Environmental Science Exam All Terms Flashcards
What are Abiotic Factors?
Non-living Things: Air, light, temperature, etc.
What is the environment?
The sum of the surrounding conditions that influence life, health and growth
What are Biotic Factors?
Living Things: Trees, plants, bacteria, animals, etc.
What is Environmental Science?
The study of interactions between human systems and natural systems.
What is a system?
A set of interacting components that influence one another by changing energy/matter.
Human Systems - Trains, highways
Natural Systems - Ecosystems
What are Ecosystem Services?
Processes that support humans: Water cleaning, crop farming, fisheries, etc.
What is an Environmental indicator?
Tools of measurement to determine the health and quality of natural systems
*Measure human population, biodiversity, global temperature, CO2 levels
What are the 5 Primary Environmental Indicators?
- Biodiversity
- Food Production
- CO2 and Global Temperatures
- Human Population
- Resource Depletion
What is Biodiversity?
The variety of life in an ecosystem.
What are the 3 Levels of Biodiversity?
- Species diversity - # of species in an area or type of habitat
- Genetic diversity - Measure of genetic variation (higher the better)
- Ecosystem diversity - Diversity of ecosystems or habitats in an area
Background Extinction Rate vs. Reality
*1 species lost per million, 10 species lost per year (should be equal to 1 species made per million, 10 gained per year through speciation - new species)
*With humans, it is 10,000 a year due to habitat, climate loss, and introduced species
What is a Species?
Organisms distinct from other organisms in morphology, behavior, etc.
What is Food Production?
The ability to grow food for humans
*Healthy soils support food production
*Technology (irrigation, fertilization, genetic modification)
*Weather
(more grain used for livestock than humans!)
What is CO2’s Impact on Global Temperatures?
Greenhouse gasses like CO2 act as blanket to trap heat near Earth’s surface causing climate change.
Climate change is Anthropogenic (human based) from fossil fuels and net loss of forests.
*Last 200 years CO2 has increased in atmosphere and rising
What are some Dangers of CO2 Emissions?
Extreme heat, difficulty breathing, rising water levels, stresses circulator systems
How Does Human Population Factor Into Life on Earth?
7.8 billion people in growing puts increasing demands on natural systems for essential resources.
Resource Depletion Examples
Land degradation from mining, waste and landfill pollution, air pollution, non-renewables.
What is Science?
A process that produces knowledge involving the Scientific Method.
What are the Scientific Method Steps?
- Observation - Brings about questions
- Hypothesis - Testable statement
- Collect Data (through experiments)
- Interpret Results and reject/support hypothesis (reject or fail hypothesis)
What is Replication in the Scientific Method?
Approaching a study with different methods in attempts to prove/disprove it
What is a Sample Size?
A small group of a population chosen for a study that is then multiplied x amount of times to determine the result of the whole population
What is Accuracy (Statistics)?
How close a measurement is to the true value
What is Precision (Statistics)?
A measure of how close a series of measurements are to one another
What is a Theory?
A hypothesis that has been tested with a significant amount of data
What is a Scientific Law?
A scientific law takes a broad view of numerous observations, but never exactly explaining ‘why’.
What is Matter?
Anything that has mass and takes up space (Measured in grams).
Weight - force from gravity (N)
Mass - Quantity of matter regardless of gravity (g)
What is an Atom?
The smallest particle of an element
What is a Molecule?
A group of atoms bonded together. Electrons (negative) on outside, with protons (positive) and neutrons (neutral) in nucleus.
What is a Compound?
A combination of more than one element
What is an Atomic Number?
Number of protons in an atom
What is an Atomic Mass?
Number of protons plus neutrons in an atom
What is an Isotope?
Same element, but with different number of nuetrons
What is Radioactive Decay?
Radioactive isotopes release heat spontaneously from nucleus
How is an Element Radioactive?
An isotope with an unstable nuclei
What is an Element’s Half Life?
Time it takes for 1/2 the original atoms to decay
What are the 3 Types of Radioactive Emissions?
- Alfa Particles - Helium Nuclei, tend to be weak.
- Beta Particles - High speed electrons and antineutrinos, or positrons and neutrinos. (Can be stopped with sheet of aluminum foil).
- Gamma Radiation - High energy protons. (Can be stopped with block of led).
