Module 1 Flashcards
(362 cards)
1
Q
Environment
A
Everything that effects a living organism
2
Q
Ecology
A
A biological science that studies the relationship between living organisms and their environment
3
Q
Environmental science
A
An interdisciplinary study that uses information from the physical sciences and social sciences to learn how the earth works and how to deal with environmental problems
4
Q
Environmentalism
A
A social movement dedicated to protecting the earth’s life support systems
5
Q
Natural capital
A
Resources and ecological services that support and sustain the earth’s life and economies
Ex. Solar capital, including wind power and hydro power
6
Q
Carrying capacity
A
The maximum number of organisms that can be maintained in an area without degrading the environment
7
Q
Sustainability
A
Thus ability of a system to survive for an extended period of time
8
Q
Sustainable living
A
Living off natural income replenished by souls, plants, air, and water and not depleting or degrading the earth’s natural capital that supplies this biological income
9
Q
Economic growth
A
An increase in the capacity of a country to provide people with goods and services — this requires population growth (more producers and consumers)
10
Q
Gross domestic product (GDP)
A
The annual market value of all goods and services produced by all firms and organizations operating within a country
11
Q
Economic development
A
The improvement of living conditions by economic growth
12
Q
Globalization
A
The prices of social, economic, and environmental global changes that leads to an increasingly connected world
13
Q
Material resources classified as:
A
Perpetual
Renewable
Nonrenewable
14
Q
Perpetual resource
A
Renewed continuously on a human time scale
Ex. Solar energy
15
Q
Renewable resource
A
Can be replenished fairly quickly
Ex. Forests
16
Q
Sustainable yield
A
The highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply
17
Q
Environmental degradation
A
When we exceed a renewable resource’s natural replacement rate and the available supply begins to shrink
18
Q
Per capita ecological footprint
A
The amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply each person in a population with the renewable resources they use to absorb or dispose of the wastes from such resource use
19
Q
Bio capacity
A
The area of land that is actually available to produce renewable resources and to absorb wastes
20
Q
When did humanity’s ecological footprint exceed the earth’s bio capacity?
A
2008
Exceeded by 50% and now climbing beyond that
21
Q
Pollution
A
The presence of substances at high enough levels in air, water, soil, or food to threaten the health, survival, or activities of humans and other organisms
22
Q
Point sources of pollutants
A
Single, identifiable sources
Ex. The drainpipe if a factory
23
Q
Nonpoint sources of pollutants
A
Dispersed and often difficult to identify
Ex. Pesticides sprayed into the air
24
Q
Two basic ways to deal with pollution
A
Pollution prevention/input prevention control
Pollution cleanup/output pollution control
The first is always preferable
25
Five major environmental problems
```
Biodiversity depletion
Food supply problems
Waste production
Water pollution
Air pollution
```
26
Biodiversity depletion
Habitat destruction
Habitat degradation
Extinction
27
Food supply problems
```
Overgrazing
Farmland loss and degradation
Wetlands loss and degradation
Overfishing
Coastal pollution
Soil erosion
Soil salinization
Soil water logging
Water shortages
Groundwater depletion
Loss of biodiversity
Poor nutrition
```
28
Water pollution
```
Sediment
Nutrient overload
toxic chemicals
Infectious agents
Oxygen depletion
pesticides
oil spills
Excess heat
```
29
Air pollution
```
Global climate change
Stratospheric ozone depletion
Urban air pollution
Acid deposition
Outdoor pollutants
Indoor pollutants
Noise
```
30
Three major revolutions that effected the climate
Agricultural
Industrial-medical
Information and globalization
31
Environmental history of North America
Pre-colonial
Colonial settlement
Conservation
Environmental
32
Clifford Sifton
Considered the father of conservation in Canada
In 1896 became minister of the interior — places forests under federal control and organized the Canadian forestry association
33
James Harkon
First commissioner of national parks
Worked to ensure that Canadian wildlife would be protected
Often called the father of national parks
34
The antiquities act
Passed in 1906
| Allows the president to protect areas of scientific or historical interest on federal lands as national monuments
35
National park service act
Declared that parks are to be maintained in a manner that leaves them unimpressed for future generations
Also established the national park service to manage the system
36
Inductive reasoning
Using specific observations and measurements to arrive at a general conclusion or hypothesis
37
Deductive reasoning
Using logic to arrive at a specific conclusion based on a generalization or premise
38
System
A set of components that function and interact in some regular and theoretically understandable manner
Most systems have:
Inputs, throughputs, outputs
Complex systems often show a time delay between the input of a stimulus and the system’s response to it
39
Feedback loop
Occurs when an outputs if matter, energy, or information is fed back into the system as an input and leads to changes in that system
40
Positive feedback loop
Causes a system to change further in the same direction
41
Negative feedback loop
Causes a system to change in the opposite direction
42
Synergistic interaction
Occurs when two or more processes interact so that the combined effect is greater than the sum of their separate effects
43
Matter
Anything that has mass
Found in two forms:
Elements and compounds
44
Atom
The smallest unit of matter that exhibits the characteristics of an element
45
Ion
An electrically charged atom or combination of atoms
46
How ions are formed
When at atom of an element loses or gains one or more electrons
47
Chromosomes
Combinations of genes that make up a single DNA molecule
48
Genome
The genome of a species is made up of the entire sequence of DNA letters that combine to spell out the chromosomes in a typical member of a given species
Like there is a human genome that represents the typical human (?? I think???)
