Module 4 Flashcards
The capacity of our planet’s natural systems
Sustainability
It is everything that surrounds us
Environment
Environment has complex relationships and interconnectedness (T or F)
True
Provides natural resources and Ecological services
Life-Support system
Interdisciplinary study of how humans interact with the living and nonliving parts of the environment
Environmental Science
Biology, Chemistry, Physics
Natural Sciences
Geography, Economics, Political Science
Social Sciences
Ethics
Humanities
What are the three goals of Environmental Science
To learn how life on the earth has survived and thrived
To understand how we interact with the environment
To find ways to deal with the environmental problems and live more sustainably
Social movement dedicated to sustain the earth’s life-support systems for all lifeforms
Environmentalism
Environmentalism refers to working more on political and ethical areas, than in science (T or F)
T
Three Scientific Principles of Sustainability
Dependence on solar energy
Biodiversity
Chemical/nutrient cycling
___ is what sustains life and allow it to adapt to a continually changing environment
Interdependence
These are matter and energy in nature that are essential to humans
Natural resources
__, __, and __ are natural resources
Inexhaustible, renewable, exhaustible resources
Processes provided by healthy ecosystems that support life and human economies at no monetary cost to us
Ecosystem services
__, __, __, __, __, and __ are examples of Ecosystem services
Air, water purification, renewal of topsoil, nutrient cycling, pollination, and pest control
Many anthropogenic activities can degrade natural capital, T or F
True
Social scientists searches solutions for environmental problems while Environmental scientists looks for economic and political solutions, T or F
False
In achieving sustainability, only those who contributed the most are credited, individuals efforts doesn’t matter, T or F
False
It finds ways to include harmful environmental and health costs of producing and using foods and services in their market prices
Full-cost pricing
Full-cost pricing does not provide consumers an idea of their lifestyles and footprints, T or F
False
Full-cost pricing makes more informed decisions, T or F
True
Competition and Dominance
Win-lose approach
Based on compromise, Benefits both people and environment
Win-win approach
We should leave the planet’s life-support systems in at least as good a condition as that which we now enjoy, if not better, for future generations, T or F
True
It is anything that we can obtain from the environment to meet our needs and wants
Resource
Continuous supply like geothermal and solar energy
Inexhaustible
Can be replenished by natural processes within hrs to centuries, as long we do not use it faster than nature can renew it
Renewable
Fixed quantity or stock in the earth’s crust
Nonrenewable / Exhaustible
What are the examples of Nonrenewable / Exhaustible?
fossil fuels, metallic minerals (copper aluminum), and nonmetallic mineral (salt and sand)
About Nonrenewable/Exhaustible resources, Geological processes cannot renew them, but on a scale of millions to billions of years
False
These are more developed countries
USA, Japan, Canada, Australia, Germany, and most European Countries
Africa, Asia, and Latin America are less developed. T or F
True
These are middle-income, moderately developed countries
China, India, and Brazil
These are low-income or least developed countries
Nigeria, Bangladesh, Congo, Haiti
Process of wasting, depleting, and degrading
Environmental Degradation
According to ___ year ___, ___ of Earth’s ecosystem services have been degraded or overused by human activities, mostly since the year __
Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005, 60%, 1950
Chemical or other agent (noise, heat)
Harmful to the health, survival, or activities of humans and other organisms
Contamination of the environment
Natural or anthropogenic
At higher concentrations, almost any chemical can cause harm and be classified as pollutant
Pollutants
__ of a powerplant or __ are examples of Point Sources
Smokestack, Factories
It is a single, identifiable source and easier to address
Point Source
Dispersed and often difficult to identify
Nonpoint Source
__, __, __, and __ are examples of Nonpoint source
Displace of chemicals, soil/particles, trash into streams, and lakes
Cleaning up or dilution pollutants after their production
Cleanup
Efforts focused on greatly reducing or eliminating the production of pollutants.
Prevention
Laws, policies, control, ban, set and low emission levels are aspects of prevention, T or F
True
Not owned by anyone
Can be used by almost anyone
Open-access renewable
__, __, and __ are examples of Open-access renewable resources
Atmosphere, Ocean and its Resources
Grasslands, forests, and streams
Many of these have been degraded
Less open, but often shared resources
__, year __ quotes “The little bit that I use or pollute is not enough to matter, anyway, it’s a renewable resources.”
Garret Hardin, 1968
Harmful environmental impact
Ecological footprint
Average EF of an individual in a given country or area
Per capita ecological footprint
When total EF for a city, a country, or the world is larger than its biological capacity to replenish its renewable resources and absorb the resulting wastes and pollution
Ecological Deficit
According to the __, year__. From the __ for Nature, we would need __ planet earth’s to indefinitely sustain the world’s __ rate of total resource use.
Living Planet Report, 2013, World Wide Fund, 1.5, 2012
Two persons who supports Upcycling
William McDonough, and Michael Braungart
year __, __ and __ developed a simple model to determine environmental impact of human activities
1970, Paul Ehrlich and John Holdren
I = __ x __ x __
I = P x A x T
I: environmental impact of __
P: __
A: __ or __; rate of __ per person
T: __ and __ effects of technologies
I: environmental impact of human activities
P: Population size
A: Affluence or wealth; rate of resource consumption per person
T: Beneficial and harmful effects of technologies
It emphasizes the use of renewable resources
Ecological footprint model
It includes environmental impact of using both renewable and nonrenewable resources
IPAT model
Highly-polluting tech can increase T factor, while clean tech can decrease T factor
Technology
__ projected that we would need __ planet Earths to indefinitely sustain the rate of resource of the average American
WWF, 5
A condition in which people are unable to fulfill their basic needs for adequate food, water, shelter, health care, and education
Poverty