What is Carbon Dating?
Carbon in atmosphere is always found in same ratio - 12C is 99%, 13C is 1%, and 14C is 1 part per trillion. Half life of Carbon 14 is 5,730 years. Using this information, we can measure the amount of 14C in an object compared to the atmosphere to date it.
What is a Covalent Bond?
Elements sharing electrons
What is an Ionic Bond?
Opposite charged atoms form ions through bonds. (Cation - negatively charged, Anion - positively charged).
What is a Hydrogen Bond?
Very weak bonds between two hydrogen molecules
What is Cohesion?
*Molecules sticking together
*Because of cohesion, water can be a solid, liquid, and gas at Earth’s temperature
What is Surface Tension?
A measure of how difficult it is to stretch or break the surface of a liquid
What is Adhesion?
Molecules sticking to other substances
What is Capillary Action?
Movement of water through small spaces like plants and soil
What is Unique About Hydrogen bonds states of matter?
Because of cohesion, hydrogen bonds require more energy to change temperature and state
Why do substances dissolve in water?
Because it is a polar molecule and organic molecules can accumulate inside of it
What is an Acid?
A substance that adds hydrogen to a solution by adding H+
What is a Base?
A substance that decreases the hydrogen ion concentration in a solution by adding OH-
What is pH?
Concentration of Hydrogen in a solution: ranges from 0-7 (acidic) to 7-14 (basic), with 7 being neutral. pH is the negative log of H+ concentration
What is Energy?
The ability to do work (power x time)
What is Power?
The rate at which work is done (energy/time)
What is Potential Energy?
Energy that has been stored, but not yet released
What is Kinetic Energy?
Energy of motion
What is Chemical Energy?
Energy in chemical bonds
What is the 1st Law of Thermodynamics?
Energy is neither created nor destroyed
What is the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics?
When energy is transformed, the quantity of energy remains the same, but its ability to do work diminishes. Energy forms are transformed into heat (Thermal Energy).
What is Entropy?
Systems that are more towards randomness rather than order
What is Photosynthesis?
Conversion of light energy from the sun into chemical energy, common in plants.
(6H20 + 6C02 –> C6H12O6 + 6O2)
What is Chemosynthesis?
Process by which some organisms, such as certain bacteria, use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates
How Does Thermodynamics Govern the Life of Living Organisms?
Thermodynamics allows for energy to transfer between ecosystems and trophic levels. It is what makes up for an ecological balance that keeps our ecosystems running.
Where do Ecosystems Get Their Energy?
Most all of it is from the sun (photosynthesis), other organisms may produce energy in chemosynthesis on hot springs an sea floors
What is Cellular Respiration?
Chemical energy in glucose released through respiration, then used to grow, move, and metabolize. Used by all organisms, but is animals main source of energy.
What are 3 Types of Consumers in a Trophic System?
- Primary Consumers - Herbivores that eat producers (plants)
- Secondary Consumers - Carnivores that eat primary consumers
- Tertiary Consumers - Rare, eat secondary consumers
What are Trophic Levels?
Organism’s levels of feeding and acquiring energy within a food web.
What are Some other Trophic Positions than the 3 Big Ones?
Omnivores - Eat plants and animals.
Scavengers - “Carnivores” that eat dead organisms.
Detrivores - Animals that consume dead plant material
Decomposers - Complete breakdown process and recycle nutrients
What is the Ten Percent Law?
10 percent law of energy flow states that when the energy is passed on from one trophic level to another, only 10 percent of the energy is passed on to the next trophic level.
What is Ecosystem Productivity?
How much energy captured by an ecosystem determines how much life it can support
What is Gross Primary Productivity?
How much energy is captured by producers in an ecosystem
What is Net Primary Productivity?
Energy captured by producers, minus energy respired
What is Biomass?
A measure of the total mass of organisms within a particular region, standing crop is measure of total dry mass
What is Ecological Efficiency?
Percentage of energy transferred from one trophic level to another in a food chain or web, usually around just 10% each level
What are the 4 Chemical Reservoirs of Earth?
- Atmosphere
- Lithosphere
- Biosphere
- Hydrosphere
What is Carbon?
4th most abundant element in universe, found in all organic matters. Photosynthesis removes C from atmosphere, is returned in the form of CO2 or Methane (CH4). Can enter atmosphere through respiration, forrest fires, diffusion, and decomposition.
