introduction vocab Flashcards
affluence
term describing wealth
agricultural revolution
period of in the development of civilization in which humans moved away from the hunter gatherer lifestyle to one of permanence in farming
anthropogenic
man made
biodiversity
refers to the sum total of all species in the environment
developed nations (MDCs)
A sovereign state that has a highly developed economy in advanced technological infrastructure
developing nations (LDCs)
a sovereign state that has a weaker economy with a low GDP and lagging infrastructure
ecology
the study of the relationship between organisms and their environment
ecologic footprint
the measure of the impact of one’s lifestyle on the environment
environment
the physical and biological factors along with or chemical interactions that affect an organism
environmental degradation
depletion or destruction of a potentially renewable resource such as soil, grassland, forest, or wildlife that is used faster than it is naturally replenished
environmentally sustainable society
society that meets the current and future needs of its people for basic resources in a just an equitable manner without compromising the ability of future generations of humans and other species from meeting their basic needs
environmental science
the study of how humans interact with the systems of the earth
environmental wisdom worldview
holds that humans are part of an totally dependent on nature and that nature exists for all species not just for us. our success depends on learning how the earth sustains itself and integrating such environmental wisdom into the ways we think an act
environmental worldview
set of assumptions and beliefs about how people think the world works, what they think their role in the world should be, and what they believe is right and wrong environmental behavior
gross domestic product (GDP)
value of all goods and services made within a nation in a year
gross national product (GNP)
value of all goods produced and imported minus those exported any year
industrial revolution
period in the development of civilization in which humans begin building and using more automated systems, moving away from agriculture
information revolution
period in the development of civilization in which humans began connecting via the sharing of massive amounts of data via the Internet
mitigation
process of alleviating the effects of a certain event, act, etc.
natural capital
the goods and services produced by the natural environment
natural income
renewable resources such as plants, animals, and soil provided by national capital
natural resources
materials such as air, water, and soil and energy in nature that are essential or useful to humans
natural services
processes of nature, such as purification of air and water and pest control, which support life in human economies
nonrenewable resource
something useful that cannot be replenished a human lifespan
per capita
for each person
planetary management worldview
holds that humans are separate from nature, that nature exist any mainly to meet our needs and increasing wants, and that we can use our ingenuity and technology to manage the earths life support systems, mostly for our benefit
potentially renewable resource
something useful that is only replenished quickly if managed properly
poverty
inability to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter
remediation
the act or process of correcting a fault or deficiency
renewable resource
something useful that is replenished in a humans lifetime
risk assessment
the process of identifying the probability of being affected by a hazard
social capital
result of getting people with different views and values to talk and listen to one another, find common ground based on understanding and trust, and work together to solve environmental and other problems
spaceship earth
viewpoint arising from an Apollo 8 photo showing the earth alone in space
stewardship
taking responsibility for the well-being of something value, like the earth
stewardship worldview
holds that we can manage the earth for our benefit but that we have an ethical responsibility to be caring and responsible managers, or Stuart, of the earth. It cost for encouraging environmentally beneficial farms of economic growth in discouraging environmentally harmful forms
sustainability
the ability of the earths various natural systems and human cultural systems and economies to survive and adapt to changing environmental conditions indefinitely
tort
law that provides remedies for civil wrongdoings not related to contracts
tragedy of the commons
is the depletion of a shared resource by individuals, acting independently and rationally according to each one’s self interest