49
Genes
Consist of specific sequences of nucleotides that provide the instructions for making the various proteins
50
Plasma
The fourth state of matter
High energy mixture
Contains roughly equal numbers of positive ions and negative electrons
51
Ionizing radiation
```
Cosmic rays
Gamma rays
Xrays
Ultraviolet radiation
They carry enough energy to knock electrons from atoms and change them to positively charged ions
Makes ions!
```
52
Nonionizing radiation
Does not carry enough energy to form ions
53
Conduction
When hear flows from hot objects to cold objects
54
Convection
When one part of a volume of water is heated. The hot water rises to meet the cold water
Heat is transferred from hot to cold
55
Nuclear change
Three types:
Radioactive decay
Nuclear fission
Nuclear fusion
A nuclear change In which unstable isotopes spontaneously emit fast chunks of matter, high energy electromagnetic radiation, or both
56
Radioactive isotopes
Unstable isotopes
57
Persistence
A measure of how long the pollutant stays in the air, water, soil, or body
Degradable
Biodegradable
Slowly degradable
Nondegradable
58
Half-life
The time needed for one half of the nuclei in a given quantity of the radio isotope to decay and emit radiation
59
How ionizing radiation can damage cells
Genetic damage — alters genes and chromosomes
| Solstice damage — damages tissues
60
Nuclear fission
A nuclear change in which nuclei of certain isotopes with large mass numbers are split apart into lighter nuclei when struck by neutrons
61
Nuclear fusion
A nuclear change in which two isotopes of light elements are forced together at extremely high temperatures until they fuse
62
Second law of thermodynamics
When energy is changed from one form to another, some of the useful energy is always degraded to a lower quality more dispersed energy
63
First law of thermodynamics
In all physical and chemical changes energy is neither created or destroyed but may be converted
64
Eukaryotic cell
Surrounded by a membrane and has a distinct nucleus
65
Prokaryotic cell
Has a surrounding membrane but no distinct nucleus
66
Population
A group of interacting individuals of the same species occupying a specific area
67
Habitat
The place or environment where a population normally lives
68
Distribution/range
The area over which we can find a species
69
Troposphere
Inner layer of the atmosphere
| extends about 17km above sea level
70
Atmosphere parts
Troposphere
| Stratosphere
71
Stratosphere
17-48km above the earth’s surface
| Filters out most of the sun’s harmful radiation
72
Hydrosphere
The earth’s water
| Liquid, ice, permafrost, water vapour
73
Lithosphere
The earth’s crust and upper mantle
74
Biosphere
Living things on earth
75
Producers/autotrophs
Self feeders
| Make their own food from compounds from their environment
76
Consumers/heterotrophs
Other feeders
| Get energy from feeding on other organisms
77
Detritivores
Feed on dead organic members
78
Decomposers
Specialized consumers that recycle organic matter into ecosystems
Like fungi!