What is Carbon - Methane?
Potent greenhouse gas 21 times more powerful than CO2. Mostly occurs naturally through respiration, but can also be a product of fermentation and human activities.
What is Nitrogen?
Important for life (Amino Acids, Protein, and DNA). In 80 % of atmosphere as gas and can only be captured by bacteria. Animals can receive N by eating other organisms with N.
What is Eutrophication?
A process by which nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, become highly concentrated in a body of water, leading to increased growth of organisms such as algae or cyanobacteria. Nitrogen - Saltwater, Phosphorous - Freshwater
What is Phosphorous?
A vital element in DNA, RNA, and ATP. Comes from sediments in biosphere through weathering and captured by plants. Animals obtain P by eating other organisms with P.
What is Ammonitication?
Break down of organic molecules to release Nitrogen. (Nitrification converts ammonia to Nitrogen)
What is Weather?
The short-term conditions of the atmosphere in a local area
What is Climate?
Average weather in a region over a long period of time
What are the 4 Layers of Atmosphere?
- Troposphere (0 to 10 miles, mostly Nitrogen and Oxygen. Gets colder as you go up)
- Stratosphere (10-30 miles, gets hotter as you go up due to UV radiation, Ozone layer here)
- Mesosphere (31 - 65 miles, temp decreases as you go up)
- Thermosphere (65 - 370 miles, temp increases as you move up, and blocking most X rays)
What are the Causes of Unequal Earth Heating?
- Solar energy’s angle - Less atmosphere to travel to at equator vs. poles
- Surface area impacted - More concentrated at equator
- Albedo % - % incoming light reflected by surface (snow, water, etc)
How Does Earth Air Circulate?
Warm air is less dense than cold air, causing warm air to rise. Warm air has higher water vapor capacity, causing warm days to be more humid.
What is Adiabatic Cooling and Heating?
Air rises, pressure lowers, air expands, temperature decreases, air sinks, pressure increases, temperature increases
What is Latent Heat Release?
When water vapor condenses into liquid water and energy is released
What is a Hadley Cell?
Along equator, sun heats up most tropic air and rising air undergoes adiabatic cooling.
What is the Coriolis Effect?
The effect of Earth’s rotation on the direction of winds and currents. In Hadley cells, air sinks at 30°N lat. As it moves towards surface, the speed increases and is deflected west forming trade winds.
What are Ocean Currents?
What are Ocean Currents?
What are Gyres?
Large-scale water circulation pattern between continents
What is Upwelling?
The movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water to the surface
What is El Nino?
An irregularly occurring and complex series of climatic changes affecting the equatorial Pacific region and beyond every few years, characterized by the appearance of unusually warm, nutrient-poor water off northern Peru and Ecuador, typically in late December.
What is Climate Change?
Increase in average temperature due to greenhouse gasses keeping heat close to the Earth’s surface.
What are some Examples of Climate Change?
Has caused sea levels to rise 3 inches, glaciers shrinking, trees flowering sooner, coral reef destruction, and overall increase of 2 degrees F.
What are Species?
A group of organisms different from another in size, shape, behavior, or biomechanics.
What is Species Richness?
The number of species in a given area
What is Species Evenness?
Relative proportion of different species in a given area
What is Phylogenetics?
Evolutionary relationships between species
What is Evolution?
Change in the genetic composition of a population over time.
Microevolution vs. Macroevolution?
Microevolution - small scale (within a single population)
Macroevolution - scale that transcends the boundaries of a single species, creating a new one.
What is Genetic Diversity?
The range of genetic material present in a gene pool or population of a species.
What is Recombination?
Parts of duplicating chromosomes break off and attach to different chromosomes reshuffling genetic code.
What is a Genotype?
Complete set of genes in an individual
What is a Phenotype?
Set of traits expressed in an individual through appearance or behavior
What are the 3 Processes that Drive Evolution?
- Artificial Selection - Human’s breeding of useful traits from the natural variation among different organisms
- Natural Selection - A natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment.
- Random Processes
- Mutation
- Genetic Drift
- Bottleneck Effect: When pops reduced, genetic variation reduced
- Founder Effect: Few colonizers give rise to new population
What is Mutation?
