Final Exam Flashcards
(143 cards)
1
Q
T or F: Much of the Canadian population lives within 160km of the US border even though the country extends more than 4000km south to north
A
True
2
Q
What are the 5 attributes that resources are characterized by?
A
2 Natural:
- the supply of the resource
- the character of the resource
3 human:
- demand
- acquisition
- use
3
Q
What are the 2 attributes that the environment is characterized by?
A
- the biotic environment (the living environment or biosphere)
- the abiotic environment (the nonliving environment)
4
Q
What does IPAT stand for? (HEIM)
A
I- Impact
P- population
A- affluence
T- technology
5
Q
WHat does this mean: I = pAT
A
small population creates large impact because of significant resource-depleting demands
6
Q
What does this mean: I = Pat
A
Large population demanding only a few resources, b/c the population is to large, the impact is large (developing countries)
7
Q
What are the four characteristics of functional resources?
A
- Resources are dynamic
- Resources may be depleted/degraded and/or made obsolete
- The life of resources can be extended
- Resources can become hazards
8
Q
T or F: Biotic means living
A
true
9
Q
T or F: abiotic means non-living
A
true
10
Q
Please list some examples of biotic (living) things:
A
- animals
- plants
- forests
- soils
- microbes
- people
11
Q
Please list some examples of abiotic (non-living) things:
A
- continents
- oceans
- clouds
- rivers
- icecaps
12
Q
True or false: Business management, politics, ethics, international relations, economics, social equity, engineering, law enforcement and chemical, physical, geological and biological sciences all play a role in managing and protecting both people and natural environment
A
True
13
Q
What is Environment Canada?
A
the department of the federal government that is most directly responsible for the protection of the environment
14
Q
What roles does Environment Canada play?
A
- preserving and enhancing the quality of the natural environment
- protecting and conserving renewable resources and water resources
- enforcing Canada’s sovereignty over our boundary waters and forecasting weather conditions and warnings
15
Q
What is environmental science?
A
- the study of how the natural world works, how our environment affects us and how we affect the environment
16
Q
Define: Science
A
a systematic process for learning about the world and testing our understanding of it; also refers to the accumulated body of knowledge that arises for this dynamic process of observation, testing, and discovery
17
Q
Define: Environmentalism
A
a social movement dedicated to protecting the natural world and by extension, humans from undesirable changes brought about by human choices
18
Q
Is environmental science different from environmentalism?
A
yes
19
Q
Define: Natural Resources
A
the substances and energy sources provided by the environment that are economic value, and that we need for survival and for functioning of our modern society
20
Q
Define: Renewable natural resources
A
natural resources that are replenish-able over short periods (ex. wave, wind, solar)
21
Q
Define: Non-renewable natural resources
A
replenished more slowly and may be depleted if we use them at a rate that exceeds the rate at which they are renewed or replenished (ex. Natural Gas)
22
Q
Define: Resource management
A
strategic decision-making and planning aimed at balancing the use of a resource with its protection and preservation
23
Q
Define: stock
A
the harvestable portion of a resource
24
Q
Define: carrying capacity
A
a measure of the ability of a system to support life
25
When carrying capacity is exceeded, what are the two things that could happen?
1. The population of the species will decline or collapse
| 2. The system itself will be altered, damaged or depleted
26
What are some factors that can influence how someone perceives an environmental problem?
A person's age, gender, class, race, nationality, employment and educational background
27
What is the IPAT Model:
```
I = Impact
P = population
A= affluence
T = technology
```
Environmental impact is a function of population, affluence and technology
28
Define: Ecological footprint
expresses the environmental impact of an individual or a population in terms of the area of land and water required to provide the raw materials that person or population consumes, and to absorb or recycle their wastes including direct and indirect impacts
**essentially the inverse of carrying capacity
29
Define: Biocapacity
the capacity of a terrestrial or aquatic system to be biologically productive and to absorb waste, especially carbon dioxide
30
Define: Biodiversity
the cumulative number and diversity of living things
31
Define: Globalization
the nature of virtually all environmental issues is being changed by the set of ongoing phenomena
32
What are the nine key systems that are crucially important to the earth system?
