David Attenborough: A life on our Planet Flashcards
What happened at Chernobyl in the Ukraine in 1986?
The Chernobyl disaster occurred when technicians at nuclear reactor Unit 4 attempted a poorly designed experiment. They shut down the reactor’s power-regulating system and its emergency safety systems, and they removed control rods from its core while allowing the reactor to run at 7 percent power.
How many deaths did Chernobyl?
The official death toll directly attributed to Chernobyl that is recognized by the international community is just 31 people with the UN saying it could be 50. However, hundreds of thousands of “liquidators” were sent in to put out the fire at the nuclear power plant and clean up the Chernobyl site afterwards.
Where did the Chernobyl disaster happened?
The Chernobyl Power Complex, lying about 130 km north of Kiev, Ukraine, and about 20 km south of the border with Belarus, consisted of four nuclear reactors of the RBMK-1000 design (see information page on RBMK Reactors).
What are the main causes of biodiversity loss
The main direct cause of biodiversity loss is land use change (primarily for large-scale food production) which drives an estimated 30% of biodiversity decline globally. Second is overexploitation (overfishing, overhunting and overharvesting) for things like food, medicines and timber which drives around 20%.
What are the main causes of biodiversity loss
The main direct cause of biodiversity loss is land use change (primarily for large-scale food production) which drives an estimated 30% of biodiversity decline globally. Second is overexploitation (overfishing, overhunting and overharvesting) for things like food, medicines and timber which drives around 20%.
What are the big five mass extinctions?
The ‘Big Five’ mass extinctions
End Ordovician (444 million years ago; mya)
Late Devonian (360 mya)
End Permian (250 mya)
End Triassic (200 mya) – many people mistake this as the event that killed off the dinosaurs. …
End Cretaceous (65 mya) – the event that killed off the dinosaurs.
Are we in a 6th mass extinction?
The planet has experienced five previous mass extinction events, the last one occurring 65.5 million years ago which wiped out the dinosaurs from existence. Experts now believe we’re in the midst of a sixth mass extinction.
What is causing the Holocene extinction?
Unlike previous extinction events caused by natural phenomena, the sixth mass extinction is driven by human activity, primarily (though not limited to) the unsustainable use of land, water and energy use, and climate change. Currently, 40% of all land has been converted for food production.
What is the cultural brain hypothesis?
According to the “cultural brain hypothesis,” humans evolved large brains and great intelligence in order to keep up with our complex social groups. We’ve always been a social species, and we may have developed our intelligence in part to maintain those relationships and function successfully in these environments.
When did intelligent humans evolve?
Indeed, to some scientists the find supports the idea that mental abilities associated with modern humans emerged when anatomically modern humans did, about 200,000 years ago, rather than resulting from a genetic mutation cropping up between 40,000 and 50,000 years ago, as others have posited.
Does anyone live in the Serengeti?
The Serengeti area is home to various local people, the most famous of them being the Maasai. The Maasai mostly live in harmony, sometimes in conflict, with nature. You are bound to visit your hosts when visting the area on your Serengeti safari.
What was the first photograph of the earth?
“Blue Marble”
The first photograph of Earth as a whole was taken on Dec. 7, 1972 by scientist-astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, a member of the Apollo 17 crew on their way to complete NASA’s final mission to land on the Moon.
Is there an actual photo of the Milky Way galaxy?
We can only take pictures of the Milky Way from inside the galaxy, which means we don’t have an image of the Milky Way as a whole.
What is David Attenborough most known for?
He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural history documentary series forming the Life collection, a comprehensive survey of animal and plant life on Earth.
Why is David Attenborough a hero?
Sir David Attenborough has inspired millions of people around the world during his career as a broadcaster and naturalist. He has simply transformed the way we look at natural history and, in the process, has alerted millions across the globe to the beauty and fragility of the planet on which they dwell.
What happened in the late 1970s when people were becoming more aware of whaling?
Then, in the mid 1970s, Greenpeace’s early whaling campaign shone a spotlight on the industry in a way that had never happened before; showing the public images of whales being killed sparked a movement and a sea-change in popular opinion against whaling.
What is humpback whale hunting?
Humpback whale hunting
Humans hunted humpback whales commercially for oil, meat, and baleen from the 17th to early 20th centuries. Humpback whales are still hunted in Greenland and by the Bequians of St Vincent and The Grenadines, for subsistence purposes, but only 1-2 per year are caught.
Why do people whale hunt?
Over a thousand whales are killed each year for their meat and body parts to be sold for commercial gain. Their oil, blubber, and cartilage are used in pharmaceuticals and health supplements. Whale meat is even used in pet food, or served to tourists as a ‘traditional dish’.
What is the problem with palm oil?
What is the problem with palm oil? Palm oil has been and continues to be a major driver of deforestation of some of the world’s most biodiverse forests, destroying the habitat of already endangered species like the Orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino.
What are the environmental impacts on palm oil?
What are the environmental impacts on palm oil?
What percent of large fish have we removed since then?
90%
Overfishing statistics: The trends are clear
Worldwide, 90% of the stocks of large predatory fish, such as sharks, tuna, marlin, and swordfish, are already gone!
Why are fish important for the ecosystem?
Fish are part of food chain dynamics, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem resilience. Their mobility within the nested set of temporal and spatial cycles of ecological systems enhances the func tional importance of fish as ecological memory in the form of energy, nutrients, genetic reserves, and information.
What caused mass extinction 250 million years ago?
The scientific consensus is that the main cause of extinction was the large amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the volcanic eruptions that created the Siberian Traps, which elevated global temperatures, and in the oceans led to widespread anoxia and acidification.
How much of Antarctica has been melted?
Antarctica has lost 2.71 trillion tons of ice.
Antarctica is losing ice mass (melting) at an average rate of about 150 billion tons per year, and Greenland is losing about 270 billion tons per year, adding to sea level rise.