A change in a gene or chromosome
What is Genetic Drift?
A change in the gene pool of a population over time
What is the Bottleneck Effect?
When populations are reduced, genetic variation is reduced
What is the Founder Effect?
Change in allele frequencies as a result of the migration of a small subgroup of a population
What are the Key Features of Natural Selection?
- Individuals produce an excess of offspring
- Not all offspring survive
- Individuals differ in their traits
- Trait differences can be passed onto offspring
- Trait differences affect the ability to survive and reproduce
What is Geographic Isolation?
Territory separates groups, most common way to form new species
What is Reproductive Isolation?
After separation, two populations can no longer breed
What is Allopatric Speciation?
New species after geographic isolation
What is sympatric speciation?
Form of reproduction by polyploidy (Organisms with more than two sets of chromosomes cannot reproduce with two set diploid)
What is Polyploidy?
A condition in which an organism has more than two complete sets of chromosomes
What is the Average Life Span of Species?
1 to 10 million years
How Can Environmental Change Cause Extinction?
No favorable environment to move to, new environment may be already occupied, environmental change occurs too fast with no time to adapt
How Has Extinction Changed Since Arrival of Humans?
Half of vertebrate are extinct, habitat destruction, over harvesting, many invasive species, climate change, and emerging diseases.
5 Global Mass Extinctions *plus 6th?
- 430 million years ago - Global cooling event (60% marine life extinct)
- 360 million years ago - 75% species died
- 250 million years ago - “Great Dying”, 96% of species extinct (asteroid?)
- 205 million years ago - 50% of marine invertebrates, 80% of all land quadrupeds extinct (volcanic eruptions?)
- 65 million years ago - dinosaurs and no large animal survive (meteorite)
6.???? Since arrival of humans, nearly half of vertebrates now extinct due to habitat destruction, over harvesting, invasive species, climate change, and emerging diseases
What is Population Ecology?
Study of dynamics within a population (grow/shrink?)
What are the Levels of Complexity (Population Ecology)?
- Individual
- Population (All individuals of same species in given area)
- Community (All populations within a given area)
- Ecosystem (All biotic and abiotic components of area)
- Biosphere (Biomes)
What are the 5 Population Characteristics?
- Population size
- Population density (# in given area)
- Population distribution (clumped/even?)
- Population sex ratio
- Population age structure (determines speed of growth)
What are Density Dependent Factors?
Influence survival and reproduction
ex: Limiting resource, carrying capacity
What are Density Independent Factors?
Unpredictable events
ex: Natural disasters
What are Population Growth Models?
Growth Rate - # of offspring - death rate
Intrinsic Growth Rate - Max rate of growth
Exponential Growth - dN/dt equals r*N
Logistic Growth - dN/dt equals r*(N(1-N/k)
What are K Selected Species?
Species that produce a few, often fairly large offspring but invest a great deal of time and energy to ensure that most of those offspring reach reproductive age. Seldom overshoot carrying capacity.
ex: Deer
What are R Selected Species?
Species that produce large numbers of usually small and short-lived offspring in a short period. Often overshoot carrying capacity.
ex: Fish
What is a Niche?
Each species’ unique way of obtaining a limiting resource
What is Lieberg’s Law of the Minimum?
What ever resource is in lowest supply relative to its demand will limit the expanse of a population
What is Resource Partitioning and Its Types?
- Temporal - Being active at different periods of time
ex: Wolves and Coyotes
- Spacial - Using different areas of a system
ex: Fish and Wolves
- Morphological - Differences in body or shape to consume different types of resources
ex: Darwin’s Finches
What is a True Predator?
What is a True Predator?
What are Some Types of defenses against predation?
- Behavioral - playing dead when seen
- Morphological - camouflage or prickles
- Chemical - toxic or distasteful
- Mimicry - mimicking different organism
What are the Types of Symbiotic Relationships?
- Mutualism - benefits both species
ex: humans and dogs
- Commensalism - benefits one species while the other is neither harmed nor helped
ex: fish hiding behind coral
- Parasitism - benefits one species at the detriment of the other
ex: tape worms
What is a Keystone Species?
When loss can disproportionately have a large effect on ecosystem (usually in low #’s)
ex: kelp in trophic cascades (direct actions that control ecosystems)
What is Predator Mediated Competition?
