quiz 1 lecture vocab

Question 1

society

Answer 1

people who interact in a defined territory and share a culture

Question 2

a system ____ as a ____ because of …

Answer 2

functions; whole; the way the parts interact

Question 3

consumption

Answer 3

a key aspect of sustainability; takes many forms: TV, food, etc

Question 4

social systems

Answer 4

a subset of ecosystem / the environment; consists of…

• functions
• key processes
• key institutions
• key organizations
• outputs

Question 5

processes are…

Answer 5

chains of things that lead to an outcome

Question 6

an institution is…

Answer 6

any social entity that has constituents or regulates behavior

Question 7

an organization is…

Answer 7

a social entity that does not regulate behavior, but may have a constituency

Question 8

social system outputs (of the UW)

Answer 8

• graduates
• garbage / compost
• etc…

Question 9

4 dimensions of social systems

Answer 9

1. culture
2. community
3. economics
4. politics

Question 10

culture

Answer 10

• symbolic expressions of meaning & identity
• learned behavior & social arrangements of the society you’re born, rainsed in, &/or accustomed to

Question 11

community

Answer 11

mechanisms that create & maintain communal interests, purposes, &/or sympathies

Question 12

economy

Answer 12

production & distribution of goods & services

Question 13

politics

Answer 13

organize and commit social resources to establish & attain common goals

Question 14

in-group fallacy (aka group think?)

Answer 14

“f that’s what our group thinks, then that’s good enough for me”

anything that doesn’t fit is seen as a threat or is ignored

keeps America from making progress

Question 15

socio-cultural evolutions are…

Answer 15

changes that occur as a society acquires new technology

which means… how we evolve as a society is a function of our access to technology

Question 16

5 kinds/stages of societal development

Answer 16

1. hunter/gatherer: use of simple tools to hunt animals and gather vegetation; fairly sustainable by definition, but the people in question would not likely use that word
2. horticultural & pastoral: the use of hand tools to raise crops & domestication of animals
   
   • new tech concentrated wastes / erosion & caused new problems… to be solved by new tech
3. agrarian: large-scale cultivation using plows harnessed to animals or more powerful energy sources; typically a monoculture (-> disease)
   
   • nutrient depletoin, erosion, deforestation… req’s new tech to solve
4. industrial: production of goods using large machinery & advanced sources of energy
   
   • DWVs: nature for its own sake is less valuable
   • Compassion mainly for near/dear: NIMBY
   • Maximization of wealth/risks are OK
   • tech is supreme; no limits to growth
   • Lack of foresight
5. Post-industrial
   
   • tech that supports an information-based society
     
     • direct-deposit = paid in information
   • tech continues to create/solve problems

Question 17

diversity of any kind boosts ____

Answer 17

adaptability / resilience

Question 18

sustainability is…

Answer 18

a characteristic of a process or state that can be maintained indefinitely

Question 19

sustainable development (IUCN)

Answer 19

improving the quality of human life while living w/in the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems; implies:

1. respect/care for the community of life
2. trying to improve the quality of human life
3. conserve Earth’s vitality & diversity
4. minimize depletion of non-renewable resources
5. keep w/in Earth’s carrying capacity
6. **change personal attitude & practice **

Question 20

environmental sustainability

Answer 20

the potential longevity of vital human ecological support systems, human communities in general, & the various systems on which they depend

(e.g. climate systems; agricultural, industrial, forestry, fisheries systems)

Question 21

______ (today) conflicts with ____ (future)

Answer 21

vitality; sustainability

Question 22

sustainable landscaping

Answer 22

• low-impact
• low-maintenance
• low-resource use
• fits a particular site & climate

Question 23

“Brundtland” definition of sustainability

Answer 23

meeting the needs of the present w/o compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Question 24

social sciences: environmental psychology

Answer 24

study of the interrelationships b/t human behavior and the environment as a unit

Question 25

social sciences: ecological anthropology

Answer 25

study of how humans adapt, mitigate, & respond to changing environmental conditions

Question 26

social sciences: environmental sociology

Answer 26

the study of community in the largest possible sense: people, other animals, land, water, and their interconnecitons

Question 27

social sciences: ecological economics

Answer 27

study of the economy concerne as a subsystem of the earth ecosystem that is sustained by a flow from and back to the larger ecosystem; steady-state economy

Question 28

social sciences: environmental politics

Answer 28

study of how power & difference influence human clais and uses of natural resources

Question 29

EPA & the four main things it does

Answer 29

environmental protection agency

1. Promoting advances in science & technology
2. Gov’t regulations & practices
3. Promoting sustainable business practices
4. Preferential purchasing programs
   
   • WaterSense
   • EnergyStar

Question 30

EPA: promoting sustainable biz practices like…

Answer 30

1. Clean Processing Program
   
   • develop clean tech for pollution prevention, material reuse/recyc
2. Design for the Environment / DfE label
   
3. Green Chemistry Program
4. Lean Manufacturing
5. NPEP program:
   
   • Nat’l Partnership for Environmental Priorities
   • Better Environment, Better Neighbor, Better Biz

Question 31

EPA: gov regs

Answer 31

executive orders and such