Unit 1- Intro

Question 1

Environmental Science:

Answer 1

Pursuit of knowledge about workings of the environment and our interactions with it

Question 2

Environmentalism:

Answer 2

Social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world from undesirable changes brought by human choices

Question 3

Environment:

Answer 3

Sum total of our surroundings, including all biotic and abiotic components

Question 4

Environmental Geography:

Answer 4

Study of interrelationships between human and biophysical systems across a variety of spatial and temporal scales

Question 5

Ecological Footprint:

Answer 5

• Tool used to express environmental impact of an individual or population
• Calculated in terms of area of land and water required to provide materials that a person or population consumes, and to absorb or recycle the wastes produced
Inverse of carrying capacity- measure of land and water required to sustain an individual, rather than the number of individuals that can be sustained by an area of land or water

Question 6

Biocapacity:

Answer 6

• Capacity of a terrestrial or aquatic system to be biologically productive and to absorb waste
When a population exceeds or overshoots the carrying capacity or biocapacity of a system, the system will be at risk of permanent damage

Question 7

Manipulative Experiment:

Answer 7

Researcher manipulates the independent variable

Question 8

Natural Experiments:

Answer 8

• Can’t directly manipulate behaviour, but nature has already done that for us
• Interpret results from nature
i.e. compare closely related species to study evolution

Question 9

Paradigm Shifts:

Answer 9

Abandoning a dominant theory due to new evidence in favour of a new one

Question 10

Globalization:

Answer 10

Increasing global interconnectedness in train, politics, and movement of people

Question 11

Cornucopian View:

Answer 11

Belief that people will find ways to make Earth’s natural resources meet all our need indefinitely

Question 12

Cassandras View:

Answer 12

Belief that the world will be subjected to doom and disaster due to human impact on the environment

Question 13

Cycles:

Answer 13

Shapes landscapes around us and guide flow of key chemical elements and compounds that support life and regulate climate

Question 14

Resource Management:

Answer 14

Strategic decision making and planning aimed at balancing use of a resource with its protection and preservation

Question 15

Stock:

Answer 15

• Harvestable portion of the resource
If stock is being harvested or withdrawn at a faster rate than it can be replenished then the stock will eventually be depleted

Question 16

Carrying Capacity:

Answer 16

• Measure of the ability of a system to support life
• Number of individuals of a particular species that can be sustained by the biological productivity of a given area of land
When the carrying capacity is exceeded, the population of that species will decline or collapse, or the system itself will be altered, damaged, or depleted

Question 17

Tragedy of the Commons:

Answer 17

• Each individual withdraws whatever benefits are available from the common property as quickly as possible, until the resource becomes overused and depleted
Ultimately, carrying capacity of the system will be exceeded

Question 18

Sustainability:

Answer 18

• Guiding principle of modern environmental science

Developing solutions so that Earth’s resources are not depleted, and can be left behind for future generations

Question 19

Sustainable Development:

Answer 19

• Use of renewable and non-renewable resources in a manner that satisfies our current needs without compromising future availability of resources