When a predator increases competition of other species for resources
What is an Ecological Engineer?
Species that creates/maintains habitat for other species
ex: beaver dams
What is Ecological Succession and its Types?
Ecological Succession - Process by which species and habitat changes over time
- Primary Succession - Occurs on surface devoid of soil (lava, glaciers)
- Secondary Succession - Disturbed areas that have not lost soil (forrest fire, post hurricane)
What Did Thomas Malthus Conclude?
Human population was growing exponentially while food growth was linear. (Alternate view is that innovation could alter Earth’s carrying capacity)
What is Demography? Immigration, Emmigration, Crude Birth Rate, Crude Death Rate?
The study of populations and how they grow
Immigration - moving into
Emigration - moving out of
Crude Birth Rate - # births per 1,000
Crude Death Rate - # deaths per 1,000
What is Doubling Time?
Years it takes for population to double (70/growth rate)
(US is 35 years)
What is the Human Population Carrying Capacity?
6.8 to 10.5 billion people around year 2100
What is Fertility?
Average # of children each woman will have, education is #1 way to reduce. (US is 2.1 children)
What is Replacement Level Fertility?
The total fertility rate required to offset the average number of deaths
What are Age-Constructed Population Pyramids?
*Crude death rate can be balanced by large # of old people.
Population pyramids give age structure for countries
- If even, no growth, if inverted, more younger than old, if pyramidal, fast growth because more young than old
What is the Theory of Demographic Transition?
As country moves from subsistence economy (not money) to industrialization, undergoes predictable shift in population growth.
- Preindustrial - birth rate and death rate are high and equal
- Early industrial - birth rate is high, death rate very low
- Mature industrial - birth rate collapses and matches death rate
- Postindustrial - birth rate and death rate fluctuate but remain relatively even
What is the IPAT Equation?
Estimation of human lifestyle on earth
(Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology)
Total impact =
(population) x (consumption per person) x (impact per person)
What are Earth Layers?
- Core - innermost layer
- dense, mostly nickel and iron
- Mantle - molten rock
- magma circulates in convection cells
- Asthenosphere - outer mantle
- semi-molten rock
- Crust - outermost layer
- chemically distinct
- Lithosphere: made up of plates that sit on top of Asthenosphere
What are Convection Cycles?
Outer core’s high temp causes magma to move in convection cells under crust. Also occurs with radioactive decay of elements (potassium, uranium)
What Did Alfred Wagner Propose?
Proposed Pangea in 1912 from rock formations and similar fossils
What is the Theory of Plate Tectonics?
Earth’s lithosphere is divided into plates, most of which are in constant motion
What are the Types of Tectonic Plates?
Oceanic Plates - beneath ocean, high in iron and dense
Continental Plates - beneath land high in silicon dioxide and less dense
*What Causes Earth’s Plates to Move?
All plate movement is driven by convection cells beneath the surface (move 1.4 inches yearly)
What are the 3 Types of Plate Contact?
- Divergent - plates move away from each other causing seafloor spreading and creation of mid ocean ridge
- Convergent - plates collide and create coastal mountains and deep sea trenches
- Transform - plates move sideways past each other producing earthquakes
What is a Fault?
A fracture in rock caused by a movement of Earth’s crust (fault zone is where movement occured)
What is an Epicenter?
Exact point where plate movement occured
What are Volcanic Erruptions?
Where molten magma beneath Earth’s crust is released to the surface of the atmosphere
What is a Rock Cycle?
Constant formation and destruction of rocks. All rocks come from deposited material and eventually become sub-ducted turning into magma
Difference between Rocks vs. Minerals?
Minerals - solid chemical substances with uniform structures
Rocks - substance found in the lithosphere composed of one or more minerals
What is Weathering?
Rocks breaking up through erosion
What is an Igneous Rock? How are they Formed?
Formed directly from magma
- Intrusive Igneous: when magma rises and cools in place underground
- Extrusive Igneous: when magma cools above Earth’s surface by volcano or seafloor spreading
Basaltic Rock - dark, high in iron, dominant in ocean plates
Granitic Rock - light color, high in mica and quartz, dominant rock of continental plates
What is a Sedimentary Rock? How are they Formed?
