final Flashcards
6 key themes of environmental science
- human population growth
- increased urbanization
- sustainability
- people and nature
- a global perspective
- science and values
what type of population growth do developed countries experience
logistic
what type of population growth do developing countries experience
exponential
2 types of overpopulation
people overpopulation
consumption overpopulation
problems with overpopulation
strains resources, creates pollution, reduces quality of life
megacities
cities with 10 million + people
problem with urbanization
it creates special environmental problems
heat island effect
vegetation is replaced by roads causing areas to heat up faster
urban sprawl
cities grow larger and spread out
sustainability
meeting the needs of the present without comprimising the needs of future generations
sustainable development goal and 3 key components
balance the needs of humans with environmental health
ecology, economy, equity
challenges to sustainable development: different world view
anthropocentric, biocentric, ecocentric
Tragedy of the commons
when people only act in their own self interest, the environment suffers
overusing a shared resource
social trap
decision that produces a short term benefit but hurts society in the long run
group focused
time delay
action that produces benefit today but causes problems later
individual focused
sliding reinforcers
actions that are beneficial at first but over time the benefits decline
problem with wealth inequality
20% of the population controls 80% of the worlds resources
head of the largest US family
John Eli Miller
people and nature
people affect nature and nature effects people, we affect nature globally
principle of environmental unity
everything in nature is connected
science and values
science and ethics go hand and hand
the choices we make because of science are based on our values
a global perspective
many problems in nature are global so we must take a global approach when solving them
environmental problems with multiple causes and trade offs
wicked environmental problems
what does the human carrying capacity depend on
the quality of life were willing to accept.
is science stagnant
no its dynamic
with new info, we change our ideas
steps of scientific method
- make observations/ develop questions
- form a hypothesis
- conduct an experiment
- collect data
- interpret data
- draw conclusions
- accept/reject hypothesis
theory
explanation for why a phenomena occurs suppported by multiple hypothesis
accuracy
how close a measured value is to an accepted value
precision
how close a set of measured values are to each other
law
mathematical expression for how a phenomena occurs
sig figs
represent precision of a measuring device
when are trailing zeroes significant
after a decimal
how to read a measuring device
estimate the last digit
pseudoscience examples
study skull to determine personality
astrology
when was the Danora PA incident
1948
what happened in Danora PA
toxic pollutants from a metal smelting plant got trapped in the valley
how many people died in how long in Danora PA
20 people died in 3 days
why did pollutants get trapped in Danora PA
it was in a valley which caused a thermal inversion
weather
when was the London Smog incident
1952
how many people did the London Smog incident kill in how long
4000 people died in 6 days
what happened in the London smog incident
cold weather caused people to burn coal->air became stagnant and a cold fog developed -> people burned more coal for more heat creating a feedback loop of pollution
what was the Indonesian fire incident
people slash and burned forests during el nino causing fires to rapidly spread
how many people got sick from the indonesian fires
20 million
what are the 6 criteria air pollutants
SO2, NOx, CO, Ozone (O3), PM, Pb
what are the 6 criteria air pollutants
SO2, NOx, CO, Ozone (O3), PM, Pb
NOx causes
coal plants and automobiles
CO causes
automobiles, gas heaters + stoves
Ozone (O3) causes and effects
comes from car exhaust, creates photochemical smog
particulate matter harmful effects
gets lodged in lungs
stationary air pollution
fixed location
what are the 3 types of stationary air pollution sources
point sources, fugitive sources, area sources
point source
comes from one identifiable source
easy to control
fugitive source
comes from open areas exposed to wind like slash and burn
hard to control
area source
well defined area with multiple sources of pollution
mobile sources
move from place to place
cars
primary pollutants
emitted directly into the air and no reaction occurs
CO, PM
secondary air pollutants
form through a rxn with a primary pollutant and atmospheric compound
ozone
5 general effects of air pollution
- reduced visual quality
- damages vegetation animals and soil
- damages water quality
- erodes natural and artificial structures
- human health: reynolds uncle
particulate matter
mixture of solid particles+liquid droplets suspended in air
how is PM measured
TSP: total suspended particles
types of PM
SO2: sulfate particles
NOx: nitrate particles
PM sizes
thoractic particles: <10 microns
coarse particles: 10-2.5 microns
fine particles: >2.5
ultrafine particles: > 0.1
which particles are the most dangerous and why
ultrafine because theyre absorbed into the blood stream
what PM size does the greatest damage to the lungs
0.1-10
synergism
when the combined effects of the pollutants are greater than the sum of their effects
ex: sulfates+PM
smog
smoke+fog
produces unhealthy urban air
brown air and formation
photochemical smog
sun+NOx+organic hydrocarbons=ozone,Pan,PM
how is brown air formed
combustion reaction creates 2NO and catalyzes with the sun to create ozone
gray air
comes from burning coal and oil
produces SOx