79
Aerobic respiration
When producers, consumers, and decomposers use the chemical energy stores in organic compounds to fuel themselves
80
Anaerobic respiration
When decomposers get their beefy by breaking down glucose in the absence of oxygen
81
Ecological efficiency
The percentage of usable energy transferred as bio mass from one trophic level to the next
82
The law of tolerance
The existence of a species in an ecosystem are determined by whether the levels of one or more physical or chemical factors fall within the range that the species can tolerate
83
The limiting factor principle
Too much or too little of any abiotic factor can limit or prevent growth of a population even if all other factors are near the range of tolerance
84
Dissolved oxygen (DO) content
The amount of oxygen dissolved in a given volume of water at a particular temperature and pressure
85
Salinity
The amounts of various inorganic materials or salts dissolved in a given volume of water
86
Genetic diversity
The variety of genetic material within a species or population
87
Species diversity
The number of species present in different habitats
88
Ecological diversity
The variety of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems found in an area or on the earth
89
Functional diversity
The biological and chemical processes needed for survival of species, communities, and ecosystems
90
Structural diversity
The range of variation in the physical characteristics of habitat
The more diverse the habitat the more potential there is for diversity of organisms
91
Net primary productivity
The rate at which producers use photosynthesis to store energy minus the rate at which they use stores energy through aerobic respiration
NPP=GPP - R
92
Stages in the water cycle
```
Evaporation
Transpiration
Condensation
Precipitation
Infiltration
Percolation
Runoff
```
93
Evaporation
Conversion of water into water vapour
94
Transpiration
Evaporation from plant leaves after water is extracted from soil by roots and transported through the plant
95
Condensation
Conversion of water vapour into droplets of water
96
Precipitation
Rain
Sleet
Hail
Snow
97
Infiltration
Movement of water into soil
98
Percolation
Downward flow of water through soil and permeable rock formations to ground water storage areas called aquifers
99
Runoff
Surface movement down slopes to the sea to resume the cycle
100
Landscape ecology
The scientific study is how spatial patterns in the environment affect the abundance, distribution, and interaction of organisms
101
Landscape
An arbitrarily defined area of land that is generally larger than a single ecosystem
102
Steps in the origins of life
Chemical evolution to form the first cells
Biological evolution from single celled bacteria to single celled eukaryotic creatures and then to multicellular organisms
103
Micro evolution
The small genetic changes that occur in a population
104
Macro evolution
Long term large scale evolutionary changes through which new species form from ancestral species and others are lost through extinction
105
Alleles
When a particular gene may have two or more different molecular forms
106
Two ways mutations can occur
Exposure if DNA to external agents such as radioactivity
Random mistakes that sometimes occur in codes genetic instructions
107
Differential reproduction
A trait that allows individuals to reproduce more offspring than other members if the population
108
Adaptation
Any heritable trait that allows organisms to better survive and reproduce under whatever conditions
109
Directional natural selection
When changing conditions cause allele frequencies to shift so that individuals in one end of the spectrum become more common
110
Stabilizing natural selection
Eliminates individuals on both ends of the genetic spectrum
111
Diversifying natural selection
When conditions favour individuals at both ends of the spectrum at the expense of those with intermediate traits
112
Generalist species
Have broad niches
113
Specialized species
Have narrow niches
114
Divergent evolution
When one species evolves into a variety of similar species
115
Convergent evolution
When two distantly related groups converge into one species
116
Speciation
When two species arise from one
117
Allopatric speciation
Two steps: geographic isolation and reproductive isolation
Organisms are separated geographically then reproductively then split into different species
118
Sympathetic speciation
When groups in a population are are unable to interbreed because of a mutation or subtle behavioural changes
119
Selective breeding
Creating a population with large numbers of a desired trait
120
rain shadow effect
Can create deserts on the sides of mountains where there’s no rain
121
Semidesert
The semiarid zones between deserts and grasslands
122
Permafrost
A perennially frozen layer of soil that firms bit far below the surface when the water there freezes
123
Four major types of organisms in saltwater and freshwater
Plankton
Nekton
Benthos
Decomposers
124
Three types of plankton
Phytoplankton (plant plankton)
Zooplankton
Ultraplankton
125
Ultraplankton
Photosynthetic bacteria no more than 2 micrometers wide
126
Nekton
Strongly swimming consumers suck as fish, turtles, and whales
127
Benthos
Bottom dwellers like barnacles and oysters
128
Euphoric zone
Layer in the ocean that sunlight can penetrate
| Where photosynthesis happens
129
Intertidal zone
The area of shoreline between high and low tides