Formed when mud, sand, or gravel fused together over long time
- Sandstone: made from compressed sand
- Conglomerate: mixed cobbles, gravel, and sand
*What is a Metamorphic Rock? How are they Formed?
When sedimentary, igneous, or other rocks are subjected to high temperature and pressure
ex: slate or marble
*What is a Metamorphic Rock? How are they Formed?
When sedimentary, igneous, or other rocks are subjected to high temperature and pressure
ex: slate or marble
What is a Soil Cycle?
Mix of geologic and organic components that connect overlaying biology with underlaying geology
What are the Functions of Soil?
- Medium for plant growth
- Recycling system
- Habitat for organisms
- System for water supply & purification
How is Soil Formed?
Comes from the physical and chemical weathering of rocks plus accumulation of organic material
What are the Soil Determining Factors?
- Parent material - base rock material
- Climate - don’t develop below freezing
- Topography - steep slopes more erosion
- Organisms - plants remove nutrients, animals mix soil
- Time - older soils have more organic matter
What are the Soil Horizons Types?
- O-horizon - top organic layer
- A-horizon - “top soil” mix of organic and mineral soils
- B-horizon - subsoil mineral with little organic matter
- C-horizon - least weathered horizon, practically parent material
- R -horizon - unweathered parent material
What are the Physical Properties of Soil?
Texture - determined by % of sand (large particles), silt (medium), and clay (small)
Porosity - How quickly water drains through soil, determined by texture (sand - fast, clay - slow)
What is the % of Freshwater on Earth?
3% total water, most of it found underground or in glaciers (.2% total freshwater in streams and rivers)
What is Groundwater’s Function? Water Table? Groundwater Recharge? Artisan Wells?
Allows plants to get water through roots and provides water to springs
Water Table - uppermost level at which water is fully saturated in rock or soil
Groundwater Recharge - when rain water or surface water pores through soil into an aquifer at a “recharge area”
Artisan Wells - pressure of overlaying rock pushes water to surface
What is the Difference Between Unconfined vs. Confined Aquifers?
Unconfined - found in porous rock covered with soil, recharges in days or weeks (more likely to be polluted because closer to surface)
Confined - surrounded by a layer of impermeable rock or clay, recharges in up to 20,000 years
What are the Consequences of High Water Withdrawl?
- Spring fed streams may dry up
- Shallow wells no longer reach water table
- *Cone of depression: water table near well is deeper than others
- *Saltwater intrusion: adjacent saltwater fills fresh groundwater
What is a Floodplain? How can it be Formed?
Lakes surrounding rivers
*Formed 2 ways
- Tectonic: formed by land
- Glaciers: large depression of land
How are Lake’s Classified by Productivity?
(based on level of primary productivity)
*low nutrients is low productivity
Oligotrophic - low productivity
Mesotrophic - moderate productivity
Eutrophic - high productivity
What are Wetland’s Functions
- Absorb water to help prevent floods
- Clean and purify water
- Food (rice feeds half of worlds pop.)
- Shoreline and storm protection
- Cultural (hunting, fishing, and sightseeing)
- Habitat (contain 40% of planets species and 12% of animal species
- Nursery for important finfish and shellfish
- Migratory birds stay as well
What are some Drought Consequences?
- Direct loss of human life, livestock, and crops
- Can alter nutrient cycling and soil fertility
- Poor land use can worsen during drought
What are Impermeable Surfaces?
Surfaces like pavement or buildings that prevent water penetration causing streams and river to possibly overflow
*In healthy systems, porous soils and wetlands can soak up excess rain water
What is a Levee?
Bank of soil on both sides of river sed to prevent flooding in floodplains (dike-ocean levee)
Problems:
- Reduces fertility of soils
- Nutrients carried downriver, settling in estuaries
- Can cause greater flooding downstream
- Encourages building in floodplains
What are Resovoirs?
Water help back by dam to control water for supply, electricity, flood creation and recreation
- can cause great floods
- fish must use ladder to get back up to optimal point
What are Aqueducts?
Ditches that carry water from one location to another
- can cause rivers to dry up
Aral Sea lost 60% of its size and formed two smaller lakes creating hotter summers and cooler winters
What is Desalination?
Removing salt from seawater
- Distillation: boiling water and capturing steam
- Reverse Osmosis: water forced through semipermeable membranes that saltwater cant pass through, creates brine that can causes environmental problems)
What are Water Ownership Rights?
