Unit 1: Intro to Environmental Science

Question 1

Definition of Ecology

Answer 1

The Study of interaction between organisms (biotic factors). Biotic factors are the living aspects of an organism’s environment. The term “Biotic” means living (Bio=living).
biotic factors: Competition between species and predation.

Study of how environment affects organisms (abiotic factors). “abiotic” means nonliving. abiotic factors that affect organisms include Climate – such as temperature, sunshine, rainfall
Resources such as food and water.
Habitat – the place where an organism is normally found.

Question 2

hat is the Study of Environmental Science?

Answer 2

a multidisciplinary an interdisciplinary field, drawing on many diverse disciplines.

Question 3

Define Homeostasis

Answer 3

ability of organisms to react and adjust to internal and external changes in the environment. For example, our body’s ability to react to changing temperatures by shivering or sweating. Populations of predators often ebb and flow depending on the availability of prey.

Question 4

Definition an examples of renewable resources

Answer 4

Resources that are replenishable. Some renewable resources can be limited in supply but are still considered renewable because they cycle through the earth’s ecosystem. Think about a desert. Water is limited in supply, but it is still a renewable resource.
Examples: water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous

Question 5

Definition and examples of Nonrenewable resources

Answer 5

Non-renewable resources are resources that do not cycle through the earth’s ecosystem. They will eventually be depleted because the supply is finite. Some resources are nonrenewable even though they occur in vast quantities. Examples of non-renewable resources include fossil fuels such as oil and gas and metals such as aluminum. If consumption increases, these resources will be depleted earlier than expected.

Question 6

What is a Sustainable Society?

Answer 6

1) Satisfies the needs for people (i.e. food, clean water, clean air, shelter) into indefinite future.
2) It accomplishes this without depleting or degrading the earth’s resources or affecting future generations or other species.

Question 7

What Factors affect sustainability?

Answer 7

1) Increasing industrialization and technology, 2) Population Growth3) Harmful effects of widening gap between rich and poor4) Resource Depletion5) Pollution

Question 8

examples of Developed Nations

Answer 8

nited States, Canada, Japan, European Union, Australia etc.

Question 9

Examples of Developing Nations

Answer 9

most countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Question 10

The Effects of Industrialization

Answer 10

increased industrialization leads to the use of more fossil fuels, increased use of our natural resources and the generation of more waste.
Another aspect of increased industrialization is the impact of our “Ecological Footprint.”

Question 11

Define Ecological Footprint

Answer 11

It is a measure of the amount of area needed to sustain a person or population
he theoretical area of land and water needed to produce the resources a person or population uses, plus the amount of land needed to dispose of their waste.

Question 12

Average ecological footprint of the world

Answer 12

2.7 hectares of land

Question 13

Some of the effects of increasing human population size

Answer 13

• Increased depletion of resources
• Increased output of waste/pollution
• Increased need for space
• Increased deforestation

Question 14

Harmful effects of widening gap between rich and poor

Answer 14

extreme poverty drives people to worry about their needs for the moment and exploit resources on a short-term basis without considering the long-term or future impact. For example, if you are faced with starvation, you are going to worry about feeding yourself and your family for that week, rather than what will happen years in the future. As a result, resources can be consumed and not preserved
inadequate access to proper medical care, malnutrition, inadequate or polluted water supplies, disease, increased birthrates and infant mortality and shortened lifespan

Question 15

List the natural resources human populations affect

Answer 15

   Amount of land
   Water
   Food
   Energy
   Minerals/Metals

Question 16

Definition of Renewable resources and examples

Answer 16

esources that naturally replenish themselves through biological and geological processes. Examples of renewable resources are: carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, O2, CO2, water, organisms, sunlight, and wind.

Question 17

Perpetual Resource

Answer 17

Sunlight & wind because they are always available

Question 18

Definition and examples of Nonrenewable resources

Answer 18

re in finite supply and are not replenished or are formed much more slowly than we use them.
Fossil fuels (such as oil,
10gas, coal, and natural gas),
minerals and metals (such as iron or aluminum) and
land.

Question 19

“Tragedy of the Commons” and modern examples

Answer 19

theory developed by Garrett Hardin in 1968
Hardin explained that in a “commons” open to all, unregulated use will deplete limited resources. Thus, “tragedy” part of this concept is that when you have a shared or publicly held resource, there is a tendency for an individual to take advantage of resource for his own benefit. It is the mentality that “if I don’t use resource, someone else will.”
some individuals perceive of the resource as being perpetually available or unlimited and that their contribution to exploiting this resource is minimal. Eventually each individual will consume the resource until the resource is completely depleted.
ex: overfishing, dumping of pollution

Question 20

three methods to deal with the tragedy of the commons or management of our public resources

Answer 20

1) Privatization – grant ownership or user rights to private citizens.
2) Regulation – develop governmental regulations to oversee that management of the resource.
3) Self-management by groups who use these resources.
For example fishermen will often form cooperatives to regulate fishing within their own self-designated territories.

Question 21

Pollution

Answer 21

Factor that affects sustainability
ollution can make a renewable resource limited or unusable. Pollution has other wide-reaching effects:
The Disruption of normal cycling of nutrients
Damages to wildlife, human health and property
Nuisance – noise, smell, sight etc