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POLS131 > Test 3 > Flashcards

Test 3 Flashcards

1
Q

ecosystem

A

any group of plants, animals, or non-living things interacting within their external environment

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2
Q

sustainable

A

when the resources we use come back and are replenished

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3
Q

anthropocene

A

new geological era, dominance of 1 species altering the earth

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4
Q

pollution

A

a substance within an ecosystem that does not belong naturally including substances that don’t belong at all or the presence of a naturally occuring substance in such great quantities that the ecosystem can’t absorb it

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5
Q

EROI

A

Energy return on investment, how much energy you get out of a source after accounting for the energy used to obtain it

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6
Q

MTOE

A

Million tons of oil equivalent, measurement of energy consumption

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7
Q

CFC

A

component of aerosols and refrigerants that were supposedly breaking up the ozone layer, banned in the Montreal protocol of 1987

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8
Q

Cap and trade

A

trading of greenhouse gas limits to reduce climate change

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9
Q

Laws of ecology

A

Everything is connected to everything else
Everything must go somewhere
Nature knows best
There is no such thing as a free lunch

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10
Q

Tragedy of the commons

A

Since it’s open, get benefits and keep adding more

Unless there are regulations, everyone is going to lose

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11
Q

Components of an ecosystem

A

Matter (organic and inorganic) FINITE
Energy INFINITE - sun
Time (takes time for recovery or decomposition)

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12
Q

Precautionary principle

A

when there is strong evidence of a problem and its causes act now and don’t wait for 100% approval

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13
Q

spaceship earth

A

earth is enclosed, we only have so much to live with and we have to make it work

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14
Q

common pool resources

A

everyone has access to them
Atmosphere and oceans
Problem: tragedy of the commons

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15
Q

North/South Dilemma

A

North got rich because we industrialized

South wants to catch up and industrialize - being told they can’t because the world won’t be able to handle it

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16
Q

free rider problem

A

People who don’t try benefit from other people’s hard work
Tendency of states not wanting to hurt their economy by changing policies because other states are doing a fine job with it
States may want to do it from pressure to cooperate, but voters at home may not like it

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17
Q

areas with highest population

A

asia

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18
Q

highest pop growth

A

underdeveloped countries like nigeria

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19
Q

demographic transition

A

a change in the pattern of population growth and distribution

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20
Q

demographic transition theory

A

proposes that there is a predictable pattern to population growth as a country develops

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21
Q

Population control arguments

A

One argument is that poverty and economic injustice are the problems, not population(people are not miserable bc there are too many of us, but bc they aren’t getting the resources others are getting)
The opposing side says population is the problem. No matter how much we increase production or better distribute resources, our efforts will always be outstipped bu the exponential curve of population growth

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22
Q

population growth for future

A

going to keep rising but the birth rate is looking to continue decreasing from access to contraception, women in the workforce, and urbanization (majority of people in cities and there isn’t enough room)

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23
Q

why did pop stay low before industrial revolution

A

because children were dying before they could reproduce, then medicine came that kept them alive

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24
Q

low growth rate causes

A

low in industrialized areas and high in non-industrial because the women aren’t educated or working in developing countries and they also don’t really have access to birth control or abortion options

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25
Q

carrying capacity and limits

A

the number of a species that an ecosystem can support
We can overcome this by sending food to famine stricken areas, move if we need to, and we have the technology to expand food production
Limits:
Food
Finite arable land (can destroy forests for more or make land more productive with intensified agriculture)
Oceans being overfished
Loss of species
Natural disasters can wipe out a crop
Finite drinking water
Limited absorption capacity

26
Q

Modes of human survival

A

Foraging: low populations only, most in balance with environment
Pastoralism: domestication of herds, supports slightly larger populations but still small and migratory, more environmentally damaging
Agriculturalism: supports large, dense, sedentary populations, still more damaging
Industrialism: production of goods through technologies that rely on fossil fuels, includes intensified agriculture, only known survival strategy that could support current population, most destructive and can’t go on

27
Q

Biodiversity, concentration areas, and benefits

A

the number and variety of living organisms in Earth
Concentrated in forests of developing countries like Brazil, China, Ecuador, etc
Benefits: lessens the vulnerability of crops, pharmaceutical product development

28
Q

Endangered species

A

whales, dolphins, sea turtles, elephants

29
Q

deforestation

A

caused by population pressures and poverty. Poor people rely on forests for fuel, shelter, agricultural land, and grazing their animals. Also caused by deliberate setting of fires, selective logging, economic development, commercial logging, and government policies

30
Q

sources of oil pollution

A

major oil spills, development of coastal areas, increased use of petroleum products, increase of shipping, rise of travel on cruise ships deliberate dumping of oil by ships and urban runoff

31
Q

climate change history

A

raised concerns in 1965 but national security during the Cold War took precedence. Congress had meetings in 1980s and in 1988 a scientist told congress he was 99% certain the greenhouse effect was detected and already changing the climate. Then a research program started to study the human induced climate change

32
Q

acid rain

A

caused by burning coal

33
Q

water scarcity

A

a lack of secure, uninterrupted, long-term availability of adequate clean freshwater
When a country that is extremely dependent on water coming from rivers or streams in another country perceives that its supplies are threatened, it could use military force to resolve the problem

34
Q

Military impact on climate

A

Came into light in Vietnam war after an herbicide defoliated the forests as part of strategy to deprive vietcong of forest cover
Nuclear wastes, chemicals, and other toxic pollutants created long-term environmental problems

35
Q

fukishima

A

Other countries banned it all together and other plants were tested for emergency preparedness