130
4 zones in a lake
Littoral zone
Limnetic zone
Profundal zone
Benthic zone
131
Littoral zone
The shallow sunlit waters near the shore of the lake
132
Limnetic zone
The open sunlit water surface layer away from the shore that extends to the depth penetrated by sunlight
133
Profundal zone
The deep open water where it is too dark for photosynthesis in a lake
134
Benthic zone
The bottom of the lake
Mostly decomposers and detritus feeders
And fish that swim from one zone to another
135
Epilimnion
Warm well oxygenated water near the surfaced
Heated by the sun
Canadian lakes
136
Hypolimnium
He cold water below the thermacline
| In Canadian lakes
137
Fall turnover
In the fall
The surface water is cooled by exposure to cold air and sinks
Convection brings nutrients up from the bottom of the lake and mixes oxygen down from the surface
138
Spring turnover
In the spring ice melts
The cold water at the top sinks and sets up a convection
Mixes nutrients from the bottom and oxygen from the surface
139
Oligotrophic lake
A newly formed lake which generally has a small supply of plant nutrients
140
Cultural eutrophication
When the eutrophication of lakes is accelerated by human behaviour
Human inputs of nutrients
141
Mesotrophic lakes
Most lakes
| They fall somewhere between the two extremes of nutrient enrichment
142
Surface water
Precipitation that does not sink to the ground or evaporate
143
Runoff
Water from a lake that flows into streams
| The land area that delivers runoff to a stream is called a watershed
144
Watershed/drainage basin
The land area that delivers runoff, sediment, and dissolved substances to a stream
145
Inland wetland types
Marshes
Swamps
Fens
Bogs
146
Marshes
```
The most common wetland type
Open water usually
Cattails, reeds, pond lilies
Nutrient rich and one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet
Alkaline
```
147
Swamps
Dominated by water tolerant trees
May or may not be free standing water all year
Neutral
148
Fens
Peatland
Some mosses
The vegetation of fens can encroach on open water, gradually covering small bodies of water
Usually found in arctic and subarctic regions
Acidic
149
Bogs
A type of peatland dominated by sphagnum moss
Wet spongy ground
May only receive water and nutrients from precipitation
150
Habitat fragmentation
Increased edge area
| Makes species more vulnerable to predators and fire
151
Keystone species
If it is removed from an ecosystem, the ecosystem can collapse
A larger effect on the species than their numbers would suggest
152
Foundation species
Those keystone species that play a major role in shaping communities by creating and enhancing habitat that benefits other species
153
Resource partitioning
When species competing for similar scarce scarce resources evolve specialized traits that allow them to use shared resources at different times, in different ways, or in different places
154
Parasitism
When one species gains its sustenance at the expense of another organism
155
Endoparasites
Live inside their host
156
Extoparasites
Attach themselves to the outside of their host
157
Brood parasites
Lay their eggs in the nest of another bird and lets the host bird raise their young
158
Mutualism
When two species interact in a way that benefits both
159
Commensalism
A species interaction that benefits one species but has little effect on the other
160
Ecological succession
The gradual change in species composition of a given area
161
Primary succession
Involves the gradual establishment of biotic communities on nearly lifeless ground
162
Secondary succession
When biotic communities are established in an area where some type of biotic community is already present
163
The steps in primary succession
Pioneer species attach themselves to patches of bare rock
Perennials like grasses
herbs and shrubs
Trees
164
Disturbance
A change in environmental conditions that disrupts a community or ecosystem
165
Inertia/persistence
The ability of a living system to resist being disturbed
166
Constancy
The ability of a living system such as a population to keep its numbers within the limits imposed by available resources
167
Resilience
The amount of disturbance that s living system can successfully absorb without being fundamentally changed
168
Precautionary principle
When there is evidence that a human activity can harm our health or bring about changes in environmental conditions that can affect our economies or quality of life, we should take precautions to prevent harm even if some of the cause and effect relationships are not understood yet
169
Population dynamics
A study of how populations change in size, density, and age distribution in response to changes in environmental conditions
170
Three patterns of population distribution in a habitat
Clumping
Uniform dispersion
Random dispersion
171
Logistic growth
Involves rapid exponential population growth followed by steady decrease in population growth with time until the population size levels off
172
Dieback/crash
After a population overshoot
| Rise in death rate
173
Population density
The number of individuals in a population found in a particular space
174
Asexual reproduction
All offspring are exact genetic copies of a single parent
175
Sexual reproduction
Organisms produce offspring by combining sex cells or gametes from both parents
176
Survivorship curve
Shows the percentages of the members of a population surviving at different ages
177
