 9 environmental issues
- Global Warming
- Natural Disasters
- Pollution (air, water, land)
- Overpopulation
- Resource Depletion
- Deforestation
- Overfishing
- Poverty
- Species extinction
What are the main 2 reasons for all of today’s environmental issues
- overpopulation
- overconsumption
What are the 4 Spheres
- Biosphere
- Atmosphere
- Hydrosphere
- Lithosphere
What does the biosphere refer to
all life
What does the atmosphere refer to
all gases
What does the hydrosphere refer to
all water
What does the lithosphere refer to
all solid earth (soil and stuff)
define system
a set of components functioning together as a whole
What are the 3 key system traits
- Openness
- Integration
- Complexity
What does Openness refer to
openness refers to the degree of isolation of a system
What does Integration refer to
integration refers to the strength of the interactions among the parts of the system
What does Complexity refer to
Complexity refers to how many parts of a kind of system has
2 key traits that hinders the social response to environmental problems
- Moderate integration
- High Complexity
T/F: Disturbances cannot be transferred from one part of the system to another
false, disturbances CAN be transferred from on part of the system to another. think about the effects of Zika and dengue fever, those viruses led to things like increased rainfall
What does a POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOP refer to
a positive feedback loop occurs when a part of a system responds to a change in a way that magnifies the initial change
What does a NEGATIVE FEEDBACK LOOP refer to
a negative feedback loop occurs when a part of the system lessens the initial chance
what is an example of a positive feedback loop
the ice-albedo loop: the rising global temperatures lead to ice/glaciers melting. The melting of this ice also causes the global temperatures to rise.
what is an example of a negative feedback loop
the process of the weathering of rocks: the increase of CO2 levels are causing more rocks to weather away, but the weather of rocks also removes CO2 from our atmosphere, so CO2 levels are increasing and decreasing simultaneously
how does society contribute to the effects of the environment
society accelerates how fast resources are cycled through the 4 spheres causing resource depletion and pollution
define environmental impact
the alteration of the natural environment due to human activity
formula for environmental imapct
Impact = Population x Consumption
formula for overall impact
number of individuals x (impact/individual)
what are the 5 basic stages of environmental interaction
- Gathering and hunting
- Agriculture
- Industry
- Transition
- Postindustrial
Strategies to reduce consumption
- reduce the materials needed
- use less technology or use more efficient technology to meet needs
- choose sustainable technology when possible
Strategies to reduce pollution
- economic development & edu
- paying the true costs of environmental services
paying the true costs of imported serves
When does market failure apply
when the market price does not reflect all the true costs of a product or service
what is a debt bomb
a debt bomb refers to the idea that when a lower developed nation continues to borrow money from a developed nation, but in turn they must pay back that money + interest leaving them in debt again and it’s a cycle
What are the 2 different mindsets for the future of out world
- Cornucopians
- Cassandras
What are the Cornucopians mindset
Cornucopians believe that human ingenuity to solve problems to overcome environmental limitations (we will figure out technologies/ways to live as time goes on)
What are the Cassandras mindset
Cassandras believe that population will degrade the environment to the point of overshoot (we are fucked)
What are earth’s supporting services (there are 4 of them)
- soil formation
- photosynthesis
- primary production
- water cycling
population
individuals of one species that interbreed and occupy the same location
what causes the world population to grow
population momentum
community
all populations that occupy one area
ecosystem
communities + its physical environement
life expectancy rate
the average number of years that a typical person can expect to live
Infant mortality rate
the number of babies that die before their 1st bday
total fertility rate
the number of children a woman in a given population will have (on average) during her reproductive years
replacement level
the number of children needed to keep a population stable
3 types in the survivorship curve
- type 1
- type 2
- type 3
what is type 1 in the survivorship curve
mortality is highest in older generations
what is type 2 in the survivorship curve
young, middle, older generations
what is type 3 in the survivorship curve