1. Stratospheric ozone layer
2. biodiversity
3. toxic chemical dispersion
4. climate change
5. ocean acidification
6. freshwater consumption and the global hydrological cycle
7. Land system change
8. nitrogen and phosphorus inputs to the biosphere and oceans
9. atmosphere aerosol loading
33
Define: sustainable development
development that satisfies our current needs without compromising the future availability of natural resources for the foreseeable future
34
Define: system
a network of relationships among parts, elements, or components that interact with and influence one another through the exchange of energy, matter, or information
35
What are systems that receive inputs of both energy and matter and produce outputs of both called?
open systems
36
What are systems that receive inputs and produce outputs of energy, but not matter called?
closed systems
37
Define: cycles
systems flows of key chemical elements and compounds that move substances from one place to another within a system
38
Define: feedback loop
system's output can serve as input to that same system
39
Define: Negative feedback loop
output that results from a system moving in one direction acts as input that moves the system in the other direction
- input and output neutralize one another's effect, stabilizing the system
- Ex. thermostat stabilizes room’s temp by turning the furnace on when the room gets cold and shutting off when it gets too hot
- Enhance stability and in the long run, only those systems that are stable will persist
40
Define: Positive feedback loop
drive it further toward one extreme or another
- Ex. erosion; or climatic warming leading to the melting of ice, exposing underlying darker surfaces and those darker surfaces absorb more sunlight causing further warming and leading to additional melting
- Can alter system stability
- Rare in nature but common in natural systems that have been altered by human impact
41
Define: Dynamic Equilibrium:
when processes within a system move in opposing directions at equivalent rates so that their effects balance out
42
Define: Homeostasis
the tendency of a system to maintain constant or stable internal conditions
43
Define: resistance
a property of homeostasis systems and refers to the strength of the system's tendency to remain constant
44
Define: resilience
a measure of how readily the system will return to its original state once it has been disturbed
45
Define: steady state
homeostatic systems are often said to be in a stable condition of dynamic equilibrium
46
Define: Emergent properties
characteristics that are not evident in the individual components on their own
47
What are four primary causes of population decline and species extinction?
- habitat alteration or loss
- invasive species
- pollution
- overharvesting
48
T or F: research has demonstrated that high levels of biodiversity tends to increase the stability and resilience of communities and ecosystems
true
49
Define: ecotourism
travel whose main purpose is to experience relatively pristine undisturbed natural areas
50
Define: human impact
- an impact is considered insignificant or minor if it has no or minimal effect on the function of the resource
- an impact is large or intense if it has a significant or major effect on the function of the resource
51
What are the two rules for environmental sustainability?
Rule 1: this rule is associated with the movement of natural resources from the natural environment to us (inputs)
- For renewable resources: the harvest or consumption rate of renewable resources must be within the regenerative capacity of the natural system that generates them. We can use no more than nature provides us with. If we do, then we are mining the resource whereby it becomes more like a stock resource
- For non-renewables: depletion rates of non-renewable resources should be equal or less than the rate at which renewable substitutes are developed
Rule 2: this rule is associated with the movement of used natural resources from us back into the environment (outputs)
- for all resources: emissions or wastes (outputs) from human activities should be within the assimilative capacity of the affected resource
52
When does extinction happen?
Extinction happens when environmental conditions change so rapidly that the species cannot adapt and natural selection doesn't have time to work.
53
Define: vulnerable
referring to species that are of particular concern because of characteristics that make them sensitive to human activities or natural events
- small populations and species are more vulnerable b/c they rely on particular resources
54
Define: Endemic
It occurs in one place on the planet
Ex. Golden toad was only in Monteverde cloud forest in Costa Rica, it lived in a small area and required specific conditions for breeding, environmental stresses caused the toads to go extinct since they were only in one spot and their resources were depleted
Endemic species face high extinction risks since they are all in one spot and often belong to small populations
55
T or F: human impacts are reducing biodiversity at all levels
true
56
What are the three ways that mass extinction is different than it has been in the past ?
- Humans are causing it
- Humans will suffer as a result
- It may happen faster than some of the previous "Big Five" mass extinctions
57
What did Anthony Barnoksy (Berkley university) find when he analyzed current species extinction rate with the rate of the "big five"?
Although 49% of bivalves went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period, only 1% of bivalves alive today have been analyzed
There is inflation of assessments on threatened and extinct species since endangered are often analyzed first so the other species are underestimated
The study concluded that extinctions in the past 500 years are not as large as the mass extinctions, but that the rate of extinction is much higher than during the “Big Five” so we need to make a strong effort to conserve species
58
T or F: Amphibian species are at high risk and vulnerability due to specialized breeding and habitat requirements and lost habitats
True
59
What organization said this quote?
