Environmental Science Flashcards
3 aspects of sustainability
Economic
Social
Environment
Sustainability
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Economic
Job conservation
economic development
cost to benefit balance
Social
Maintain quality of life
Environment
Pollution
Waste
Conservation of resources
Maintaining biodiversity
Main areas of impact
Water usage/pollution Climate change Air pollution Over consumption/exploitation Solid waste
Water
Single greatest resource
Water is used for
Personal use
Agriculture
Recreation
Water management
Helps communities manage water and reduce water pollution
Struggles with water
Phoenix water is above K Water wars (Colorado River)
Biomagnification
Toxic chemical pollutants released into the water are taken up (eaten by small consumers and the toxin gets stored in their muscle tissue)
Process of biomagnification
As larger and larger consumers eat more and more smaller fish, the dose of stored chemical get larger and eventually too consumers eat infected organisms and receive the largest doses of the toxin
Toxins consumed through biomagnification
DDT and mercury
Acid rain
Caused by fossil fuel emissions and produced when pollutants in the water cycle cause rain pH to drop
Effects of acid rain
Can lower the pH of a lake or stream
Can harm trees
How acid rain is produced
Emissions evaporate
Travel by wind
Blend into rain
Acid rain pH vs. normal rain pH
4.5 vs. 5.6
Smog
A haze of pollutants that hangs in the air
A combination of smoke and fog
What smog is composed of
nitrogen dioxide carbon monoxide sulfur dioxide ozone particulates (tiny particles of soot, ash, or dust)
Affects of smog
Can cause respiratory problems
burning and watery eyes
Increases suspectibilty to disease
Contributes to an estimated 50,000 deaths per year in the U.S.
Global climate change
As more fossil fuels are burned, more CO2 and methane gases (CH4) enter our atmosphere and create a blanket effect that holds in the sun’s energy
Outcomes of global climate change
Changes in ice caps Drying rivers/lakes Longer summers/delayed winters More severe weather Flooding Fires
Cause of desertification
Clear cutting forests
Effects of burning fossil fuels
Increase in VOCs (volital organic compounds) and NOx (types of nitrogen) which also cause poor AQ (air quality) leading to smog/air pollution
Coal
Never “clean”
Carbon and nitrogen cycles impacted
Why “climate change” is more accurate than “global warming”
- Much more far-reaching consequences
- Not only planet getting warmer but extremes on both ends of the spectrum (dynamic weather pattern shifts)
- issues also in agriculture, sea life, water ability, wildfires
Greenhouse effect
A natural phenomenon that keeps our planet at a livable temperature (warmer)
Why does the greenhouse effect occur?
We have the ozone layer and other atmospheric layers to protect the Earth
How the greenhouse effect is increased
Humans over produce greenhouse gases (CO2 and CH4)
Climate change
A human-caused phenomenon through the run-away production of greenhouse gases this increasing the effect of the greenhouse effect causing higher than ever average temperatures in the planet
Opposite of sustainability
Over consumption or exploitation
Over consumption
Taking more than is needed
Exploitation
Taking away an entire resource
Ways we consume/exploit
Invasive species
Clear cutting
Produce non-reusable materials(trash)
Urban sprawl
Invasive species
Organisms brought to a new area by humans and those organisms out compete native species because the invasive species don’t have natural predators (intentional and accidental)
Examples of invasive species
Cane toads (intentional) zebra muscles (accidental) burmese python (intentional) kudzu (intentional) emerald ash borer (accidental)
Clear cutting forests
Destroying rainforest to do agriculture (desertification)
Produce non-reusable materials(trash)
Solid waste
Biodegradable
Materials that can be degraded or broken down by microorganisms into essential nutrients
Non-biodegradable
Materials that cannot be broken down by natural processes
Urban sprawl
Secondary succession (habitat destruction) done to natural habitats to develop land
H.I.P.P.O (big environmental impacts)
Habitat loss Invasive species Pollution Population growth (humans) Over harvesting (over consumption)
World energy consumption
Fossil fuels 81%
Renewables 16%
Nuclear 2.8%
Renewables (broken down) 16%
Wind/solar/biomass/geothermal power generation 0.7%
Biofuels 0.6%
Biomass/solar/geothermal/hot water/heating 1.5%
Hydropower 3.4%
Traditional biomass 10%
What can be done to reduce the matter
Reduce usage and consumption
Stick and carrots (reward)
Reforestation
Develop non-fossil fuel energy providers (wind or solar)
Leaders can give tax cuts
Give companies money to develop alternatives