Has caused many conflicts and wars over the years. Can a country own water?
What is Non-Renewable Energy?
Used once and cannot be replaced
*Includes:
- Fossil fuels (coal, petroleum), nuclear energy, and natural gas
What is a Joule?
Basic unit of energy
- Total world consumption is 500EJ per year
Difference Between Commercial Energy vs. Substinence Energy?
Commercial - can be bought/sold
Substinence - can be gathered by individuals
What is Energy Efficiency?
Some energy forms better suited for certain jobs
*EROEI - energy return on energy invested
What is Electricity?
*Secondary source of energy
Produced from coal, oil, and natural gas
What is Coal Energy? What are the Pros/Cons/Byproducts?
*Most common electricity source
Made from remains of trees, ferns, and plants from 280 to 360 million years ago
Generation:
Steam energy turns blade of turbine
- Combined cycle: uses natural gas along with coal (gas combustion turns 2 turbines which turn generators)
*35% efficient
Pros: reliable, large global reserves, inexpensive
Cons: CO2 pollution, dangerous for miners, destroys natural habitats, not very efficient
Byproduct: ash, pollution
2 Types of Mining?
Surface Mining - safe and cheap
Subsurface Mining - higher cost and health concerns
What is Petroleum Energy? How is it Produced? What are some Pros/Cons/Byproducts?
*Used for mobile combustion engines
Formed from remains of phytoplankton 50 to 100 million years ago. Common in areas where wedged between porous and nonporous rock
Pros: Relatively dense and cleaner than coal (85% emissions), good for combustion engines
Cons: CO2 pollution, can cause spills
Byproduct: pollution, oil spills
What is Crude Oil?
Oil can be refined by heating into:
Tar, asphalt, lubricating oils, heating oils, etc.
*Heat determines state of oil
What is Natural Gas? How is it Produced? What are some Pros/Cons/Byproducts?
Fossil energy source found beneath Earth’s surface.
Generated by hydraulic fracking
- 80 to 95% methane
- Used for electricity and industry
Pros: Has fewer impurities than coal
Cons: 25x as potent as greenhouse gas, can cause explosions
Byproduct: heavy pollution, explosions
What is Nuclear Energy? How is it Produced? What are its Pros/Cons/Byproducts?
Energy captured from nuclear reactions
Uses heat from nuclear fission (neutrons strike each other) to turn steam turbines. Control rods absorb extra neutrons in the form of plutonium preventing meltdown
Pros: no CO2 Released, highly efficient, good for countries independent from oil, cost effective
Cons: can cause meltdowns, creates radioactive waste, uranium mining is dangerous
Byproduct: nuclear waste, some pollution during mining process
Difference Between Modern Carbon vs. Fossil Carbon?
Modern carbon - comes from biomass/biofuels like corn or trees that have been created from the suns photosynthesis recently
Carbon Neutral
Fossil Carbon - carbon in fossil fuels created long ago
*Releases CO2
What is Energy Conservation and Ways it can be Reduced?
Conserving our energy is the #1 to reduce impact
Governments - Increase tax on energy use by implementing tiered rate system (low rate for low use, high rate for high use, credits for less energy)
Sustainable Design - Natural lighting, thermal inertia, green roof, recycled materials
What is Wind Energy? How is it Captured? (examples too) What are its Pros/Cons?
*Result of energy produced by unequal Earth heating
*High EROEI
(US is largest producer)
Examples: Modern (350 ft tall, can supply 400 homes), Offshore (even larger)
Pros:
- No pollution
- Can share land
Cons:
- Needs batteries
- Produces noise
- 40,000 birds killed each year
What Biomass (energy)? Provide The Examples
Derived from nature (wood, charcoal, manure, plant remains)
Wood - Used by 3 billion people for heating and cooling. Can use more timber than what naturally grows back
Charcoal - Made from “half burned” wood. Lighter and contains 2x as much energy as wood and produces less smoke
Dried Animal Manure - Used where wood is low, releases pollutants
Ethanol (Liquid Biomass) - Starches and sugars converted to alcohol and CO2. US 90% comes from corn. Can be mixed with gasoline to make “gasohol.” Some areas have E-85 Ethanol. Less energy than gasoline
Biodiesel: Usually B-20 (20% biomass). Comes from mostly soy beans
What is Geothermal Energy and how is it Produced?
