MEH SCI Flashcards
This is pretty meh
What approach is needed to study the impacts we have left on the Earth
A interdisciplinary approach
Environmental science
the study of the impacts
of human activities on environmental systems
environment
the sum total of all the conditions
and living and nonliving factors that surround an
organism
scientific
method
observations, hypothesis testing,
field and laboratory research, and other practices,
system
a set of living and/or nonliving components
connected in such a way that changes in one part of
the system affect other parts
environmental indicator
a measure that reflects
the environmental health of a system
Is there a single measure that is an indicator for the planet
there is no single indicator that effectively assesses
the whole planet
environmental indicators focused on in section 1
Biological diversity, Human population growth, Food Production, Resource consumption, Global temperature and atmospheric
greenhouse gas levels, Pollution levels
biological diversity
diversity of genes, species, habitats, and ecosystems on Earth
species
group of organisms that is distinct from other groups in morphology (body type), physiology, or biochemical properties.
How many known species are there
approximately 1.8 million “known”—that is, identified and catalogued—species on Earth today.
Actul number of species
highly debated, it is thought to be 10 times the number of the known species
How many species that
have ever lived on Earth are now extinct.
About 99.9%
What do estimates have been made using “quiet” periods in the geologic record (that is, time periods with no massive environmental or biological upheaval) say the extinction rates are usally
2 mammal extinction per 10,000 every hundred years
What is the current extinction rate
Attempts to estimate species loss by relating it to the area of land that has been altered by human activity suggest that as many as 40,000 species per year may be going extinct.
What is the current extinction like
It is like a mass extinction event
keystone species
Species that if go extinction can cause a chain of extinction
When did the global human population human reach eight billion people (according to the UN)
November 2022
How many infants are born every day
Roughly 378,000 are born every day
How many people die every day
Roughly 148,000 die every die
When did the world population stop undergoing exponential growth
in the 1960s
For how much longer will the Human population increase
for another 50 to 100 years
What is the projection for the population cap
It is somewhere between 8 and 12 billion people in the year 2150
What provides half of the calories for humans
Food grains such as wheat, corn and rice
“intensity” in the context of agriculture
how much food is grown per hectare or acre of land.
What do high-intensity practices lead to
soil erosion, runoff of fertilizers and animal wastes into waterways, and buildup of pesticides, all of which reduce the quality of the land.
What happens as the quality of the land degrades
its yield begins to decline
Sustainable use
present-day consumption
of resources allows an adequate supply to remain for
future generations.
Is there a way to determine the sustainability of a given society
No
What is the temperature of the Earth is regulated by
many factors, including incoming solar radiation, absorbed solar heat emanating
from the Earth, the surface area of ice caps and ocean, and the concentration of certain gases that surround the Earth.
Why are greenhouse gases called greenhouse gases
Because these gases trap heat around the Earth, warming the atmosphere—much like the glass around a greenhouse traps heat
What are two greenhouse gases that are
present in the atmosphere due to both natural processes
and human activities.
Carbon Dioxide and methane
Why is the metal Lead so useful
because it is soft, malleable (can be shaped with just
a hammer), and resists corrosion,
What is the down side to lead
it also impairs human central nervous system function and is toxic to most plants and animals.
What do coal and oil contain
small amounts of lead
What happened as oil and coal were burned
lead was released in atmosphere
What was used as an additive to gasoline to improve engine performance
Lead
What was the majority of lead production and emissions in the twentieth century
Leaded gasoline
What was the clean air legislation
it was the bill that required that new cars in the US use unleaded gasoline. This started in 1975
Where can leaded fuel be used
in offroad cars and planes
What is an indicator of the
amount of pollution in the
natural environment
The amount of lead in the atmosphere, water,
soils, and plants and animals
What was a major ingredient in paint
Lead
What is the percentage of lead in paint before the 1960s
there was up to 50% of lead found in paint
What happened to paint after 1960
There were less concentrations of lead in the paint
What is the major source of lead contamination today
lead in our drinking water
What are the two general ways that coal is mined
deep shaft mining and surface mining
Deep shaft mining
tunnels are dug as deep as 2000 feet people are sent into these tunnels to mine coal and bring it to the surface