Factors in loss of biodiversity
Founder effect
Demographic bottleneck
Genetic drift
Inbreeding
178
Founder effect
Biodiversity loss
When a few individuals in a population colonize a new habitat that is geographically isolated from other members of the population
179
Demographic bottleneck
Biodiversity loss
| When only a few individuals in a population survive a catastrophe such as a fire or hurricane
180
Genetic drift
biodiversity loss
| Random changes in a population’s gene frequencies that can lead to unequal reproductive stress
181
Inbreeding
Biodiversity loss
| When individuals in a small population mate with each other
182
Conservation biology
A multidisciplinary science that originated in the 1970s
| The goal is to use emergency response to slow down the rate at which we are destroying the fucking world
183
Bioinformatics
The applied science of managing, analyzing, and communicating biological information
184
Old growth forest
An uncut forest or regenerated forest that has not been seriously disturbed by human activities or natural disasters for at least several hundred years
185
Second growth forest
A stand of trees resulting from secondary ecological succession
186
Tree plantation
A managed tract with uniformly aged trees or one species that are harvested by clear cutting as soon as they become commercially valuable
187
Selection cutting
A system for light tolerant trees such as sugar maples and yellow birches
Regenerate the best under the sheltered of an established canopy
Cut singly or in groups to reduce crowding
188
Clear cutting
Removes all the trees from an area in a single cutting
189
Strip cutting
When trees are cut in a series of long thin clear cuts
190
Seed-tree cutting
A silvicultural system
The foresters remove nearly all trees in one cutting like a clear cut
But they leave a scattering if mature seed trees to aid in the regeneration of the forest
191
Shelterwood cutting
For trees that grow best in moderate sunlight
| Removes trees in a series of cuts that are spaced over time
192
Two types of forest fires
Crown fires — starts on the ground and eventually burns up the whole tree
Ground fires — underground, may smoulder for days or weeks and are hard to detect
Common in peat bogs
193
Ecological benefits of surface fires
They burn away flammable ground material which helps prevent more destructive fires
They release valuable mineral nutrients
They stimulate the germination of certain tree seeds
Helps control pathogens and insects
Helps provide food for certain animals in the vegetation that grows after
194
Deforestation
The temporary or permanent removal of large expanse of forest for agriculture or other uses
195
Major effects of deforestation
```
Decreases soil fertility from erosion
Runoff from eroded soil into aquatic systems
Extinction of species
Loss of habitat for migratory species
Regional climate change
Global warming from release of CO2
Flooding
```
196
Certified timber
A way of assuring the public that forest products have been grown and harvested using sound environmental practices
197
Ecological restoration
The process of repairing damage caused by humans to the biodiversity and dynamics of natural ecosystems
Ex. Replanting forests, restoring grasslands
198
Reconciliation ecology
Finding ways to share the places we dominate with other species
199
Hot spots
The most endangered and species rich ecosystems
200
Background extinction
Species disappearing at a low rate
201
Mass extinction
A significant rise in extinction rates above a background level
202
Categories of risk for extinction
Extirpated
Endangered
Threatened
Special concern
203
Extirpated
A wildlife species no longer existing in the wild but existing elsewhere (like a zoo)
204
Endangered species
Has so few individual survivors that the species could soon become extinct
205
Threatened species
Still abundant in its natural range but is likely to become endangered in the near future
206
Special concern
A species that may become endangered because of a combination of biological factors and identified threats
207
Instrumental value of a species
The value of a species because of its usefulness to us
208
Intrinsic value of a species
The idea that a species has the right to exist regardless of its usefulness to us
209
Biophilia
The love of living systems and the desire to affiliate with them
210
HIPPCO
Used to summarize the main secondary factors leading to extinction
Habitat distraction and fragmentation
Population growth
Pollution
Climate change
Over-harvesting
211
largest causes of extinction from human activities
```
Habitat loss
Habitat degradation
Introducing non native species
Overfishing
Climate change
Predator and pest control
Pollution
Commercial hunting and poaching
Sale of exotic pets and decorative plants
```
212
Habitat fragmentation
Occurs when a large area of habitat is reduced into smaller and more scattered patches of habitat
213
Threats to bird species
About 70% of the world’s species are declining
Non native species are a huge threat to birds
Also threatened by habitat loss and capture for pets
Caught on lines meant to catch bats
Oil spills
Pesticides
Viewed as an early warning for larger species extinction
214
Harmful effects of non-native species
Some have no natural predators to help control their numbers
Can cause animal and plant extinctions
Can cause ecological and economic damage
215
Ecological extinction