36
Q

air pollution

A

Primary cause: combustion primarily associated with industrial activities
Concerns: human health, wildlife health, crop damage, forest destruction, ozone layer/climate change
International actions: mostly bilateral, specific, and limited to only pollutants in that area

37
Q

water pollution

A

Primary causes: agriculture (fertilizer, pesticides), industry (point source), sewage, urban runoff, landfills
Concerns: human health (immediate effects), water quantity for drinking, biodiversity
International action: many bilateral treaties

38
Q

haz waste

A

Chemicals, pesticides, heavy metals, radioactive compounds
Sources: mining and chemical industry
Where to put them? Made it illegal to put them in oceans, landfills, or to burn them, so we exported them to poorer countries
Basel Convention:
Haz waste is tracked closely and in a recent amendment now rich can’t export to poor countries

39
Q

why do we use fossil fuels

A

good energy source because their EROI is very high and used to be super easily accessible, now we don’t want to get rid of it because we have made so many machines that run off of it that we would have to completely overhaul

40
Q

highest EROI sources

A

Hydroelectricity
Reliable without so much pollution, but probably won’t grow
Dams are very harmful and there are only so many places where it will work
Coal:
Cheap, there’s a shit ton of it
Harmful emissions and coal has flatlined
Wind:
Cost is declining and in some places is outcompeting gas
Wind doesn’t always blow though

41
Q

lowest EROI sources

A

Nuclear:
Provide just a tiny sliver of consumption moving forward
No carbon emissions, but safety concerns if things go wrong and nothing to do with the radioactive waste
Solar:
Has made major advances in coast and storage and as long as you have a sun you have energy
Bio mass:
Production of energy through plants
Takes food sources away and is inefficient
Lots of research going into this

42
Q

threats to ocean

A

Overfishing, plastics, coastal pollution, habitat destruction, acidification, warming

43
Q

law of sea (UNCLOS)

A

Features:
Exclusive economic zones 200 miles off of continental shelf
Protection for highly migratory species
Party states bound to prevent and control marine pollution and are liable for damage
12 miles out is territorial sovereignty
Deep seabed mining disputes heard by an international tribunal when zones overlap
Current Issues:
China’s action in South China Sea (artificial islands)
Russian claims to Arctic sea (gives north pole and mineral deposits)

44
Q

points from lethal seas

A

Coral reefs are home to ¼ of ocean life and a key resource of survival for humans
Impacts of acidity: larvae can’t grow shells and can die, coral bleach, species move out, fish change in behavior
Impacts in antarctic waters: CO2 absorbed more in colder waters, tetrapods could be wiped out with thin shells and could cause dire effects
Big extinction events used to be caused by rapid events, now it’s more slow with the rising acidity
Rapid pace of acidity is causing evolution to not be able to keep up

45
Q

humanity’s water-related challenges are being driven by ___

A

all of the above

46
Q

the lion’s share of the water consumption is for __

A

agriculture

47
Q

second article in PR 7 points out that air pollution ___

A

is often a drag for economic growth

48
Q

the American “energy renaissance” refers to

A

massively increased oil and gas production, largely from shale-rock formations

49
Q

the costs of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar

A

are rapidly falling

50
Q

what activity accounts for most of humanity’s total water consumption? PR 7

A

agriculture

51
Q

pollution and economic growth/why China’s war on pollution PR 7

A

China has been slowing in economic growth, and pollution has been a major drag on growth and the nations GDP, forcing them to switch to sources of power which are more renewable.

52
Q

coral reefs, bleaching events PR 8

A

The time between bleaching events in coral has shrunk to a factor of about 5. They used to have 20-30 years to recover, and now they only have about 5-6. This is too short of a time period for the coral to cope. The temperature spike cause them to bleach. Experts say we must reduce gases in the atmosphere (reduce climate change) and avoid damaging reefs with things like overfishing. They also suggest breeding heat resistant coral.

53
Q

extent of biodiversity loss/threats to nature PR 8

A

It is said 30% of the biodiversity was lost and that will increase to 40% in the next 10 years in the Americas. The biggest threats to nature are habitat destruction and climate change. Suggested solutions are to just realize what is going on and create a policy to reduce climate change and habitat destruction. At regional and global levels.

54
Q

ozone layer depletion area and the montreal protocol PR 8

A

It is near lower latitudes which is where vast majority of humans live. Implications are. There could be a change in stratospheric circulation. There’s also a possibility that a new class of chlorine-containing chemical compounds not limited by the Montreal Protocol, dubbed “very short-lived substances,” could be contributing to the problem. The problem with the montreal protocol is it doesnT cover all the ozone depleting substances.

55
Q

paris agreement PR 8

A

Climate change is the biggest threat to humanity and although president trump withdrew from it, it won’t be official until 2020. The people are still acting as if the Paris Agreement is still in place though.

56
Q

IFCC

A

Intergovernmental panel on climate change with over 2,000 worldwide scientist from many different scientific fields. They say climate change is “unquivocal” and have 95% confidence that it is caused by humans

57
Q

UNFCCC

A

Took until 2009 to agree that (2 degrees C/ 3.6 degrees faranheit) increase since pre industrialization was a dangerous level. They say developed nations will act first.

58
Q

Kyto Protocol

A

Created binding targets but China and India were exempt. It fell through in 2012

59
Q

carbon budget

A

If you dont want a 2 degree C, dont exceed 1 trillion tons. It is expected to be exceeded in 30 years

60
Q

Paris Accord

A

In 2015 they moved the target to 1.5 degrees C, and includes both developed and developing countries.

POLS131 (3 decks)

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