Ch 1 Flashcards
(21 cards)
What is environment?
It is a collection of systems including living and nonliving things on earth
environment is made up of many natural ecosystems.
what is a system?
“A system is made up of interacting components that produce patterns over time.”
what is emergent property?
It is a behavior that occurs when components work together as a system but are not individually visible.
what ecosystems are present in the environment?
coral reef
oceans
desert
what does eco in ecosystem economics and ecology refer to?
it refers to the greek word oiko which means houshold
what does the prefix anthro refer to?
it means human
what is Anthropocene?
The term refers to the current time period in which humans have a significant impact on the Earth’s climate.
what does the current ear/epoch we are living in refer to?
it is the Anthropocene
what are major human actions that are affecting the environment?
increasing co2
decreasing variety in life
increasing acidity of oceans
harvesting the ocean
consumption of plants
freshwater usage
what does sustainability mean?
it means managing natural resources in a way that does not diminish or degrade earth ability to provide them in the future
what is the UN definition of sustainable development?
it is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own needs
What are the 3Es of the UN?
Environment
Economy
Equity (Fairness and justice)
When were the 17 sustainable goals developed?
2016
what do resistance, recovery, and resilience mean?
resistance: avoiding change that will cause a disturbance.
recovery: going back to the original state after a disturbance
resistance: it is about both recovery and resistance and maintaining the health of the system even after change
what is a hypothesis?
it is a statement that tries to explain a phenomena
what do scientist use to understand natural phenomena?
a model is created to attempt to simulate and test the hypo
How do scientists measure an individual’s impact on the environment?
using ecologist footprint analysis
which country has the top EF ?
which per person country has the highest EF?
China per country
Qatar per person
What is an ecosystem?
this definition describes communities of life and the physical environment with which they live with
what are ecosystem services?
An ecosystem service is a benefit that people get from nature.