When there are so few members of a species left that it can no longer play its ecological roles in the biological communities where it is found
216
Biological extinction
When a species is no longer found anywhere in earth
217
Local extinction
When a species is no longer found in an area it once inhabited but is still found elsewhere
218
Integrated coastal management
A community based effort to develop and use coastal resources more sustainably
219
Marine reserves
Fully protected areas
| Areas where no extraction and alteration of any living or nonliving resources is allowed
220
Movable marine reserves
Marine reserves that can move with animals as they migrate through the oceans
221
Ways to protect marine diversity
```
Fishery regulations
Economic approaches
Protected areas
Consumer information
Bycatch
Aquaculture
```
222
Bycatch
Using wife meshed nets to allow the escape of smaller fish
Use net escape devices for birds and turtles
Ban on throwing edible and marketable fish into the sea
223
Soil
A thin covering over most land that is a complex mixture of eroded rock, mineral nutrients, decaying organic matter, water, air, and living organisms
224
Humus
The topsoil layer
| A porous mixture of partially decomposed organic matter
225
Leaching
Water seeps down
Dissolved organic matter in upper layers and carries them to lower layers
Of soil
226
Loam
Kind of topsoil
Best suited for plant growth
Crumbly and spongy
227
Soil porosity
A measure of the volume of pores in soil and the average distance between those pores
228
Soil permeability
He rate at which water and air move from upper to lower soil layers
229
Three systems humans rely on for their food supply
Croplands
Rangelands
Ocean fisheries
230
Industrialized agriculture
Uses large amounts of fossil fuels, water, commercial fertilizers, and pesticides
Mostly used in “developed” countries
231
Plantation agriculture
Involves growing cash crops on large monoculture plantations
Mostly grown by developing countries for developed countries
232
Traditional subsistence agriculture
Uses mostly human and animal labour
| Produces only enough crops for a farm family’s survival
233
Interplanting
Used by traditional farmers
| Growing several crops in the same plot
234
Interplanting strategies
Polyvarietal cultivation
Intercropping
Agroforestry
Poly culture
235
Soil erosion
The movement of soil components from one place to another
236
Waterlogging
Farmers put too much water in the soil which increases saline water in the roots and kills their productivity
237
Kinds of organic fertilizer
Animal manure
Green manure
Compost
238
Ways to grow crops that reduce soil erosion
```
Cover crops
Terracing
Contour farming
Strip cropping
Windbreaks
```
239
Consumptive use
Water removed from a body of water and not returned
240
Non-consumptive use
Water not removed or only temporarily removed from a source
241
Breakdown of the world’s water
70% saline
2.6 fresh
Most of the fresh is locked up in ice caps and glaciers
We’re left with 0.014%
242
Weather
An area’s short term atmospheric conditions
| Ex. Temperature, pressure, moisture content, precipitation, sunshine, cloud cover, wind direction and speed
243
How meteorologists do weather
Equipment on weather balloons, aircrafts, ships, satellites
Radar and stationary sensors
They feed into computer models to draw weather maps
244
Weather front
The boundary between two air masses with different temperatures and densities
245
Warm front
The boundary between an advancing warm air mass and the cooler one it is replacing
Because warm air is less dense than cool air, a warm front rises over a mass of cool air
246
Cold front
The leading edge of an advancing mass of cold air
Because cold air is denser than warm air, an advancing cold front stays close to the ground and goes underneath less dense warmer air
247
Jet streams
Powerful winds near the top of the troposphere
Generally remove from west to east
Could cause droughts, funnel moisture, create violent storms or flooding
248
Air pressure
Results from tiny molecules of gases in the atmosphere zipping around at incredible speeds and hitting and bouncing off anything they encounter
249
A high
An air mass with high pressure
| Contains cool dense air that descends towards the earth’s surface and becomes warmer
250
A low
A low pressure air mass
| Produces cloudy and sometimes stormy weather
251
Climate
A region’s long term atmospheric conditions
| Average temperature and participation
252
The greenhouse effect
The natural warming effect of the troposphere
| The human created elements of this are the concern
253
Greenhouse gases
```
Carbon dioxide
Methane
Ozone
Nitrous oxide
Water vapour
```
254
Ozone
Filters UV light as part of the stratospheric ozone layer and as a component of photochemical smog in the lower troposphere
255
Nitrous oxide
Has been increased by human activities such as raising cattle, manufacturing chemicals, farming with synthetic fertilizer, cars
256
Density
A
257
Atmospheric pressure
Q
258
Troposphere
```
The atmosphere’s innermost layer
Made up mostly of nitrogen and oxygen with smaller amounts of water vapour and carbon dioxide
Extends only 17 km above sea level
Involved in the cycling of nutrients
Responsible for weather and climate
```
259
Stratosphere
The atmosphere’s second layer
Filters out most of the sun’s UV radiation
Extends 17-48 km above sea level
260
Ozone layer
Q
261
Ozone
O3
Produced when some of the oxygen molecules interact with UV radiation emitted by the sun
