Humans and the Geologic Environment Flashcards
What are the factors that made Earth livable?
- Its distance from the Sun
- Its ability to retain its own atmosphere
When did the first Homo sapiens (archaic and Neanderthal) first make their appearance on Earth?
Approx. 200,000 years ago
How did the first civilizations start?
- People learned how to plant crops and harvest them
- They recognized areas with the most productive soils to grow crops on
What happens when a city is built?
- Floods occur more frequently due to the ground’s reduced ability to absorb water
- Decreased water quality and quantity
A phenomenon wherein the Self-interest of individuals results in the destruction of a common and shared resource
Tragedy of the Commons
study of the solid earth and the process that shape and modify the planet
Physical Geology
interprets Earth’s past by unravelling the information held in rocks
Historical Geology
talks about geologic principles and knowledge are used to address problems arising from the interaction between humans and the geologic environment
Environmental Geology
Steps of a scientific inquiry
- Observation
- Hypothesis
- Experiment/ Data Gathering
- Analysis of results
- Conclusion
Who proposed the geocentric model?
Claudious Ptolemy
Who proposed the heliocentric model?
Nicolaus Copernicus
Environmental problems related to geology generally fall into one of two categories, which are:
Hazards and Resources
It is the chance that some natural process or event will produce negative consequences for an individual or society as a whole
Environmental Risk
The formula for risk
Risk = (probability of event) x (Expected consequences/damage)
Natural processes can be classified as:
- Incremental (slow)
- Sporadic (fast/sudden)
composed of four major subsystems that interact in a highly complex and integrated manner, where changes in one subsystem affect the others
Earth System
Illustrate the Earth System.
True or False: Sediments can negatively affect the growth of vegetation in a specific area.
True
In ___________, the amount added over successive time periods remains the same
linear growth
It occurs when amount added over successive time increments keeps increasing
Exponential Growth
A prime example of exponential growth that greatly affects the natural geologic processes
Human population
This man said that there is a limit to the number of humans that the Earth can support.
Thomas Malthus
Population growth : Exponential
______________ : Linear
Food Production
Why is Thomas Malthus’ model about population growth deemed somewhat “inaccurate”?
Becasuse his model failed to take account that advancements in technology also greatly impacted the growth and production of crops and food in general, thus making food production exponential rather than linear.
Why does Thomas Malthus’ model about population growth still hold true even until today?
Because although the food production dilemma has been addressed via technologic innovations, the land and resources that you can use to farm on is still constant; if anything is gets smaller and smaller the bigger the global population grows, therefore food production still has a maximum limit, making Thomas Malthus’ claim right.
A society that lives within Earth’s capacity to provide resources such that resources remain available for future generations
Sustainable Society
What are the factors that make the resource depletion from nation to nation vary?
- population growth rates
- level of economic development
- resources being consumed
What is the key to sustainability?
Earth’s total population and humanity’s per capita consumption rate of resources
A concept which is simply the amount of biologically productive land/sea area needed to support the lifestyle of humans.
Ecological Footprint
Ecological footprint is expressed in _____________________.
Global Hectares
