L1: Introduction to People’s Earth and Ecosystem Flashcards
Interdisciplinary study which deals with how the earth works, our interaction with the earth and ways to deal with environment problems and live more sustainably.
Environmental Science
The study of
the interaction of humans with the
natural environment.
Environmental Science
What are the conditions
that surround living organisms?
Climate
Air and Water Quality
Soil and Land Forms
Presence of other living organism
An interdisciplinary study of how
humans interact with living and
nonliving parts of their environment
Environmental Science
A social movement dedicated to
protecting earth’s life.
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is practiced more in the ________ and________ than in the realm of
science
Political and
Ethical Arenas
The ability of the earth’s various natural
systems. and human cultural systems and
economies to survive and adapt to changing
environmental conditions indefinitely
Sustainability
It is the biological variety and variability
of life on earth.
Biodiversity
The sun warms the planet thus the
production of food in plants not only for
themselves but for humans and most
animals.
Solar Energy
It pertains to the natural processes recycle nutrients or chemicals
Chemical Cycling
The chemical cycling is necessary because there is a _____________ on earth.
fixed supply of nutrients
What are the 8 environmental problems?
Climate Change
Acidification
Ozone Depletion
Chemical/Particle Pollution
Biogeochemical Cycles
Biodiversity Loss
Deforestation
Fresh Water Use
is a community or group
of living organisms that live in and
interact with each other in a specific
environment.
Ecosystem
is a physically defined
environment, made up of two
inseparable components: abiotic and biotic
Ecosystem
Other term for abiotic
Biotope
Other term for biotic
Biocenosis
a particular physical environment
with specific physical characteristics such as the climate, temperature, humidity concentration of nutrients or pH.
biotope |abiotic
a set of living organisms such as animals, plants or microorganisms. that are in constant interaction and are, therefore, in a situation of
interdependence
biocenosis |biotic
Degradation of normally renewable
natural resources and services in parts
of the world, mostly as a result of rising
population and resource use per
person.
Natural Capital
natural resources + natural services +
the sun
Natural Capital
It is a concept in economics and environmental science that describes a situation where individuals, acting in their self-interest, deplete or spoil a shared resource, leading to the long-term detriment of the entire group.
Tragedy of the Commons
Who popularized the term “Tragedy of the Commons”?
Garrett Hardin
When did Garrett Hardin popularized
the term “Tragedy of the Commons”?
1968
Ecologist Garrett Hardin popularized
the term in his 1968 essay titled?
Tragedy of the Commons
Materials and energy in nature that are essential or useful to humans
Natural Resources
3 Classification of Natural Resources
Renewable
Non-renewable
Inexhaustible
Example of renewable resources
Air, Water, Soil, Plants,
Wind
Example of non-renewable resources
Copper, Oil, Coal
Example of inexhaustible resources
Solar Energy
Processes in nature such as purification
or air and water, pollination
Natural Services
One of the vital
natural services
Nutrient Cycling
The amount of biologically productive land and water needed to indefinitely supply the people in a particular country or area with renewable resources and to absorb and recycle the wastes and pollution produced by such resource use.
Ecological Footprint
As our ecological footprint grows, the
more the earth’s natural capital
______ and _______.
depletes and degrades
Back in 2010, the developers of the ecological footprint concept said that if everyone would consume like the average American, the earth could only indefinitely support about ____________ people.
1.3 billion
An ____________ is one measurement of a person’s resource use.
Ecological Footprint
____________ have a much
larger footprint, reflecting a much
larger use of resources.
Developed countries
Developed countries have a much
________ footprint, reflecting a much
____________.
Larger |larger use of resources
Determines how fast humans consume and produce waste compared to how fast nature can absorb and produce resources
Ecological Footprint
is a measure of the impact
our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change.
Carbon Footprint
It relates to the amount of green house gases produced in our
day-to -day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc.
Carbon Footprint
Time delay between unsustainable practices and detrimental environmental effects can cause environmental problems to build slowly until the threshold, this is also known as?
Ecological Tipping Point
What is carbon footprint compared to ecological footprint?
- Measures CO2 generated by activities
- Only includes carbon emission
numbers - Can be used for Carbon Credit
Marketplace - Directly impacts climate change
What is ecological footprint to compared to carbon footprint?
- Measures renewable and
non-renewable resources used - Includes both carbon emissions and environmental impact
- Used to gauge global consumption
-Directly impacts continuing life on
Earth
Reaching the tipping point often causes _______shift in the behavior of natural systems.
irreversible
________of an ecosystem is an
estimate of its production of certain biological materials.
Biocapacity
If a country’s total ecological footprint is larger than its biological capacity to replenish its renewable resources and absorb the resulting wastes and pollution it is said to have an__________
Ecological Deficit
Sustainability is when human needs are met so that the population can survive ________.
Indefinitely
The Earth is a _________, meaning nothing enters or leaves the Earth in large quantities.
Closed System
Earth biomes are categorized in two major groups:
Terrestrial Biomes
Aquatic Biomes
Type of biomes that are based on land
Terrestrial Biomes
Type of biomes that include both ocean and fresh water biomes
Aquatic Biomes
8 major terrestrial biomes; distinguished by characteristic __________ and amount of __________.
temperatures | precipitation
Rivers and streams,
lakes and ponds, and wetlands are classified as?
Fresh Water
Ocean, and Estuaries are classified as?
Marine
consumers that release nutrients from dead organic matter.
Decomposers
Energy flows through ecosystems in
_______ and _______.
food chains and food webs
the dry weight of all organic
matter contained in its organisms
Biomass
Biomass is transferred from one ________ to another
trophic level
Aquatic biome is divided into 2 categories
Fresh water and Marine
Aquatic biome covers about ______ of earth’s surface
75%
3 Trophic Level
Producers (autotrophs)
Consumers (heterotrophs)
Decomposers
The rate at which an ecosystem’s
producers convert solar energy into chemical energy in the form of biomass found in their tissues. Kcal/m^2/yr
Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)
Usually measured in terms of energy production per unit area over a given time span
Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)
The rate at which producers use
photosynthesis to produce and store chemical energy minus the rate at which they use some of this stored chemical energy through aerobic respiration
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
Measures how fast producers can
produce chemical energy that is stored in their tissue and potentially available to other organisms in an ecosystem
Net Primary Productivity (NPP)
is a degradation or an undesired change in air, water, or soil that affects the health of living things.
Pollution
is the number of different
species present in one specific
ecosystem.
Biodiversity
is the discipline that studies the moral relationship of human beings to the environment
Environmental Ethics
explores issues and problems over the entire world, not just within the local community.
Global Environmentalism
This questions whether the benefit of doing something justifies the economic cost.
cost or benefit analysis
A model that shows how population
size, resource consumption per person, and the beneficial or harmful effects of technology
to determine environmental impact of humans.
IPAT Model
Also known as mortality rate
Death Rate
Also known as Natality
Birth Rate
is the annual number
of live births per 1000 people in the
population of a geographic area at the midpoint of a given year.
Crude Birth Rate
is the annual number of deaths per 1000 people in the population of a geographic area at the midpoint of a given year.
Crude Death Rate
The increase in population size in a
certain geographical area that isn’t
caused by natural increase but by
people deciding to move with intent of staying
Migration
traveling out of a place
Emigration
2 Economic factors that affect
death rates
Life expectancy and Infant mortality rate
The average number of
years a newborn infant can expect to live.
Life expectancy
traveling into another (type of Migration)
Immigration