" the current global development model is unsustainable. We can no longer assume that our collective actions will not trigger tipping points as environmental thresholds are breached, risking irreversible damage to both ecosystems and human communities"
United Nations
60
As a species on Earth, humans have spend ___% of our existence as hunter-gatherers
99%
61
Only the last ______ years have had significant changes with domestication of plants and animals, stone and metal usage, and external energy sources as opposed to muscle power
10,000
62
Archeology suggests that humans have been on the water parts of Europe for ___ million years
1.7 million years
63
Evolution transformed and advanced for humankind, Wenke and Olszewski said that:
Homo erectus: had perfected tools that were simple, portable, efficient, and utilitarian
Homo sapians: evolved with brains about 50% larger than erectus to have more elaborate tools (leading to invention of iPad or Playbook)
64
B.P. stands for?
before present
65
The Lower Paleolithic People (Early stone age) lived for __ million years with little change in lifestyle
3 million years
66
The Lower Paleolithic People (Early stone age) has diets that consisted of what?
- as much plant material as necessary and as much animal food that could be caught.
67
T or F: it is harder to determine what type of animals that were eaten than it is to determine what type of plants were eaten
FALSE: there are bones to indicate the animals that were eaten, but it's hard to know the types of plants
68
T or F: Human tools are generally more sophisticated than chimpanzee or raccoon
true
69
Upper Palaeolithic people lived in what way?
- farming became more present
- people relied more on farming and domestication of plants and animals, but still continued to hunt and gather food so a lot of people were still moving around
70
When did small villages start to emerge as people started growing their own food rather than gathering and raising their own animals?
Upper Palaeolithic people
71
Neolithic or Late stone age people:
- tools still made of stone, bone and wood
- hunting and gathering was more of a science b/c ppl had a better temporal and spatial understanding of flora (plants) and fauna (animals)
72
What were the impacts of fires?
- used to drive animals into an ambush, into pits, or over cliffs
- used to burn vegetation to produce grassland for herbivores
73
What were the impacts of hunting?
- many species disappeared after the arrival of humans, even though some people argue that it was climate change
- The perfection of hunting spelled the end of hunting as a way of life. Easy meat meant more babies. More babies meant more hunters. More hunters, sooner or later, meant less game.. As they drove species to extinction, they wanted into their first progress trap.
74
What are the impacts of gathering?
- may have caused disturbance in local areas due to digging and social activities
- Sustainability of certain species may have been impacted by the use of over-harvesting part of that species (of plants)
- unplanned distribution of foreign plant species
- much smaller scale effect than fires and hunting
75
Hunting-gathering societies follow what two ideas?
1. created no major impact
| 2. the populations created major impacts but these were extremely limited in both spatial and temporal dimensions
76
Define: domestication
controlling the genetics of a plant or animal by the planned selection of plant seeds and animals' parents. The process whereby plants and animals are changed (transformed) so as to better suit the needs of humans
77
What were some of the original areas of the world that agriculture developed in independently?
fertile crescent in the middle east, far east, central america and south america, and the andean region of south america
78
Archeology suggests 4 lines of evidence for the existence of agriculture at a location:
1. species outside their normal range
2. species with numbers suddenly higher than others
3. unnatural sex ratio of species
4. an unexplainable change in appearance of species (ie. smaller horns)
79
The reason for agriculture is unknown, but may be a result of ....
1. the growing population that reduced wild game and required humans to rethink their methods for food
2. it could also be due to external factors like climate change
80
By _____ BP, most humans transitioned from wild food to tame and took up a more dependable way for getting food (agriculture)
5000
81
T or F: European agriculture was delayed because vast forests needed to be cleared first
true
82
What was the first animal that was likely domesticated?
wolf or dog
83
What Age did the major stages of industrialization begin in?
Bronze and Iron ages
84
What are the two stages of industrialization?
1. increasing extraction, processing and use of a variety of resources
2. changing technologies designed to produce and exchange more goods and services more efficiently
85
_____ became the metal of choice b/c it was more readily available and if compared to steel it was more durable than bronze
Iron
86
What does archeological evidence suggest in the bronze and iron ages?
1. There was increased deforestation since wood provided energy to drive the industry
2. cultivation or ploughing resulted in a notable shift of nutrient rich soils from hilltops to valley bottom (soil erosion)
3. settlements and settlement patterns shifted from hills (defence) to valleys (food supply)
87
What time period did the pottery industry develop?
Roman Great Britain (industrialization)
88
What were the new trends observed at the start of rural-urban migration?
- due to the belief that jobs and food were available in larger centres
- due to the appearance of the Little Ice Age, a period where cooler temperatures may have reduced the growing season in parts of Britain by up to 5 weeks
89
What are 4 human impacts on the environment that resulted from the industrial revolution?