mortality is highest in young generation
demography
the study of size, growth, density, distribution, and other characteristics of human populations
What are the 3 distinct phases that species populations undergo
- growth
- stability
- decline
what does the growth phase refer to
when the resources exceed the number of individuals exploiting those resources
what does the stability phrase refer to
when pop. growth levels off as the environment becomes saturated with individuals
what does the decline phrase refer to
decrease of abundance that leads to extinction
what are the 2 types of pop. growth
- Logistic growth
- Exponential growth
what is logistic growth
a type of population growth where the growth rate is influenced by the population size and natural resistance
what is exponential growth
how our world pop. is growing today
carrying capacity
the number of individuals of a certain pop. that can be supported in a certain area for a prolonged period of time by the resources of that area
T/F: more developed countries have a flat growth curve overall
true, more dev. countries tend to see kids as a burden, have higher literacy, have new tech, etc so they don’t reproduce as rapidly
T/F: less dev. countries also have a flat growth curve overall
False; they have a sharply rising growth curve as they reproduce more to reasons like higher infant morality rates, they need more kids to help provide at home, birth control is less accessible for them
population equation
∆N/∆t = rN
N = population
t = time
r = intrinsic rate of increase
what are age structures
a diagram that provides a snapshot of the age structure of a pop at a particular instant in time
how are age structures helpful
they allow for comparisons across countries
T/F: places like the US have < 5% of the world pop, so they don’t consume as much as other countries
False, despite occupying less than 5% of the world pop, the US is more “rich” and industrialized this creating a much bigger per capita impact on the environment
What are some causes to decline in fertility rates
- rising levels of edu
- nutrition
- infant survivorship
What are the “commons” in Tragedy of the Commons
common resources available to all members of society
what does the title “tragedy of the commons” imply
refers to the idea that individuals acting in their own interest lead to overuse and ethe depletion of a shared resource
examples of tragedy of the commons
all these pastures have 1 cow, then they realize the more cows they have, they more profit they can get, so all of them try to get as many cows as they can
what is Hardin’s main solution to fix this “tragedy”
for everyone to have less kids/ limit reproduction
What are the other solutions proposed by Hardin
- Mutual Coercion
- Privatization
- Governmental Regulation
- Education and Awareness
- Oversimplification
- Cultural and Social Factors
- Ethical Concerns
- Exclusion of Political & Economic Power
What is mutual coercion
suggest the imposition of regulations, restrictions, or incentives to limit resource exploitation
what is privatization
assigning property rights to individuals, making them responsible for maintaining the resource
what is gov regulation
policies and laws to control resource use
how does edu and awareness help
when people understand the resource limits and the consequences of overuse ppl they are less likely to make affecting decisions
how do the 4 spheres interact with each other
through biogeochemical cycles
what are the 3 major aspects of a physcal environment
water, air, and energy
what air is in our atmosphere
nitrogen and oxygen
what are the 3 types of rocks
- igneous rock
- sedimentary rock
- metamorphic rock
what are some characteristics of igneous rock
the product of magma
what are some characteristics of sedimentary rock
product of sedimentation and weathering
what are some characteristics of metamorphic rock
product of when a rock goes through extreme heat and pressure
where are our tectonic plates
our lithosphere (as tectonic plates is literally our pieces of our lithosphere)
3 types of plate tectonics
- convergent
- divergent
- transform
what is divergent
plates move away from each other form form things like sea floors and trenches
what is transform (plate boudnaries)
plates slide against each other and cause things like earthquakes
what are convergent boudnaries
where plates slide toward each other and form things like mountains and volcanoes
where are fossils found
in sedimentary rock
what are trace fossils
fossils that help people understand behaviors of an organism (like footprints or a burrow)
what are the 4 different era’s of Earth
- Precambrian
- Paleozoic
- Mesozoic
- Cenozoic
What era are we currently in
Cenozoic (in the period: anthropocene)
Which population statistic ultimately determine population growth?
