Environmental Sustainability (Chapter 1) Flashcards
Environment
Everything around us including all living and non-living things with which we interact
Environmental Science
Interdisciplinary study of how humans interact with the environment of living and non-living things
Ecology
Biological science that studies how organisms interact with their environment and with each other
Species
A group of organisms, with distinctive traits, and, for sexually reproducing organisms, can mate and produce fertile offspring
Ecosystem
A set of organisms interacting with one another and with their environment of nonliving matter and energy with a defined area or volume
Environmentalism
Social movement dedicated to protecting the earth’s life-support systems for us and all other forms of life – practiced more in the political and ethical areans than in the realm of science
Sustainability
Ability of the earth’s various natrual systems and human cultural systems and economies to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinately
Natural Capital
The natural resources tath keep us and other forms of life alive and support our economies
Natural Resources
Materials and energy in nature that are essential or useful to humans
Natural Services
Functions of nature, such as purification of air and water, which support life and human economies
Nutrient Cycling
A natural service that involves the circulation of chemicals necessary for life from the environment through organisms and back to the environment
Solar Capital
Energy from the sun
Photosynthesis
Complex chemical process that plants use to provide food for themselves and for humans and most other animals
Major Components of Sustainability
Natural capital; Sustainability; Solutions; Trade-offs
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Annual market value of all goods and services produced by all firms and organizations, foreign and domestic, operating within a country.
Per Capital GDP
GDP divided by the total population at mid-year
Per Capita GDP PPP
Per Capita GDP adjusted by the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) which is a mesure of the amount of goods and services that a country’s average citizen could buy
Developed Countries
Countries with higher Per Capita GDP PPP and industrialization; includes United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, much of Europe
Developing Countries
Not Developed; includes middle-income moderately developed countries like China, India, Brazil, Turkey as well as low-income, least developed countries like Angola, Congo, Belarus, Jordan
Resource
Anything obtained from the environment to meet our needs and wants
Conservation
Management of natural resources with the goal of minimizing resource waste and sustaining resource supplies for current and future generations
Renewable Resource
Resource that can be replenished fairly quickly through natural processes as long as it is not used up faster than it is renewed – fisheries, freshwater, fresh air, fertile soil
Sustainable Yield
Highest rate that a renewable resource can be used indefinately without reducing its available supply is called its sustainable yield
Environmental Degradation
Process in which the available supply of a resource begins to shrink due to exceeding the replacement rate
Tragedy of the Commons
Individuals and groups use common property or open access renwable resources at a rate faster than the sustainable yield.
Nonrenewable Resources
Resources that exist in a fixed quantity, or stock, in the earth’s crust and cannot be renewed on a human time scale. Examples include coal, oil, copper, aluminum, salt, sand.
Reuse
Using a resource over and over again in the same form
Recycling
Involves collecting waste materials and processing them into new materials
Ecological Footprint
For a particular area, the amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply the peoplewith resources and to absorb and recycle wates and pollution produced by resource use
Culture
Whole of society’s knowledge, beliefs, technology, and practices, and human cultural changes
Pollution
Anything the in environment that is harmful to the health, survival, or activities of humans or other organisms
Point Sources of Pollutants
Single, identifiable source – smokestack of a coal-burning plant
Biodegradeable Pollutants
Harmful materials that can be broken down by natural processes
Nondegradeable Pollutants
Harmful materials that natural processes cannot break down. Examples include lead, mercury, arsenic
Side Effects of Pollutants
Disrupt or degrade life support systems for humans and other species; damange wildlife, human health, and property; create nuisances such as noise or smells
Poverty
Condition whereby people are unable to meet their basic needs for adequate food, water, shelter, health, and education
Environmental Worldview
Set of assumptions and values reflecting how you think the world works and what you think your role in the world should be; includes environmental ethics
Planetary Management Worldview
Worldview that holds: we are separate from nature; nature exists mainly to meet our needs and increasing wants; we can use ingenuity and technology to manage the earth’s life-support systems
Stewardship Worldview
Worldview that holds we should manage the earth for our benefit but that we have a ethical responsibility to be caring and responsible managers, or stewards
Environmental Wisdom Worldview
Worldview that holds we are part of and wholly dependent on nature and that nature exists for all species, not just for humans
Scientific Principles of Sustainability
Reliance on Solar Energy; Biodiversity; Population Control; Nutrient Cycling
