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Environmental Studies > Exam 2 > Flashcards

Exam 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

Define demography

A

The study of populations and how they grow and change overtime.

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2
Q

Fill in the blank: Organism populations increase ______________.

A

exponentially

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3
Q

List the three factors of population growth

A
  1. Fertility - birth rate
  2. Mortality - death rate
  3. Immigration/emigration
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4
Q

What are the two models of population growth?

A

Geometric and exponential

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5
Q

What is the difference between the two models of population growth?

A

Geometric growth: A fixed growth rate is applied to each time step.
Exponential growth: A growth rate is applied that is proportional to the population size, leading to continuous acceleration.

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6
Q

What factors limit growth rates and population size and how do they differ?

A
  1. Density dependent factors - The factor and now if affects the population depend on the population density.
  2. Density independent factors - Size of the population has nothing to do with the how the factor affects the population.
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7
Q

List three density dependent factors of population size

A
  1. Parasites/disease
  2. Waste products
  3. Space/food supply
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8
Q

List two density independent factors factors of population size

A
  1. Weather
  2. Wildfires/storms and natural disasters
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9
Q

Fill in the blank: Density dependent factors are ______________ factors.

A

limiting

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10
Q

Fill in the blanks: Limiting factors create __________ __________ __________ that keep a population at bay.

A

negative feedback loops

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11
Q

Define carrying capacity

A

The maximum number of individuals in a population (can be maintained indefinitely and is environmentally sustainable).

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12
Q

Fill in the blank: Carrying capacity is ______________.

A

dynamic

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13
Q

List the formula for geometric population growth

A

dN/dt = birth rate - death rate

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14
Q

List the formula for exponential population growth

A

dN/dt = rmaxN (intrinsic max growth rate AKA rate of increase) times number of individuals (N)

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15
Q

Define fertility

A

The actual production of offspring

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16
Q

Define fecundity

A

The ability to have children

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17
Q

Define total fertility Rate (TFR)

A

The average number of children per woman over her lifetime.

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18
Q

Fill in the blank: World TFR has steadily ______________ with time.

A

decreased

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19
Q

What is the TFR for ZERO population growth?

A

2.1

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20
Q

What is the TFR for population DECLINE?

A

Below 2.1

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21
Q

List 5 factors that affect TFR

A
  1. Geography - food supply + farming
  2. Education (for women)
  3. Infant mortality/death rates
  4. Support for women and children/contraception access
  5. Affluence/quality of life (like cost of living etc…)
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22
Q

Fill in the blank: As countries become more affluent, TFR ______________.

A

decreases

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23
Q

Define demographic transition

A

A model of falling death and birth rates due to improved living conditions and economic development.

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24
Q

What is an age pyramid?

A

A graphical representation of a population’s age and sex distribution used by demographers to visualize how a population is structured and how it might change over time.

