Test 1 Flashcards
3 types of Natural Resources
Inexhaustible, Renewable, Non-Renewable
Natural Resource
anything produced by earth’s natural processes that exist independently of human activity
Inexhaustible Resources?
Those that exist in constant supply regardless of how or whether we exploit them
Renewable Resources
can be depleted in the short term but can replace themselves over the long term
Non renewable Resources
exist in finite supply and are not being generated at a sufficient rate
Examples of Inexhaustible Resources
Solar energy, Geothermal energy, Wind energy
Examples of Renewable Resources
Clean air and water, fertile soil, forests/vegetation and wildlife
Examples of NonRenewable resources
Fossil Fuels, minerals, wilderness
Environmental Science
Study of how the natural world functions and how humans and the environment interact
What is the major environmental problem?
Human Population Growth
Sustainability
Management of natural resources and the environment (The environmental goal)
Science and Values
Science provides solutions; which chosen partly value judgements, including ethics
Biologic Time
Time periods of less than 10,000 years
What is the oldest known living organism
The bristlecone pine tree of CA (5000 years old)
Anthropocentrism/Exploitation
The complete or maximum use of a resource for individual or societal gain
Example of Anthropocentrism/Exploitation
Clear cutting the forest
Ecocentrism/Conservation
Using resources wisely and leaving some for future generations
Example of Ecocentrism/Conservation
Select cutting of a forest
Biocentrism/Preservation
not using a resource
Example of Biocentrism/Preservation
Not cutting the forest
Global Coordinate System
network of east-west and north-south references
Latitude
measures north and south
What are the line called for Latitude
parallels
Low latitudes
23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south
Middle Latitudes
23.5 degrees to 55 degrees north and south
High latitudes
55 degrees to 90 degrees north and south
Longitude
measures east and west
What are the lines called for longitude
meridians
Where is the prime meridian
0 degrees longitude at greenwich, england
Where does 90% of earth’s 7 billion people live?
on 30% of the earth’s land in the mid latitudes in the northern hemisphere
Carrying capacity
the number of organisms that can live in a long term sustained balance with the environment
What is the only continent w/o human activity and land use
Antartica
Land use
any human activity that takes place on land
Population density
the number of people living in a geographical area divided by the total area of land
What is the percentage of human use of forests
30%
What is the percentage of human use of grasslands
25%
What is the percentage of human use of Agriculture/Rural
11-12%
What does LDC mean
Less developed Countries
What does MDC
More developed Countries
Hydrosphere
Water in all forms
Atmosphere
Air
Lithosphere
Land
Biosphere
Life
Who were the first conservationists
American Indians
What covers 70% of the earth’s surface
Oceans
What happens during the Solid–>Liquid–>Gas water phase change? What happens during the Gas–> Liquid–> Solid phase
Energy gets absorbed. Gas gets released
Hydrologic Cycle
the continuous interchange of moisture between the atmosphere and the earth’s surface
Components of the hydrologic cycle
Evaporation–>Transpiration–>Condensation–>Cloud formation–>Precipitation–>Runoff–>Infiltration
How much water does the ocean have? How much of the earth does that water cover
97.5% and covers 70% of earth’s surface
How much water does permanent glacial ice have? How much of the earth does that water cover
2% and 75% of that water is fresh
Types of glacial ice
Continental, Oceanic, Underground
Permafrost
permanently frozen soil
How much water does underground have?
0.6%
How much water does the surface have?
0.01%
Wetlands
marshes, grasses, swamp trees
Rivers and streams(small river)
watershed
Watershed or drainage basin
land area that contributes runoff to a river
lakes and ponds (small lake)
body of water surrounded by land
resevoir
man made lake
How much water does the atmosphere have
0.001%
Ground water depletion is found where
Ogallala aquifier
Surface water depletion
aral sea shrinking due to use for irrigation
What year was the refuse act
1899
What year was the clean water act
1972
Point source
defined source (you can point to it) (factory, oil spill)
non-point source
unclear source (cities, construction sites, runoff)
What specific sources do water pollution come from
agriculture, (largesr non-point source) urban environments, storm water runoff, soil erosion air pollution
Forms of water pollution
Toxic chemicals, disease-causing organisms, oil pollution, nutrients (eutrophication), sediment, thermal pollution, nets and plastic debris, and acid mine drainage
Eutrophication
increase in the concentration of chemical elements required for living things
acid mine drainage
the acidic water that drains from mines
3 types of underground water
Soil water, groundwater (rivers), aquifiers (lakes)
What does engineering waterways do
food supply and flood control
How much water is used in household toilets and showers
75%
Who was John Muher
Father of conservation
Who was Leopold
First to write philosophy of conservation
Who was bob marshall
saved 100 million acres of american land and creared the wilderness society to protect wilderness
Who was rosa ledge
proposed olympic national park
Who was rachel carson
wrote silent spring