1. There was a considerable migration of people from countryside to towns and cities. Modern tools/equipment and artificial fertilizer reduced the demand for labour, while considerably increasing agricultural output.
2. The development of larger towns and cities introduced the problems associated with urban-industrial waste, sewage and domestic garbage. Rivers provided a handy repository.
3. The coal landscape evolved: mining facilities, coal heaps, tramcars, coal dust, etc. It's estimated that over 60000ha of agricultural land was lost due to coal extraction alone.
4. Industries became a health hazard b/c air and water quality in cities was degraded and associated with unplanned residential districts.
90
What are a few possible benefits of industrial society?
- numerous useful goods
- increase food production per capita
- increased average life expectancy
- decline in population growth
- increased knowledge about the universe from space, sea, and the internet
91
What are some Stock resources:
Consumed by use:
- oil, coal, natural gas
Theoretically recoverable:
- all elemental minerals
Recyclable:
- metallic minerals
92
What are some flow resources?
Critical zone:
- fish, forests, animals, soil, water in aquifers
Non-critical zone:
- solar energy, tidal, wind, water, waves
93
What is the essential difference between stock resource and flow resource?
how quickly the resource regenerates
94
What are stock and flow resources also referred to as?
Renewable and non-renewable
95
Define: Primary energy
energy that hasn't been converted or transformed
| - ie. the initial energy resource. Coal, oil, natural gas, hydro, biomass, solar, wind
96
Define: Secondary energy
energy that is transformed to useful work; end use energy.
E.g. electricity generated from coal, oil, nuclear or wind.
Usually secondary energy categorized by sector; commercial, industrial, residential, transportation
97
Define: Energy efficiency
the difference between primary (extracted) energy and secondary (used) energy
98
What are 2 major changes to energy use in the last 100 years?
- transition from a coal based economy to oil and natural gas
- exponential increase in energy consumption
99
Peatlands are extremely important storage reservoirs for carbon and are though to hold about ___ of all carbon stored in soils
1/3
100
____ is not merely loose material derived from rock; it is a complex plant-supporting system that consists of weathered rock, organic matter, water, gases, nutrients, and microorganisms
soil
101
Define: parent material
the base geological material in a given location from which the soil is formed
102
T or F: Soil includes living and dead organisms
true
103
What are the processes most responsible for soil formation?
- weathering
- erosion
- deposition and decomposition of organic matter
104
Define: weathering
the physical, chemical, and biological process that breaks down rocks and minerals, turning large particles into smaller particles and sometimes altering their composition.
105
Define: Physical or mechanical weathering
breaks rocks down without triggering a chemical change in the parent material
- e.g. temperature, wind, rain and ice
- daily and seasonal temperature variations aid their action by causing the thermal expansion and contraction of parent material: areas with extreme temperature fulgurations experience rapid rates of physical weathering
106
Define: chemical weathering
results when water or other substances chemically interact with parent material
- e.g.g headstones are worn and smooth from chemical weathering; limestone dissolves easily in normal, slightly acidic precipitation whereas granite is resistant
- conditions where precipitation or ground water is unusually acidic promotes chemical weathering, as do warm, wet conditions
107
Define: biological weathering
when living things break down parent material by physical or chemical means
- e.g. lichens initiate primary terrestrial succession by producing acid which chemical weathers rock
- e.g. a tree can accelerate weathering through the physical actions of its roots as they grow into fissures in rock, and also through the decomposition of its leaves and branches with chemicals in releases from its roots
108
Define: utilitarian principle
when something is right when it produces the greatest practical benefits for the most people.
109
Define: intrinsic value
inherent right to exist
110
Define: environmental ethics
application of ethical standards to relationships between humans and non-human entities
- branch of ethics arose once ppl began to perceive environmental changes brought about industrialization
111
Define: sustainable development
meeting current demand with compromising availability of natural resources or the quality of life for future generations
112
Define: Anthrocentrism
takes a human-centered view of our relationship with the environment
113
Define: Biocentrism
ascribes values to actions, entities, or properties on the basis of their effects on all living things or on the integrity of the biotic realm in general
114
Define: Ecocentrism
judges the actions in terms of their benefits or harm to the integrity of whole ecological systems, (which consists of biotic, abiotic elements, and the relationships among them)
115
Define: preservation ethic
holds that people should protect the natural environment in a pristine, unaltered state
116
Define: conservation ethic
holds that humans should put natural resources to use but also that we have a responsibility to manage them wisely
117
Define: deep ecology
holistic movement resting on principles of 'self realization' and biocentric equality
118
Define: self-realization
awareness that humans are inseparable from nature and that the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the foods we consume are both products of the environment and integral parts of us
119
Define: Biocentric equality
concept that all living beings have equal value and that because we are truly inseparable from our environment, we should protect all living things as we would protect ourselves
120
Define: Ecofeminism
argues that patriarchal structure of society- which traditionally grants more power and prestige to men than to women- is a root cause of both social and environmental problems
- ecofeminists hold a worldview traditionally associated with women, which interprets the world in terms of interrelationships and cooperation, is more compatible with nature than a worldview traditionally associated with men, which interprets the world in terms of hierarchies and competition
121
Define: Environmental justice
principles that all people have the right to live and work in a clean, healthy environment; to receive protection from the risks and impacts of environmental degradation, and to be compensated for having suffered such impacts; and to have equitable access to environmental resources of high quality
122
What was the environmental justice movement fueled by?