The thing in the stratosphere that keeps the sun from damaging us
Prevents the oxygen in the troposphere from being converted to photochemical ozone which is a harmful air pollutant
262
Air pollution
The presence of chemicals in the atmosphere in concentrations high enough to affect climate and harm organisms and materials
263
Industrial smog
In cities
| Consists of sulphur dioxide l, aerosols, and a variety of suspended solid particles
264
Photochemical smog
An air pollutant
Formed when a mix of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds from natural human sources react chemically under the influence of UV radiation
Produces a mixture of more than 100 primary and secondary pollutants
265
Temperature inversion
When a layer of warm air lies on top of cooler air nearer the ground
266
Acid deposition
Acid rain
267
Atmospheric pressure
A measure of the force per unit area in air
| Decreases with altitude
268
Primary pollutants
Those emitted directly into the troposphere in a harmful form
Ex. Soot, carbon monoxide
269
Secondary pollutant
When primary pollutants react with one another in the troposphere to create new pollutants
270
Geology
The science devoted to the study of dynamic processes occurring on the earth’s surface and in its interior
271
Core
The earth’s innermost zone
Very hot
Has a solid inner part surrounded by a liquid core of molten material
272
Mantle
Surrounds the core
Thick and solid
Most of it is solid but under its outermost part is the asthenosphere of very hot partly melted rock that flows slowly and can be deformed like soft plastic
273
Crust
The outermost and thinnest zone
The continental crust underlies the continents
The oceanic crust underlies the oceans
274
Tectonic plate
About 15 Huge solid plates that move slowly across the earth’s surface
Movement caused by the flows of energy in the mantle convection cells
275
Lithosphere
Q
276
Weathering
The physical, chemical, and biological processes that break down rocks and minerals into smaller particles that can be eroded
277
Volcano
Occurs when magma reaches the earth’s surface through a long fissure
Can release ejecta into the environment
278
Earthquake
Energy released as shock waves
279
Tsunami
Tidal waves
| Earthquakes at sea that cause huge waves
280
Mineral
An element that occurs naturally, is solid, and has a regular internal crystalline structure
Some are a single element, some are compounds
281
Rock
A part of the earth’s crust
| A solid combination of one or more minerals
282
Sedimentary rock
Formed from sediment deposited in layers and accumulated over time
283
Igneous rock
Formed when magma wells up and hardens
284
Metamorphic rock
Formed when a pre-existing rock is subjected to high temperatures, huh pressured, chemically active fluids, or a combination
These forces transform the rock by reshaping it’s internal structure and it’s appearance
285
Rock cycle
The interaction of processes that changes rocks from one type to another
Recycled the three types of rocks over millions of years
The slowest of the earth’s cycles
286
non-renewable Mineral resource
A concentration of naturally occurring material in the earth’s crust that can be extracted and processes into useful materials at an affordable cost
287
Ore
Rock containing enough metallic minerals to be mined profitably
288
Reserves
A resource that we can extract non renewable minerals from affordably
289
Surface mining, subsurface mining
How buried mineral deposits are removed
Shallow are from surface
Deep are from subsurface
290
Overburden
The extra soil and rock that is stripped away by mining equipment
291
Spoils
Waste material from mining minerals
292
Open-pit mining
Machines dig holes and remove ore
293
Heap leaching
A mining technology in America and Australia
Cheap enough to allow companies to level an entire mountain for a small amount of gold ore
Cyanide is used to separate gold from waste ore
294
Acid mine drainage
Q
295
Strip mining
Any form of mining involving extracting mineral deposits in large horizontal beds close to the earth’s surface
296
Area strip mining
When the terrain is fairly flat
An earthmover strips away the overburden and a shovel digs a cut to remove the mineral deposit
A trench is filled with the overburden and a new cut is made parallel to the previous one
297
Contour strip mining
For hilly or mountain terrain
A shovel cuts a series of terraces into the side of a hill
An earthmover removed the overburden and it’s dumped into the terrace below
298
Mountaintop removal
Uses explosives, huge shovels, and huge machinery to remove the top of a mountain and expose the seams of coal underneath
299
Smelting
Used to separate the metal from the other elements in the ore mineral
Without proper proper pollution control, smelters emit a huge amount of air pollution
300
Depletion time
How long it takes to use up 80% of the reserves of a mineral at a given rate of use
301
Dredging
Chain buckets and draglines scrape up underwater mineral deposits
302
Net energy yield
The usable amount of high quality energy available from a given amount is a resource
303
EROI
Energy return on investment
| The ratio of the total energy gained from energy production processes to the energy required to get that energy
304
Crude oil
Petroleum
| Oil as it comes out of the ground
305
Petrochemical
Products of oil distillation
| Used as raw materials in manufacturing pesticides, plastics, paint, medicine, etc.
