Important Stuff Flashcards
(28 cards)
What are the 9 environmental limitations of the planet?
Change in land use
Biodiversity Loss -exceeding earth boundaries
Atmospheric Aerosol loading - not yet quantified
Chemical Pollution - not yet quantified
Climate Change - exceeding earth sustainable
Ocean acidification- not exceeding earth limitations
Stratospheric ozone depletion - not exceeding earth limitations
Nitrogen Cycle - greatly exceeding earth limitations
Phosphorus Cycle - almost exceeding earth limitations
Global freshwater use - not exceeding expectations
What 5 cycles interact with the biosphere and can then directly impact the earth heating up?
Carbon cycle Phosphorus Cycle Nitrogen Cycle Water Cycle Oxygen Cycle
Energy in –>
Energy Out
Solar Radiation is turned into ….
UV radiation --> 34% reflected by atmosphere The rest is then - absorbed by ozone or absorbed by earth
Heat radiation is absorbed by…
Greenhouse gasses (water vapour, C02, Methane) Without these gasses we would be fuckkkeeeddd
What is the greenhouse effect?
There is so much Greenhouse gasses that they trap heat from the sun in the atmosphere contributing to a warmer planet
What are the major components to ecosystems?
Producers Photosynthasis Consumers Decomposers All organisms use aerobic respiration to fuel their life processes - glucose + oxygen = water + energy + carbon dioxide
Sum up the three P’s
People, Planet, Profit
There must be a balance between the 3 in space (north-south) and in time (today vs tomorrow)
Explain the food chain
Producers(intake solar energy) –> Primary Consumers who get eaten by –> secondary Consumers
Everything gets taken by decomposers
What are the 4 layers in the pyramid of biomass?
Tertiary consumers
Secondary Consumers
Primary Consumers
Producers - low in ocean due to phytoplankton eaten by zooplankton and reproduces fast
What is Earth Overshoot
Earth overshoot occurs when the earth’s capacity has been reached and the limits to growth are exceeded.
- ecological limits can always be surpassed
- depletion of natural resources could lead to global disaster in the long term
Rate the 3 main uses of water from highest to lowest usage
Agricultural use -67%
Industrial use-
Domestic use
What is virtual water?
Virtual water is used to produce food, raw materials and products
What are some major causes of fresh water storage?
Dry Climate
Drought
Desiccation - state of extreme dryness or the process of extreme drying
Water Stress
What is surface runoff?
Water that does not infiltrate in the ground or return to the atmosphere by evaporation
Reliable run off…
2/3 of the runoff is not available for human use
The 1/3 that is available is reliable run off
What is Watershed or drainage basin
a region from which water drains into a stream, lake wetland etc
Groundwater..
Moves from high to low altitude and compiles in a stream or lake
Aquifers pour water…
saturated layers of sand or gravel, a confined aquifer is bounded above and below by a impenetrable bed of rocks
- a body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater.
Everyday almost ____ many children die from hunger related causes
16,000
In 2012, 907 million people are…
under or malnutritions
What are the principal causes of poverty and hunger
harmful economic systems
Overnutritioned people suffer from similar problems as…
under fed people
What percentage of people in America are over nutrition or obese
34% obese
33% overweight