*Uses heat from radioactive decay of underground elements
*Circulates cool liquid underground to be heated
Can be used for electricity, heating water to steam
Ground source Heat Pump - Uses ground’s retainment of sun’s energy
What is Hydroelectricity? How is it Captured? (examples too) What are its Pros/Cons?
(2nd most common renewable in US)
*Generated by energy of moving water
Examples:
Run of River - Common, retained by small dam and usually low electricity produced
Water Impoundment - Storing large amounts of water in reservoir behind dam
Tidal Energy - Attempts to obtain energy from tide shift. Not very efficient
Pros:
- Does not create air pollution
- Cheaper than natural gas/nuclear
- Controls floods
Cons:
- River must be help back
- People possibly forced to relocate
- Loss of organisms
- More disease abundant in impound waters
- Reservoir slowly fills with sediment
What is Solar Energy? How is it Captured? (examples too) What are its Pros/Cons?
*Capturing energy from sun
Examples:
Passive Solar Energy - Natural heating, cooking eggs on floor
Active Solar Energy - Capturing sun’s energy and using it different ways
Photovoltaic Systems - Low voltage electricity generated by capturing 12-20% of heat
Concentrating Solar Power Plants - Best in deserts, use lens to concentrate sunlight to produce steam-powered turbine
Pros:
- No pollution or CO2
- May be cheap
Cons:
- May be expensive
- Hard to install
- May require batteries
What are Pathogens and its Types?
Disease causing organisms
- Viruses
- Bacteria
- Protozoans
- Parasitic worms/flukes (1/3 of world infected w/ worm)
What is the Spanish Flu?
Pandemic that spread around the world in 1918, killing more than 50 million people (500,000 in US)
What is Giardia?
(#1 cause of diarrhea in US)
*Parasitic intestinal parasite common in preschool and daycare
*Can cause death if not hydrated
What is Malaria?
*A disease caused by mosquitoes implanting parasites in the blood
*1 million die each year (300 million new cases)
*Expanding as global temp rises because mosquitos are out more
What are Emergent Diseases?
*Not previously known/absent
ex: SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome)
- Virulent corona viruses jumping from animals to humans
What is Avian Flu?
From domestic poultry to livestock to humans
What is the West Nile Virus?
Transmitted by mosquitos in US that can cause fever
What is HIV/AIDS?
Spread through body fluids
-37.6 million infected, 1.7 million deaths each year
What is Ebola?
Spread through direct contact of blood and body fluids
(Very deadly)
How does Health Care Impact Disease?
*90% of diseases occur in developing nations where 10% of health care is spent
*2% of people with AIDS have access to modern medicine
How Can Chemical Resistance Impact Disease?
*Natural Selection allows organisms to evolve quickly
Malaria was nearly wiped out, but protozoans became resistant to antibiotics
Mosquitos are now resistant to insecticides
Feedlots can use a lot of antibiotics and hormones
What is Toxicology?
*The study of toxins (poisons) and their effect on living systems
Allergens vs. Antigens Difference?
Allergens - Substances that activate immune systems
Antigen - Stimulates antibodies in white blood cell
What are the 5 Classifications of Toxicology?
- Neurotoxins - Attack nerves
- Heavy metals (lead, mercury) can kill nerve cells permanently
- Anesthetics (chloroform) disrupt functions
- Mutagens - Chemicals/radiation that damages DNA
- Can cause birth defects, tumors, changes in reproduction
- Teratogens - Chemicals that disrupt embryonic development
- ex: fetal alcohol syndrome can cause facial abnormalities, developmental decays, behavioral and mental deficits
- Carcinogens - Substances that cause cancer (out of control cell-division)
- 2nd leading killer in US
- 50% of men and 30% of women get cancer in their lifetimes
- Endocrine Hormone Disruptors (EDCs)
- Chemicals that disrupt hormone/gland function
- DDT and PCB interfere with growth
- Environmental estrogen/androgen can cause heath problems
What are the Ways to Measure Toxicology?
- Animal Testing (mice, rats, primates)
- Computer Simulations
- Cell Cultures
- LD50 - Lethal dose for 50% of tested group