intrinsic rate of increase (r)
What is the family name for humans
Hominidae
At what stage did humans have their earliest impact on the environment:
gathering and hunting
what was the world population size in 1800
~1 billion
T/F: Stability is a key trait of an environmental system
false; the 3 traits are openness, complexity, and integration
what was the very 1st era
Precambrian
what are the oldest cells recorded in fossils
prokaryotes
what era were prokaryotes thought to be in
precambrian
what era did the atmosphere and ocean form
precambrian
what period(s) are in the paleozoic era
the Cambrian period and the Early Coniferous period
what is the cambiran period aka
“The great explosion of life”
traits of the paleozoic era
- sea levels rose
- evolution of large animals
what is a fact about the Early Coniferous period
when fossil fuels began to form
troposphere facts
- we live in the troposphere
- it is warmer than the thermosphere
what is our world today a product of?
evolutionary adaptation, climate change, and geological processes
what are the layers of the sky sphers (in order from closest to us to furthest)
troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere (space)
which sky sphere is the furthest from us
thermosphere
what sky sphere is the ozone layer in
stratosphere
T/F: planes fly in the troposphere
false; planes fly in the stratosphere
what are the 3 types of predation
- carnivore
- herbivore
- omnivore
what are canivores
meat-eaters
what are herbivores
plant-eaters
what are omnivores
meat and plant eaters
what are the 5 symbiotic relations
- mutualism
- predation & parasitism
- commensalism
- competition
- amensalism
what are the 2 types of competition
- Exploitative
- Interference
what is exploitative comptetition
both have equal access to the same resource
what is interference competition
when one thing prevents the other from getting that resource
Compare the analysis of community and ecosystem
- Community analysis more “structural” because it emphasizes the distribution of organisms through space and time
- Ecosystem analysis is more “functional” bc it emphasizes the flows of energy and cycling of matter
what is succession
the sequential replacement of species in a community by immigration of new species and local extinction of old ones
what is succession characterized by
- increasing diversity and biomass
- decreasing productivity
6 most important biogeochemical cycles
CHONPS:
1. Carbon
2. Hydrogen
3. Oxygen
4. Nitrogen
5. Phosphorus
6. Sulfur
what is biomass
the weight of living matter
what is net primary productivity
the rate which producers can create biomass
what is net secondary productivity
the rate at which consumers and decomposers biomass is produced
what forms must nitrogen be in to return to the admosphere
ammonium or nitrates
what were the gases on the early atmosphere
ammonia, methane, water vapor
what are the 9 biomes on earth
7 land biomes:
1. tropical forest
2. temperate forest
3. savanna
4. grasslands
5. tundra
6. taiga
7. deserts
2 sea biomes
1. marine biome
2. freshwater biomes
what is the largest biome on earth
the marine biome
what is the climate like in the tropical forests
high temperatures and lots of rainfall
traits tropical forests
- high biodiversity
- poor soil
- lots of rainfall
- high temperatures
climate of the savanna
warm with prolonged dry season
what type of animals can you find in the savanna
large predators and insects like termites
which biome has the least plant life
desert
characteristics of a desert
- hot, high evaporation
- low precipitation
characteristics of grasslands
- minimal to scarce rainfall
- rich soils from grasses and little disturbances
what biome is the most heavily altered by humans
grasslands
characteristics of temperate forests
- adequate rainfall
- contains deciduous trees
which forest has larger vegetation: tropical or temperate forest
temperate forests have larger vegetation than tropical forests
what are the characteristics for taiga biomes
- they are “boreal” or “coniferous” forests with low biodiversity due to their harsh winters
which trees dominate taigas
evergreen (so trees like spruce or pine)
which biome is unaltered by humans
tundra
describe the tundra
- treeless area with frozen topsoil
- low biodiversity and low productivity due to permafrost conditions
what are the 2 zones in the marine biome
- benthic zone (bottom zone)
- pelagic zone
describe the pelagic zone
where life is found in the marine biomes
what are the 3 freshwater biomes’ zones
- Riparian zone
- thermocline
- shore zone
what is the riparian zone
the area along a river where plants that thrive on high moisture subside
what is the thermocline
it is the sharp boundary between warm surface water and cold deeper water
what is the shore zone
the transitional land between land and water
how much of earth’s surface is freshwater biome
2%