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25
Define ecosystem services
Goods and services that ecosystems provide us.
26
Define natural capital
The world's natural resources that provide essential goods and services for human wellbeing and economic activity.
27
Define ecological footprint
A measure of the load imposed by a given population on nature, or the land necessary to sustain resource consumption and waste discharge.
28
True or false: Not all land is equally biologically productive.
True
29
Name the six land types for footprint
1. Arable land (growing crops) 2. Pasture land (raising animals) 3. Forested land (harvesting timber) 4. Productive sea space (fishing) 5. Build land (infrastructure) 6. Energy/carbon land (carbon sequestration)
30
List the three assumptions of the footprint model
1. We can track resource use in order to quantify data 2. Multi-use land/land area is knowable 3. Common currency
31
What is ecological overshoot day?
The day on which Earth's renewable resources would run out completely (how many Earths would it take to sustain you or me?)
32
Define biodiversity buffer
A strategy used to protect ecologically sensitive areas from negative impacts by surrounding land use by creating a buffer zone designed to mitigate stressors and enhance ecological function.
33
Define planetary boundaries
Scientifically determined limits on human activities that, if exceeded, could disrupt the stability and resilience of the Earth system.
34
Name three problems with our current economic theory
1. Externalities: costs not borne by those who create 2. Badly defined property rights: tragedy of the commons 3. The environment's interests are not legally represented in the economic system
35
Fill in the blanks: In economics, we have to remember account for ____________ ____________.
negative externalities
36
Fill in the blanks: Negative externalities associated with the production of certain goods make them ____________ ____________ than they actually are.
more expensive
37
Because ecosystem services are not currently incorporated into accounting, they have _________ _________ _________.
non-market values
38
Define and describe GDP
Gross domestic product; the standard measure of a country's welfare that measures a nation's overall economic activity.
39
What does GDP fail to measure?
human wellbeing and negative externality
40
Does GDP measure a stock or a flow?
GDP measures the flow of money nationally
41
True or false: GDP is directly related to fossil fuel use
True
42
What economic model could we use to account for the faults of GDP?
GPI (general progress indicator).
43
Fill in the blank: Generally, when GDP moves upward, GPI ___________.
plateaus
44
Define market solutions
One dollar vote (every time you spend a dollar you are voting for something. Buy local and keep money in the local economy!)
45
Define EROI
energy return on investment
46
What fuel gives us the best EROI today?
crude oil
47
What is the minimum EROI required for the basic functions of industrial society?
5 - 9
48
True or false: Ethanol from corn is effective and efficient
false; it has an EROI of 1.4
49
How many tera watts (TW) of solar power reach Earth within the reachable land areas?
600 - 800 TW
50
True or false: Solar energy is a stable source of energy
false; it is diffuse and intermittent
51
How do we utilize solar energy?
It is captured and stored in batteries
52
How do we utilize wind energy?
Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy of moving air (wind) into electrical energy.
53
How do we utilize geothermal energy?
Power plants use steam or hot water from underground to drive turbines, which then power generators. Geothermal heat pumps transfer the heat to us.
54
How do we convert biofuels into energy?
By burning or converting organic materials like plants and waste into a fuel source.
55
How do the EROIs of sugarcane and corn ethanol differ?
Sugarcane ethanol generally shows a higher EROI, while corn ethanol has a lower value
56
List 5 factors that caused the green revolution
1. Advancements in technology (tractors/combines) 2. Fertilizer use (nitrogen, phosphorus) 3. Globalization of agriculture 4. population increase 5. GMOs and pesticides
57
List three costs of the green revolution
1. Economies of scale/industrialization 2. Environmental effects 3. Monoculture (fungicide, herbicide, pesticide)
58
List the differences between conventional and regenerative agriculture
Conventional: - Centralized (lower diversity) - Control of nature - Industrial and polluting - Monoculture Regenerative: - Decentralized (many smaller scale farms) - Works with and not against nature - Species diversity
59
What does restoring conventional farmland do for the soil?
It increases carbon input in the soil (organic matter in the soil)
60
How can phosphorus and nitrogen fertilizers harm bodies of water?
They can cause algal blooms which deplete oxygen levels in the water, harming aquatic life and potentially leading to "dead zones"/Eutrophication.
61
What is a crucial element of soil health?
organic matter
62
Define non-native species
Something living outside of its range where it didn't originate (not harmful).
63
Define invasive species
Species that cause harm living outside of their range and can grow and reproduce rapidly, harming biodiversity.
64
List three impacts of invasive species
1. Reduced food supply for other species 2. Decrease in diversity in ecosystems 3. Economics of control/eradication (difficult!)
65
List five characteristics of invasive species
1. Reproduce quickly (within first year of life) 2. "r-selected" lots of offspring (not k-selected) 3. Good dispersal (spread easily) 4. Adapt to a wide range of habitats (generalist) 5. Few natural predators/disease vulnerability
66
List 5 ways invasive species spread
1. With plants 2. As seeds 3. Accidental transport (ballast water of ships) 4. Move where people move 5. Wind or water transport
67
Define indigenous and local knowledge
The understanding, skills, and philosophies developed by societies with long histories of interaction with their natural surroundings.
68
Fill in the blanks: A decline in language diversity means a decline in ____________ and ____________ diversity.
biological; cultural

Environmental Studies (2 decks)

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