Intro Flashcards
Enviornmental Science
study of the enviornment
Thomas Malthus
Predicted exponential population growth would outpace linear food production, leads to starvation
John Muir
Naturalist that wanted to preserve wilderness in U.S.; founded Sierra club
“Father of the National Parks”
Sierra club
First non-profit enviornmental organization; explore & enjoy nature but also protect it
Henry David Thoreau
Believed in being simple and self sufficient
Author of Walden; or, Life in the Woods
Yellowstone national park
First national park; created by Ulysses S. Grant
London Fog
Coal burning created toxic fog in London; high levels of sulfer dioxide :(
Lacey Act (1900)
You can’t kill birds without paying the state; Prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, transported or sold
Theodore Roosevelt
1st enviornmental president; started the Golden Age of Conservation
The golden age of conservation is Roosevelt’s presidency; he pushed a lot for conservation
Pelican island
First national wildlife refugee
Forest service (1905)
Pinchot believed in using forests but also protecting them. The Forest Service administered national forests
Aldo Leopold
Founder of the science of wildlife management
US National Park Service
created by an act signed by President Woodrow Wilson on August 25, 1916
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Founded by FDR; planted 3 billion trees and constructed 800 parks nationwide
Dust bowl
A drought occurred, and the peoples used bad farming techniques which led to soil depletion & starvation.
Donora, Pennsylvania
First major air quality disaster; weather trapped toxic fumes and killed 20 people + 7,000 ill
Sand county Almanac
Book by Aldo Leopold; about living on land and treating land ethically
London smog
Coal burning produce smoke + unusual weather patterns trapping smoke = killing thousands of people
Minamata, Japan
A company dumbed Mercury into a nearby bay, led to contaminating fish and killing people who ate said fish
Silent spring
Book by Rachel Carson; about pesticides & DDT bad
Rachel Carson
Mother of the Environmental Science movement
Wilderness Act
established the National Wilderness Preservation System
Pollution of lake Eerie
Badly polluted, therefore bad
BRO THE SLIDES DIDN’T HAVE ANYTHING I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO PUT HERE
Population bomb
Book; about too many people without enough stuff to survive might lead to famine
Tragedy of the Commons
If shared resources are misused, everyone suffers. This is inevitable in an unrestricted environment
Cuyahoga River Fire
The river was so badly polluted, it caught on fire
National environmental policy act
1st comprehensive Environmental Law; no construction if it negatively affect the environment
First Earth Day (1970)
April 22nd; arranged by students, universities, etc.
EPA established
Nixon established the EPA
Clean air act (1970)
Sets limits for air pollution to keep air “healthy”
Clearn water act (1972)
Regulated pollution in water
Endangered species act
framework to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats
FIFRA – Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Control Act
federal control of pesticide distribution, sale, and use
Opec oil embargo
cut oil exports to the U.S. and other nations supporting Israel in the Yom Kippur War; caused a global energy crisis, led to increased interest in alternative energy sources and energy conservation in environmental science.
Safe drinking water act
intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act
prohibits surface coal mining within the boundaries of any unit of the National Park System
Love cANAL (1978)
Landfill for the HOOKER Chemical Company and made people die
Three Mile Island
Located in pennsylvania, worst nuclear disaster of all time
CERCLA “Superfund Act”
Clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances
Bhopal, India
Worst industrial disaster, gases dropped down by weather and killed thousands of people
Chernobyl
At Chernobyl, reactor 4 exploded, became world’s worst nuclear explosion
I know you’re wonder “wait wasn’t ‘Three Mile Island’ the worst???” And I wonder the same thing, Mr. Citron didn’t include anything about this in the slides
Montral Protocol
Treaty designed to protect the ozone layer. Single most successful international agreement. Banned use of CFCs among others
Exxon Valdez
One of the worst sea disasters; oil tanker struck a reef and spilled millions of gallons into ocean
Energy policy act
energy effeciency, energy conservation, energy management
Kyoto protocol
Treaty to stabilize Green House gases, contributed to stopping global warming
hurricane Katrina
one of strongest storms to impact US in past 100 years, 125 mile winds Impacted Gulf Coast – New Orleans, LA, Al
Fukushima, Japan
Huge radiation tirgger after a nuclear reactor exploded due to an earthquake that triggered a tsunami
Hurricane Sandy
extremely large and destructive Category 3 Atlantic hurricane