306
Tight oil
Light to medium grade conventional oil found in rocks whose pores and cracks are too small to allow easy flow
307
Shale gas
A natural gas that has been collected from where it was trapped in fine grain sedimentary rocks
Released by fracking
308
Hydraulic fracturing
A technology that sparked the tight oil gas boom
Aka fracking
Opens up additional pathways in the rock and allows for the oil to flow more freely
309
Oil sand
A mixture of clay, sand, water, and bitumen (a combustible organic material)
310
Natural gas
A mixture of methane, ethane, propane, butane
| Conventional natural gas lies above most reservoirs of crude oil
311
Liquefied petroleum gas
When a natural gas field is tapped, propane and butane are liquified and removed as liquified petroleum gas (LPG)
312
Liquified natural gas
At a very low temperature, natural gas can be converted to LNG
highly flammable liquid
313
Coal
Consists mostly of carbon with small amounts of sulphur, mercury, radioactive material
314
Synthetic natural gas
Solid coal can be converted into synthetic natural gas (SNG) by coal gasification
315
Nuclear fuel cycle
Includes the mining of uranium
Processing it
Using it in a reactor
Safety storing the resulting radioactive wastes for thousands of years
And dealing with the radioactive reactor after its useful life
316
Energy efficiency
A measure of the useful energy produced by an energy conversion device
COMPARED TO the energy that ends up being converted to useless los energy in the same process
317
Micro power systems
Small scale energy generating units are predicted to replace centralized large scale energy units
Similar to the switch to laptops and iPhones from huge computers
318
High-throughput economy
Economies that attempt to sustain ever increasing economic growth by increasing the one way flow of resources through their economic systems
319
Matter-recycling-and-reuse economy
A circular economy
| reuses our matter outputs instead of dumping them into the environment
320
Risk management
Deciding whether or how to reduce risk and at what cost
321
Risk assessment
The scientific process of estimating how much harm a particular hazard can cause to human health
322
Pathogen
Bacteria, viruses, parasites
323
Risk of biological hazards
Pathogens, allergens, poisonous animals
324
Risk of chemical hazards
Harmful chemicals in the air, soil, food
325
Risk of physical hazards
Radiation, fire, tornado, flood, earthquake
326
Risk of cultural hazards
Unsafe working conditions, smoking, poor diet, assault, poverty
327
Difference between a transmittable and non transmittable disease
Transmittable: caused by living organisms and can spread from one person to another
Non transmittable: causes my something other than a living organism and dies not travel from one person to another
328
Toxic chemical
A chemical that causes harm to organisms
329
Teratogens
Mutations that cause harm or birth defects to a fetus
330
Carcinogens
Chemicals or radiation that cause cancer
331
Dose
The amount of a substance a person has invested
332
Response
The type and amount of health damage from exposure to a chemical or other agent
333
Dose-response curve
Shows the effects of various dosages or s toxic agent on a group of test organisms
334
Risk analysis
Identifying hazards and evaluating their associated risks
335
Solid waste
Any unwanted or discarded material that is not liquid or gas
336
Municipal solid waste
Garbage
337
Electronic waste
TVs, computers, cell phones, etc.
The largest growing solid waste problem
A source of toxic and hazardous wastes
338
Planetary management worldview
As the planet’s most important species we are in charge of nature
We will not run out of resources because we will find new ones
We control everything
339
Stewardship worldview
We are the planet’s most important species and so we have a responsibility to take care of nature
We probably won’t run out of resources but we shouldn’t waste them
340
Environmental wisdom worldview
Nature exists for all species, but just us — we are not in charge
Resources are limited and shouldn’t be wasted and not all for us
We need to learn more about the earth
341
Natural capital
The materials produced by the earth’s natural processes
342
Human capital
People’s talents that provide skills and abilities, innovation, culture, organization
343
Manufactured capital
Items made from natural resources with the help of Human Resources
344
Pure free-market economic system
A theoretical ideal in which buyers and sellers freely interact in markets without any government interference
345
Discount rate
An estimate of a resource’s future economic value compared to its present value
346
Cost-benefit analysis
A tool used to compare costs and benefits for actions such as implementing pollution control regulation
347
Genuine progress indicator
The estimated value of transactions that need basic needs but in which no money changes hands are added to the GDP
Then the estimated harmful environmental costs and social costs are subtracted from the GDP
348
Gross domestic product economic indicator
Economists use it to measure the economic outputs if nations
349
Human development index
Based on measurements of a country’s standard of living
| Developed by the UN
350
Canadian index is well-being
Measures living standards, time allocation, population health, etc.
351
Full-cost pricing
Including all costs in an item’s market value for the sake of allowing customers informed choices
352
Statutory law
Laws developed and passed by federal and provincial governments
353
Administrative law
Administrative rules and regulations, executive orders, etc. Related to the implementation of statutory laws
354
Common law
A body of unwritten rules derived from thousands of past legal decisions
355
Civil suit
Lawsuits brought up to settle disputes between one party and another
The kind that most environmental lawsuits are
356
Environmental policy
```
Guided by the principles:
Humanity
Reversibility
Precautionary
Prevention
Polluter pays
Integrative
Public participation
Human rights
Environmental justice
```
357
Major components of sustainable agriculture
```
More:
High yield polyculture
Organic fertilizers
Biological pest control
Irrigation efficiency
Perennial crops
Crop rotation
Water efficiency
Soil conservation
```
```
Less:
Erosion
Salinization
Aquifer depletion
Overgrazing
Overfishing
Loss of biodiversity
Food waste
Population growth
Poverty
```
358
Methods for sustainable water use
Non depleting aquifers
Preserving aquatic systems
Integrated watershed management
Wasting less water
decreasing government subsidies for supplying water
Increasing government subsidies for reducing water waste
Slowing population growth
359
Major components of the environmental revolution
```
Biodiversity protection
Efficiency
Solar-hydrogen
Pollution prevention
Sufficiency
Demographic
Economic and political
```
360
Urbanization
The amount of a population living in an urban area — increasing??
361
Urban growth
The rate of increase of urban populations
362
Urban sprawl
Growth of low density development on the edges of cities