fueled by the fact that the poor and minorities tend to be exposed to a greater share of pollution, hazards, and environmental degradation than are richer people
123
What are 2 ways that environmental injustice is manifested?
- a community or group of people can be denied equitable access to environmental resources
- a community or group of people can be subjected to environmental injustices by having disproportionate risks or costs of pollution or degradation transferred to them.
124
Define: environmental refugeeism
results where degradation is so intense that residents are unable to survive and are forced to leave their land
125
What are the four economic approaches?
1. Resources are infinite and substitutable
2. Long-term effects should be discounted
3. costs and benefits are internal
4. Growth is good
126
Define: Economic approach- resources are infinite and substitutable
Model generally treats the supply of workers and other resources as being either infinite or largely "substitutable and interchangeable" (implied once a resource is depleted- natural, human, etc - we should be able to find a replacement for it)
127
Define: Economic approach - Long term effects should be discounted
through discounting, short-term and present-day costs and benefits are granted more importance than long-term costs and benefits. This encourages policymakers to play down long-term consequences of decisions we make today
128
Define: Economic Approach- Costs and benefits are internal
It's assumed that the costs and benefits of a transaction are 'internal' to the transaction of the buyer and the seller.
- However, in many situations this is not the case. Costs or benefits of a transaction that involve the buyer or seller are known as externalities.
- Negative externalities often harm groups of people or society as a whole, which allowing certain individuals private gain.
129
Define: Economic Approach - growth is good
economic growth is required to keep employment high and maintain social order. However, some critics fear that the runaway economic growth will likely destroy the economic system that we depend on. Resources are ultimately limited, so nonstop growth is not suitable and will fail as a long-term strategy.
130
Define: Environmental economists
Environmental economists tend to agree that economies are unstable if population growth is not reduced and resource use is not made more efficiently
- By retaining the principles of neoclassical economics but modifying them to address environmental challenges, environmental economists argue that we can keep our economics growing & that technology can continue to improve efficiency
131
Define: Existence Value
includes things that have value because they exist, even though we may never experience them directly
132
Define: Option Value
includes things that we don't value but might use or find for a later time
133
Define: Aesthetic Value
includes things that we appreciate for their beauty or emotional appeal
134
Define: Scientific Value
includes things that may be important as subjects for scientific research and environmental decision-making
135
Define: Educational Value
includes things that may teach us about ourselves and the world
136
Define: Cultural Value
includes things that we use directly but that may not have a market-based value
137
Define: Use value
includes things that we use directly but that may not have a market-based value
138
Define: spiritual values
includes things that are sacred to certain groups, or evoke spiritual, religious, or philosophical response in us
139
Define: Externalities
a cost or benefit of a transaction that affects people other than the buyer or seller (most externalities are negative)
140
Define: synergism
defined as the process whereby a combination of two or more chemicals is likely to lead to a greater effect than each chemical alone.
141
What are the six requirements of industrialized agriculture?
1. High levels of fossil fuel inputs
2. High levels of technological inputs (such as fertilizer, pesticides)
3. Large capital expenditures (for land and equipment)
4. High production per farmer
5. Economic controls and incentives (milk quotas)
6. Sophisticated trade networks
142
Define: Sustainable agriculture
environmentally sustainable agriculture is an agricultural system that produces the required agricultural products within the regenerative capacity of the resources upon which the system depends.
143
What are the three challenges of modern agriculture?
1. to maintain the rate of agricultural production equal to or above the rate of population growth
2. to increase productivity per unit resource base
3. to maintain the environmental sustainability of both agriculture and all other resources and environments impacted by agriculture.
